September is a pretty special month for dining. The summer growing season is coming to an end, but we still have plenty of delicious produce in peak season. Tomatoes, corn and stone fruits dominate menus in early to mid-September, while the latter half of the month brings in apples and pears accompanied by classic fall spices.

With the semester finally in full swing, it has been harder to find myself in a restaurant. Nonetheless, I have had a few mind-blowingly good meals around the city.

Most of the bites I had were from return visits to places like The Diplomat, Cute Robot and Barthel Fruit Farm, but each dish still felt excitingly novel. 

Here were my favorite things I ate this month:

Trout from The Diplomat

I had been to The Diplomat before for their Valentine’s prefix menu, but this was my first time ordering from their regular dinner menu. The entire meal was spectacular, from the beautiful interior to the incredible food. 

The pickled deviled eggs were a surprising favorite. The white was satisfyingly bouncy and tangy from the brine, and the filling made from the yolks were creamy with a subtle sharpness of Dijon mustard.

My favorite dish, however, was the trout. As far as I have heard, The Diplomat is not necessarily known for their fish, but after this meal, I think they should be. It was cooked perfectly: soft and flaky on the inside with the most delicate, crispy exterior.

The trout was paired with a luscious carrot puree and a warm salad of turnips and seasonal tomatoes. The farm-fresh Sungold tomatoes provided a welcome pop of sweetness and acid, and the herbaceous salad made for the perfect complement to the buttery fish.

All in all, this Lower East Side institution continues to impress me, and this dish was one of the best I’ve had all year, let alone this month. 

Beef Cheek from Morel

This month marked my first visit to Morel, but I will surely be going back. This meal, more than any other I have had here, felt like a celebration of Milwaukee’s food scene. 

This Walker’s Point restaurant is known for their commitment to locally-sourced, seasonal cooking, with items like foraged mushrooms permeating almost every dish on the menu. However, I find their real specialty to be in succulent braised meats. 

Dishes like their pork belly—with fat so soft and tender that you might mistake it for butter—or their lamb ragout—so rich with ovine flavor you’ll be craving it long after you leave are the real standouts at this restaurant.

Their beef cheek is the prime example of this style of cooking. This part of the cow is tough and sinewy because it is used so often when grazing. Therefore, it needs to be braised for hours before it’s edible.

Once slow-cooked, the cheek becomes amazingly juicy. Coated in sauce and served with roasted root vegetables, Morel takes my favorite cut of beef to another level.

Okonomiyaki from Cute Robot Japanese Kitchen

This restaurant, which has only been open for a little over a year, is one of my worst-kept secrets in the city.

Cute Robot serves traditional Japanese comfort food out of its small two-story space in Walker’s Point.

While I haven’t made too much headway on their menu, each dish, from their curries to their sandos, have been delicious. You can tell there is a lot of love being poured into the food at Cute Robot, and everything is made just like it would be in the chef’s own home.

My most recent visit started with an order of their pork okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is a fried pancake made with pork or shrimp, cabbage, green onions and topped with Kewpie mayo and okonomiyaki sauce.

The Japanese street food is also topped with katsuobushi, nori flakes and red ginger. It is crispy on the outside and soft like a pancake on the inside. Cute Robot’s okonomiyaki is addictively savory, making you come back to try this appetizer again.

Burger au Poivre from Third Coast Provisions

The best way to describe Third Coast Provisions is “cool.” They serve interesting food inside their beautiful downtown restaurant with impeccable service.

I went for the first time earlier this month for Happy Hour, but the food was what blew me away.

Their oysters, sourced from both the East and West Coasts, were served with their nước chấm mignonette, and they were briny and fishy in the best way possible.

The burger, though, was absolutely incredible. A juicy beef patty is smothered in peppercorn sauce and sandwiched between a fluffy milk-bread bun.

I would take this over the steak au poivre it is inspired by any time, and the best part: it was only $6. They only make a few of them each evening, so consider yourself lucky if you get to try this burger.

Apple Cider Donuts from Barthel Fruit Farm

Barthel Fruit Farm has been my orchard of choice for apple picking for the last two seasons. The farm has existed for a whopping 189 years, predating even the city of Milwaukee. 

They added their bakery in 2016, where they have mastered the apple cider donut. These donuts, baked fresh every day, are the best ones you will find, and keep me coming back to Barthel every year. 

Coated in cinnamon sugar, these pillowy cider donuts are fall inside a pastry. If you are lucky enough to get a warm one straight from the oven, you are in for a truly life-changing experience.

Don’t stop at the donuts though, as their cider slushies and caramel apples are also perfect, sweet fall treats.

The orchard, located in Mequon, is a great place to spend an afternoon. They have plenty of varieties, including ones you will be unlikely to find at your supermarket. Barthel Fruit Farm is also open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, making it a convenient orchard for those on a busy schedule. 

This story was written by Joseph Schamber. He can be reached at [email protected]