What can I say? We ate well while Casey & Amanda were in town. Saturday night we went for dinner to celebrate Casey's promotion at work. We decided on Cafe Hollander, which is funny because I think it's owned by the same people at Trocadero. :) Oh well - we love those guys I guess!
Cafe Hollander is a bar/restaurant. We went to the Wauwatosa location, but there's another location downtown. I really love this atmosphere. For dinner, it's perfect. Lots of people, talking, busy...when we called at 6pm they didn't have any reservations left until 8pm, but said we could just come and probably get in sooner. We got in pretty quickly, especially considering we had 8 people. We sat in the upstairs seating area, but I've sat in the bar area before, and probably prefer that for more casual hangouts. Upstairs is nice for having dinner if you want to talk more...
We had gone on a brewery tour hours before, so mostly we stuck to soda and water. Though I can tell you they have an extensive beer menu. Our livers just needed a break. :) We skipped getting an appetizer, but I've had the sweet potato frites before and they are good. We all got sandwiches and burgers. Casey & Kyle had the Lion Burger and were pleased with it. I had the pulled pork and it was delicious! All three of our sandwiches came on a butter bun which was soft and delicious!!! Missy got the Grand Cafe Club sandwich, which comes with an aioli and apple slices (among other "club" regulars). Amanda loved her Trocadero brie, basil, and tomato sandwich. And Brad loved his stoofvlees, which is pretty much pork, potatoes, and gravy. Meals were $9-12, which is pretty average for dinner. Our drinks were also refilled really quickly, so service was good.
Definitely a good, casual dinner spot. I've been there once in summer, and they put tables outside on the patio which is nice for lunch. I think they do a fish fry on Fridays as well. If you're in the Wauwatosa area, I'd also recommend the Chancery (a little more casual/chain), Pizzeria Piccola (one of Brad's faves), or Ristorante Bartolotta (fancy!).
