Milwaukee Excursion, Part Four: Three Brothers Serbian Restaurant

My friends and I capped off yesterday with dinner at Three Brothers, a Serbian restaurant in the Bayview neighborhood of Milwaukee and one of our favorite places. Dinner at Three Brothers has become a real tradition with us. Almost every visit I have made to Milwaukee with my friends has come to this same delicious culinary conclusion. The restaurant itself is housed in an old bar dated from the turn of the 20th century. Three Brothers has done an excellent job of preserving its architectural integrity while also decorating it with a nice, quirky kind of flair.

Three Brothers Serbian Restaurant, Milwaukee, WI

Three Brothers Serbian Restaurant, Milwaukee, WI

Cool and funky historic interior, Three Brothers Serbian Restaurant, Milwaukee, WI

I would like to say that my friends and I have exhausted Three Brothers' considerable list of menu options--and it is true that one of my friends has tried their duck and I once ordered their goulash--but most often we have stayed true to our culinary custom of ordering burek. In fact, Three Brothers serves the second best burek in the world--second only to my own family recipe, of course!--and they have an outstanding Serbian salad consisting of chopped tomato, onion, and celery, all topped off with a shredded white cheese and oil. They also serve fresh rye bread as an appetizer. Burek is a savory Serbian pastry, made with phyllo dough for the crust and often filled with either beef or spinach and cheese. To everybody's delight, Three Brothers serves both types of burek.

Very cool bar, Three Brothers Serbian Restaurant, Milwaukee, WI

Back part of restaurant, Three Brothers Serbian Restaurant, Milwaukee, WI

Houseplants "gazing" out the window, Three Brothers Serbian Restaurant, Milwaukee, WI

Hey, any place that has houseplants growing on their windowsill--and I am referring to real plants, the organic kind that live, grow, and eventually wither away, not the plastic junk--is a place that makes me feel right at home.

For the love of plants (and booze!), Three Brothers Serbian Restaurant, Milwaukee, WI

Three Brothers and other Serbian restaurants prepare their burek differently from my own family recipe. The main difference is that of shape. At restaurants, burek is served as a large, round savory pie, whereas we always make our burek as a set of rolls shaped to resemble Serbian enchiladas (minus the toppings). Given that phyllo dough is so delicate, and I always find it a challenge to work with it when making my own family's burek, I just can't imagine making burek as a pie. You gotta have patience!

KRUSKOVAC!!!

Here is another thing I long waited for all yesterday: a shot of dreamy kruskovac, a Serbian pear liquor that is mildly sweet and goes down nice and smooth. I have looked around Chicago for stores that sell kruskovac and haven't found one yet. Another great drink is their Serbian tea, a nicely spiced liquor. Needless to say, a shot or two of kruskovac always helps me to have a relaxing train ride home to Chicago on the Hiawatha line. During the train ride home last night, it occurred to me, "Why didn't I take a photo of my burek when it was served?" Well, probably because I was too busy digging into it! Oh well, sometimes you just have to live the good experience rather than record it. That's life! L'Chaim!