Happy 4th of July everyone! We recently partnered with Chuck & Susi Schuele (Twitter: @MVPChuck / @MVPSusi) for the next review. They were headed out to Piano Blu in Pewaukee and did us the honor of snapping a few shots and documenting their experience. Check it out and enjoy!

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After the question was posed on Twitter by @YourMkeDining (Stephen Carlson of Your Milwaukee Dining) if someone would be interested in writing a review on an area restaurant, we jumped at the chance!  We love to go out and this was a great opportunity to do that and help out a friend (who we met through Twitter!).

So the previous Wednesday, we made reservations for the two of us to dine at Piano Blu, an upscale restaurant on the beach of Pewaukee Lake, a place we’ve been before but not for some time.  Our reservations were for Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. and we arrived right on time.   We were immediately greeted very nicely by the hostess who informed us that, due to a large party, the kitchen was running a bit behind schedule.  She asked us if we would like to be seated or wait at the bar and since the bar was not crowded, we took that option to wait until the kitchen was ready.  We sat down in their comfortable bar chairs and asked the bartender to recommend a nice Merlot.  He called on another bartender whom he said was much better at describing and selecting wines than he was.  Our new wine aficionado showed us the wine list and we discussed a couple of options.  We selected a bottle of the 2005 Silverado Merlot.  It was described as a full-bodied wine with a pronounced “oak” finish.  It was definitely oak, but was a little lighter than full-bodied.  It was a decent wine but we would love to see them add to their wine list.  Susi is a huge fan of “The Prisoner”, a wonderful red blend and would have welcomed that menu addition.

After our first glass, the hostess came over and said our table was ready.  We were lead to a very nice table for two in a side room which was off of the main area and a bit quieter, but also away from the main “action” of the restaurant.

Our waiter, Adam (who, quite to our surprise, we knew from his previous occupation), came over with menus and explained the daily specials, all of which sounded like great choices, but after reviewing the menu, we decided to start with Sweet Corn Cake Carnitas as our appetizer (Tapas on the menu).  This dish is seasoned, shredded chicken served on top of warm sweet corn cakes topped with cotija queso, avocado & pico de gallo.  This was an excellent choice.  It was absolutely delightful.  Sweet, crunchy, spicy, all the things we love and it hit every taste bud exactly the right way.  We both thought it was out of this world and would recommend it to everyone.

We both love Lobster Bisque so we decided to try that for our soup.  It was very good although a tiny bit heavy on the tomato taste for both of us.  It did still have that nice spicy-peppery afterglow that we like so much.  Bottom line, we liked it, but we have yet to find a Lobster Bisque that compared to a restaurant in Brookfield that we once frequented.  That restaurant, Sticks & Stones, is unfortunately now closed.

For the entrée, Susi ordered the Bronzed Salmon, which is rubbed with a spicy BBQ Mix and served with wild mushroom risotto, avocado aioli and wilted spinach.  It was excellent.  We attended the “Taste of Waukesha County” where we had our first taste of this amazing dish so Susi just HAD to order it.  Chuck ordered the Cavatappi Angelo y Diablo, which is sautéed capricola ham, andouille sausage, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms tossed with creamy Italian cheese garlic sauce and chili flakes served with grilled foccacia.  He also added jumbo shrimp because, well, because he loves shrimp, and thought it would complement the dish.  As it turned out, he was right about his choice and happy with the outcome.  With the minor exception of the sauce being a bit “absent” (there could have been more sauce, and a bit thicker), the dish was balanced, spicy, and the andouille sausage kicked it up to the level of spice that Chuck loves.  It was a sizeable portion that he couldn’t finish (which is unusual for him) so we took the leftovers home and he had them the next day (which is not unusual for him – Chuck loves to eat).  They were as good, if not better than the night before.

For the finale, we ordered one dessert with two spoons.  It was the Chocolate Saucy, which was a chocolate cake with a molten center topped with fresh berries and chocolate drizzled over the top.  It was served with a small dollop of ice cream and whipped cream. We were extremely full already, but somehow we were able to finish the entire plate – it was decadently delicious!

The end result was that we were happy and we were full.   Since we were tweeting on Twitter about our experience, we noticed friends looking for a night out in our tweet stream and invited them to join us for a cocktail!  They did come (the beauty of social networking – relationships) to Piano Blu and stayed to listen to the jazz/blues band they had playing, which made the evening a total winner in both our books.

Piano Blu – we’ll see you again.

Have you experienced this gem sitting in Pewaukee? If so, I would love to hear your thoughts on service, atmosphere and/or food. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more reviews of Milwaukee area restaurants.

(Interested in doing a guest review? Shoot us an email at comments@yourmilwaukeedining.com)