Restaurant Review: The Wicked Hop

The Wicked Hop is in the Historic 3rd ward of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It's downtown on the corner of St. Paul and Broadway very close to the Milwaukee Public Market. We actually walked past it early in the day and I was fascinated by the sign and the great outdoor seating area. We met our other friends there just in time for Happy Hour or rather their Hoppy Hour and a good meal.

The staff was super friendly and the menu was reasonably priced. Plus everything was delicious. Their Hoppy Hour and specials drink menu was great and varies on a daily basis. And they have a long Happy Hour, Monday through Friday it goes from 11am to 7pm which is absolutely fantastic. While there I took advantage of their $5 margaritas and my friends really enjoyed the $3 Mexican beer.  Also, on Tuesdays they have $5 Bloody Marys (voted "Milwaukee's Best Bloody Mary" by Shepherd Express and On Milwaukee) and currently they have pints of Spotted Cow (I assume beer) for just $2.
In terms of food, their menu was a lot of fun. They had traditional burgers and wraps but also had some unique ingredients and dishes.  For example, I ordered the Bronzed Duck Quesadilla which had Maple Leaf Farms pulled duck breast, goat cheese, smoked mozzarella and fresh green chives stuffed in a 12 inch flour tortilla, grilled crispy. It was served with a beautiful cherry salsa and sour cream.  It was absolutely delicious and started my month long fascination with quesadillas. The duck was beautifully cooked and the quesadilla was crip with a great cheesiness on the inside. And the salsa... I really just wanted more of that delicious salsa. It was sweet and a little spicy which I augmented with a little hot sauce too. It was perfection.
Their appetizer listing included Bacon Jam Bruschetta which seemed really interesting but I didn't have the courage to try it right then. Toasted baguette with a "Tuscan bruschetta medley" served over fresh arugula and drizzled with a balsamic glaze. What made it unique was that it's served with a mason jar of house made bacon jam. The Cuban Missles also looked interesting, crispy wonton wrappers stuffed with smoked pulled pork, ham, baby swiss and bread & butter pickles served with avocado mustard lime aioli. Next time I get out there, I'm definitely going to have to try that one.
The sandwiches looked great as well and I got to try a bite of the BBQ Chicken Strip wrap (and my friend got fruit salad on the side instead of fries.

The chicken was cooked wonderfully and their original bbq sauce was quite delicious. I thought the Wailer also sounded quite good with caribbean jerk chicken and a champagne mango mint vinaigrette. Yeah, I want that. I was too full after my quesadilla to think of ordering something else, so I'll have to try it another time. Their entrees also looked great, if a little more costly. The Rue Bourbon Bayou Pasta definitely took my fancy. It's Creole-spiced chicken breast and andouille sausage sautéed with onions, peppers and celery served over cavatappi pasta in a Cajun crème. Mmmmm. My mouth watered just reading it. Sometimes I really wish that I had 3 stomaches.

All in all I really enjoyed this restaurant. The food was great and so was the helpful staff who were constantly on hand to refill our water glasses (we were super thirsty from wandering around all day) and to see if we needed anything else.