Simple Cafe – 2124 N. Farwell, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Opens 6am on weekdays, 7 on Saturday, 8 on Sunday. Closes at 3pm every day.

I'm not sure how long Simple Cafe has been open now, but I feel like I ate there a few years back when visiting Milwaukee, and then a year after that; what I remember is mixed feelings; on one hand the food is always delicious, as well as fresh and healthy. But something always rubbed me the wrong way. The fact that it's called “Simple” and the the food is usually quite involved and inventive—that's something that should delight me, not bug me. Maybe it's that they change their menu often enough that it seems to be never the same as the last time. Or the look of the place is that it's perpetually design-y, like a place that just opened with bright colors and inventive HVAC integration, etc.—but it didn't just open, and just feels that way. But after coming here, several times over the years, and then a few times recently, I think it has finally grown on me and has become a favorite.

I'm not going to try to encapsulate the menu or even describe what I've eaten, but I always get some kind of breakfast variation, and it's often some version of a breakfast taco, and they're always good. A couple visits ago I had something that was so good, though, that I vowed to get it the next time, but I didn't write down what it was, and the next time it wasn't on the menu. A little frustrating, but maybe in a way, that's a very cool thing. I'm happy that Simple Cafe is always busy, and I hope it says open and keeps doing what they do well. This is your place for early breakfast if you must dine early, too, as it opens at 6am on weekdays (a little later on weekends). If you don't get up until 3pm, you will never eat here. Look, what I might do is, the next time I eat here I'll write down what I eat, and then put a little addendum on this review. And maybe the time after that, too. I know that's out of the ordinary, but I'm driving the bus here. My name is:

Richard Skiller 1.17.18