Brazen Open Kitchen

“Brazen is the very heart and soul of chef and owner Kevin Scharpf, who cares about technique and taking the time to do it right, but cares more about being a genuine person. We strive to shine for our guests. Brazen is honest.”

Spring gnocchi with fresh herbs, olive oil, kale, roasted garlic, lemon, and pine nuts; salmon with asparagus velouté, dill buttermilk, spring pea, mushroom, asparagus, and baby greens; and vegan miso ramen with miso broth, alkaline noodle, nori, mushrooms, carrot, cabbage, and radish.

The Tri-State region of Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin is Mississippi River bluff country, where soaring cliffs box in the wide river. Dubuque, only the tenth biggest city in Iowa, is nonetheless the capital of this particularly pretty bit of America which holds five colleges and a number of seminaries. Brazen is the sort of restaurant you’ll only find in a collegial, healthy, pretty town like Dubuque – they have their own garden ten miles from the restaurant, and a prep cook who doubles as the garden manager. They have no freezer, and get everything fresh in daily. It’s not hard to imagine that life in this river town was similar when Mark Twain was chugging up and down the river – the garden produce, the way everyone knows each other. Except Mark Twain probably never saw a microgreen, and Brazen not only has plenty, they helped their microgreen grower start her business.