“Wisconsin is very special to us. We wanted to showcase it naturally, in a simple yet complex way. We source beef and other products from our family farm, hire a part-time gardener to grow and forage greens for the restaurant, and support our staff with mentoring and other opportunities.”

Beef tartare made from animals from Chef Carlisle’s family’s farm, topped with devil egg mousse and whipped bone marrow; bread, butter, and cheese made from a single milking of cows from a local dairy farm.

Milwaukee shook off its reputation for prime rib and fish fry dinners when Justin Carlisle opened Ardent in a former coffee shop space now home to some of the most exciting food in the Midwest. Here, Carlisle and his team offer tasting menus featuring Wisconsin produce, cheese and meat, some from Carlisle’s fathers cattle farm, attracting chefs from around the world to join them for one of the restaurant’s guest chef dinners. Guests at one of the tables or the kitchen bar can watch cooks preparing showcase ingredients like asparagus and celery root in several iterations–raw, pickled, roasted, even unexpectedly made into dessert. The opportunity to chat with Carlisle and the other cooks about the food as they prepare it for you makes the kitchen bar at Ardent the hottest seat in town.

"Ardent serves some of the most progressive food in the Midwest." --Anthony Todd, Tasting Table