Author’s Kitchen & Bar
We’ve been trying to get to the elusive Author’s Kitchen & Bar for the past couple years. Their first location burned down completely. After a while, they finally opened in a new spot but have funky hours and every time we have thought to go, they are closed. Friends have said the empanadas are the best thing they’ve ever had. Will our quest for deep fried dough pockets of deliciousness finally be fulfilled? Or will we author a tragedy of a review? Join us to find out.
In a Bite
https://www.authorskitchenandbar.com/
Music: None?
Service: Experienced & Friendly
Price: $$-$$$
Food Style: Scratch Fine Dining
What to Order: Empanadas
Go Again?: Yes
The Whole Plate
It was a Friday date night. We had tried to go some place new for the past two weekend but last minute plans took precedence. We were itching to actually sit across from each other and enjoy some good food. I had initially booked an table somewhere else but Lindsay (blessedly) remembered Author’s Kitchen is only open for dinner service on Friday nights. So I canceled the other and book Author’s. No OpenTable or Resy, you just have to call or email them to make a reservation. The good old fashioned way.
Their current hours are Monday-Friday 8am-2pm, Friday 4:30-9pm, closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Ambiance
Located in the heart of downtown Appleton, right across from the City Center Plaza, Author’s Kitchen & Bar blends in. It doesn’t try and steal your attention with big signs; rather you might mistake it for an art shop, The front window display is poems, visual art, and books. I have no idea if they’re local or not but this is what greets you when you first walk in. I believe you can enter from the back as well so you don’t have to walk around from the parking ramp (unconfirmed).
The restaurant itself is galley style, as is common for most historic buildings: the bar and kitchen on the right, the tables on the left in a straight line.. The interior is dim but inviting. Tan brick walls flank either side of the hall but it doesn’t feel cramped. Old, fancy window frames hang on the wall over most tables (so trendy). Tables and chairs are pretty standard bar tables, nothing fancy. Eclectic would be a good way to describe it.
While we didn’t notice music, there wasn’t any awkward silence or blatant eavesdropping of other guests.
Service
We were greeted and sat at our reservation time of 5 o’clock. We were seated at the high top tables near the front window (Personally my least favorite type of seats for an actual meal but good). Our waitress, Miranda, had clearly been doing this for a while. Warm yet straight to the point delivering information. Attentive yet never interrupted a conversation. She made it a good experience for first time guests.
I did overhear from the host stand that seating has an hour cut off time but you can sit at the bar as long as you want. We were there for an hour and at the end we were not rushed out so it doesn’t seem to be a hard rule.
Food
Author’s Kitchen’s menu is constantly changing. Their website menu is just a sample one so expect something new every time you go. But know you’re getting homemade recipes crafted with seasonal ingredients. In particular, they boast of their scratch made pasta (Spoiler: it’s amazing).
However, an anchor on their menu is Chef Mattias’ empanadas. Hailing from Argentina but finding home in Appleton with his family, these things are authentic. At least as far as a white boy from rural Wisconsin who’s never been to Argentina can tell. I was told Argentinian exchange students liked his empanadas better than their own mothers. Even if they’re not authentic, they’re quite good.
The filling flavors rotate regularly but we got one of each of our first time. We had:
- Chicken taco with a siracha mayo
- Sausage, mushroom, and swiss cheese with a tomato cream sauce
- Cheddar cheese, sweet potato, and caramelized onions with a basil aioli
Regardless of the filling, the star of the show is the dough. So flaky, yet somehow it maintains complete structural integrity for delivering the delectable filling. The crimping is a work of art in itself. The veggie-only one was crimped differently so we assume that was intentional. Our favorite of the three was probably the sausage, mushroom, swiss but it was a tight race to the top spot.
For entrees, Lindsay had chicken parmesan with fettuccine and parmesan cream. Chicken was crispy despite being covered in cheese and tomato sauce. Just the way it should be! It was a very filling, decadent dish so depending on your hunger, you could easily save some to take home.
I had the gnocchi smothered in tomato cream sauce with sausage, burrata, and almond basil pesto. The gnocchi were little pillows of delight, the perfect delivery method for a tomato cream sauce you could drink. The pesto was strong on the basil. I don’t know if it was the batch of basil because the empanada sauce with basil was really strong as well. Either way, it came spooned in the center of the plate so I could manage how much was on each bite.
You may notice no cocktail talk. Yes, they do have a decent cocktail menu, no mocktails or non-alcoholic options that I can recall. Trying to keep things a bit more budget-friendly, we skipped the cocktails.
The dessert menu is verbally delivered and they usually have 2-3 options. There was a New York cheese cake with berries, a brownie with walnuts on top, or a dulce de leche bread pudding. We chose the latter. Apparently it’s a family recipe (don’t know from which of the two chefs). We debated getting one each but ending split one. It was a good decision as it was a huge slab of brioche soaked in custard, drizzle with dulce de leche caramel, and a dollop of whipped cream. Lindsay said it looked like meat loaf. I said it was just fancy french toast.
It tasted great, the edges were crispy, the custard flavor great. While it didn’t taste of eggs, we got a bit of scrambled egg texture. We cleaned the plate though so it wasn’t a huge deal. When we hear bread pudding, we expected a bread scraps, soaked in custard, and baked. The star here was the caramel though. We both thought a dessert empanada with that sauce for dipping would be heavenly. Not sure we would order it again, if we’re being totally honest.
Taking It to Go
While you may not get the same exact menu as us, we’re confident you will have a great experience at Author’s Kitchen & Bar. Chef Mattias and Chef Josh are authoring brilliant recipes for all to enjoy. Now we just need them to be open for dinner more…
