Bryant's on the Round brings new flavor to Okauchee

Drew Dawson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·3 min read
Bryant Johnson and his fiancé, Kimberly Stark, pose in front of Bryant's on the Round in Okauchee.
Bryant Johnson and his fiancé, Kimberly Stark, pose in front of Bryant's on the Round in Okauchee.

Bryant Johnson wanted to bring some new flavor to Okauchee. The former Foolery's general manager broke off for his own restaurant, Bryant's on the Round, in January, and he wants to bring in foodies from Lake Country and the surrounding areas.

The restaurant, N51 W34911 Wisconsin Ave., has a constantly changing menu. It rotates in a few new items every two to three weeks based on how items perform and what vendors offer.

"I wanted to do something nobody else around town is doing," Johnson said. "Pretty much anything we make is a unique food item that we serve."

For Johnson, this means items not offered by restaurants around him like burgers, wraps and chicken wings. Those restaurants are known for that; he wants to be known for something else.

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Look at the Bryant's on the Round menu, and you'll see things more like wahoo and mahi mahi rather than a cod fish fry. Recently, Johnson offered wild boar, elk and soft-shell crab dishes. All of the food is made from scratch, and he said the only thing they fry are french fries on Fridays.

Bryant Johnson has worked in the culinary industry since 1987.
Bryant Johnson has worked in the culinary industry since 1987.

He even makes a dish inspired by a favorite beverage of his.

"I'm a big fan of White Claw, so I made a shrimp tempura using it and sell it only on Fridays," Johnson said. "We sell a lot of those."

Two popular dishes Johnson recommends are prosciutto-wrapped jalapenos stuffed with peanut butter and cream cheese and served with a sweet Thai chili sauce, and the burrata-stuffed meatball, which is made with ground beef, pork and veal and served over mushroom risotto with a tomato garlic sauce.

"Thinking outside the box is what (chef) Lee Christianson and me do," Johnson said. "Putting our heads together, we come up with so many different things we know people will love. Our hope is to broaden people's taste buds. Not everyone likes to do that, but we encourage people to come and share together."

Johnson said their dishes are mostly small plate and meant to be shared. Depending on prices and what's in season, he switches up the menu every few weeks, usually changing out three to four items.

Since opening in January, the restaurant has continued to update its space and business. In the coming weeks, the restaurant hopes to open its patio, which will double the seating capacity. Johnson also wants to expand his catering operation for weddings, corporate and other area events.

"Catering is what I really like to do more than anything beside the restaurant," he said. "We do pig roasts and all sorts of things."

The business currently operates from 4 to 10 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays. Food is served starting at 4:30 p.m.

Drew Dawson can be reached at ddawson@jrn.com or (262) 289-1324.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bryant's on the Round brings new flavor to Okauchee