The weekend before my birthday (Bastille Day FYI), my parents were kind enough to fly me out to Milwaukee for a birthday weekend with the family. It was a wonderful relaxing weekend that began with a tour of the Lake Front Brewery and concluded with an amazing birthday dinner at Harbor House.
Harbor House is situated right on the lake, and the restaurant cleverly oriented all the tables in the restaurant to face the water with a view of the city as well. We arrived just before sunset, which meant an even more beautiful view.
We were a bit early for our reservation, so we decided to sit at the bar for some drinks. There were a few drinks specials so we tried both. One was a basil strawberry white sangria, and the other was a classic Old Fashioned.
I was not especially in the mood for something sweet, so I went with the Old Fashioned, and it was so perfect.
We also ordered a dozen raw oysters. 
Fresh raw oysters are so refreshing. Although I do still love fried oysters and oysters in spicy Korean tofu soup.
I had a beet salad with goat cheese, dried figs and toasted walnuts, which was delicious but unfortunately I forgot to take a picture.
Then for my entree, I had the whole roasted branzino with roasted potatoes, Anaheim peppers, garlic and anchovies. Oh my lord this was amazing.
I’ve tried a decent amount of branzino, but I think this one takes the cake as the best. The waitress explained that the anchovies are rubbed into the skin of the fish, which led to incredible flavor. Also I’m IN LOVE with the Anaheim peppers. I don’t know what they did to them, but they were amazing and bursting with a savory and slightly spicy flavor. The fish sat on top of a really delicious oil, and the roasted potatoes (on the side) were literally perfect.
Yeah . . .
On to dessert! We chose two – the first was a type of chocolate creamy-pudding, something like a cross between pudding and creme brûlée, with a layer of salted caramel on top and some brioche croutons and vanilla ice cream.
This was incredible. Rich chocolate, the salted caramel wasn’t too salty – I did not want this dessert to end.
We also had the peach and blueberry crumble, which was warm, gooey, and full of fruit. Also delicious, but I may have been partial to the chocolate dessert this time.
