Best bites: 5 of the best dishes our dining critic ate in April

In her Best Bites series, dining critic Rachel Bernhard rounds up some of the most delicious dishes she ate around Milwaukee in recent weeks. From food-truck finds to fine-dining dishes, these are some of her favorite things that crossed her plate each month.

April’s always a funny month for me. My birthday falls early on, so I’m in full party mode right away as I wait for the fickle spring weather to catch up with my sunny mood.

But through snowstorms and summerlike spring days, much of Milwaukee was right in step with my celebratory mindset. Beer gardens opened , moviegoers flocked to the Milwaukee Film Festival , the Bucks entered the NBA playoffs and I think I saw about half of you out on the Oak Leaf Trail on that gloriously bright and busy Milwaukee Day .

The buildup to the great Milwaukee summer is almost as fun as the summer itself.

But in between all those activities, I managed to squeeze in plenty of good eats, too, including these five dishes that made April all the more delicious.

Morel mushroom fricassee from Morel

It’s the big question every year: Where will I eat on my birthday? Mine falls early in the month, and this year it fell in that lovely stretch of torrential cold rain and spurts of snow that makes you want to hunker down with wintry comfort one last time.

Enter Morel , 430 S. Second St., the cozy Walker’s Point spot that never disappoints but I feel sometimes gets overlooked. I had an incredible birthday dinner there this year, made even more special by the restaurant’s first batch of morel mushrooms that debuted the same week. The woodsy, meaty little mushrooms were draped atop a fluffy pool of polenta, so light it seemed almost whipped, with hints of lemon and roasty nibs of garlic that I fished out like a prize catch as I ate.

The polenta was stunning on its own, but it served as a perfect backdrop to those earthy morel jewels. I loved them so much I asked for an extra side to pair with a stunning pork shoulder in a rich jus sauce. That night, for me, it was as much a celebration of the newly in-season 'shroom as it was another spin around the sun.

Burrata Bae Detroit-style pizza from Flour Girl & Flame

Alright ... this one's a bit of a tease because, after months of attempting to work out my schedule to make it to Flour Girl & Flame , 8121 W. National Ave., West Allis, for their Wednesday-only Detroit-style pizza special, I finally managed to make it ... on its final night of the season.

I'm still going to include it here because, well, it was truly one of the best things I ate last month. This hefty, rectangular pie has a thick, chewy, deep-pan crust with lacey, crisped cheese on each edge to serve as a sturdy base for Flour Girl's fab toppings. The Burrata Bae special was topped with a molten blanket of gooey cheese (mozzarella, brick and provolone), generous stripes of slightly sweet sauce, curled-up pepperoni cups, fresh tears of creamy burrata cheese and a sweet little basil leaf on each of the pie's six slices. Oh, and it's all drizzled with the pizza maker's signature hot honey — a brilliant addition that adds a little sweet heat to the rich 'za.

Add this one to your fall must-try list. Flour Girl & Flame will open for dine-in again again in November, likely to continue this Wednesday special. But in the meantime, their wood-fired sourdough pizzas are always incredible, too, with fresh, local ingredients and creative toppings. You can try them from FG&F's mobile trailer traveling across the Milwaukee area from May through October. Check their schedule at flourgirlandflame.com/find-us .

The giant dumpling from The Nite Wolf

While I’m a fan of Uncle Wolfie’s Breakfast Tavern, 234 E. Vine St., in its original daytime duds, I fell in love all over again with its weekend evening transformation: a ramen shop called The Nite Wolf . I popped in for the first time this month and so enjoyed myself I kept ordering more dishes to try from its Japanese-inspired menu.

This is where I have a hard time choosing my favorite, as I adored slurping those chewy noodles in the miso ramen, stealing saucy bites of my dining companion’s brothless tantanmen and crunching on the sesame-spiked marinated cucumber salad that I’m dying to re-create at home. But it’s the giant dumpling — or the “yamazaki egg” — that had me howling that evening. It’s the simple theory that dumpling = good; big dumpling = mega good. And, though a little onerous to eat in its super-sized form, the dumpling is a dream stuffed simply with ajitama (that marinated egg you often find in ramen) and pork gyoza. The aged dumpling sauce that pools at the bottom of the bowl should be bottled. I let bites of the dumpling marinate in it before eating just to soak up every last bit.

The Nite Wolf is open only Friday and Saturday nights from 5 to 9 p.m., so snag a reservation online (yes, it takes reservations!) to secure a seat. My spot at the bar made the night even sweeter — low-key and fun with a pretty view of the city out the window.

Benedictish sandwich from Donut Monster

The right bread can elevate any sandwich, and that’s absolutely the case for the breakfast sandwiches at Donut Monster (three locations: 5169 N. Elkhart Ave., Whitefish Bay; W62 N634 Washington Ave., Cedarburg; 316 N. Milwaukee St., Milwaukee).

A burger, a Reuben, probably even a PB&J – I would eat just about any sandwich on its cloud-like, fresh-baked English muffins.

They’re so light and fluffy with toasty edges and a faint hint of sweetness that reminds you they come from a doughnut shop. And they’re only amplified in the stellar Benedictish sandwich.

The Benedictish is just what it sounds like: a handheld take on the classic brunch dish. Those airy English muffins sandwich a thick slice of ham, fluffy egg omelet and silky herbed hollandaise that I swiped up from the foil wrapper like I was sopping up sausage gravy with a biscuit.

Is it an indulgent morning meal? Sure. But it’s also one of the best breakfast sandwiches in the city you can grab on the go and still feel like you treated yourself.

Paloma Taco Pocket from Paloma Taco & Tequila

A friend and I popped into this buzzy taco spot’s new Bay View location , 2156 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., the first Saturday afternoon after it had opened last month. I typically wait about a month or so to visit any restaurant after it opens, but lunch spent at Paloma Taco & Tequila was too enticing to pass up on that sunny day. It was lively, bright and such a fun time inside, and the row of 12 or so bar seats called my name.

I’d been to the Washington Heights location previously and remember loving the tacos I ordered but eyeing a friend’s incredible-looking Paloma Taco Pocket from across the table the whole night.

I knew before I sat down what I’d order.

And ooh, did it live up to my expectations. If you have Taco Bell’s menu committed to memory as I do, you’d liken the taco pocket to the fast-food chain’s Crunchwrap Supreme — only twice as big and 10 times more delicious. It comes with ground beef, but I upgraded to pork carnitas, which I absolutely recommend for amped-up flavor.

This thing is massive — a giant, toasted burrito shell stuffed with meat, a crisp tostada shell, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, Chihuahua cheese and a creamy spiced sauce. It’s a combo of flavor and texture — crunchy, melty, creamy, chewy — that gives every forkful the perfect bite. I managed to polish off half and saved the rest, which surprisingly rebounded fairly well when fired up on a skillet the next day.

Rachel Bernhard joined the Journal Sentinel as dining critic in June 2023. She’s been busy exploring the Milwaukee area food scene to share her favorite finds with readers along the way. Like all Journal Sentinel reporters, she buys all meals, accepts no gifts and is independent of all establishments she covers.

What should she cover next? Contact her at rseis@gannett.com . Follow her on Twitter at @rachelbernhard or on Instagram at @rach.eats.mke .

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Best bites: 5 of the best dishes our dining critic ate in April