OVER THE YEARS, I have enjoyed my share of bialys piled with cured arctic char, sweet potato doughnuts, and sour cream biscuits at Milktooth, Jonathan Brooks’ cheeky body shop brunch joint that he opened in 2014. But I had also made it to Beholder for his weekly comfort food specials, his cheesesteaks and corndogs, and I was eager to try his homage to his mother, Arlene, and her exuberant home cooking that he grew up on. And his cafeteria trays piled generously with savories and Southern-inflected sides definitely delivered, from the fried chicken his cooks left in the fryer longer than your mother would, making it deeply golden and craggy, to excellent Midwest-meets-bayou blackened walleye with especially savory sauteed cabbage enriched with miso and BLT salad that hit the mark. Nonetheless, Arlene’s Meat & Three, as it was known for a few weeks this spring, was hardly bustling, and some items—meatloaf that was a bit over mixed and greens that needed more vinegar and seasoning—may have foretold the quick retreat to a hybrid brunch and lunch menu and then the full return of Milktooth, as Brooks announced in a candid social media post on Tuesday, June 2.
“WELP we done gave the @arlenesmeatandthreeindy thing a try the last month,” Brooks wrote. To be totally transparent, the sales have been horrendous and we simply can’t survive going forward with that plan. I’m super super disappointed as I was in love with the food and concept…. but I’m putting me ego aside and giving the people back what they want! MILKTOOTH WILL BE BACK IN FULL EFFECT THIS THURSDAY AND FOR THE FUTURE!!!”
Maybe the masses had spoken, or maybe it was a sign that Brooks had more to offer to the national brunch discussion. Whatever the case, a plate of lacquered-edged sourdough French toast on a return visit, elevated with delicate crème anglaise, a beguiling topping of cranberries poached in aromatic St. Germain, and a judicious drizzle of caramel, seemed about as special as anything I’d ever eaten at Milktooth. Brooks hopes to hold on to one of Arlene’s dishes, likely the fried chicken, which is definitely the best tribute he could offer to his mother. For the time being, at least, brunch is back, with its devotees as enthusiastic as ever.
534 Virginia Ave., 317-986-5125
