 Yeah, you read that right. Bao and More at Koi Poke and Ramen-- there is no shortage of noodle joints in Green Bay. The vast majority of these focus on the phenomenon that is Pho. Koi Ramen has appeared on the scene to provide classic styles of japanese ramen and udon (as well as poke and dumplings) in an area of town that sorely needs the variety. They brought their business to Oneida street and opened their doors in June, and it took me this long to get there.
Upon walking in, I was met with welcoming and helpful staff willing to walk us through the process of ordering their poke and ramen at the bar. I came in focused on their dumpling menu specifically. I have never had the pleasure of enjoying bao buns made by professionals, only those that I made myself and struggled on the pleating. While Ramen is in the name of the restaurant, these smaller offerings were most important to me from the onset.
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 The Wednesday Night Farmer’s Market on Broadway has a variety of food stalls to try each week, but sometimes, one just wants to sit down inside and watch the world go by in the window while they have dinner. Pho Coma on Broadway allows you to do just that if you circle their food stall on the block and enter the building for a bowl of their delicious noodles. I had the pleasure of hosting a friend from Kansas this past week, and he hadn’t had the opportunity for a bowl of Pho (his favorite meal) in years. Green Bay has no shortage of places to get Pho. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat at Pho Coma that evening as the rain threatened to drop on us during our visit to the farmer’s market. Pho Coma has a relatively small store front compared to some of the other restaurants along Broadway. Their stall out front diverts some of the traffic you’d likely see on a normal day at the shop, and therefore we were able to have our pick of tables after putting in our order. A bowl of pho and crab rangoons was certainly enough for us, and we ordered from their custom drink menu two pomegranate lemonades.
 The Cannery recently reopened in their new test kitchen format on Broadway, and this past weekend, I visited the morning concepts after the Saturday Morning Market to get in early. Entering from the Fox River side of the building that also contains Titletown Brewery and Voyageur Sourdough can lead to an experience not unlike trying to get through a maze. The Broadway entrance is far less difficult, however, and leads right into the location.
All concepts operate out of the same kitchen, so when I arrived at about 10 am, most of the kitchen staff was already hard at work preparing for their opening or serving the breakfast crowd that came into visit. A tablet setup is available at the center of the room for you to put in your order with the kitchen tenants, key in your phone number, and when your order is ready, you receive a text message letting you know that your order is at the window.
If you’re running around Broadway earlier in the day and looking for something new to try among the many delicious breakfast and brunch options, check out Honey + Cream Cafe in the Cannery to support a growing food business.
Check back soon for more Cannery reviews!
No one was ignorant of what they were about to eat. McKayla Marie Sweets attended several events in town, spreading the anticipation over the summer– and it worked. I’ve attended many openings like this since I started writing for this blog, but I can’t recall this level of anticipation in a crowd. It spoke highly of the mind behind the product.
As early as I arrived at the event, the line was not long. The staff moved through those that did stop in immediately for their meal quickly, which is a good sign for their setup on the interior of the truck. For the hour and some that I stayed at the block party, it appeared that the quick service I got continued. Every frybread taco that I saw go by looked as good as mine. There’s something special going on in there. Don’t let the unassuming exterior of the truck fool you. You can follow Taco Tones on facebook to keep track of their schedule, or you can check our own facebook page off and on as well. We do our best to repost when we see many of our area food trucks announcing their openings outside of regular events in town. Tell them Eating Normal sent you. I’m so glad to see them out on the streets again to share a unique food truck experience with the city. The Packers first playoff game of the year is coming, and it reminded me that I forgot to post a review I wrote for a downtown classic back in November. Please enjoy this backlogged post and consider Saint Brendan's Inn for your playoff needs-- food and lodging! My husband and I wandered into Downtown Green Bay on a chilly November evening looking for something to eat. Something was going on at the Meyer, so many of the places we scouted out before we got into the car were already full. Vintage Cantina had long been on the radar, and I swear that every single seat in there was full. We parked just outside of Saint Brendan’s Inn, so we walked back down toward the car, found ourselves guided to the door of the Irish Restaurant/Hotel by the delightful smell in the air, and walked inside. This wasn’t the first time we visited. Back when we first moved here, one of my husband’s new coworkers invited us out to lunch here. It is still one of my fondest memories of town. We ate and drank very well, and yet my husband and I hadn’t been back since. This Friday night provided the opportunity to return without a wait at the door, and we sat down in the dining area with the Bucks game on at the bar behind us.
My husband and I’s first meal out to eat in Green Bay after returning from Cleveland was at Vintage Cantina downtown, a little taqueria and bar combo that I’ve watched from afar with lust. Their weekly taco features, AKA WTF’s, are a delight to see every week on their social media, and more than once I’ve found myself swearing I’d go for them when it just never happened. Christmas shopping left my husband and I hungry, so we drove into downtown during a business lul at our local restaurants to make sure we got in.
My husband and I first moved to Green Bay in November of 2019, and the first meal we shared together was at Poke the Bear in downtown. It was the only restaurant he knew of in the area because its where his job took him during his interview process, and he wanted to share the experience with me on that first evening. Back then, I didn’t review it. I was not as serious about my blogging back then as I am now, and I was somewhere brand new.
Now, two years later, we walked into the doors of the Northland Hotel for the first time since. It is exactly as I remember it. A luxurious looking hotel lobby out of a magazine is there to greet you before you turn to your left and into Poke the Bear. We arrived as a bridal shower was wrapping up in their back room area, so we took a seat at their high tops by the window to look out on a bright, sunny, and most importantly warm Saturday afternoon. Saturday afternoon. My husband just got back from his field day for his hunting certification. We were both hungry, and we couldn’t decide where to go. So, we made a list of restaurants and bars in town that we hadn’t visited yet and rolled a die. The number seven was face up, and number seven on our List was Crown and Common-- a relatively new bar in the area that I only noticed on my radar shortly after lockdown. Crown and Common sits in the district of Main Street where a lot of new businesses have started to pop up in recent years-- particularly restaurants and bars. They built up an interesting patio area for more space for business to follow post-lockdown restaurant business practices, which is perhaps one of the best things about the bar. The covered patio has long and wide tables with a little firepit in the middle to keep folks warm in the winter if they go outside, and the garage door type windows raise to bring some air in in the warmer months. It was the type of day for the garage doors to be open, and the Brewers playoff game was on the TV, making it the perfect afternoon to drop into a bar for some drinks and snacks. The prices at Crown and Common are incredible for the quality of mixed drinks and the variety of beer is respectably low. Every mixed drink is served in a tall glass the size of a draft cup of beer for almost always only six dollars.
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