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Coquette Cafe to change hands

By Carol Deptolla of= the Journal Sentinel

Jan. 28, 2010 7:00 p.m.

Sanford and Angie D’Amato are selling their Coquette Cafe in the Third Ward.<= o:p>

The French bistro’s new owners as of March 1 will be Chris Hatleli and Ni= ck Burki, chefs at the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Cafe Calatrava and alumni = of Coquette and Sanford Restaurant, the D’Amatos’ flagship fine-di= ning restaurant.

“They’re the ideal buyer because they can come in and keep it going without a lapse,” Angie D’Amato said.

The D’Amatos, who closed their Harlequin Bakery in September, will contin= ue to own and run Sanford, Angie D’Amato said.

“We intend on running Sanford just as it is and enjoying the simplicity of owni= ng just one again,” she said.

Burki said he and Hatleli plan to keep the entire staff and add Saturday lunch or brunch and Sunday brunch at the restaurant, 316 N. Milwaukee St., perhaps i= n a few months. Sunday supper also is a possibility, he said.=

But expect the menu and philosophy to continue.

“You don’t plan to fix something that’s not broken,” Burki sai= d.

Tas= te Buds

New blood for an established Coquett= e

By Carol Deptolla of= the Journal Sentinel

Jan. 28, 2010 7:30 p.m.

It's a changing of the guard at Coquette Cafe in the Third Ward, but the new gua= rd is like-minded.

Sanford and Angie D'Amato's announcement Thursday that they're selling the Fre= nch bistro to two former employees was big news on Milwaukee's dining scen= e.

Coquette is to change hands March 1; that's the day the deal is scheduled to close between the D'Amatos and Nick Burki and Chris Hatleli.

The men currently are the chefs at Cafe Calatrava at the Milwaukee Art Museum (= if you want to get a preview of their cooking, they're at the museum until Feb. 12).

But they're well familiar with Coquette; they helped the D'Amatos open the restaurant in 1999.

Burki admits to being "blown away" that the D'Amatos are handing off Coquette to him and Hatleli.

"They're our mentors, and we respect them more than anything on Earth," he said= .

Burki and Hatleli have remained friends with the D'Amatos over the years, he said, and thought nothing of it when the couple invited them to lunch in August. That's when the D'Amatos presented the idea for the changeover, he said.

"They want us to carry the torch," Burki said.

Although the men's styles of cooking will come across at Coquette, he said, the food will remain French bistro fare.

"That type of cuisine is the most fun for a chef to cook, and the most rewarding," Burki said, citing the transformation of a humble cut of meat into a beautiful dish.

Besides working at Coquette and Sanford, the men were the chefs at the late Social when it opened on S. 2nd St. Hatleli also was the chef when the Social later opened= on S. 1st St. and at the late Sol Fire on N. Farwell Ave. Burki has worked in = the kitchens of the West Bend Country Club and at Yield, in the E. Kenilworth Place bar's early years.