Philip Ashby
Bassett Street Brunch Club, 444 W. Johnson St., with its whimsical robot motifs, clean mid-century decor and fun and funky doughnut varieties, is a great place to pop in for a coffee break or a dunking-focused breakfast. Appropriately for its devotion to the sweet side of dining, Bassett Street takes horchata in new directions.
Horchata, the Mexican drink traditionally made with ground almonds and rice (think a creamy rice milk, tinged with cinammon) is usually served cold. And this makes good sense, considering the climate of Mexico. At Bassett Street, in a nod to our situation at the 43rd parallel, they serve a steamed horchata that’s a happy cloud of froth with a dusting of cinammon. However, notice to the lactose-intolerant: this is an American version, made with whole milk and sweetened condensed milk.
Consumed straight, many may find it too sweet, although as the chill of fall sets in, it makes for a welcome security blanket.
When Bassett Street pours the horchata through espresso to create a horchata latte, it’s still sweet, but the bite of the espresso offers a welcome adult correction. The base espresso beans come from Milwaukee favorite Colectivo.