Paje' Restaurant and Lounge, Milwaukee

At Paje' Restaurant and Lounge, owners Temacca McMurtry and Devon Dent welcome diners with warm, friendly service and heaping plates of satisfying southern cuisine. The restaurant takes its name from the McMurtry family's ancestral home in Africa, hinting at the careful attention paid to tradition, even displayed in the menu's sides of seasonal veggies, creamy shrimp and grits, and caramelized candied yams. The bill of fare infuses classic country feasts with modern twists, such as its fried green tomatoes layered with creamy mozzarella or its chicken wings sided with the kitchen's signature red-velvet waffles. The space itself captures the restaurant's blend of past and present, with rugged, 70-year-old brick walls updated by sleek blond-wood accents, geometric light fixtures, and portals into deep space.