For the ninth straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee, presented by the restaurants of Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, dining guides, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as voting for your "Best of Dining 2015."

Cafe Hollander 
2608 N. Downer Ave.
(414) 963-6366

A third Cafe Hollander opened last week – this one’s in Madison – joining Hollanders in Wauwatosa and on Milwaukee’s East Side.

We decided to check in at the original Hollander, on Downer Avenue, to find out how it's been maintained over the years and throughout the expansion of the brand.

The East Side Hollander is located inside an iconic space, formerly Gil’s Cafe and, before that, a massive laundromat. The large patio is one of the city’s finest outdoor dining spots and inside, the space is light and airy, with large windows, high ceilings and two stories.

We stopped in on a Wednesday night for dinner and drinks. It was surprisingly very busy for midweek – both at the bar and the two dining areas.

Type of food: Hollander has an eclectic dinner menu, featuring a "mussels and frites" section, along with soups, salads, all-day egg dishes, burgers of all kinds, sandwiches and unique entrees from meatloaf to Thai shrimp and rice to jambalaya.

There’s also a brunch menu with omelets, skillets, waffles, French toast, beignets and more, a kids’ menu and gluten-free menu. There's also a lengthy cocktail and beer menu with an emphasis on Belgian and Belgian-style biers.

Prices: Prices range, from $12.95 to $20.95 for dinner entrees; $9.95-$14.95 for burgers (the $14.95 burger comes topped with thick-cut duck bacon, duck confit, a duck-fat fried egg and pepper jack cheese). Brunch items range from $4.95 for gourmet toast (like the roasted apple, made with diced apples over a brie herb cheese spread drizzled with spiced honey and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds) to $12.95 for a steak skillet. Biers range greatly in price; some of the Belgians get pricey.

Vegetarian friendly? Yes, there’s a grilled cheese sandwich, roasted veggie and hummus wrap, lentil veggie burger, farmhouse tomato basil soup, salads, egg dishes, frites and more – all sans meat.

Hours: Cafe Hollander is opens seven days a week for breakfast / brunch, lunch, dinner and late night. The hours are Sunday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Parking: Some parking on the street or in the parking structure one block to the south of the restaurant.

Dress: Pretty much anything goes here. Both the vibe and the recommended dress code is flexible – from very casual to fancy to in-between date night attire.

Hits: The jambalaya was particularly rich and delicious with generous pieces of duck confit, andouille sausage and shrimp mixed with red jasmine rice, okra and peppers. For some it might be a tad too salty, but for those of us who have been known to order extra salt on the rim of our margaritas, it hit the spot.

All of the burgers sound really tasty but we eventually went with The Sconnie Burger, which turned out to be very flavorful and was served perfectly medium, as ordered. The generous-sized patty came topped with frickles (deep fried pickles), Cudahy bacon and cheddar on a Miller Bakery pretzel bun skewered with cheese curds.

The Bloody Marys were also particularly good, with a nice balance between spicy and simply savory. We ordered the Milwaukeean, made with Rehorst horseradish-infused vodka, bloody mix, pickle, carrot, bacon, a white cheddar curd and olives. The choice of chasers was appreciated, too. 

Misses: We did not experience any misses during our visit. It had been a couple of years since we visited the East Side Hollander and we left very satisfied. We will definitely return, most likely for breakfast or brunch.

Insider tip: It’s OK to go slightly off menu at Hollander. At least, it was for us during our visit. One of our dining mates asked for sauces with her turkey burger that no longer came with it, and the server looked into it and then enthusiastically obliged.