first time in milwaukee

Hey there,
Grew up in Milwaukee, moved back after years in San Francisco = foodie paradise. I was skeptical at first, but eventually came to realize that compared to other Midwestern cities of its size, Milwaukee is miles ahead in the restaurant biz...Well, ok, Madison may have it beat as far as ethnic restaurants are concerned...

I must respectfully advise that you avoid Coquette Cafe. Owned by the same people that own Sanford's (the tasting menu-y type of place in Milwaukee), it just doesn't measure up. Went there several times and each time was met with poor service and bland, uninspired food. I have never been in a French restaurant where a waitress refuses to bring more than one pat of butter for a table of 7. Really? Because the French are so anti-butter? Also, the disco mirror ball and blaring music from the Arthur Murray dance studio across the street...Not the greatest ambiance ever....Went there for med school graduation dinner and was embarrassed about the food and the service, I really wish I hadn't brought the fam there for the occasion.

So I have to say that I am pretty snooty about food and drink, but here's what I loved when I was there, (I now live in Ann Arbor: where good food goes to die)

Comet Cafe on Farwell and Irving: great diner with amazing beer selection, non-smoking, the Buttafuco is awesome; everything is. This is my absolute favorite restaurant. I'm talking favorite, like I like it better than any Michelin star place than I have eaten at. Seriously.

Down the street on Farwell near Brady: Zaffiro's pizza. Old school Laverne and Shirley type of place with thin crust pizza cut into squares. You know the kind.

Just down the street on Brady: Dog Haus. Best Italian beef sandwich north of Mr. Beef in Chicago. This would be my last meal before death. I hear that there is one in the Marquette area now.

Trocadero: Pearson and Water St. French bistro with great wine list and nice specials and a nice outdoor seating area. Plus, they bring you butter when you ask instead of being bitchy.

A fun bar you might like is Von Trier on North and Farwell - German, with antler chandeliers, nice beer garden, a pretty back room that looks like any restaurant in Munich, and it's pretty quiet.

Coerper's 5 o 'clock club at State and 24th. Best steakhouse north of Kinzie chophouse in Chicago, and you get a ridiculous amount of food for the price. This place is awesome.

As others are mentioning, the bar and restaurant in the newly spiffed up Ambassador are supposed to be nice. Classic Art Deco, but without all the trashy surgery residents like you run into at Cafe Metro (I hear).

Not a fan of Cubanitas, I find their food bland and they can't even make mojitos, but that's a personal thing for me. Others seem to like it though, so maybe I am weird.

Fish Fry at Turner's Hall would be cool and you MUST go on the Lakefront Brewery tour!!! It's the greatest!

If you are downtown, Karl Ratzch's is a much better German restaurant than Mader's.

I would avoid anything on Milwaukee St. high on pretense and atmosphere, low on taste and quality. Saketumi is ok I guess if you like fancy rolls with lots of sauce.

If you are splurging, the Lake Park bistro is great.

Will you have a car? What type of restaurants/bars do you like? Everything is busable, let me know if you have any ?s I can tell you which buses to hop on. If you have a car, I have another long list of places that you might like. Everything I mentioned except Lake Park is really cheap, I went there as a student. A lot of what I mentioned is by the lakefront, which is really nice. Try to visit it and get away from the Marquette area if you have the time. The suggestions others made are great too, museum, public market, etc.

beardofbees in General Midwest Archive