The Cubs head to Milwaukee for a big three-game series this weekend, and you can bet a lot of fans will be road-tripping.
But there’s a lot more to eat in the Cream City these days than just a brat at the ballpark. The city's food scene has exploded, to the point where “Top Chef” is shooting its next season there.
Less than a mile from the ballpark, Story Hill BKC – that stands for bottle, kitchen, cocktail – offers hearty brunch in the form of hickory smoked ham and Alpine cheese crepes, showered with house-made pickles, dijonnaise and soft poached eggs. But their curried chicken salad sandwich is also a winner.
Just up the road, fantastic artisan thin pizza at Wy’East – which offers a style of pie rarely seen in Milwaukee. Blistered edges and chewy middles are the highlights here.
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Just south of downtown in Walker’s Point, Momo Mee is run by a former Chicagoan. The Chinese menu features dan dan noodles and xiao long bao, the prized soup dumplings from Shanghai. Each one made by hand, then steamed for seven minutes.
Just a few minutes north, the Zócalo food truck park offers plenty of options for even the pickiest eater. The bar is inside, but the eating is mostly outdoors.
“We have all types of cuisines. We have sushi, burgers, pizza, tacos, Venezuelan arepas – we have it all,” said Jesus Gonzalez, owner of Zócalo.
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In the historic Third Ward, parking is a little more of a challenge, but Bavette Boucherie is worth it, especially if you’re a fan of Wisconsin charcuterie and cheese boards, or dynamic sandwiches, like a corned beef tongue reuben or a plump kimchi chicken sausage dressed with poblano cream, cukes and cashews.
Slightly more upscale dining on the Lower East Side at Birch, one of the city’s best new American options, where the open flame hearth is the focus of the kitchen, cooking whole trout, butterflied with fermented tomato paste and poblano puree, then topped with tomatillo salsa and charred onions. Seasonal salads feature juicy heirloom tomatoes and stone fruit.
“That’s the best thing about this time of year in Wisconsin is the abundance of summer produce but also the fall things start to come in season,” said Kyle Knall, the chef-owner of Birch.
Up the road, on Brady Street, The Diplomat is a great option for ever-so-slightly upscale casual fare served in a relaxed atmosphere. There’s a perfectly executed Caesar salad, a knob of rich chicken liver mousse with housemade rolls; even a grilled ribeye. Cocktails are also made with care.
And in Wauwatosa, just an 8-minute drive from the ballpark, 30 year-old Ristorante Bartolotta still sets the standard, transporting guests to one of the regions of Italy each night. Paul Bartolotta cooked at Chicago’s Spiaggia decades ago; he says his family’s tiny restaurant set a standard long before there was serious interest in food here.
“Trucks from Chicago, vendors from Chicago, fish companies, meat companies, bread companies, linen companies were all coming up to Milwaukee, and more and more, it was the birth of what Milwaukee’s dining scene is today,” said Bartolotta. “It was all about this evolution of our cooking and the restaurant that has been incredibly well embraced by the community.”
And on the way home, be sure to hit Leon’s, for some of the best frozen custard on the planet.
Here's where you can go:
110 E. Greenfield Ave., 414-316-9003
636 S. 6th St., 414-433-9747
217 N. Broadway, 414-273-3375
5100 Bluemound Rd., 414-539-4424
5601 W. Vliet St., 414-943-3278
459 E. Pleasant St., 414-323-7372
815 E. Brady St., 414-800-5816
7616 W. State St., Wauwatosa, 414-771-7910
3131 S. 27th St.
Also worth checking out:
939 S. 2nd St., 414-763-5881
