One of my all time favorite places to visit in Wisconsin is Milwaukee. My husband and I spent the first 8 years of our lives together in the Milwaukee area, and it’s truly one of those cities that is a hidden gem. There is just so much to do. You’ve got all of the festivals like Summerfest, Irish Fest, German Fest, State Fair, etc. You’ve got the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. There are so many breweries, you couldn’t possibly get to all of them in one weekend. There’s the Milwaukee river, which provides plenty of entertainment options, Lake Michigan and places like Bradford Beach. My favorite part about Milwaukee (at least in comparison to where I live now) is that you can always find something to do without much planning. Where I live now, you need to plan in advance, have tickets or reservations for everything, and then hope like hell that you’ll actually find a parking spot once you get there.
Although I could make a hundred posts of all the different things we do in Milwaukee, I’ll stick to my most recent visit, and maybe update from time to time as the city changes over the years.
We started out by having dinner at the Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen, which is where the above photo was taken. We enjoyed some signature cocktails—this place also distills its own spirits, and I ate the pappardelle ragu, which was absolutely delicious.
We checked into a cute airbnb in Bayview, one of our favorite neighborhoods. We were lucky enough to find a place with an attached garage, that was quiet and very close to the placed we intended to visit.
We spent the first evening at our favorite bar in Milwaukee, Roman’s Pub. The owner, Mike Romans, has been running this place for ages. He serves only craft beer on tap; no Bud Light or Miller Light available for you here. You can get wine and mixed drinks, but you’ll be judged for drinking anything other than the beer. Mike has been battling cancer for a few years now, and as his health declines we try to get in to see him as much as possible. On this particular trip he wasn’t quite himself, currently undergoing another round of chemo, and it was hard to see.
The next few days we enjoyed visiting some of our favorite breweries in the area, and checked out a new one called Torzala. I believe we made it to Broken Bat, Component, Enlightened, Indeed and 1840. As I mentioned, you can’t possibly get to all of them in one trip. Some of my other favorites in the area are Good City, Company, Black Husky, Eagle Park, Third Space, City Lights, Ope….the list goes on and on. If you are able to travel to Milwaukee more than once, I suggest checking out as many as you can. They are all great.
We of course had to stop at our all-time favorite Bayview restaurant for dinner: Goodkind. If you don’t ever go anywhere else in Milwaukee, you have to eat here. I am so obsessed with their spicy crab pasta, that I almost never try anything else on the menu, but my husband would assure you that the rest of the entrees are just as incredible.
Next up on the list was Bryant’s cocktail lounge. It is the oldest cocktail lounge in Milwaukee, open since 1938. This place does not have a cocktail menu, but they can make you absolutely anything you desire. You can name a flavor or liquor you like or don’t like, tell them you want something frozen, ice cream based, on the rocks, straight up….doesn’t matter, they’ll concoct something for you. As usual, we had to start with various old fashioneds. From there we were talked into trying mezcal based drinks. Husband had one called the “Work in Progress” which he absolutely loved, while I decided that mezcal is indeed not my thing. From there we had our absolute favorite drink, the “ET” which is an ice cream based drink with brandy and peanut butter. Absolutely delicious!
The rest of the weekend included stops at Mader’s German restaurant for brunch, the cheese shop, and the Milwaukee Public Market. Inside the market, we always make sure to grab lobster rolls at St. Paul Fish Company, buy spices from The Spice House, and grab coffee from Anodyne Coffee Roasters.
In one short weekend, we managed to stop at almost all of our favorite places, and we are already planning our next trip back for August during the State Fair. I love this city with my whole heart, and we can never visit without dreaming of the day we will move back. Milwaukee is our true home.
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