124248 Fri Jun 17 14:29:52 -0700 2005 6 8 Midwest 0 674783 Heading back to Milwaukee for the Fourth to hit Summerfest for a few days. (for those who don't know -- it's maybe the biggest, and without doubt, the best music fest in the U.S.!) onmilwaukee.com list the 50 food vendors on their site (I posted the link). Which are the best? I'm happy to see Aladdin there. Is Schwabenhof any good?; do they do an authentic spanferkel? yum And I love Water Street Brewery's products -- will have to down a few of those lakeside! Link: http://www.onmilwaukee.com/seasonal/summerfest/articles/food.html Fri Jun 17 14:29:52 -0700 2005 0 Bucky 1 674798 In all honesty, I wouldnt eat any more than necessary at the festival itself. It tends to be over-priced, and anything more complicated that the easiest to prepare (that is, that which can be cooked in huge amounts by teenagers primarily hired to work only the festival, not the restaurants they represent), is bound to be a disappointment. That being said, some of the restaurants represented at Summerfest are pretty good. John Hawk's is good pub food, La Perla has excellent Mexican food, Crawdaddy's is real good Cajun food. Pitch's is known for ribs, but I enjoy most of their food OTHER than the ribs; their portabella mushroom sandwich is bound to be pretty good. Peter Sciortino's is an excellent Italian bakery. If there is an actual Schwabenhof restaurant in town, I am not personally aware of it. But the sad fact is that the food at Summerfest does not come near to doing justice to the many fine restaurants Milwaukee has to offer. For the cost of a $12.00 ticket, this is the best music festival in the world. But the food is "eat to live". Enjoy our restaurants either before or after your day at the lakefront. Have fun; I have a lot of friends playing there this year. Sat Jun 18 19:18:30 -0700 2005 674783 0 Fydeaux 2 674802 I'd heartily second this suggestion. When we go to Summerfest (or really any festival down there), we eat on the way there and eat after we leave. Most of the items ever had has been overpriced and greasy. Some have just been inedible, like the "soup" I bought at Indian Summer that had pieces of bark and swollen bits of pork skin in it. But hey, you can get a $10 martini at Summerfest this year. Bet it's in a plastic cup... Sun Jun 19 12:18:12 -0700 2005 674798 0 MkeLaurie 3 674809 I'm not quite as negative on Summerfest eats, but I suppose I will agree to the extent that the basics...like Saz's appetizers...are probably the best bets. If it's real chow you're after, head to the ethnic fests. (German Fest is my personal favorite, I've never had a bad meal there.) Mon Jun 20 01:35:51 -0700 2005 674802 0 MKE-COU-LAX 4 674812 Yeah, I will admit: I will go to Saz's if I'm hungry. I guess if I really had to make a recommendation, it would be to gravitate toward a restaurant you like outside the gates. I've had too much bad food at the short-timer, unrecognizable Fest restaurants (the Indian Summer soup was from some place called Auntie Something-or-other's). Mon Jun 20 08:42:34 -0700 2005 674809 0 MkeLaurie 5 674835 Never eat a meal at a place called "Ma's nor eat soup at a place called "Auntie ***". At times ,I will have excellent eggplant stips at Zorba's, dry and firm, other times it's a soggy, greasy mess. Those good times (which far outnumber the bad however) are sublime. Coquette Cafe and the ICC are both within an easy walk from the fest so I just have an app or two or popcorn to tide me over until I hit one of those. I was a teenager once and I couldn't cook s*** so you're so right about what you can expect inside. Mon Jun 20 20:57:54 -0700 2005 674812 0 MilwFoodlovers 1 674906 I may see you at the Brewery. I like the Red Bull beer. We should have a good time, Bucky! Wed Jun 22 15:33:07 -0700 2005 674783 0 Maxxy