Great Food in Milwaukee
A few of my favorite places to eat:
Let's start with the tried and true places
-Trocadero (east side near downtown) is great any time--some pluses are their happy hours and the fact that they serve good food quite late.
-Three Brothers Serbian restaurant (Bay View) is a must if you are a real diner. The meal takes two hours if you do it right. This is a family owned restaurant and the consistency is unmatched. make reservations and try to go on a week night P.S. they don't accept credit cards!!
--Hi Fi Cafe (Bay View) is one of the only locally owned coffee shops that does a real breakfast and is not classified as a greasy spoon. Lived in Bay View when this place opened and they deserve their success...been there for 12 years now!
--Eagan's Restaurant on Water St (downtown). I had my first real line cook job here 14 years ago. It is also consistent and high quality. Can't say I've eaten there recently but can't see why it wouldn't have only gotten better over the years. They specialize in seafood and it is a fresh as it comes, great raw bar and thin crust pizzas (hopefully still on menu) in addition to great entrees! Impressive bar to boot.
--Crawdaddy's (West Allis) I ate at this place the first day it was open (was a different location then). I have been eating there for 13 years now --I can still remember my first meal and my most recent--the impression is the same. They are the creole kings of consistency. The trout saute which is an appetizer has been on the menu for what seems like forever and it is exactly the same everytime...one of the tastiest things you'll ever eat!!
Everything is good here and the portions are very generous and with the right ingredients--not just a plate filled with potatoes. My sister ordered a crawfish salad once that had so much crawfish tail meat on it that she could not eat it all--we all got some :)
I have not been able to eat there the last two trips home because they are closed whenever I seem to want to go. This is not saying they are not open good hours, just not for me.
Now a few of my favorite new joints:
--Triskele's (Bay View) --this place is a little off the beaten path but very easy to get to and worth it even if it wasn't. A great couple opened this place late in 2007 and they couldn't have done it better. Jolinda is the chef/owner and Lynn is the bartender/owner. Together they have a nice neighborhood place that doubles as a destination dining experience. There are simply prepared dishes in meat, vegetable and seafood categories which makes this a great place to bring a group of people who have different dining preferences. Prices are what you would expect for a neighborhood place. the kitchen is behind the bar so if you have a seat at or near the bar you get a full view of the chef and kitchen staff hard at work.
Hot Tip: they are open for lunch Tues-Fri (great time to go) and they do brunch on Sat/Sun
Also--Tuesday night is all you can eat mussles for $8
--Fat Abbey (downtown-off water st)--this is by the same guy as Trocadero so you should know it will be good before you even see the place. It is! Great Patio(s) and is non-smoking inside (yeah) It just opened at the end of May so not very crowded yet but I'm sure word will get out fast...go now. It is a belgian beer bar featuring a nice selection both in bottles and on tap. The food is also made with many of the beers. I tasted a nice selection of the food there and all was amazingly good. the sweet potato fries are awesome and the trappist wings even better yet. The black berry turkey sandwich (not it's official name) is very imaginative and well executed. I expected nothing less and was not disappointed --have already sent my brother and parents there and they agree 100%. This is within walking distance to Lakefront Brewery so if you want to go on the best brewery tour anywhere and drink amazing beer all day pair these two up and make it an adventure!!
--Good Life (east side-near downtown) This is the oldest new place on my list. Been there for a little while now and it is going strong. Excellent location with an amazing patio on the Milwaukee river (also within walking distace to Lakefront Brewery) They do good Caribbean food often have live music, and did I mention the location :) I have never been for brunch but I hear it's good. If I still lived in Milwaukee I'd be enjoying the Good Life often (couldn't help myself)
--La Merenda (walker's point) --Love this place!! It's a Tapas restaurant -yes only tapas. The menu is "international" so anything goes. Is heavy on latin but by no means dominant. -- I was eating there with friends who own a restaurant and there were at least two other top chefs in there dining the same night so really what else is there to say...
...one small detraction for me was that the portions were so large that I could not eat as many tapas as I would have liked. Small bites should be just that. If you are going with a group of people this may not be an issue or if you are a really big eater :)
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By roosterjen
on Aug 4, 2008 04:24 PM
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Fat Abbey has Belgian beer and is all non-smoking? Hooray! Bless you, roosterjen, for this tip. Me and my allergies are always looking for great smoke-free food & beer in Milwaukee. I'll definitely try Fat Abbey when I'm in town in a few weeks.
Happily for me, The Three Brothers is also smoke-free. The spinach burek is amazing stuff! Well worth the 45-minute wait.
I'd love to hear if any other places on your list are all non-smoking (inside, that is - I know I can't dine outside because that's where all the smokers have gone....).
Thanks,
Anne
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Sugar Maple and the Palm Tavern in Bay View are both non-smoking. These are both great beer places owned by the same guy. Sugar Maple is new as of April this year and has 60 craft beers on tap!! Palm Tavern has an impressive import selection but is much smaller than Sugar Maple. I live in MPLS too...was in MKE last week only for a couple days, made it to both Sugar Maple and Fat Abbey in same day!
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What about The Roots? I've been threre and thought it was interesting that a chef and a farmer teamed up to have a constantly changing menu. The atmosphere, especially downstairs and on the back deck, were also nice.
The other place that was interseting was a restaurant in an art gallery - can't remember the name. The food was good, but mostly the atmosphere was nice.
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Mason Street Grille is an excellent fine dining choice. Not super expensive--entrees are in the $15-30 range. I chose pork chops with a vegetable reduction sauce over whipped potatoes with a bit of rutabaga. Good stuff. It's behind the Pfister hotel.
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Thank you for the information about Triskele's. I try to keep my ear to the ground about new places as best as I can, but this one got by me. Their menu looks like it's worth driving across town for.
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RoosterJen, I love you! Your tips were spot-on. We were in Milwaukee last week, and we were very pleased with both La Merenda and Triskele's.
At La Merenda, the two of us stuffed ourselves on five dishes. (We barely avoided over-ordering, thanks to the good tip on the large-ish portions.) We had: arugula salad with strawberries & gorgonzola (yum!), asparagus, mussels, polenta with mushrooms, and patatas bravas with chorizo (my favorite). Nice, lively atmosphere, though a bit noisy for these two old fogeys.
http://www.lamerenda125.com
At Triskele's, we shared four fabulous dishes: salad with walnuts and gorgonzola, mussels in roasted poblano cream (wow!), ahi tuna burger with chili fries, and a lovely grilled trout. This place is warm and cozy, and not too noisy (a relief after La M. the night before).
http://www.triskelesrestaurant.com
And, of course, we went to Three Brothers - they're the reason we go to MKE. The spinach burek is amazing (and the leftovers make a great lunch the next day).
We didn't make it to Fat Abbey - I was concerned about smoking being allowed on one floor. Besides, there was a cover charge for a band, and we just wanted quiet food that night.
But I went to Palm Tavern on Sunday night and loved it. What a great place! A cross between cozy and trendy, with the best parts of each. Too bad we ran out of time to try the Sugar Maple. (Locals will want to note that Sugar Maple is planning a beer fest that will feature Surly beer - an MSP favorite that's rarely available elsewhere.)
Thanks again for the tips!
Anne
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