Traveling to Milwaukee for a work trip from 8/5 - 8/7, staying at the Drury Plaza. I won't have a car Monday or Tuesday, but will have one Wednesday, driving to Appleton & back to the airport. Looking for recommendations for spots, preferably within walking distance of the hotel. Prefer spots that serve food, can't expense otherwise .
I know I'm going off-topic, but here's a couple of non-beer recommendations: - In Appleton, Wilmar Chocolates, https://www.wilmarchocolates.com/ , makes some really great chocolates. - Just around the corner from your hotel is Brunch It Up, https://brunchitup.com/, that's really good for breakfast. FYI, they used to be called "brunch" (with a small "b"). Don't know why the name change. - For good BBQ, there's Smoke Shack, https://smoke-shack.com/, that's an easy walk. There's actually a better BBQ restaurant, Double B's, https://www.doublebs.com/, in West Allis. But you'll need a car, or a somewhat long Uber ride, to get there. In Appleton, there's the Appleton Beer Factory, https://www.appletonbeerfactory.com/. Last I was there, several years ago, they had good beer and food. If you're into aviation, the EAA Aviation Museum, https://www.eaa.org/eaa-museum, in Osh Kosh, near Appleton, is worth a stop. However, looking at your schedule, I've got a feeling that you won't have time for this.
If you don't mind a ~1 mile/20 min walk, Central Waters and Lakefront are around that distance. Both have food, though the food at CW is technically not through the brewery. Pilot Project is right next to Central Waters and has food too. Very nice facility, but it's not a WI brewery. If you go to Lakefront, might as well also make a stop at Eagle Park. They don't have food, but have some of the best beer in MKE. Grab some cans of Stave to-go, which is Wisconsin's best BA stout (imo). Mobcraft is also about a mile walk and has pizza. Their sours are legit, but everything else is pretty standard. You'll walk right past the Harley museum, which is a cool place to visit.
There should be some motorized scooters and bicycles which you can rent and get around downtown quicker and branch out a little further. 3rd Street Market Hall has an array of foodstuffs and beer, north from there on Third Street/MLK are places like The Brat House, Mader’s, and Old German Beer Hall. Lakefront, Eagle Park, Lakefront, and Central Waters are a little further out, but still accessible by foot or scooter.
Explorium Brewpub in the Third Ward is a cool space. Close to that is Cafe Benelux if you want a fix of Belgium beers. Easily walkable from the Drury. A couple of walkable, near the lake, beer gardens include the Juneau Park Beer Garden, and down the hill from there is the War Memorial Beer Garden. A short drive north of downtown has two worthy beer gardens, Estabrook Park Beer Garden and Hubbard Park Beer Garden. Estabrook is very similar to a Munich beer garden, and Hubbard Park has perhaps the best setting in the city for a beer garden. Both are on the Milwaukee River. Some of these places are closed on Mondays, though. https://www.exploriumbrew.com/ https://cafebenelux.com/ https://www.juneaubeergarden.com/ https://www.warmemorialbeergarden.com/ https://estabrookbeergarden.com/ https://hubbardparkbeergarden.com/
I’m at Cafe Benelux and WOW! I have forgotten how good this place is. There are some exclusive beers from Belgium made for the group of restaurants Cafe Benelux is part of, as well as a private brand of Belgian beers that are worth trying.
