Howdy folks. Going to be traveling through Wisconsin and have the better part of a day to spend in Milwaukee. Would love some input on an area of town where we can settle in and walk around. I'm really looking for a neighborhood that's walkable, great food, funky, great espresso, record stores, etc. the best beer list place doesn't necessarily concern me as I have to think the neighborhood that has all of the things mentioned will also have a place with a great local beer list. Basically I'm more interested in authentic/ real Milwaukee rather than the classic strip mall bar with 100 taps. Know what I mean? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. We are up from atlanta and will be in Milwaukee from Sunday around noon to Monday evening. Thanks guys.
Def hit up the Bay View neighborhood. You have Sugar Maple (best bar in 'ke), Altera Coffee (local roaster), Rush More Records (old school record store. Great digging), and there's a ton of food places. (Classic Slice to ride that pizza deamon!)
Add to that- Burnheart's for a classic Milwaukee tavern w/ a ridiculous beer list, HoneyPie for some good ole comfort food, Palm Tavern (same ownership as Sugar Maple), and I'm sure some people will add Roman's for another awesome beer bar (although I can't stand the owner Mike). Walking Kinnickinnic Ave will definitely give you the Milwaukee feel, enjoy!!!
Bay View is the place to settle in like TacoHugs says. In a 1.5 mile stretch you have Sugar Maple (beer), Alterra (coffee), Cafe Centraal (Belgian food/beer), Odd Duck (food), Burnhearts (beer), HoneyPie (food), Palm Tavern (beer) and Blackbird Bar (beer). Blackbird probably has the most local beer, but Burnhearts/SugMap/Palm have the best beer variety in the area.
The other area that meets your criteria is Brady street. A kind of funky little street surrounded by lots of great food options, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Irish, etc. The beer selection won't be as great as in Bay View, but Stubby's is a solid beer bar and you will be very near to Lakefront Brewery.
I agree with this also....World of Beer is on Brady St also, although it is a chain and it definitely gives a "strip mall" type of feel....and if you head to Stubby's, North Ave is just a few blocks away, making it worth the walk to check out Von Trier and Hotel Foster.
REALLY good Mexican food on Brady Street! Walking around Old Third Ward is pretty cool, too. There is Water St. Brewery, Milwaukee Ale House, and Cafe Benelux. Not THE BEST area for biers in the city (Sugar Maple area is GREAT!), but it's "downtown," which makes it all the cooler. Also, totally unrelated to bier, but the Art Museum is excellent!
Thanks guys, great feedback. Looks like will start in Bayview and hit Brady if we get bored with Bayview. Just one more thing, will there be any issue with it being Sunday? I know a lot of places in Atlanta either close early or don't even open on Sundays.
Agreed. Sunday makes no difference in Wisconsin, hahaha I once had a New Glarus bier at a shrine for our Lady of Guadalupe outside of LaCrosse..... Wisconsin rules.
If you ever come back through that area, I have a really great place to visit. It's about 20 min out of the way north of Mil. on I43, but they rock. It's called Sir James Pub in Port Washington, if you want to be in a beer lover's bar that is the place to be. They currently had over 500 beers in stock, an ok tap lineup, but the winner is the staff. True BAs to the core, all they do is live beer. If you have the chance and take the detour, that place is a diamond in the rough.
