Milwaukee request | Milwaukee, WI

David S.Computing Services Division, University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeJul 7, 1993

Tom G. wrote:
>I'll be in Milwaukee for a week in a couple of weeks. Any suggestions
>for places to eat at while there? I tend towards the carnivorous end
>of the omnivore spectrum, so I'm not that interested in vegetarian places.
>Pretty much any other cuisine is of interest, particularly any regional
>specialties.
>
>tyg   [email removed]

      Milwaukee has ONE world-class restaurant. It is called Sanford. The
Chef, Sanford D'mato and his wife Angie run the place in what once was his father's Italian grocery store. It has since been remodeled.

      Other than Sanford, Milwaukee has literally thousands of mediocre
restaurants of every ethnic style you can imagine.

      Club Cha Cha- Trendy Mexican with great decor, a fun bar but very
                      average food.

      Mimma's-Trendy Italian with great decor, a tiny bar and below average
                food.

        Third Ward Cafe- Pretty decent Italian place. Small, intimate. Good
                         food.

      Bartollotta's- Newly opened Italian. Simply awful. Very popular for now.
        Marangelli's-Opened in the Firstar Bank building where Sanford used
                     to be. Perhaps the best looking restaurant in Milwaukee.
                     Mediocre food.

      Butch's-Very good steak house. Fairly expensive. Casual.

        La Boulangerie-In the Third Ward. Great soups and sandwiches. Go
                       for lunch.
        Elsa's on the Park-More a night club than a restaurant. Good hamburgers.

      There are so many restaurants in Milwaukee, most of them bad, that its
        difficult to list them all. Here are a few more.

       German:
               Mader's
               Karl Ratsch's
               Weissgerber's Gasthaus [in Waukesha]
               Kalt's

      Karl Ratsch's is the best of them.

Italian:

      Don't let anyone send you to Giovanni's. It's terrible.

Chinese:
      Too many to list. I like Toy's but they know me there. Other people
        I know don't like it as much.

If you have any specific requests, for a specific style or location, email me. Just be careful when you get here. As I said, Milwaukee has thousands of restaurants, but very few of them are good. And don't listen to the local food critic, Dennis Getto. He's partially the reason none of them get better because he gives generally favorable reviews to some pretty bad restaurants. Why should they improve if Getto is already singing their praises?

--ds

David S.Computing Services Division, University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeJul 7, 1993

      Perhaps I was a bit harsh on my hometown. Here is a follow-up
on Milwaukee restaurants. The following are quite good:

                  Steven Wade's
                  The Elm Grove Inn
                  The Red Rock Cafe
                  Benjamin's Deli
                  Chuck's [in Thiensville] for Breakfast
                  Chip and Py's [in Mequon]
I hesitate to mention places like Grenadier or The English Room or Third Street Pier. They are all acceptable to many Milwaukeans. I think they are over priced and pretentious. They rest on reputation and are the favorites of local businessmen who have also made their reputations during the "style over substance" Eighties. Sorry. Political commentary aside, you should have pretty good luck with this list.

--ds

AnonymousWaisman Center, University of Wisconsin-MadisonJul 8, 1993

for barbecued ribs
the speedqueen on 14th and walnut is superb

i agree that sanfords is an outstanding restaurant certainly worth a visit