Milwaukee Fan Guide

[KnappShack]

Milwaukee is an under rated down IMO. Nice riverwalk, people kayak it, good times.

I had to visit a client a few times in the downtown area. Pre-covid. A lot of activity and construction. The riverwalk was frozen over each time I went but it looks like it could be a good time

I need to explore a Milwaukee. It's pretty close and it should be more exciting than looking at nuclear power plants.....but maybe not.

 

[madguy30]

NCAA tourney sites are so much fun - just a great general vibe with all the fanbases (MKE will be packed with wisconsin and purdue fans, hopefully a lot of cyclones too).

But weather forecast looks miserable - high 30s/low 40s with rain/snow?? That'll put a damper on the deer district and all the surrounding areas with bars and restaurants. Public market and the new 3rd st mkt hall on wisconsin ave would be decent indoor bets.

On the other hand hardy ISU/WI embrace getting drunk in the cold so I still expect a mess down there.

 

[madguy30]

Milwaukee is an under rated down IMO. Nice riverwalk, people kayak it, good times.

Very walkable, easy to get around, and without an ocean of suburbs not too much of a hassle to get to.

 

[clonefreek]

I havent read the other comments but lake front brewery is awesome, do the tour. Also milwaukee brewing. Eat the german food. tons of good places.

 

[clonefreek]

If you want a cool bar area go to Brady street, awesome area lots of bars plus an UpDown that puts the des moines one to shame.

 

[Cycsk]

If you're going through LeClaire to get to Milwaukee, you took the wrong road. Mississippi River Distilling is great though.

If you want a good beer stop on the way from Central Iowa, I'd recommend Dimmensional or 7 Hills in Dubuque, and the Grumpy Troll in Mt Horeb, WI.

For me, this makes it a very worthwhile extra 30 minutes from Ames!

 

[Al_4_State]

If you go to the Public Market, I absolutely recommend drowning oyster shooters with Schlitz on tap.

 

[August]

We have made many trips to MKE to see our daughter. The downtown area and Third Ward are the closest and have numerous great spots. Here are some places we like to go to.
Downtown and close to the Arena:
Last time ISU played in the tourney in MKE we went to McGillycuddy's. There were a lot of ISU fans there. Also Buck Bradley's looks inviting to Cyclones as they have Cardinal and Gold awnings out front. And the new Forum has a area outside called the Deer District that I would guess will be set up for tourney fans.
Fine dining is Mo's Steaks or Mason Street Grill in the Pfister Hotel. Just a walk through the lobby of the Pfister is a good stop.
Wisconsin Cheese Mart for the take home cheese and sausage. They will give you a small cooler with an ice pack with the purchase.
Third Ward, (renovated warehouse district a few blocks south of Downtown):
The Outsider, upscale cocktail rooftop bar.
Sobelman's for the whole fried chicken Bloody Mary!
As mentioned before the Public Market.
Ohers a short drive away:
Eagle Park Brewery in the Lower East Side is a popular local spot.
Lakefront Brewery for the German Beer Hall experience.

 

[ForbinsAscynt]

Another vote for public market. Go hungry.

 

[cycloneman003]

Is Art's Performing Center still around in downtown? If so, I challenge a few brave souls to make a stop in there...

 

[CycloneFantatic]

Milwaukee is a really cool city! Lots of wonderful local places to eat and drink!

Here are tons of recommendations (imagine things are going to be quite busy). Hope this helps and saves you the hassle/effort! Lets make some noise in the tourney!

Deer District has a large viewing screen TV outside by the Mecca that is really cool as an FYI.

Breweries/Brew Pubs/Distilleries:
Eagle Park - A must. Delicious. Every single beer we tried.
Lakefront Brewery - Fish fry and cheese curds too. Great tour.
Wizard Works Brewery
Broken Bat Brewery
Indeed Brewery
Good City Brewing
Milwaukee Brewing Company is a cool spot in Pabst Development and has a rooftop bar
Just opened recently and great beer is Central Waters Brewery. In a old Pabst Church.
Component Brewery
Black Husky Brewery
Milwaukee Ale House
Old German Beer Hall
Central Standard Distillery
Great Lakes Distillery
Twisted Path Distillery

Food Halls:
Milwaukee Public Market - Fun and delicious treats
3rd Street Avenue Food Hall
On North Avenue on east side, food hall too with delicious options
Zocalo Food Truck Park - All food we had was delicious

Recommend Great Local Lunch/Dinner Restaurants (All different price ranges).
Sanford
Odd Duck
La Merenda
Carnevor
Five O'Clock Steakhouse
Tupelo Honey
Swingin Door
Kopp's for Frozen custard and burgers. Get Custard in this city!
Mason Street Grill
Mader's
Rare Steakhouse
Lake Park Bistro
Harbor House
Buckley's
Swingin Door
Balistreri's Italian
Electric Lime Taqueria
FlourChild Pizza
Fixture Pizza
Three Brothers
Smoke Shack - BBQ
Iron Gate BBQ
Pat's Ribs
Amilinda
Movida
Red Light Ramen
Santino's Little Italy
Tenuta's
Gloriosos's Italian market
Ristorante Bartolotta
Mo's Steakhouse
Mo-Mee's
Milwaukee Brat House
Cafe Corazon
Rice and Roll
Zarletti
Sorella
Bel-Air Cantina
Wisconsin Cheese Market
Calederone Club
Lots of good Mexican food on southside in city as an FYI.

Breakfast/Brunch:
Blue's Egg - Insanely good
Uncle Wolfie's
Cafe at the Plaza
Sabrosa
Story Hill BKC
Comet Cafe
Cafe Benelux
Brunch
Wicked Hop
Toast
Milwaukee Public Market
Colectivo Cafe
Andoyne Coffee
Stone Creek Cafe

Great views of city/Places to Visit:
South Shore Park - Great Beer Garden
Blu at Pfister - Check out hotel lobby too. Stunning.
Kimpton Hotel - Rooftop Bar. Beautiful.
Iron Horse Hotel
Take a stroll on Milwaukee Riverwalk, make sure to stop and make see to see lakefront and Milwaukee Art Museum.
Milwaukee Public Museum/Imax - if have kids
Milwaukee County Zoo - If have kids
Discovery World - If have kids
Betty Brinn Children's Museum - again if have kids
Bradford Beach
North Point Park
Humboldt Beer Garden
Bobble Head Museum
Pabst Theatre
Riverside Theatre
Mayfair Mall
The Corners of Brookfield
Up-Down Milwaukee - Video game bar
LandMark Lanes
Koz's Mini Bowling
Safehouse

Hotels Recommend:
Pfister Hotel
Iron Horse Hotel
Kimpton Hotel
Westin
Saint Kate
Kinn
Hilton Garden Inn
Dubbel Dutch
The BrewHouse Inn and Suites

Bar Districts/Bars:
Old World Third/Deer District - All pretty cool. The Mecca was awesome and saw Punch Bowl Social is now opening in time across from Fiserv. Good City has good beer/sours. Brat House, Buck Bradley's, Uncle Bucks, and Old German Beer Hall
Brady Street - Wolski's, Roman Coin, Nomad, The Garage, Hi-Hat
Water Street - Recommend The Harp, Trinity
If you are looking for a different experience on lower eastside go to County Clare and next door is Monica's. Awesome.
Belgian beers go to Cafe Benelux or Cafe Hollander
Cathedral Square
North Avenue
Third Ward
Bayview on KK

Nice Neighborhoods to explore:
Third Ward
Bayview
Walker's Point
Shorewood
Upper/Lower Eastside
Wauwatosa
Brookfield
Take Lake Drive from Milwaukee to Mequon. Beautiful million dollar plus homes

 

[jkeppy]

Does know what hotel the team is staying at so we can send them off pregame? Has there been a pep rally scheduled yet?

 

[delt4cy]

I'd recommend Central Distilling. One of the original owners was a Cyclone fan, but I think he has moved on. They make some really interesting stuff, such as Kohler Chocolate Brandies.

Our Spirits - Central Standard Craft Distillery

The full lineup of Central Standard Craft Distillery's spirits. Crafted To Gather!

thecentralstandard.com

Central Standard. Yep, I'm still an owner, but no longer active in the management and operation. Live in ATL now. Thanks for the shout out.

We opened a new facility right in the heart of downton within walking distance of all the primary hotels east of the river. Good TVs, food, rooftop. In fact, I'll try to have them throw up some Cyclone flags/etc. The Bourbons and Ryes were my baby, but the "up North Brandy" and the Door County Cherry Vodka are big sellers. (Distributed throughout Wisconsin/Michigan/MN/and just entered Iowa)

https://thecentralstandard.com/crafthouse-kitchen/ @ 320 E. Clybourn St

If they win on Friday, I'll be headed up that way for the Sunday game. Many good MKE recommendations in this Thread. Love the city. My wife is from there and I lived there for a decade. We had a great time last time the clones were in Milwaukee w/ @ChrisMWilliams Hit up Brady, ordered 1,000 Spotted Cows at bar close, drank with DSM News personalities, talked Waukee Football. Good times ha!

 

[cowgirl836]

I had to visit a client a few times in the downtown area. Pre-covid. A lot of activity and construction. The riverwalk was frozen over each time I went but it looks like it could be a good time

I need to explore a Milwaukee. It's pretty close and it should be more exciting than looking at nuclear power plants.....but maybe not.

Have lived 90 min west for 10+ yrs and only been there twice............both for ISU sporting events. Thinking about doing a long weekend there later this spring, well overdue.

Well, been there a couple other times to fly or go to Ikea I suppose

 

[JP4CY]

I don't want to turn this into a baseball thread but as a Cubs fan it's incredibly easy to get to Miller Park for a game from Iowa.

 

[Cycsk]

Central Standard. Yep, I'm still an owner, but no longer active in the management and operation. Live in ATL now. Thanks for the shout out.

We opened a new facility right in the heart of downton within walking distance of all the primary hotels east of the river. Good TVs, food, rooftop. In fact, I'll try to have them throw up some Cyclone flags/etc. The Bourbons and Ryes were my baby, but the "up North Brandy" and the Door County Cherry Vodka are big sellers. (Distributed throughout Wisconsin/Michigan/MN/and just entered Iowa)

https://thecentralstandard.com/crafthouse-kitchen/ @ 320 E. Clybourn St

If they win on Friday, I'll be headed up that way for the Sunday game. Many good MKE recommendations in this Thread. Love the city. My wife is from there and I lived there for a decade. We had a great time last time the clones were in Milwaukee w/ @ChrisMWilliams Hit up Brady, ordered 1,000 Spotted Cows at bar close, drank with DSM News personalities, talked Waukee Football. Good times ha!

Central Standard. Yes, that’s it. Hung out there a lot last time the Cyclones played in Milwaukee. They had seminars where they explained their distilling process. Liked the Kohler Chocolate Brandy so much, I saved a bottle for a worthy occasion. Still have it.

 

[Macloney]

Lakefront Brewery - Overhyped, but you gotta go.
Cafe Benelux - brunch
Public Market - Doesn't sniff a real public market, but cool for MKE.
Safehouse - Spy bar with no sign. Fun for kids.
Broken Bat Brewing - rent batting cages.
Bobblehead museum
Wizard Works Brewing
Mecca - Deer District
Major Goolsbys - OG before game Bucks bar from Bradley Center days.
Glass domes

 

[NWICY]

*cues up Laverne and Shirley

If you go on the Lakefront Brewery tour you get to hear the Laverne and Shirly song .

Like Al said earlier it's a fun brewery tour. I've taken quite a few and it's my personal favorite. Our tour guide was a hoot. Retired guy who was doing it for the beer .

 

[Cycsk]

Do they have any tours/museums related to the historic and mega breweries in Milwaukee? Those are the ones that made Milwaukee famous for beer.

 

[Al_4_State]

If you go on the Lakefront Brewery tour you get to hear the Laverne and Shirly song .

Like Al said earlier it's a fun brewery tour. I've taken quite a few and it's my personal favorite. Our tour guide was a hoot. Retired guy who was doing it for the beer .

On our tour, my wife got to put the glove on the beer bottle. She had mentioned earlier in the week that all she wanted to do in Milwaukee is put a glove on a beer bottle on a bottling line. Made her whole trip.