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Milwaukee near Mitchell Field

Milwaukee near Mitchell Field
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    Post #1 - October 11th, 2005, 3:43 am
    Post #1 - October 11th, 2005, 3:43 am Post #1 - October 11th, 2005, 3:43 am
    I'll be attending a conference just outside the Milwaukee airport and I'm looking for recommendations for anything good nearby: Any kind of food, any price range, within a few miles of Howell and Layton.

    I already know where the nearest Kopp's is.

    (Apologies if anything like this has been covered before. I tried to search, but every way I tried to do it still turned up zillions of references to Chicago-area places on Milwaukee Avenue.)
  • Post #2 - October 11th, 2005, 7:57 am
    Post #2 - October 11th, 2005, 7:57 am Post #2 - October 11th, 2005, 7:57 am
    When' I'm staying by Mitchell Airport, I make sure to always hit The Palomino Bar. It's a couple miles north of the airport just off Lake Michigan. Yes, it's a bar, but it serves up some of the best Southern food around there. The fried chicken is good, and they serve up the best southern-fried vegan tofu sandwiches I have ever had. I'm not even a vegetarian but I still order that when I can.

    The Palomino Bar
    2491 S Superior St
    Milwaukee, WI 53207
    When I grow up, I'm going to Bovine University!
  • Post #3 - October 11th, 2005, 9:38 am
    Post #3 - October 11th, 2005, 9:38 am Post #3 - October 11th, 2005, 9:38 am
    This area isn't a hot spot for fine dining, but has some great hole in the wall (non-fine dining) places.

    5 minutes away is a good polish spot...Polonez. Does a decent sunday morning brunch. Homemade belly-fillin goodness. Potato dumpling soup, pierogi, schnitzel, etc. Like eating at grandma's house
    4016 S. Packard Ave
    Milwaukee,WI 53235
    (414) 482-0080

    Or head north to National avenue (10 minutes from airport). Then west. In a few blocks you hit Tres hermanos - a mexican place with great seafood dishes as well as tacos etc. Try the fruits of the sea. There are numerous other casual mexican places in the same neighborhood.

    Or keep driving west and in a few minutes you'll be at the corner of 35th street and National. here there are two Hmong-run noodle houses. One is a bit nicer and serves alcohol - The Noodle house. This one has more of a chinese influence. Across the street is a smaller family run joint called the Ventienne Noodle House...it seems more Thai influenced I personally like the smaller one. Definatelly go for the Pho at either place, but try to find someone to split some dishes with you as they have some fun and interesting dishes if you are adventurous.
  • Post #4 - October 11th, 2005, 12:59 pm
    Post #4 - October 11th, 2005, 12:59 pm Post #4 - October 11th, 2005, 12:59 pm
    LAZ wrote:(Apologies if anything like this has been covered before. I tried to search, but every way I tried to do it still turned up zillions of references to Chicago-area places on Milwaukee Avenue.)


    I don't have a Milwaukee recommendation but I do have a search tip. On the search page, use the "Forum" option on the left to restrict the search to the "Beyond Chicagoland" forum. I just tried it with a search for "Milwaukee" and got a manageable 48 hits instead of 344 when all forums are searched.
  • Post #5 - October 12th, 2005, 5:19 pm
    Post #5 - October 12th, 2005, 5:19 pm Post #5 - October 12th, 2005, 5:19 pm
    The best option near Mitchell Airport is Jalapeno Loco, at 5067 S. Howell. Surprisingly good Oaxacan and Mexican entrees, in an out-of-the-way location.

    Mmmm. Maybe I'll head there now.
  • Post #6 - October 19th, 2005, 5:41 am
    Post #6 - October 19th, 2005, 5:41 am Post #6 - October 19th, 2005, 5:41 am
    Adventures in Milwaukee

    We didn't have as many meals out as I expected to this weekend -- one night we stayed at the hotel and munched the summer sausage and Carr Valley cheese (including 10-year-old cheddar!) the meeting organizers had brought.

    Lunch that day had been downtown at The Safe House, Milwaukee's best-known secret destination, an institution since 1966. It's definitely worth spying out, but drop in for a drink -- the food's unremarkable pub grub, though I gather it's been somewhat updated. The password remains unchanged, as does the unique interior, as Himself was happy to discover.

    Afterward, we went up to Glendale for a tour of Sprecher Brewery, a 10-year-old microbrewery. The tour guide did a good job, but they don't operate their brewing or bottling machinery during the tours. I expect it would be more exciting to go to Miller and watch the bottles whizzing through the line, even from behind glass. The Sprecher beer is likely better tasting, though.

    I can't really say, however, since I'm not much of a beer drinker. I tried only the Generation Porter, a special anniversary dark brew flavored with cocoa and raspberry. I could taste the flavorings, but the hops overwhelmed them, making it too bitter for me.

    The $3 tour fee gets you four small glasses of beer plus unlimited Sprecher soda pop. I stuck mainly to pop. The company actually makes more than twice as much pop as beer. They brew their pop, like their beer, in a gas-fired kettle. It's lightly sweetened with Wisconsin honey.

    I tried the ginger ale, the cream soda, Puma Kola and Ravin' Red. The ginger ale wasn't dry enough for me and the cream soda had a kind of funky flavor I didn't care for at all. And I consider Coke the perfect cola and no other comes close. I liked the Puma better than RC or Pepsi, though.

    I enjoyed the Raven' Red most, partly, I suspect, because I had no preconceived notion of what it ought to taste like. It's made from cherry juice, natural essence of cranberries, honey and ginseng. The color's more blush than red; the fruit flavors are subtle and the sweetening is light. A very refreshing drink, not what you'd expect from the silly name.

    We went on to Kopp's in Glendale. I'm pleased to report that Kopp's is now making two flavors of the day, every day! Most of us ate chocolate cherry, studded with dried cherries and bits of chocolate. No wonder everyone was satisfied with cheese and cold cuts for supper! (Actually, I missed them, but others apparently also made s'mores over a can of Sterno. To compensate, Himself and I made a wee hours trip to a George Webb -- just as greasy as ever.)

    Friday and Sunday night's dinners made up for the one light meal. On Friday, we ate at Old Town Serbian Gourmet House, a delightfully Old World place, with white tablecloths, a duo playing classical strings and solid Continental fare.

    Bowls of kajmak, a mild and creamy cheese spread, and ajvar, a spread made with eggplant and peppers, came with sesame-seeded white bread to start the meal.

    We ordered an appetizer of pršut and cheese, translated on the menu as "A smoked curied pork garnished with feta cheese." When it came, we realized that the meat was not, as we'd expected, any kind of curried pork, but rather cured pork -- or prosciutto. Delicious.

    We also had some nicely spiced lamb cevapcici; veal ones were available, too. And I got a lovely plate of sautéed sweetbreads, a special. Dinners came with soup or salad; I ordered chicken dumpling soup and received an excellent, parsley-flecked clear chicken broth with, essentially, a wedge of matzo ball in it. Others enjoyed Serbian tomato salad.

    For an entree, I had trouble deciding between paprikash and roast duck and finally chose one of the house specialties, a burek, a massive, plate-sized, phyllo-dough construction layered with lightly seasoned ground beef (cheese and cheese-and-spinach were other options). Crispy outside and tender inside, it was very good, though a little bland; the beef could have used a good shake of hot paprika, I think. And it was immense -- I ate all I could and passed it around to the others and still had nearly half left.

    Companions pronounced their dishes good: musaka, a huge slab of layered meat and eggplant that looked a bit different from Greek moussaka (less béchamel, for one thing); goulash, with big chunks of meat; raznjici, pork kebab; and a mixed grill Serbian plate.

    By this time, we were stuffed, but I couldn't resist the palacinke. For $4.95, I expected one for us each to take a bite of, but what came were three big crepes rolled around a wonderful apricot filling and sprinkled with walnuts and powdered sugar. Heavenly. But even the six of us couldn't finish them on top of everything else.

    We also shared a bottle of a lovely Burgundy-style wine, which our friendly waitress informed us came from Montenegro, as did she. Service was first-rate.

    On Sunday, we had an indecisive group of four and finally decided to drive about to see what looked good. We checked out the menu of Jalapeno Loco, which offered all kinds of moles, but a couple of people decided they weren't in the mood for Mexican food, so we drove over to The Packing House.

    Outside, a neon sign advertised steaks, ribs, veal and other meaty options. Inside, the 1970s-style mirrored decor was a little scary. But the disco decor belied an excellent, old-style, white-tablecloth chophouse.

    I ordered an appetizer of deep-fried eggplant and got what must have been two eggplants' worth, cut into hefty sticks and coated in a crisp, light beer batter. It came with wedges of lemon and a dish of good marinara, but both were superfluous. The octogenarian crab-cake fanatic loved his pair of Maryland-style cakes, too.

    As good as it was, I nearly regretted the eggplant when I saw everything my steak came with: first, a substantial green salad, topped with old-fashioned roquefort dressing -- mainly crumbled cheese -- and good bread, served hot; then, along with the meat, a pile of battered, fried "onion shreds"; a big dish of real mashed potatoes and a stack of nicely steamed vegetables ... all for $22.95. (Even at today's gas prices, it might be worth a trip just for dinner.)

    Filet mignon is the specialty here. They offer it more than a dozen ways (and that's only a fraction of the menu). I got the garlic-stuffed version, a substantial, barrel-shaped piece of tenderloin stuffed with slivered garlic, wrapped in bacon and seared. Himself's steak was even better -- he ordered it au poivre, and got a similar garlicky filet, crusted in cracked black pepper and swimming in potent cognac sauce.

    We were sated and carrying doggy bags, but when someone suggested jokingly that we stop at Kopp's on the way back to the hotel, everybody's eyes lit up. So we went to the Greenfield store to admire the fountain and lap up cones and cups of the day's flavor: luscious red raspberry, full of whole, ripe, fresh fruit.

    The Safe-House
    CLASSIFIED

    Sprecher Brewery
    414/964-2739
    www.sprecherbrewery.com
    701 W. Glendale Ave.
    Glendale, WI 53209

    Kopp's Frozen Custard
    www.kopps.com
    414/961-3288, 5373 N. Port Washington Road (south of Silver Spring Drive)
    Glendale WI 53217
    414/282-4312, 7631 W. Layton Ave., Greenfield WI 53220
    262/789-9490, Galleria West, 18880 W. Bluemound Road (at Brookfield Road)
    Brookfield WI 53045

    George Webb
    www.georgewebb.com
    Multiple locations

    Old Town Serbian Gourmet House
    414/612-0206
    www.wwbci.com/oldtown
    522 W. Lincoln Ave.
    Milwaukee, WI 53207
    (closed Sunday and Monday)

    Jalapeno Loco
    414/483-8300
    www.foodspot.com/jalapenoloco
    5067 S. Howell Ave.
    Milwaukee, WI 53207

    The Packing House
    414/483-5054
    www.foodspot.com/thepackinghouse
    900 E. Layton Ave.
    Milwaukee, WI 53207
    Last edited by LAZ on October 19th, 2005, 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
  • Post #7 - October 19th, 2005, 8:29 am
    Post #7 - October 19th, 2005, 8:29 am Post #7 - October 19th, 2005, 8:29 am
    Great report, LAZ. Thanks for that.
  • Post #8 - October 19th, 2005, 8:55 am
    Post #8 - October 19th, 2005, 8:55 am Post #8 - October 19th, 2005, 8:55 am
    LAZ wrote:Friday and Sunday night's dinners made up for the one light meal. On Friday, we ate at Old Town Serbian Gourmet House, a delightfully Old World place, with white tablecloths, a duo playing classical strings and solid Continental fare.


    Yes, thanks for the report. Milwaukee is such a cool place!

    I guess your report + time washing away the taste of JiLS and I's pushy experience at Old Town, has me thinking again of an LTH dinner there.

    How many people would be interested?

    (cross-posted to events)
    Think Yiddish, Dress British - Advice of Evil Ronnie to me.
  • Post #9 - October 20th, 2005, 7:22 am
    Post #9 - October 20th, 2005, 7:22 am Post #9 - October 20th, 2005, 7:22 am
    Nice report LAZ

    And Raul, thanks for the tip on Jalapeno Loco. I've driven by it many times and the name suggested pretty run of the mill mexican, so never bothered stopping. Based on your reco, we popped by last night and it was indeed a wortheile find. The green mole was superb...great complexity of flavor...Id eat that sauce with a spoon! And the pork chops in chipotle sauce had that perfect blend of fire and spicy sweetness. Chile rejeno was fairly average though.

    Any other hidden treasures in south side or racine/kenosha area you want to suggest?
  • Post #10 - October 20th, 2005, 6:11 pm
    Post #10 - October 20th, 2005, 6:11 pm Post #10 - October 20th, 2005, 6:11 pm
    Fishie,

    I thought the same thing for years, and then stopped by on a whim. I prefer Cempazuchi (on Brady) for the little details (better salsas, chips, soups) but Jalapeno Loco is somehow more satisfying. Maybe because it's so unpretentious?

    Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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