The locals refer to summer here as Festival Season. This town loves throwing parties, and scarcely a weekend slips by between Memorial Day and Labor Day in which something exciting isn’t going on.
Welcome to Milwaukee, the self-proclaimed City of Festivals. If you’ve got some free time, Milwaukee has a reason to stop by.
“It’s great for the hotels,” says the bartender at the Hotel Metro, my base of operations (the hotel, not the bar) for the weekend. “The festivals fill all the rooms up. But the restaurants suffer.”
Presumably this is because visitors tend to scarf beer and sausages at the festival kiosks, rather than patronize Milwaukee’s fine-dining establishments. That’s too bad, because Milwaukee has a vibrant dining scene, with terrific ethnic variety and a wealth of moderately priced restaurants.
Although, as a restaurant critic playing with the company’s money (see my bloated Bottom Line), I concentrated my attention on Milwaukee’s fine-dining options.
My wife and I were in town for RiverSplash!, the weekend bash that officially launches Milwaukee’s festival season. We weren’t quite sure what to expect — a waterlogged production of River Dance? Bobbing for bratwurst in the Milwaukee River?
Mercifully, no.
Oh, there was a celebrity brat-eating contest, and a paddleboat race involving civic leaders and media figures, but for the most part the festival consisted of a dozen entertainment stages and more than two dozen food vendors scattered about a three-block stretch on both sides of the Milwaukee River where it stretches through downtown.
The entertainment was varied and interesting. There were polka bands and blues acts, names like Kung Fu Diesel and Louisiana Yard Dogs. We enjoyed the music while feasting on Usinger brats, a chicken-kebab sandwich from a place called Aladdin’s and a sausage platter from Mader’s.
The real star of the festival, though, is the RiverWalk itself. The mayor of Chicago grabbed headlines earlier this month by announcing plans to expand Chicago’s riverwalk; he should check out what they’ve done up here. Milwaukee’s RiverWalk, which began construction in 1994, is a shimmering promenade lined with public parks, sculpture, outdoor cafes, and interesting restaurants and shops. You can ride a water taxi, rent a paddleboat or even take a dinner cruise and view RiverWalk at water level.
RiverWalk runs along seven blocks of downtown Milwaukee; eventually it will extend further north and south. It’s a pleasant stroll that you can manage in an hour or less, provided distractions such as Usinger’s — where you can load up on take-home sausages, natural-casing hot dogs and the best liverwurst on the planet (packed in dry ice for a nominal charge) — don’t slow you down, or you don’t decide to enjoy the sun and scenery at one of several outdoor cafes.
Afternoons along the RiverWalk and other places of interest left us with two evenings and a morning to check out Milwaukee’s indoor dining scene.
The first night we ventured into the Historic Third Ward to a place called Coquette Cafe, the more casual of two restaurants owned by Sanford and Angie D’Amato, whose first restaurant, Sanford, is arguably Milwaukee’s finest. Coquette Cafe is far less formal; it’s a classic bistro with paper-topped tables and wooden banquettes and a traditional menu that offers such fare as steak frites, coq au vin and coquilles St. Jacques.
We started with plump roasted mussels swimming in a tomato-mushroom cream broth, and an interesting eggroll-sized croustade stuffed with shrimp, mushrooms, potatoes, paprika and sherry. Entrees include a couple of vegetarian choices, such as whole artichoke with vegetable salad — but this is Milwaukee; we were looking for meat.
Actually, only I was. My wife tucked into a comforting bourride, a Provencal fish stew with a generous amount of fish and shellfish, served with an intense garlic aioli. I tried lamb sirloin, served in thick, medium-rare slices over a pile of greens with couscous and a mint pesto. And I had frites on the side; they’re very good. For dessert, we split a tiny chocolate mousse cake that oozed molten chocolate when you cut into it. Yum.
And we were back in time to watch the RiverSplash fireworks show over the Milwaukee River.
Later that night, we sipped cordials in the hotel bar, while Pete the bartender sang the praises of a hot new Italian restaurant nearby. Which led us Saturday night to Beccofino, an upscale restaurant inside the Shorecrest Hotel, a grand, historic hotel in the posh part of town.
The dining room is filled with reproduction Tiffany lamps and similarly styled leaded glass; it’s not a particularly Italian look, but it is very pretty. And as our new friend Pete suggested, it’s a hot spot, packed with a youngish, smartly dressed crowd.
Partner Paolo Cesaro is the nattily dressed maitre d’, whose job entails much customer pampering and air-kissing. Chef/partner Mario Maggi cooked with the Bice restaurant group, including the Chicago Bice; his menu is similarly stylish and pricey, entrees topping out at $27. Not the place to go if you’re counting pennies.
But you do get some excellent food, such as a chilled salad with lots of lump crab meat, hearts of palm and cherry tomatoes, dressed with olive oil and lemon. Heavenly mushroom risotto, scented with truffle oil, is covered with fat flakes of parmesan cheese. And the thick veal chop, stuffed with prosciutto and fontina cheese, is a beautiful piece of meat.
The dessert selection is a bit perfunctory, but the what-else-is-new tiramisu is very good.
For Sunday brunch we headed to the north side of town to Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro.
Now the name Bartolotta in Chicago means Paul Bartolotta, until recently the chef of four-star Spiaggia (Bartolotta left to begin an as-yet-unannounced new venture). In Milwaukee, Bartolotta means Joseph, brother of Paul and owner of three Milwaukee-area restaurants, including Ristorante Bartolotta and a steakhouse called Mr. B’s.
Lake Park Bistro is Bartolotta’s French effort, and he couldn’t have asked for a better location. The building is a former park district pavilion sitting on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan; two back rooms offer spectacular lake views, and most tables in the restaurant provide at least a glimpse of the water. The dining room is sunny and cheerful, decorated with framed Guy Buffet prints, large-format wine and champagne bottles and a couple of wire-frame depictions of the Eiffel Tower.
The lunch and dinner menus are straightforward and reasonably priced, although at dinner you’ll pay more for a veal chop than I did at Beccofino. Sunday brunch adopts a different format; entrees range from $18 to $25, but include appetizer (choose from about eight) and dessert (choose from about four). Our meals included a truffle-flecked chicken-liver mousse, hefty shrimp in a Bloody Mary-style cocktail sauce (served in a martini glass with pickled okra substituting for celery), eggs Sardou (poached egg with hollandaise sauce over sauteed artichoke hearts) and a hefty nicoise salad with grilled fresh tuna.
The fresh fruit and sorbet plate, one of the available desserts, was a snore; indeed, the cantaloupe slice on my plate had been cut some time before. Much better is the chocolate espresso mousse, a dark, rich confection served in a martini glass.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Two nights lodging …….. $344
Gasoline ………………. $20
Tolls ……………….. $3.20
Parking ……………….. $20
Meals ………………… $350
Admission fees …………. $13
Total ……………… $750.20
IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
Milwaukee is about 90 miles north of Chicago, a straight shot on Interstate Highway 94.
LODGING
Just about every major hotel operator has one or more Milwaukee-area location, but we stayed at Hotel Metro, 411 E. Mason St. (414-272-1937; www.hotelmetro.com), a former stock exchange building converted into a beautiful Art Deco hotel. All of its 65 rooms are suites, and include two TVs, CD player, honor bar and other amenities. Beds are queen or king and have down comforters; bathrooms are especially spacious. Some suites have fireplaces. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is left at your door every day. There’s no gym or pool, but the Milwaukee Athletic Club is a block away. Room rates run $145-$175 per night.
Next door to the Metro is the Pfister Hotel, 424 E. Wisconsin Ave. (414-390-3804; www.thepfisterhotel.com), Milwaukee’s preeminent luxury hotel for more than 100 years. Worth a visit if only to stroll through the gilded lobby. Rates are $119-$189.
And the Hilton Milwaukee City Center, 509 W. Wisconsin Ave. (414-271-7250), is adding a recreational indoor water park called Paradise Landing, scheduled to open in September 2000. Rates are $179-$199.
Generally, the bargain-priced hotels are located west of the city. This is not a bad thing; these hotels are closer to attractions such as the Milwaukee County Zoo and County Stadium (and Miller Park, which replaces County Stadium next year). Getting downtown from the west is a snap, and parking is plentiful.
DINING
We ate at Coquette Cafe, in the Landmark Building at 316 N. Milwaukee St. (414-291-2655); Beccofino, 1962 N. Prospect Ave. (414-225-3110); and Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro, 3133 E. Newberry Rd. (414-962-6300).
ATTRACTIONS
We didn’t visit much but did spend a couple of hours at the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St. (414-278-2728), which recently opened the Puelicher Butterfly Wing, where you can stroll amidst hundreds of tropical butterflies. An adjacent learning gallery with interactive exhibits is mostly kid-oriented. Admission $6.50 adults, $5 seniors, $4 children.
Next door to the museum is an IMAX dome theater (414-319-4629) and Discover World (414-765-9966), an interactive science and technology museum. Separate admissions.
ALSO OF INTEREST
Miller Brewing Company, 42nd and State Streets, offers free guided tours of its brewery, caves and warehouse. Monday-Saturday; 414-931-BEER for schedule.
The Milwaukee Art Museum, 750 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr. (414-224-3200). A breathtaking lakefront art museum, housing more than 20,000 works. Currently featuring a special exhibit of works by Toulouse-Lautrec through Aug. 13. A dramatic addition to the museum is under way and scheduled for an early 2001 completion.
Milwaukee County Zoo, 10001 W. Bluemound Rd. (414-771-3040). An excellent zoo. Clever hidden moats allow the placement of predators and prey within seemingly close proximity. Great for kids.
INFORMATION
Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau, 800-554-1448; www.milwaukee.org
