Milwaukee may have the popular image of a city that lives on beer and brats, but there is much more to the city's culinary scene nowadays. While there are still plenty of clubs, pubs and bars around, as well as the city's early ethnic influences in stops like Mimma's Cafe and historic Mader's, Milwaukee's new culinary emphasis is on farm-to-table dining. Urban agriculture and fish farms are supplying restaurants all over town.
Milwaukee's original farmer-chef-owned restaurant is Roots (www.rootsmilwaukee.com). Its varying seasonal ingredients fuel chef John Raymond's creativity as the harvest unfolds. Menus celebrate changing flavors and textures of the seasons, paired with the freshest possible naturally raised meats and sashimi-grade fish.
"The restaurant can better convey the passion and flavor in an ingredient that it has planted, raised and harvested itself," Raymond says.
The SURG Restaurant Group (www.surgrestaurantgroup.com), which includes Umami Moto, Charro, Carnevor and Ryan Braun's Graffito, gets most of its meat from Hidden Creek Farm, owned by one of SURG's owners. Wagyu cattle are among the farm's livestock, which produce Kobe-style beef. Mangalitsa pigs are also in the farm's livestock population, and they produce the "Kobe beef of pork." The farm also provides eggs for the restaurants, as well as herbs and vegetables that land on guest plates.
"Diners like knowing where their meat comes from because they know it hasn't been needlessly injected with antibiotics and hormones," says Mike Polaski, farm owner.
Aside from the farm-to-table movement, Milwaukee's ethnic culinary scene can be experienced on scheduled and customized Milwaukee Food Tours (www.milwaukeefoodtours.com) with Theresa Nemetz and staff. Guests tap into the city's ethnic food roots along Brady Street, the historic Third Ward and elsewhere in neighborhoods that were originally settled by Italian, Polish and German immigrants.
Lakeside dining in the Milwaukee region is popular in the warm season, and one place to enjoy it is Michael's House of Prime, a family-owned lakeside emporium for beef and seafood in Pewaukee.
Harbor House (www.harborhousemke.com) is Milwaukee's only restaurant directly on Lake Michigan. Its culinary focus is on precisely prepared, impeccably fresh seafood, served in a sleek but relaxed dining room. Diners also enjoy stunning views of the Milwaukee Art Museum and Lake Michigan.
In historic downtown Waukesha, a walkable district that is multiplying fine dining and nightlife experiences inside its historic buildings, there are options like Divino Gelato Cafe (www.divinogelatocafe.com), where gelato is made on the premises using imported Italian ingredients and Italian equipment that yield over 100 flavors.
Other popular stops in the historic district include Generations at 5 Points (www.gen-five.com), where a small plate dinner menu is popular among locals.
La Estacion (www.laestacionrestaurant.com) serves up authentic Mexican cuisine inside refurbished train carriages. Private carriage dining in the manner of train travel's heyday is available.
