Milwaukee Public Market flyby

I landed at Gen'l. Mitchell Int'l. in the midst of the snowstorm the other afternoon, hungry. TODG picked me up and we fled into downtown Milwaukee aiming to do something we'd intended for months: visit the new Public Market. Snow, schmow. At least it wouldn't be crowded, we thought. We were right, altho' there was a surprizing number of folks there. The building is quite interesting, it looks like a depression period-piece until you notice that, in fact, it's absolutely contemporary in design. Kudos to the architects on that--it's a delightful conceit. Two floors, mostly the second floor is empty except for the classroom. Nice open feeling to the place. St. Paul's Fish company had lots of good looking fish, including monkfish and bluefish--which are just impossible to find in KC anymore. Clams and oysters, fresh calamari, all the usual suspects as well. Good-sized lobster tanks, too; set on the flloor so you can walk around and view the denizens.

The Soup and Stock Market had several hot soups available for slurping, varieties change daily. They've got all sorts of varieties chilled, ready to go.

There's a decent Mexican market, with most all the ordinary things one would need. Certainly not as good as a neighborhood mkt, but sort of surprizing that it's there at all.

But I was there for one thing mainly: I wanted to check out West Allis
Cheese. Oh boy! This is really a find: they've got alll the Wisconsin artisanal cheeses that you hear about but can never find. Carr Valley makes some superb cheeses--their cave-aged cheddar is both semi-hard and smooth at the same time. Reallly nutty, not terribly sharp; probably the best cheddar I've ever had. There's goat and sheep cheeses, and a "shepard's blend" that puts goat, sheep, and cow together. Their Italian cheeses are real eye-openers--a parmesan that's certainly worth buying.

I could go on, but won't. You get the picture. It's worth going to the market just for the cheese. But there's more.

Field's Best is a fine veg and fruit stall. I counted 8 different types of apples, including Winesap--which I haven't seen available for years. Their produce looked absolutely fresh. It was great to gaze upon the produce, look up and out the window at the driving snow, and return the eyes to the produce. Great effect!

TODG got herself an excellent panini from Ceriello's, a very well stocked Italian deli cum meat market. They've got some really good looking meat--including dry-aged beef. But I think that the most overpowering display of flesh was at Lakeside Poultry and Meats. Dry-aged steaks the likes of which I'd never seen. Birds of all sorts. Just everything that folks like us need, beautifully displayed ready to come home with us.

I stopped off at Aladdin Tastes of the East for a bowl of chicken curry--lots of chicken, mild sauce with a *very* nice top aroma of cardamom--over a bed of perfectly cooked basmati. This is more a restaurant stall than a grocery, although there is one 4-5 shelf bay with some Indian packaged meal-kits.

All in all, the market was a great place to spend a snowy afternoon. But there's enough there--just in meat and cheese alone--to make it a destination. We've certainly got nothing like it in KC. It's comparable, in fact, to the newly opened indoor market section of Montreal's Jean-Talon, maybe a little smaller, but just as useful and user-friendly.

Geo

http://www.milwaukeepublicmarket.org/

http://www.milwaukeepublicmarket.org/at ... endors.pdf (this will download a pdf which has brief descriptions of the vendors)

http://www.wacheese-gifts.com/about_us.asp

http://www4.mailordercentral.com/carrva ... efault.asp

http://www.ceriellofinefoods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

The lovely Susan and I visited the Milwaukee Public Market after the LTH dinner at Old Town Serbian Gourmet House the night before.
Overview:

I thought it was well done; Susan liked it too, but was less impressed - she grew up in Cleveland with its West Side Market - probably twice the size of Milwaukee's.

Geo, thanks for reporting on the Milwaukee Public Market. I've been meaning to for ages. You hit many of the same points I would have, especially the cheese vendor and the meat displays. You do have one glaring ommission: C.Adam's Bakery. The market marketing material sez they specialize in nostalgic baked goods. But I do not think anyone grew up on food like theirs. It may be called a cheese danish, but it's a cheese danish on steriods, a cheese danish nearly the size of a Chicago 16 inch softball; yet, this is no freak, flaky, just sweet enough and packing plenty of that Wisconsin butter and sweet cheese. There was another pastry called, I believe a morning glory, that was totally unseen in my childhood. Not my kidz, they'll grow up knowing this blob of pastry and chocolate chunks. And anything that we did not try that tasted great, surely looked great.

We had gone to the market, like nr706, the morning after the Old Town Serbian dinner. That weekend was the pentultimate of the weekend farmer's markets that compliment the public market. We decided we had to return for the final market. That saturday, the farmer's market, just outside the northwest side of the market/under the expressway, had some great stuff even as it was November. Tons of apples, including an unknown to us, really interesting "Arkansas black", a tiny keeper apple with a blue-black blush. There was a vendor with Wisconsin sausages, and another farmer who brought a portable smoker. He was working on a turkey for lunch, but until then, he was making sammy's with fresh eggs, his thick and salty bacon and market bread. That alone made the visit.

It's hard to quibble with the market, as it stands. I would say, if asked, that it needs to be bigger. Perhaps they did not expect such a success, but the building as it stands does not have room for more. And it seems a bit odd that a Wisconsin market would not have more sausages. A few more ethnic stands, something Eastern European maybe, would only gild the lily. Still, between the market and the art museum, there are two great reasons to visit downtown Milwaukee.

Vital Information wrote:Perhaps they did not expect such a success, but the building as it stands does not have room for more. And it seems a bit odd that a Wisconsin market would not have more sausages. A few more ethnic stands, something Eastern European maybe, would only gild the lily. Still, between the market and the art museum, there are two great reasons to visit downtown Milwaukee.

I, too, was disappointed it wasn't larger. Compared to the markets in Philadelphia or Toronto, there's not a lot there. And there's room for a few more stands, especially if they cut down on the seating and/or put some upstairs.

Why is there an Italian deli/butcher but not a German one? There ought to be an outpost of Usinger's or Nueske's or something.

I'd like to see more places offering cooked food. As it is now, there's just the fishmonger. The Mexican stand had a sign about tamales, but they didn't have any when we were there.

I also thought the pricing was for tourists. It's not a place I'd see myself shopping very often if I lived in Milwaukee, unless there are things there you can't get elsewhere. (I haven't been grocery shopping in Milwaukee proper.)

I concur that the bakery is very good, though. We really enjoyed the chocolate cherry bread.

Vital--
I'm sorry...well, better said: TODG is sorry, that we missed the bakery. Just flat-out missed it. Won't happen again. Tnx for the heads-up.

LAZ--
I think that both the meat and cheese are special, and so far as I know, not available anywhere else in Mke. And, fer shure, the cheese selection isn't available anyplace else--that I know of--in Wisconsin. Even Whole Paycheck in Mad-city doesn't have 10% of the WI cheeses; and the closest competitor, the cheese shoppe in Stoughton, hasn't even *heard* of some of these cheeses.

So, speaking as a regular 'Sconsonian seeker after fine fare, I've got to say that the MPM fills some essential culinary niches, ones which aren't otherwise filled.

Geo

The Woodmans stores in Kenosha and Janesville carry cheeses from many of the independent Wisconson cheese makers - Carr Valley is about the only one that is not represented.

Greets jlawrence--

Welllll, I must say that I know the cheese section of the J-ville Woodman's as well as anyone, and mostly they have, like, x number of bays of cheeses (= from x number of Wisconsin producers), but each and every bay is basically identical: orange and white cheddar or jack or mild brick or this or that standard supermarket cheese. Last time I checked, only 1 out of 6 bays even had aged brick, fer gosh sakes, and that's a Wisconsin original.

Either I'm pretty well blind, or there are no artisanal Wisconsin cheeses in the J-ville Woodman's. And the import cheese selection is essentially one 36" shelf, with the likes of President small rounds of brie and Laughing Cow.

[Just as an aside, I guess I must admit to not getting Woodman's. Their coffee section is just the same as the cheese section: 5 bays from 5 manufacturers, everything basically the same. What's the point? Biggest store in the observable universe, and yet the range of choice is not any greater than a really good Pic 'n Save in Waukesha or Kenosha.]

If I've missed something, pls set me straight!

Geo

Geo wrote:I think that both the meat and cheese are special, and so far as I know, not available anywhere else in Mke. And, fer shure, the cheese selection isn't available anyplace else--that I know of--in Wisconsin.

The cheese counter was fairly busy when I was there and I didn't have a chance to check it out thoroughly, but it seems to me I found a fairly similar selection here:

Plymouth Cheese Counter
Intersection Hwy 57 & Cty Rd PP
Plymouth, WI 53073
920-892-8781
http://www.cheesecapital.com

Note that they have more kinds of cheese in the store than they list on their web site.

When it comes to cheese, I suppose we're spoiled here in Chicago, because there are lots of places to find great cheeses. The one thing I have trouble finding that I get in Wisconsin is horseradish cheese spread. For some reason, you can find port wine, Swiss and all sorts of other flavors, but not horseradish. That said, we bought some nice, cranberry-studded cheese at the Milwaukee market that I haven't seen here -- but I haven't looked for it, either. However, it was available at both Plymouth and at Mars Cheese Castle.

Just a few more thoughts:

LAZ, you say you would not shop their regularly if you were a Milwaukee resident. Perhaps, I would not either if I lived up there, but I think it has to do with the quality of the market. OK, let me see if I am saying this right. To me, the market was like a big gourmet store, a better version of Fox and Obel. The meat, especially was gorgeous, I just gaped. And it wasn't cheap. Up to $20/lb and more, but what do you expect from dry aged prime? Same thing with the locally raised, organic poultry. As much as I would love to subsist on such fare, my budget would never allow this as my regular fowl. I mean it is the same thing with the Carr Valley cheeses. How much are you gonna get when it's, again over $20/lb? It's a luxury. Think Harrod's basement.

Not only did the cheese people have all the known/famous Wisconsin artisinal cheeses including Pleasant Ridge and Rothkasse (besides Carr Valley), they were tremendously generous people, offering sample after sample--great sales technique!

Did I mention the meat was gorgeous? Also, the prime cuts included items like hanger and chuck, not just ribeye or sirloin. The poultry included fresh goose (weighing in at something like $55) and fresh ducks. They also had chickens in multiple sizes, going all the way up to hens. See that often?

Besides the sweets, the bread bakery's pretty good too (although not quite as good as the bread at Sanford's Harlequin bakery a few blocks away). Speaking of Sandford, his bistro, Coquette, is a great place for lunch near the market.

Milwaukee has a coffee culture as good or better than Seatle (no really!), and the roaster in the market's pretty darn good (although I prefer best Annodyne up on Brady).

Again, think of this as the equivilant of a ONE very good gourmet store, not a rival to public markets like in Cleveland, Lancaster and Philadelphia.

Rob

Vital Information wrote:To me, the market was like a big gourmet store, a better version of Fox and Obel. The meat, especially was gorgeous, I just gaped. And it wasn't cheap. Up to $20/lb and more, but what do you expect from dry aged prime? Same thing with the locally raised, organic poultry. As much as I would love to subsist on such fare, my budget would never allow this as my regular fowl. I mean it is the same thing with the Carr Valley cheeses. How much are you gonna get when it's, again over $20/lb? It's a luxury. Think Harrod's basement.

When I said it was pricey, I wasn't thinking so much about those types of things as the packaged goods, many of which are available at Woodman's and elsewhere for a lot less. To give you an example, I bought Sprecher's soda at Woodman's for about 2/3 the price at the Milwaukee Public Market.

Yes, it does seem more like Fox and Obel's than a city marketplace.

Laz,

Since you are in Milwaukee, have you been to the Pik & Save Market that is adjacent to downtown? Great variety of bakery, cheese, fresh meats in an old converted Kohl's grocery store.

Ahhh, I think things are becomming clearer, in my mind at least. (Which is no small feat...) I can take both Vital's and LAZ's points like this. When I want to buy my Sprecher's (or my canned goods or pickled goods or pasta or rice, or any other staples, or decent beef and pork (but, interestingly enough, not lamb or veal)) I go to Woodman's. Which, in fact is pretty much what I do.

But when I want to buy speciality items--top-end cheese or meat, or fish--I go to the MPM. That seems to shake out pretty well. We all have both these sorts of needs, and we're far better off to have both sources available, than just one or the other.

Agreed, it's not like a general purpose public market; but then, it is what it is, and it's valuable.

I should also re-mention the fruit and veg stand. Their produce is beautiful, and, from what I've learned, it's sourced whenever possible from a local co-op of producers. Both these aspects are commendable.

BTW, I neglected in my earlier post to remark LAZ's point--a good one!--about the lack of a specialized sausage shoppe. Now that's lamentable. Wouldn't it be simply excellent to have a single place to go to get lots of Wisconsin's finest? I mean, to be able to get, say, Miesfeld's brats or Schroedl's breakfast sausage, or some of the great bacons, in a single place would be just great. Wonder why no one's done it?? Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

Another point to consider: we're talking about the market in deepest off-season. What is it going to be like in, say, mid-July, when everything's available? are there going to be stands outside, under the viaduct, selling local produce? If so, that would be very cool. Does anyone know the plan here?

Geo

Geo wrote:
Another point to consider: we're talking about the market in deepest off-season. What is it going to be like in, say, mid-July, when everything's available? are there going to be stands outside, under the viaduct, selling local produce? If so, that would be very cool. Does anyone know the plan here?

Geo

It is my understanding that the farmer's market runs on the weekends during the season. I am not sure the exact dates, but the final market was in mid-November. I am sure it starts some time in May.

We visited the farmer's market on both trips. The first time, on a Sunday, there was only about four vendors, but the produce itself was pretty good for late fall produce. The second time, on a Saturday, there was about ten vendors, again the produce was excellent for that time of year. On that Saturday, about five times, I saw people looking at apples inside, and I told them to go outside. I should also note, that the prices were cheaper than Chicago area farmer's markets (but still more expensive than store brought stuff). No offense to the inside produce guys, but their California produce just could not compare to what was outside from the farmer's market*. I am anxious to see the what the farmer's market looks like in late August or early September.

*It reminds me of what I feel about North Water Fresh Market on Da'bomb. When I wander around there in December or so (Da'bomb being a great Jewish-Christmas place), it seems like a great produce store. When I hit the place in July or later, it really seems iffy (as compared to what I get at my farmer's markets).

jlawrence01 wrote:Laz,

Since you are in Milwaukee, have you been to the Pik & Save Market that is adjacent to downtown? Great variety of bakery, cheese, fresh meats in an old converted Kohl's grocery store.

I'm not in Milwaukee; I just drive through it often. We stop frequently at Woodman's in Kenosha because it's a 24-hour store en route between our Wisconsin relatives' and our house. Like others here, I stopped at the Milwaukee Public Market before going to the LTH dinner at Old Town Serbian.

The Milwaukee Public Market, I must say, is brand new, and the city markets elsewhere took time to get the way they are. So applause to Milwaukee for a fine start. It's more than we have in Chicago.

jlawrence--
TODG has been to that Pic 'n Save several times (after visits to coffeeshoppes on Brady St., of course!) and she's told me that it's a pretty good store. What's the story on it?

Geo

I used to go to Marquette basketball quite a bit as I had season tickets a couple of years ago so I was in Milwaukee ever other week or so. We would park "uptown" in order to 1) hit the local street market (when available) and 2) to avoid the meter fees and parking lots near the lake. And usually the parking spot was in front of the old Kohl's store.

During our first trips up there, the grocery store was a Kohl's Supermarket (part of A&P). It was alright, a real upgrade on the usual dumpy Kohl's but no better than the average bear. Kohl's Supermarkets shutdown about two years ago. Pic 'n Save took the store over and the management spent about $3 refurbishing and remodeling the store. It looks phenomenal and is now more like a Byerly or a Dierbergs store than anything else.

Excellent prepared food, a lot of locally sourced cheeses, a great deli and a butcher counter where the folks know how to cut meat. I talked with one of the managers last summer and their goal was to become the best grocery in Milwaukee. Personally, not a place where I would do all my shopping BUT for special items, the prices seemed to be lower than you'd find in a lot of places in Chicago.

LTH,

Was in Milwaukee yesterday and stopped at the Milwaukee Public Market to poke around. My impression was quite positive.

Milwaukee Public Market



Goodly number of vendors representing a broad cross-section of products, spotlessly clean, excellent quality, friendly, well informed staff, an all-around good experience.

Terrific looking Grouper from ST. Paul Fish Co.


West Allis Cheese and Sausage Co.


Lakeside Poultry and Meat



Dry age beef and cured meats from Ceriello


Fresh Roasted Coffee


Even Sushi


And Hawaiian style plate lunches


Plus a number of other kiosks not pictured.


While the MPM was fun/interesting the best part of my morning was meeting a Milwaukee chapter of The Red Hat Society out for an excursion.

Milwaukee area Red Hot Cheesy Chicks chapter of The Red Hat Society


Would I be a regular at the Milwaukee Public Market if I lived in Milwaukee, yes, absolutely. Would I suggest a destination specific trip from Chicago to the MPM, no, though it's most certainly worth a visit in combination with other Milwaukee activities.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Terrific looking Grouper from ST. Paul Fish Co.



Enjoy,
Gary

In this picture, the grouper's eye looks pretty cloudy. How fresh was it really? If I saw a fish with eyes like that, I'd be passing on it.

Ultimate One,

Thanks for the link to the Red Hat society -- they've got some excellent head gear for sale there and The Wife does look good in red...hmmm.

Hammond

stevez wrote:In this picture, the grouper's eye looks pretty cloudy. How fresh was it really? If I saw a fish with eyes like that, I'd be passing on it.

Steve,

Taking the picture was as close to the fish as I got, though everything did appear very fresh. Maybe the eye looks cloudy due to lighting, maybe the grouper has cataracts.

Good eye, nice catch on the fish, or were you just baiting me?

Enjoy,
Gary

Here's a little update on the Milwaukee Public Market. Since its opening last fall, there's been a few changes--always an opportunity to return!

A couple of big changes:

- Spice House dug into some of the space used by the Mexican vendor (El Rey). This sharing of the finite room at the market does not seem to have diminished El Rey's productos. Spice House, however, only stacks a portion of their inventory, mostly the gift sets and mixes, and none of the smallest container we like to buy.

- Kehr's Candies took over the space by the west wall of the market, what seemed un-noticed before is now several cases filled with chocolates and other candies. I have not tried, but the turtles, mostly nuts and caramel, with only a drop of chocolate, look especially good.

- Ceriello's stopped selling their gorgeous red meat. A vendor at another stand said they were having refrigeration problems, but I suspect not enough people were buying the $20/lb (and up) prime steaks. They always carried, not just steaks, but all sortsa cuts of prime meats too. Not that I ever bought any, but to me, this was art.

- Lakeside has picked up the slack on the red meat, but they only carry a bit of prime. They did have the pinkest, pink milk fed veal at suitably milk fed prices. We bought from them, their own corned beef, a semi-boned leg of lamb for next week's sedar, and some lamb shoulder steaks for the pressure cooker. Oh, and chicken livers and a Nueske smoked ham hock.

We skipped cheeses, got late in the day 1/2 price bread, and as always, indulged in the pastries at C. Adams.

It's a great place to visit.

Can't wait to go. Who was serving the plate lunch?

Another quick market update:

I still miss Ceriello's meat display. My guess is that few people are using the MPM as their supermarket. People come more for the snacks, souveniers or just lunch, and Ceriello has adjusted their inventory accordingly.

Kehr's has some very good house-made frozen custards. You miss the freshness of the Kopps custard sphincters, but the raspberry was a bit more natural tasting if you know what I mean.

If Ceriello has limited their inventory, Spice House has expanded their's. It's still not the full shebang, but it's a good selection, including many bulk spices.

C.Adams still makes outstanding stuff. There is nothing as good in Chicago.

The Saturday Farmer's Market was a little smaller than I expected. There were about eight vendors, with mostly, what I've been learning is, what I'd call the standard Wisconsin Hmong blend of vegetables. Not much in the way of fruit or meats.

Luckily, we ventured to the South Shore/Bay View market as well. What a great farmer's market. First of all, you have the setting, South Shore Park right on Lake Michigan. Then, you have about 40 vendors selling things from elk sausage to maple syrup to breads. Then, the prices. When I bought two HUGE bags of zuchini blossoms for $4, the seller thought I was complaining when I commented on the price. I was marveling. Another vendor had really gorgeous, stellar Charlie Trotter-esque baby zuchini for $2/lb. There was all sortsa Asian vegetables including Chinese spinach, Thai chiles and on choy. If you are in Milwaukee on a Saturday morning, I highly recommend a visit to this market.

South Shore Farmers Market
414-482-0573
South Shore Park, Bayview
8am to 12noon, every Saturday, July 17 through October 16

The dumbing down of the market continues apace. The bread bakery is now a Breadsmith. Oh joy. Ceriello has also been replaced.

The best choice for lunch here is still the soup place. I've never been disappointed with anything I've ordered (of course it helps to try a sample beforehand). C. Adam's is also reliably good. Maybe they'll replace it with a Mrs. Fields someday.

The Milwaukee Public Market has changed a good deal since it opened. There is no longer an associated farmer's market, and the vendors inside are mostly focused on prepared foods. It's really more of a food court than a market now. There's no longer a produce dealer or a butcher shop.

Current vendors include two bakeries (C. Adam's and a Breadsmith), West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe, Cedarburg Coffee Roastery, Kehr’s Candies, Thief Wine Shop & Bar, St. Paul Fish Company (mostly a restaurant though fresh fish is available), and a branch of The Spice House, with rather more in the way of tools and a somewhat different selection of spices than they have in their Old World Third Street shop.

The rest are all restaurants: Margarita Paradise (Mexican), Aladdin (Middle Eastern), The Green Kitchen (salads and juice bar), Sushi-A-Go-Go and The Soup & Stock Market.

It's all fairly pricey. They also offer expensive cooking classes.

What do you suppose happened, LAZ? TODG and I visited a couple of times in the year or so after they opened, and thought that it had some promise. But obviously the concept of a public market, à la Seattle, Cleveland, etc. failed. I wonder why? Were the rents too high? were the locals uninterested? were the merchants underfunded?

Sad, but if you can make a profit out of your shop, there's no sense in keeping it open.

Geo

I wish I knew. I haven't spent enough time in Milwaukee to have a good grasp of what appeals to the public. My guess is that there wasn't a broad enough range of merchandise at good enough prices to interest local shoppers. Also, there was little that locals can't buy elsewhere at better prices with easier parking.

I failed to mention that a sign announced the imminent opening of Nehring's Family Market, from the owners of G. Groppi and Sendik's on Oakland. They will have cooked food, but also fresh meat and gourmet groceries.

" I haven't spent enough time in Milwaukee to have a good grasp of what appeals to the public. My guess is that there wasn't a broad enough range of merchandise at good enough prices to interest local shoppers. Also, there was little that locals can't buy elsewhere at better prices with easier parking.[/quote]"
I live in SE Wis and if thier was spmething that was superior at the Public Market, I would attend but thier isn't. Mikwaukee is still a small 'market' in the economic sense without a strong ethic and the continued deteriation of the inner city, squabbling of the County Sherrif and City Police certainly don' t provide an incentive to go downtown. On the whole I sense a continued decay in the City of all ]services.-Dick

I would just like to express my hatred for the St. Paul Fish Company in the market.
I had a day off and was treating my wife there as we had planned walking around the area.
The manager was insulting, not friendly, and was so horrid that my wife asked that we leave before the food arrived.
My wife puts up with a lot (hey - she is married to me!) but the abuse/attitude/crap we dealt with will never have me going back.

Someone had also posted a link to Plymouth Wisconsin for cheese. Slight threadjack for things in that area:
My all time favorite cheese place is not that far away from there:
http://www.henningscheese.com/
I should keep it quiet but it has been "discovered" and I see many out of state tags there every time I visit.

Also - I posted about this place a while ago, but it is also not far from plymouth/Keil: http://www.newtonmeatsinc.com/ Many people have mentioned to me that they have the best bacon. I do know that they are the friendliest place I have ever been in. Also in the area http://www.miesfelds.com/ for great brats.
My favorite butcher shop.

Skip the Old Wisconsin Sausage outlet - it has changed and now is almost retail cost for everything.