I reside in both cities. If you question hotel prices in Milwaukee vs. Chicago, try putting up guests anywhere in downtown Chicago and see where your guests land. And as Saps said, do the research. Was your $70 lunch for just your portion of the bill or for several "folks"? We had lunch at the NoMi (which I love for special celebrations) recently and it was $110 for two, one glass of wine each, one split appetizer and my entree of one salad and my husband's one sandwich.

We drove Thing1 and Thing2 to Milwaukee last night for an all-ages concert that wasn't all-ages in Chicago, and felt safer having them in a hotel room with us rather than driving back at midnight (Thing1 is notorious at getting lost while driving).

While they danced the night away to VNV Nation, we went to Coquette Cafe (they ate KFC on the ride up)
316 N Milwaukee St
Milwaukee, WI 53202
http://coquettecafe.com/

I enjoyed it, but it wasn't what I would call brilliant.
The Soupe à l’Oignon was fantastic -- one of the top ten I've had. Crisp-edged melted cheese, deep-flavored broth without too much salt.
The Orchard Apple Salad with Asiago, Spiced Pecans and
Tarragon Vinaigrette was less successful: the vinaigrette wasn't well balanced (needed more oil), and the apples a bit mealy, and overall could use a little more flavor.

For entrees, MrsF's Faux Filet (actually a tri-tip roast, according to the server -- that's far, far from a filet, but still tender and tasty) was delicious, with a block of potato galette and chard and a red wine sauce.
I had the Grilled Salmon with Sautee of Dill Spaetzle and Snow Peas with a Bacon Paprika Vinaigrette. Also very good, but as schizo as the description: the salmon was rare to the point where it just starts to flake (perfect for me, I know plenty who would send it back), the spaetzle worked well with the slightly mustardy sauce as did the salmon, but the peas seemed out of place (though tasty with the salmon) and the whole thing didn't hang together.

For dessert we split the pistachio caramel tart, which was just perfect: crisp nuts, soft short crust and chewy caramel.

With two glasses of wine (at 1/4 bottle price, a decent deal) to start, coffee and tea to finish, came to just over $90 with tip -- quite reasonable for the quality.

In the morning, the yellow pages indicates that the Spice House, just a few blocks from our hotel, was open at 9AM, so we hit that, Usinger's Sausage (veal brats and a thuringer for Thing1 to take back to school), the chocolate shop (the Things each got a huge jawbreaker, plus some cocoa and Blue Ribbon Chips for baking for us), and the cheese shop on the corner (Vulcan Curds and Chocolate Cheese Fudge. Don't ask, I'm not fond of it).

All in all, a nice outing.

So glad you had a good time in Milwaukee. The public market is something Chicago has been trying to do for a while, but can't quite connect on. (I know from a board I sit on) I believe the cost of land here in Chicago has something to do with it.

Hot Dog University is now involved with the Milwaukee Public Market and the Historic Third Ward. The May 18th Chicago Reader will feature a complete story with pictures from the April 20th class. The Public Market has some wonderful vendors and the Farmer's Market will reopen Saturday, May 26th.

Resurrecting this thread to ask for some ideas for a company party. My company has offices both in Chicago and in Milwaukee so we typically switch between the two cities for our summer and holiday parties. This will be the first time our summer party will be held in Milwaukee since I've started with the company and as one of the party planners, I could use some help with ideas. So far we've looked into the Edelweiss boat tour, brewery tours and Balzac wine bar. The brewery tours have been knocked out of contention, but the boat tour and Balzac are still in the running. I'm trying to come up with ideas that could involve an activity, plus food & drinks. In the past we've done baseball games, Arlington race track and a picnic at a day camp. We expect to have about 80 people. Any suggestions would be great!

An interesting venue for a group gathering is The Milwaukee County Zoo. http://mcz.zoosociety.org/groups/. They offer facilities for groups such as yours and is very family friendly.

Mitchell Domes are nice.

http://www.county.milwaukee.gov/Mitchel ... a10116.htm

Click on the "Weddings" topic, other rentals are available.

Geo

There is a great Pizza restaurant just south of downtown Milwaukee that has a large selection of vegie choices. It's "Marchese's Olive Pit" at 1100 S. 1st St. in Milwaukee. They are open from 11AM - 9PM M-F, 11AM - ? on Friday & 3PM - ? Sat, closed on Sunday.

Their website: http://www.marchesesolivepit.com

Their pizzas are rectangular, with a thicker that thin crust, cut in tavern style square pieces. They have a number of veggie choices that are without red sauce, the crust brushed with an olive oil/garlic/herb blend. One of my favorites is "Cousin Steve's White Pizza" which is a secret cheese blend with garlic & artichokes.

They also have plenty of combos for meat lovers as well. A different style of pizza than either thin or pan, but quite good.

Marchese's Olive Pit
1100 S. 1st St.
Milwaukee, WI
414-384-9555

A friend caught the Cempazuchi segment on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives and decided she really wanted to go there. After a couple of missed attempts this past winter, we finally had dinner there last night and I have to say that I was pretty underwhelmed by the food. Admittedly, my friend is not particularly food-focused but the irony of leaving Chicago and driving all the way up to Milwaukee for what turned out to be dumbed down pan-Hispanic food repeatedly gnawed at me on the long drive home. For her and the rest of our group (myself included) it was a fun excursion but I don't consider this a destination for food in any sense.

Nothing was awful -- everything we ate was "fine" -- but nothing compelled, either. Appetizers of guacamole and ceviche were ok, though the shrimp in the ceviche tasted like it had been boiled before being added to the ceviche. A third appetizer, Tlacoyo Zapotec (an organic blue cornmeal masa cake topped with black beans, lettuce, tomato, crema and Mexican cheese), was limp, bland and largely forgettable. It seemed like nothing more than an accomodation for non-meat-eating types.

The best entree I tasted of the 6 we ordered were the Tacos de Tio Isreael, which featured perch, rolled in blue corn meal, served on corn tortillas with lime slaw and chipotle mayonnaise. I thought the fish was tasty and the coating was crunchy and flavorful. Another entree I liked alright was the breaded pork chop topped with a chipotle-portabella mushroom cream sauce (Chuleta en crema de Hongos). The pork was relatively moist and the sauce was tasty.

Chicken enchiladas were perfunctory. Pipian, described on the menu as a "Pre Hispanic style sauce of roasted pumpkin seeds, peanut, sesame seeds, and chiles" was surprisingly bland. The pork loin under the sauce was dry and overcooked. The smoky, chipotle-based cream sauce over a mahi mahi special was the only redeeming element of it. Mole Verde (the mole of the day) was bland and ladled out over dried out strips of grilled turkey breast.

Cocktails, ~90% of which are tequila-based, were decent and priced nicely at $7.5-9.0. Tequila selection was fairly broad. A few mezcals are also offered. Other spirits are not particularly present. I only spotted one rum, 10 Cane, behind the bar.

Service was excellent and friendly. The vibe in the place pretty much matches up with the hip, artsy neighborhood in which it's located.

=R=

Cempazuchi
1205 East Brady Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414-291-5233
www.cempazuchi.com

I'm heading up to Milwaukee for the Memorial Day w/e and will hit Ratzsch's a couple of times as I love this place. Don't know about Maders as the last few times there it's been real hit and miss...mostly miss.

Since the demise of the "real" Berghoff and the lack of 1st class German spots in Chicago, I use my trips up north to get as much hearty German food as possible and Ratzsch's might be the best available to me.

I might try Kegels as that looks nice from the posts I've seen.

Ratzsch's is a treasure. Mader's should be done once, and the reuben rolls are pretty great, but I felt the pain of the check relative to the food quality (which would have been fine at, say, Laschet's prices). After our brief stop there, I would heartily recommend giving Kegel's a fuller try, and l'm eager to hear the full report.

I'm perusing the Milwaukee threads before a drive up there today. Another thumbs up for Zaffiro's pizza, one of the best pizzas I've had in quite a while.

They are having a dining week until June 10th which unfortunately started after my return.

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/dining/artic ... eek10.html

PJ Murphy wrote:They are having a dining week until June 10th which unfortunately started after my return.

http://www.onmilwaukee.com/dining/artic ... eek10.html

I am actually heading to Milwaukee on Sunday. Can someone suggest a good place from the list of dining week options? I saw some posts already about Ratzsch's and Capital Grille. I've been to Coquette already. Any others I should hit?

Benihana
Bistro 333
Buca di Beppo
Butch's Old Casino Steak House
Cafe Calatrava
Cafe at the Pfister
Capital Grille*
Charro Tacos & Tequila
Club Charlies
Coquette Cafe
Eagan's On Water
Indulge
Joey Buona's Restaurant
Karl Ratzsch's
Kil@wat
Knick
Libiamo
Louise's
Mader's*
Mason Street Grill*
Milwaukee ChopHouse*
Mi•Key's*
Molly Cool's Seafood Tavern*
Osteria del Mondo*
Palms Bistro*
Red Accordion
RipTide Seafood Bar & Grill
Riverfront Pizzeria
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
Sabor*
Sake Tumi
Swig
Third Ward Caffe*
Tulip
Umami Moto*
Ward's House of Prime*
Water Buffalo
Zarletti

When I go to Milwaukee, I always try and get to Ratzsch's and if you follow this link it will show you their lunch and dinner deals;

http://www.milwaukeedowntown.com/catego ... -ratzsch-s

They have sauerbraten on there which goes for $27 alone on their regular menu, and is my favorite.

On that same page (right side) you can also link to the other restaurants and see their deals.

Have a good time.

Three Brothers http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Revi ... e-brothers