Milwaukee grocery shopping

In Chicago, where independent groceries and produce markets are common, Pete's Fruit Market would not be very remarkable. But in Milwaukee, it's astonishing. Loads of good-looking produce, reasonable prices generally and a lot of low-priced just-off-perfect marked-down produce supplementing the regular goods. For example, today I bought three eggplants for $1, and a big basket of limes for $3. The eggplants will likely need using within a few days, but they're not bruised or otherwise defective.

This is really the only store anything like it I've found anywhere in the Milwaukee area. Although the owner is Greek, the neighborhood evidently dictates the selection, so the mix is strongly Mexican, with a huge selection of chilies and all kinds of Latin goods. They also have a hot food counter with things like barbacoa and carnitas; fresh juices; house-made potato chips (excellent!) and very friendly staff. There's a small selection of canned goods and the like plus a fairly large selection of fresh meat. They also stock items like chorizo (really good looking chorizo seco today) and cesina.

By contrast, Brennan's is very upscale and expensive. They don't have nearly so large a variety of produce as Pete's and what they do have costs about three times what Pete's charges. They also sell wine, a huge selection of appealing but costly cheese (nothing less than $10/pound) and fresh meat and sausage at more reasonable prices. We bought a couple of their landjaeger sausages -- they were rather sweet, but otherwise tasty.


Pete's Fruit Market
http://www.petesfruitmarket.com
1400 S. Union St., Milwaukee, WI 53204
(414) 383-1300
7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

Brennan's Market
http://www.brennansmarket.com

19000 W. Bluemound Road
Brookfield, WI 53045
(262) 785-6606

1670 Old School House Road
Oconomowoc, WI 53066
(262) 569-0067

8 a.m. to 9 p.m. M-Sat, to 6 p.m. Su

LAZ wrote:This is really the only store anything like it I've found anywhere in the Milwaukee area. Although the owner is Greek, the neighborhood evidently dictates the selection, so the mix is strongly Mexican, with a huge selection of chilies and all kinds of Latin goods. They also have a hot food counter with things like barbacoa and carnitas; fresh juices; house-made potato chips (excellent!) and very friendly staff. There's a small selection of canned goods and the like plus a fairly large selection of fresh meat. They also stock items like chorizo (really good looking chorizo seco today) and cesina.

Does the Cielito Lindo taco truck still park on Greenfield next to Pete's Fruit Market? On a daytrip from Chicago we actually did a little shopping at Pete's after eating a couple tacos on the sidewalk outside. Seemed like a decent store.

Thank you - I did not know about Petes. I will have to go there tomorrow.

Rene G wrote:Does the Cielito Lindo taco truck still park on Greenfield next to Pete's Fruit Market? On a daytrip from Chicago we actually did a little shopping at Pete's after eating a couple tacos on the sidewalk outside. Seemed like a decent store.

There was a truck there yesterday. I didn't have a chance to check it out, because I got there close to closing time and needed to rush in to buy my vegetables.

Pete's has moved to a new building since this photo was taken.

exvaxman wrote:International Foods
1920 E. Capital Dr., (414) 964-7115
Acts as a small grocery in this Milwaukee/Shorewood neighborhood and carries foods from around the world. Specializes in Russian products to cater to a large Russian population in the area.

My elderly neighbor needed a ride to the doctor today and she had never heard of the place (it has been there for 20 years).
I thought she would max out her credit card there! I have never seen her that happy before. By the time she left the nice lady behind the counter was taking many orders from her for special things for the next Jewish holiday.

I stopped by Russian Food and Gifts today. It's also in Shorewood. It's a small, but nicely appointed store that offers a wide selection of mostly Russian foods -- candies, pastries, cured meats, frozen pelmeni, bottled salads, smoked fish, etc. -- along with some Russian books, jewelry and ornaments.

It differs from the International Foods, which is even smaller and more of a deli, in that nothing is cut to order; all the food is packaged, and Russian Foods doesn't stock house-made foods. On the other hand, everything there is labeled and priced, whereas at International foods, you have to be prepared for a lot of pointing and asking about what the things in the deli case are and how much they cost.

Russian Food & Gifts
3557 N. Oakland Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53211
414-332-3233

Thanks for the posting on Petes! I went in there for the first time today and was impressed. Not as much with the meats, but I did walk out with several bags. For what it was worth, the food truck was parked in the lot. I do admit it being such a nice day I almost bought a beef tongue and a couple of kidneys for the smoker.

The Russian store by Harry's is somewhere I go into a lot for their cookies and candy.
I trust that the lady at International Foods was nice and helpful? Try one of the frozen cakes from the Ukraine next time. They also carry some good herring that I have not found since (also called International Foods) on the way back from super H trips in Chicago went under. That and when I want some non-wisconsin fatty processed meats, they have the best selection in the area. The Russian sausage that I love apparently is "imported" from Tennessee.

LAZ wrote:By contrast, Brennan's is very upscale and expensive. They don't have nearly so large a variety of produce as Pete's and what they do have costs about three times what Pete's charges. They also sell wine, a huge selection of appealing but costly cheese (nothing less than $10/pound) and fresh meat and sausage at more reasonable prices. We bought a couple of their landjaeger sausages -- they were rather sweet, but otherwise tasty.

I shop there on occasion because its close to my house and because their fresh fruit is the best in Waukesha county, even if it comes at a price. However I have a huge issue with how they run their cheese department. The lady who runs it is great and super helpful. The corporate policy on labeling is my issue. Here is an exerpt of a blog post I did a few years back

On Monday I stopped by to pick up some fruit and also needed a blue cheese for some burgers I was planning on grilling. Brennan’s has several styles of blue cheese (and its close relatives, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, and Stilton). I settled on a double cream blue from Mineral Point Wisconsin. I wanted to know more about the cheese that I purchased such as who made it and what other cheeses that company makes. It was easy to find, a quick google search using the term “double cream blue cheese Mineral Point” revealed that it was made by Hook’s Cheese Company. I then was able to read about this cheese, their other cheeses, and the history of the Company. What bothered me was that Brennan’s didn’t give the cheese makers any recognition on their label. This is not the first time I have had to decipher cheese from Brennan’s as they rarely label cheeses with the cheese makers name. For many Wisconsin cheeses they will tell you what City, which makes it easier to track down the maker but for out-of-state (or country) cheeses they just have the state (or country) name.

Which leads me to this: Why would Brennan’s, arguably one of the best cheese stores in the state, not give recognition to the excellent cheese makers that supply them with the cheese? Why wouldn’t they want to give Hook’s some credit for the superb double cream blue that made my burgers so delicious? I decided to e-mail them to find out more.
Their response was lame. They didn’t even really answer my question (at least to my satisfaction). Here is what they said: “For over 60 years, we have worked very closely with Wisconsin cheese makers, particularly in Green County, promoting and selling their cheeses, long before artisanal became the buzz word. We have also partnered with local cheese makers to create to numerous new cheeses, exclusively for Brennan’s. In addition to working with the cheese makers, we have great relationship with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and think that we have done a lot to grow Wisconsin Cheese as a whole in our long history. Our cheese sampling program is a favorite among our customers. In addition, our cheese staff is one of the most knowledgeable and helpful around and can answer any questions about our cheese.”

I responded by writing: “But why shouldn’t customers know exactly who is making their cheese? Maybe I want other Hook’s cheeses now that I discovered their double cream blue, but cannot seek them out because they are not identified as Hooks? It would be like taking all of the labels off your beer and just saying “Pale Ale, Lake Mills, Wisconsin” and people would have to figure out that it was Tyranena Brewing and the beer is either Bitter Woman or Stone Teepee.” I have not heard back.


The full article is here: http://eatwisconsin.wordpress.com/2009/ ... llent-but/

eatwisconsin wrote:But why shouldn’t customers know exactly who is making their cheese?

My guess is that they don't want you going around them to buy the cheese from other sources.

I haven't been in Brennan's for years, but wasn't it their policy to label the award winning cheeses?
When I was working in that part of town I thought the label/non-labelled ratio for Wisconsin cheese was about 50/50.

eatwisconsin, is there no RSS feed option for following the blog?

Woodman's remains my favorite supermarket in the Milwaukee area, but sometimes you need a store you can get in and out of in less than an hour and a half. So far, the best combination of stock, service and price I've found in a general supermarket is Metcalfe's in Wauwatosa. They have two other stores in Madison. They claim to stock pastries from 25 local bakeries, more than 500 varieties of artisan cheeses and the largest variety of local and organic produce in the area. The prices are higher than Woodman's but not as high as Pick n Save.

Metcalfe’s Wauwatosa
6700 West State Street
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
414.259.8560
http://www.shopmetcalfes.com

Metcalfe’s Wauwatosa

Darn it LAZ - somewhere I have to check out tomorrow on my day off. But being in tosa I will be getting take out from
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/43/1576580/restaurant/Milwaukee/Enderis-Park/Ono-Kine-Grindz-Wauwatosa

Oh - best time to Shop at Woodman's in the falls is EARLY (pre-9:AM) Sunday morning. No lines.
This is when I do my weekly shopping.

exvaxman wrote:Oh - best time to Shop at Woodman's in the falls is EARLY (pre-9:AM) Sunday morning. No lines.
This is when I do my weekly shopping.

I'm mostly there about midnight to 2 a.m., typically at the Kenosha store en route to or from Chicago. The time it takes isn't because of lines, but because the store is so big and I'm incapable of leaving without browsing all the aisles.

Things are looking up for Milwaukee produce shopping. Cermak Fresh Market, based in Aurora, Ill., is opening a store at 1541 Miller Parkway, West Milwaukee. They're having a job fair at the end of the month, so I'd guess opening is slated for June or July. The owner has just the one Aurora store now, but comes from the family that operates the Cermak Produce chain around the Chicago area.

http://www.cermakfreshmarket.com

More info.

TODG and I scrammed out of Whitewater for Montréal six years ago. At that time, the M'wahkee Public Market had just opened, to great hope and expectations, and rumors were rife about Whole Paycheck coming to town. According to the observations I've seen on the board, the Public Market has evolved badly, and most of you consider it a failure. But what about Whole Paycheck? Did it ever actually arrive in MKW? If so, how has that worked out? I don't notice any mention by LAZ of it, so that leads me to infer negatives, one way or another.

LAZ, I know what you're saying about having to go through all the aisles at Woodman's, but sheesh, if you reflect seriously on it, there's one helluva lot of repetition and uninteresting stuff accumulated in those vast aisles. At least that was the way it was in Janesville; the cheese section, for example, had about ten different versions of the same waxy, tasteless orange cheddar cheese. I never *did* see a decent artisanal cheese at Woodman's. Never. The only interesting Wisconsin cheese that they ever had (in my experience) was aged brick, which was truly a wonder.

What's that Italian market in MKW out by the lake, just north of the airport? I always thought it was kind of nice. Plus that Polish deli on Lincoln, which was terrific.

Geo

Whole Paycheck made it. I rarely go there myself. I do know people who swear by it.
When my father was alive I would take him there every other month for the olive bar. Otherwise, I have been there once in the past year to get some of their ketchup after it won a national taste test.

MPM is interesting. I had a very BAD experience at St. Paul fish company and refuse to ever go back to that vendor. However, I don't consider it a failure - just a visit once in a while type of place.

I haven't been at the Janesville Woodman's, but the Kenosha one has a fantastic cheese selection - the one in Men. Falls is good as well, but not as decent as the one in Kenosha. I haven't been to the one in Oak Creek for a while to have an opinion.

For the italian market by the airport. Did you mean the Layton Fruit Market?

We have a spice and culinary gadget stall at the Milwaukee Public Market, and from a vendor point of view, we don't consider it a failure at all. Our spice sales last month were up a whopping 26%, we would be thrilled if our other shop sales were increasing at that level. The concept just evolved somewhat away from a market, however, I don't think at this point they would change the name to reflect that. We are all really looking forward to the addition of Nehrigs. I was there last Saturday and it was jam packed with customers, you had to wait for someone to come out and drive away to get a parking spot.

I have shopped at the Whole Foods there on the near East side, and it is very nice, but Sendicks will always be my favorite Milwaukee grocer. The kind of old fashioned place where if you are a regular shopper, the butcher will save you veal bones for stock, no charge. The Downer Avenue shop is my favorite.

Geo wrote:LAZ, I know what you're saying about having to go through all the aisles at Woodman's, but sheesh, if you reflect seriously on it, there's one helluva lot of repetition and uninteresting stuff accumulated in those vast aisles. At least that was the way it was in Janesville; the cheese section, for example, had about ten different versions of the same waxy, tasteless orange cheddar cheese. I never *did* see a decent artisanal cheese at Woodman's. Never. The only interesting Wisconsin cheese that they ever had (in my experience) was aged brick, which was truly a wonder.

They have expanded their selection quite a bit and have some pretty good cheeses. However, there is not a lot of demand for the $15/ lb 10 year old cheddars among their customer base.

Actually, the place that is carrying a lot more excellent cheese is Sam's Club.

I stumbled upon the Milwaukee public market last month on my way to the MATC's fundraising event. There are some interesting shops in the place but there was nothing that was really all that interesting or worth making all teh effort to find a parking spot.

Geo wrote:But what about Whole Paycheck? Did it ever actually arrive in MKW? If so, how has that worked out? I don't notice any mention by LAZ of it, so that leads me to infer negatives, one way or another.

I'm not a fan of Whole Foods' prices or its management style, so I don't shop there if I can help it. Recently, however, I needed some things that only they carry, so I stopped in the Milwaukee store. It's a very nice store -- much nicer than the WF in Palatine -- and prices were comparable to Sendik's.

Geo, I agree that Woodman's has a lot of repetition, but they do carry a much more varied selection, especially of ethnic foods, than most Milwaukee stores.

I don't know why Milwaukee grocery prices are higher than Chicago's, and the supermarkets so white-bread, but I continue to do most of my food shopping in Illinois.

I have to step in here and disagree on the WF Vs. Sendiks pricing. I think that Sendiks is lower (at least the one I visit in Mequon).

As for the higher prices - remember that Roundy's (YUK!) has over 50% of the market and it used to be higher. There was a very interesting article on the new Pic-n-save that was built by the new Woodman's, and how THIS STORE HAD SPECIAL COMPETITIVE PRICING. I.E. the whole chain is gouging customers except where is has to compete. Hopefully Roundy's will sink in to the sunset (I really dislike them, the long lines, poor service, and Chairman Boob) as we get more super walmarts, grocery targets, more Woodman's, more sendiks (I found a number of things are within pennies of pic-n-save at Sendiks), Meijer's, etc. The pig seems to have high prices for what I normally get as well. For example of just one item - a quick microwave rice snack the son likes after school. Exact same item when I did a comparison Walmart $1.72, Roundy's $1.85, Sendiks $1.79, Woodman's $1.69, Piggly Wiggly $2.14

Having spent probably 30+ years shopping in and around Milwaukee for the best, living In Somers with access to Chicago markets, I can unequivocally say, the ethnic markets of tge Chicago completely outclass the Milwaukee markets of any kinds. Decades ago the Sendik's were standouts but today with the proliferation of Sendiks and the additions of Woodmans and Whole Foods , Sendiks does a decent job but is costly and doesn't stand out anymore.
For most items except for meat/fish, Woodman's is a standout.
Whole Foods is a mind set selling an experience so buyers feel good about thenselves. The French Cheese selection is good though.
Pick n Save has decent beef but after that the local stores are dismal except for Mequon where its like a different chain!
Grasch's in Brookfield used to offer good fish but after another dismal quality issue with soft shell crab this weekend, I can't reccamend Grashs anymore. They do have an in house Sushi maker that does an excellent job!
I have been making forays into Illinois to Fresh Market on Toughy and H Mart for fresh produce and fish and meat. One can not beat the quality/price ratio at Fresh Farms as well as selection. H Mart has tanks of live lobster, crab and fish.
There are many other ethnic markets around Chicago to support whatever your wants and the pricing is usually competative.
The downtown Mikwaukee market is just not on my radar screen.
One last topic. Sausage. In Chicago, Fresh Polish is a commodity, made to sell at a low price point, its good but not outstanding, .Usingers is actually better but European Homemade outclasses any I have had and I've purchased from just about every place around Chicago from Bobaks to Genes.
So I load two coolers into my wagon and make a foray every few weeks into Illinois and rarely anymore venture towards Milwaukee for food.-Dick

Supermarkets are so random in WI, I think that's the main issue. You couldn't get a decent loaf of bread *any*where in the Whitewater-Janesville area. You simply had to go up to Madison. But, while you were there, you could go to WF and talk to the nice woman who most excellently ran one of the best wine depts I've *ever* seen in a supermarket. I think I never succeeded in leaving Madison's WF without at least a case of wine.

On the other hand (and if this makes sense to you, it most certainly never did to me), the Sentry in Whitewater had one of the finest--admittedly small--fish depts I've ever encountered. The woman who ran it was really enthusiastic about her job, and when she realized how much I appreciated what she was doing, she basically let me into the operation. We'd get together weekly to look over what was going to be available, and figure out what the specials should be. I mean, gloriously fresh ray-wing? in Whitewater? you've got to be kidding me. But there it was, glistening on its bed of ice. Dang.

Simply random.

Geo

H Mart has tanks of live lobster, crab and fish.

This. A couple of times a year a neighbor (from HK) and I go down to Hmart in Niles. The first time I took her there I didn't think that my poor car would survive the trip home with all of the things she bought! That and the lobsters were $5 each for a 1.25 lb the last time I was there. Asahi as well for the fish.

I never liked Grash's fish - great meat department. Until Marketplace (still disappointingly Roundy's) I had to drive to Grash for my favorite cheese. The sendiks refused to carry it (and the only time I ever had bad service at Sendiks was the time I asked if they would carry it and the woman behind the cheese county was very snotty. The then freshly opened Marketplace said that she would and has kept stocking it.

Another Roundy's story. I went into the Marketplace when they opened, and all checkout lanes were open. I asked the woman as I checked out with a couple of items how long that would last. She actually said "only a couple of weeks. Then we will be going back to the same lack of service you see at our normal stores".

Pete's is simply amazing. The prices are outstanding and the produce is way better than what you'll find at Roundys/Pick N Save. I picked up fresh Favas for 2.50 a pound and a bushel of bell peppers for like 3 bucks. The deli counter is great and they'll give you samples of anything you want to try. Its also one of the few places that carry rabbit.

Also don't miss their homemade potato chips. They fry them right there and put them in a paper bag in the same heated display case as the rotisserie chickens.

"Its also one of the few places that carry rabbit. "

Is the rabbit USA or China?
Most carry Chinese and am looking for a local USA source?
Thanks -Dick

Is the rabbit USA or China?
Most carry Chinese and am looking for a local USA source?

I'll ask when I am there in Monday.

Thanks. I tried calling two times but I could have been speaking Swahili for all the good it did me!-Dick

Oh - there was a rabbit farm selling meat at the winter farmer's market at state fair Park, but I do not remember the name.

You may want to try Rasmussen for rabbit meat:
Days / Hours of Operation:
We are open 7 days a week

Driving Directions:
We are located on Hwy K, 1 block east off Hwy 83. (in between the Lake Country Police/Fire Department and Arrowhead High School)

Located at: Phone/Fax
N55W31185 Cty Rd K Toll Free:
Hartland, Wi 53029 Local: 262-367-2330
Waukesha county Fax:

McFarlane says that their rabbits are midwest, but the price is awful ($35 for one!)
http://www.pheasantfordinner.com./p-33- ... abbit.aspx

You did just remind me - Pel Freez rabbits used to have a distribution center in Brown Deer.
I haven't seen their rabbit in the freezer sections in years.