Milwaukee, WI over Thanksgiving
 

Does anyone any recommendations for anything going on over Thanksgiving weekend? While we are at it any recommendations for great restaurants? We love steak and Italian.

Jake's just past Barker Rd. on Capitol Drive (just west of Brookfield)is fabulous for steaks. And do try their onion rings, which have not been duplicated anywhere. Last summer we had the best steaks ever! They've been around since the early 60's.

Bartolotta's is very good for Italian food. It's in Wauwatosa at 76th and State and is another old favorite.

Go to JSonline.com and click on dining. You'll have all sorts of info there including the top 30 restaurants in Milwaukee by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel restaurant reviewer.

Thank you so much Mollie. We are staying at The Pfister. Are you familiar with it?

Very familiar! I was born and raised in Milwaukee and we spent our wedding night there! ;-) Try to get a tower room with a lake view! It's a gorgeous hotel.

Will you have a car? You'll need one with the restaurants I've recommended.

Celia's, the restaurant in the Pfister, is very good.

Mo's Steakhouse, at 720 N. Plankington, is within walking distance

Thanks for all the suggestions. We will have a car. We are staying in the tower and I requested a room with a nice view.

There's also a good Italian restaurant at the Knickerbocker Hotel, the Osteria del Mondo. We like to sit on their patio in the summer and enjoy the great food and ambiance. The Coquette Cafe is also excellent.

Please tell me that you are not considering an Italian place ON Thanksgiving.

We are not going out for Italian on Thanksgiving (actually we are hoping we can get a Turkey dinner at the hotel on Thanksgiving) but we are staying from Thursday until Sunday so we would like to try some of the wonderful restaurants in Milwaukee. I hear Milwaukee is a town with great restaurants.

It's a great town for restaurants! There's a place just across Wis. Ave. from the Pfister called Heinemann's Too that is great for breakfast. They started out as a bakery many years ago and evolved into a restaurant. Here's a link http://www.foodspot.com/heinemanns/m...too/index.html

There is also a fun place called the Safe House on Front Street (more of an alley) just across from the Pabst Theater. Their sign says International Exports and there are two gas lamps burning in front. Go for lunch and have a look around. Back in the day it used to be the Tunnel Inn, where we'd go to hear good Dixieland jazz with Dick Rudebusch and His Underprivileged Five!
http://www.safe-house.com/

And one more thing-- if you like fish, Milwaukee is known for their Friday night fish fries. Look at the JSonline dining guide for their favorites. There are many and are very reasonable, usually under $10.

Enjoy!

If you want a steak "experience", go to Coerpers. It looks like a seedy bar from the outside, and you may want to run when you walk in the door--but in my (picky) opinion, it is the best steak in the city. It is always packed and you order before you sit down. You get a ton of food and the most tender, flavorful meat anywhere. It is like an old time "supper club" and a really different experience. If you want a more refined, elegant experience, try Eddie Martini's. The atmosphere is tops (in a beautiful, elegant home setting with dark wood surroundings with lots of nooks) and the steaks are top ranked. Mo's is a favorite of many, but my husband I felt it was overrated. The steak was delicious, but the sides were disappointing.
I agree with Ristoranted Bartolotta's for Italian--my favorite for food and atmosphere combined in the area.
Bartolotta's also has a great steak restaurant called Mr. B's in a cute little old time shopping area called Stonewood Village in Brookfield--but it's a little bit of a hike from downtown. They also own Lake Park Bistro which is where I take all of my out of town guests first. It'a a great high end french bistro atmopshere with views of the lake. While most people love the food, I have found it inconsistent--but still love to go there (when the dishes are good, they're very good).

Forgot to mention...make sure you visit Blu at the top of the pfister. Great, elegant bar with views of the city.