Author: Juan Miguel Martinez | Page 2

Sypher Lady X talks recent Brady Street Festival performance, Milwaukee’s Latine hip hop scene

August 15, 2023

Brady Street Festival came and went. Summerfest is long gone. Mexican Fiesta is on the horizon (August 25-27), with many banda and cumbia acts sure to fill the stages, as well as many Latine hip hop acts lookin...

Neighbors weigh in on future of Domes, Mitchell Park

Juan Miguel Martinez

June 22, 2023

Monday, June 5 was a very nerve-wracking day for me as County Supervisor of the 12th district. It was 6:54 p.m., and the Mitchell Park Domes input session I had scheduled was starting in six minutes. I paced at...

“We make our birria a little different here.” Romero’s stands out in new Greenfield location

Juan Miguel Martinez

April 18, 2023

Seventy-sixth Street in Greenfield is host to many fast food chains and mini malls that look like they haven't had upgrades since the mid-'80s. Yet there is a strange familiarity that all Milwaukeeans have with...

Urbal Tea Co. is 13th Street’s friendly neighborhood tea joint

Juan Miguel Martinez

June 29, 2022

I consider myself a semi-regular tea drinker, and the things a mind like mine ponders when it comes to tea are "What kind of monkeys picked the oolong? Did they wear little bellhop hats?" and other such nonsens...

“This is my pride and joy”: Chef Tizzy Tazz helms Gotcha Foods truck on city’s north side

Juan Miguel Martinez

June 1, 2022

My visit to the Sherman Park neighborhood on Memorial Day was a memorable one. I finally got an interview with Chef Tizzy Tazz, who I had been trying to track down for a couple of years. During the course of ou...

Pueblo Foods (and its hot deli) reigns supreme on Holton Street

Juan Miguel Martinez

May 26, 2022

The long stretch of Holton between Brady and Capitol is the main vein that bridges downtown, the north side, and Riverwest. It is a storied drag, and one that has a rich Boricua history. All the people who grew...

Tortilleria El Sol cranks out fresh tortillas in Milwaukee’s Crisol Corridor

Juan Miguel Martinez

April 15, 2022

The people of the village are hard at work under a harsh and unforgiving sun. The year is 500 B.C., or as close as anyone can figure it, anyway. These people are working to create a meal for themselves and the ...

The sights, smells, and staples of San Juanita Bakery

Juan Miguel Martinez

March 24, 2022

Puerquitos (Spanish, noun): piggies, a gingerbread pastry in the shape of a pig, made by the Huastecan (San Luis Potosí) people of Mexico, where piloncillo (hardened brown sugar) takes the place of molasses in ...

Full statement from Juan Miguel Martinez, candidate for Milwaukee County Board

Juan Miguel Martinez

March 14, 2022

Editor's note: The following is the full statement that Milwaukee County Board candidate (and Milwaukee Record contributor) Juan Miguel Martinez provided to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for its story publishe...

Be kind, rewind, find offbeat treasures at Video Nerd on East Side

Juan Miguel Martinez

March 10, 2022

The smell of plastic VHS boxes fills 1625 E. Irving Pl. It's the right-next-door-to-Bullseye-Records home of Video Nerd, opened by Xavier Leplae, but being operated until April by Milwaukee's very own sleaze tr...

Carnitas Machetes chops it up and brings Mexican market vibe to 8th and Rogers

Juan Miguel Martinez

February 24, 2022

"Es que tu comes pura maciza, wey" ("It's because you only order the lean meat, dude") is something I overhear at Carnitas Machetes (2000 S. 8th St., 414-389-9254), where I am waiting in line to get my two poun...

La Casa De Chivolin brings ceviche (and a clown origin story) to Lincoln Village

Juan Miguel Martinez

February 2, 2022

About eight years ago, my sister and I went to see OFF! in Chicago. We showed up about three hours early, so we went to eat at El Barco Mariscos, a Mexican restaurant on Ashland and Cortez. We ordered ceviche, ...

The Patio Pub & Grill brings great food, corner bar atmosphere to Clarke Square

Juan Miguel Martinez

January 13, 2022

In the vast and sometimes strange world of south side Milwaukee cuisine, hole-in-the-wall eateries are king. There are ones that people in a three-block radius swear by, and ones that north shore nancies trek i...

Brandon Reyes reimagines bartender style with 1-800-Cocktails

Juan Miguel Martinez

December 29, 2021

"What is bartender style?" is one of the many questions I ask Brandon Reyes when talking to him about his new all-encompassing clothing brand, 1-800-Cocktails. "It's a reflection of the individual within the...

Stepping back in time at the Mitchell Street Mall

Juan Miguel Martinez

December 15, 2021

The Modjeska is shuttered, and has been since the dawn of the new millennium. The old Goldmann's, which had a brief resurgence as Mitchell Street Menswear, also closed down recently. Mitchell Street was once a ...

Taqueria La Sierrita is a taco connoisseur’s paradise

Juan Miguel Martinez

December 8, 2021

My seemingly years-long quest to find my favorite taco in Milwaukee has apparently come to, if not an end, a definite screeching halt. A few months back, my sister Yolanda posted a picture of carne en su jugo, ...

Ellas Café delivers coffee and magic, aims to provide safe space for LGBTQ+ folks

Juan Miguel Martinez

November 11, 2021

Renee Valdez and Sofia Esmeralda are a microcosm of Milwaukee hospitality, swirled with a starry magic that is bright-eyed and inviting. They are the owners of Ellas Café, a pop-up coffee shop that has recently...

“I saw the devil there as a kid”: Remembering Mitchell Park’s mysterious Devil’s Trail

Juan Miguel Martinez

October 5, 2021

"It's called Devil's Trail because I saw the devil there as a kid. Swear to god, it was two red eyes looking at me from under the picnic table." The early morning fog drifts along the Mitchell Park grass, se...

Chilango Express settles into latest location in West Allis

Juan Miguel Martinez

August 31, 2021

Chilango (noun) 1. A person who has left their home in provincia (anywhere outside of Mexico City) to live in Mexico City, and has gone back home after some time. 2. Anyone from Mexico City—this is the pocho (a...

Bronzeville Week highlights the neighborhood’s art, culture, commerce

Juan Miguel Martinez

August 12, 2021

The simple mention of Bronzeville in Milwaukee conjures up many images of Black excellence. It was a thriving, bustling neighborhood all throughout Milwaukee's heyday until expansion of the I-94 tore through it...

Author Juan Miguel Martinez