Author: Mitch DeSantis

Neon sign outside Mama Mia's in West Allis, Wisconsin

Sunday Sauce: Mama Mia’s serves up history, chicken parm, serious garlic bread

July 26, 2026

Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area's Italian food, the places, the people, and the traditions that make a meal feel like home. I'm chasing how these restaurants, grocery stores, ev...

Sunday Sauce: Calzones, crooners, and Campari at Festa Italiana

Mitch DeSantis

July 12, 2026

Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area's Italian food and the places, people, and traditions that make a meal feel like home. I'm chasing how these restaurants, grocery stores, events,...

Sunday Sauce: Searching for Italian food at Summerfest

Mitch DeSantis

June 21, 2026

Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area's Italian food and the places, people, and traditions that make a meal feel like home. I'm chasing how these restaurants, grocery stores, events,...

Amyl And The Sniffers give Summerfest much-needed kick in teeth

Mitch DeSantis

June 20, 2026

Amyl And The Sniffers do not ease into a space. They hit it with road rage energy, the kind that feels like a baseball bat to a windshield or a cement brick through a storefront window. It's a full-body reminde...

Sunday Sauce: Riding solo into old-school comfort at Balistreri’s Bluemound Inn

Mitch DeSantis

May 31, 2026

Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area's Italian food and the places, people, and traditions that make a meal feel like home. I'm chasing how these restaurants, grocery stores, events,...

20 important observations about the El Rey chimichanga I had for lunch

Mitch DeSantis

May 18, 2026

Welcome to Food/Drink Week at Milwaukee Record, brought to you by Woodman's Markets. From May 11 through May 18, belly up and enjoy adventurous, odd, and elaborate coverage of all things edible and drinkable...

Sunday Sauce: A 98.3-mile bike ride to Chicago fueled by meatballs, pizza, and Italian beef

Mitch DeSantis

May 17, 2026

Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area's Italian food and the places, people, and traditions that make a meal feel like home. I'm chasing how these restaurants, grocery stores, event...

Sunday Sauce: Dinner at San Giorgio, drinks with Oak City Amaretto at 17th Ward

Mitch DeSantis

April 26, 2026

Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area's Italian food and the places, people, and traditions that make a meal feel like home. I'm chasing how these restaurants, grocery stores, events ...

Behind the handlebars of Bublr Bikes: A day with the small team that keeps the system moving

Mitch DeSantis

April 14, 2026

In an era of Silicon Valley-based mobility junk cluttering the sidewalks and treating cities like prototype testing, Milwaukee has something better: Bublr Bikes. Their strategically placed stations have become ...

Sunday Sauce: Capicola, Italian beef, and the best cannoli in Milwaukee at Scardina Specialties

Mitch DeSantis

March 29, 2026

Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area's Italian food and the places, people, and traditions that make a meal feel like home. I'm chasing how these restaurants, grocery stores, events,...

Sunday Sauce: Santino’s Little Italy is a Bay View Italian daydream

Mitch DeSantis

February 22, 2026

Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area’s Italian food and the places, people, and traditions that make a meal feel like home. I’m chasing how these restaurants, grocery stores, events ...

Sunday Sauce: Glorioso’s is where my Milwaukee story starts

Mitch DeSantis

January 25, 2026

Welcome to "Sunday Sauce," a new monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area’s Italian food—the restaurants, the grocery stores, the events, and the small details that make a meal feel like home. I’m startin...

Milwaukee Record 1-Minute History: Milwaukee’s first Christmas tree, a doomed ship & The Evergleam

Mitch DeSantis

December 22, 2025

In the latest episode of Milwaukee Record 1-Minute History, written and directed by Mitch DeSantis, you'll learn about Milwaukee's first Christmas tree, a Christmas tree maritime disaster, and a Milwaukee-area ...

Milwaukee Record 1-Minute History: Parachuting for provolone

Mitch DeSantis

November 24, 2025

November is a month for gratitude, and in Wisconsin we give thanks for dairy. The cow is our Queen Elizabeth, and she deserves that crown. But behind every award-winning cheddar, there's cow pregnancy—and, in W...

Milwaukee Record 1-Minute History: Rise of the Polish Moon

Mitch DeSantis

October 27, 2025

On Halloween night, 1962, Milwaukee flipped the switch on what would become the city's ever-watching glowing eyeball: the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower. You'll learn all about Milwaukee's so-called "Polish Moon"...

Cracking a Miller High Life at Wisconsin’s highest point, Timm’s Hill

Mitch DeSantis

October 9, 2025

Imagine if the Grand Canyon was called "Brad's Big Hole" or if Niagara Falls was named "Nicole's Splash Sploosh." That’s essentially the situation here in Wisconsin, where the state's true highest point isn't R...

Milwaukee Record 1-Minute History: The first game at (not-yet-Lambeau) City Stadium

Mitch DeSantis

September 29, 2025

It was on this date 68 years ago—September 29, 1957—that the Green Bay Packers played their first game in Green Bay's City Stadium. What's City Stadium, you ask? The stadium that would eventually be named Lambe...

Plainfield: Wholesome, normal, totally fine. Promise.

Mitch DeSantis

September 16, 2025

Ever hear of Plainfield, Wisconsin? Oh, you have? Huh. For what reason? … Woof. Sounds like a story, but I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Let's pay a visit to the quaint Wisconsin village (pop. 924 at t...

From mashed potatoes to hand-cut fries: A Wisconsin spud story

Mitch DeSantis

August 19, 2025

I was a ridiculously easy kid to feed. Honestly, I still consider myself a human garbage disposal. I love food, and I'll try almost anything. That said, like every foodie's nightmare, sometimes you don't have t...

Biking 91 miles to 3 Chip’s Hamburgers: A Chip-errific day on two wheels

Mitch DeSantis

July 23, 2025

Nothing says summer like a good hamburger. Continuing my coverage of rural Wisconsin (and in honor of Milwaukee Record's semi-official summer celebration week), I wanted to spotlight a central Wisconsin classic...

Author Mitch DeSantis