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A few years ago, I made a Patreon-exclusive post wherein I estimated how many hours of my life I spent doing certain activities. Though those crude calculations were less-than-exact, it gave both the readers and myself a better idea of who I am, how I spend my life, and just how much of my time is utterly wasted.
This year, perhaps while watching sports where stats and rankings run rampant, indulging in a thing I’ve done a million times before, or some combo of the two, I was struck with a similar thought. Now having been a Milwaukee resident for more than 16 years, I wanted to figure out my “Milwaukee Mosts.” To clarify, I wanted to think about a wide range of Milwaukee-area things and determine the place or thing in that specific category that I’ve had/done/experienced the most while living here.
I gave it some serious thought, then asked some friends for some of their “Milwaukee Mosts” as well. Since it proved to be a fun conversation-starter, I figured revealing my all-time local leaderboard would make for a fun article idea. And, as always, I would honestly love for readers to share some of your “Milwaukee Mosts” in the comments, too. Okay, here we go!
MILWAUKEE BURGER
“The Big O” at Oscar’s. I was about to say The Durty Burger at Vanguard, but Oscar’s had a four-year head start on Vanguard and I am known to sometimes break away from the Durty Burger in favor of their Monday wings or a sausage, whereas I’ve gotten the Big O every single time I’ve been to Oscar’s except the Tuesdays when I just had their (amazing) tacos. I got one two weeks ago and I’m getting one again next week, so the lead is growing.
MILWAUKEE BEER
Lakefront Brewery‘s Riverwest Stein. You’d think High Life (and it might be closer than I think), but I used to lean extremely hard on Stein. I still do if East Side Dark or Fixed Gear aren’t on hand. If I’m ever not sure what I want and it’s on tap, I’ll usually take my taste buds on a trip to Riverwest as I think about what I’ll have next. And sometimes what I want next is actually another Stein.
MILWAUKEE PIZZA
Transfer Pizzeria Cafe. Between them being a great lunch meeting/trusty “I can’t think of an idea” date spot, having excellent specialty and traditional pizza offerings, being in the delivery radius of my home and my workplace, and their longtime support of Milwaukee Record things (both as a sponsor and a pizza provider), I’ve easily had more Transfer than anywhere else in town. I bet I had upwards of 35-40 slices at Cactus Club over the course of last Packers season (because they sponsor our Halftime Show concert series).
NEIGHBORHOOD
Bay View by a wide margin. Before I lived there (I moved to the neighborhood in 2011), I hung out in Bay View constantly. And if we’re talking places I do not live/have not lived, Walker’s Point takes it right now since our office and many-a hangout are in the neighborhood.
SPORTING EVENT
While I’ve always tried to go to a few Bucks games per year (which was much easier/cheaper when they were terrible), I’ve still spent more time at Brewers games during my Milwaukee tenure than any other sporting event. Like Matt, I also went to an Admirals game for the first time in forever last season and I absolutely loved it, so that might shoot up the rankings in the 2025-26 Ads season.
VENUE (MUSIC)
Cactus Club. We host upwards of 20 events there annually. Not even counting that, I’m there for shows more than anywhere else in town…with X-Ray Arcade probably coming in at a somewhat distant second. We’re super lucky to have a place like Cactus Club in town and I’ll never take it for granted.
VENUE (COMEDY)
Lately, The Laughing Tap is the far and away leader…even with them taking a few months off to focus on relocating. BUT, it’s only been around for a third of my time in town (and, to be honest, my comedy show attendance has dipped exponentially the past five or six years), so Pabst Theater probably still holds the distinction of being the place where I’ve witnessed the most stand-up comedy in Milwaukee and on earth when I was going to shows constantly and reviewing stand-up with regularity.
CAFE/MOVIE THEATER/BAR
Anodyne (Bay View), Avalon Theater, and Blackbird. I lumped these together because, to be honest, they’re the easy and expected answers that are all a few blocks from each other. I love Anodyne (they make our coffee, after all!) and I used to live next door to it. Avalon is super close and we’ve screened like 80 movies there through the years. Blackbird was my first favorite local bar and I filled in working the door/barbacking there for a while. Even today, it’s still one of the closest bars to my house.
FESTIVAL
If we’re talking number of times attended, it’s Summerfest on account of the multi-day format. If we’re going with time spent at a specific festival, it’s Bay View Bash since I’m there like 10-12 hours each year because I run one of the festival’s stages. I think I’d be there all day even if I didn’t.
PARK
South Shore Park. I know, I know…another Bay View place. But even if I didn’t live super close to it (and vote there) for years, I’d still make the trek to enjoy the farmers market, the beer garden, and the lake-adjacent segment of the Oak Leaf Trail.
RESTAURANT
The Vanguard. Another Bay View place? Wow! I used to go there constantly—like, borderline “a problem” levels. Though I try to spread my love to lots of restaurants I love and/or want to try these days, I still get there about once or twice a month on average to add to my personal Durty Burger and Smitty Wing tallies.
BREWERY (STILL ACTIVE)
This might be the closest to a toss-up as we’ll see, but I think I have to give the edge to Third Space Brewing over Indeed Brewing by a hair. I think I visit Indeed’s Milwaukee taproom more often, but I typically stay at Third Space longer when I drop by on account of their frequent live music offerings and their awesome patio set up to pair with their tasty brews. We also just had a happy hour event there, so that’s five more hours thrown in Third Space’s direction.
RECORD STORE
Even if we’re not counting its previous life as Milwaukee’s Exclusive Company location, I’d still say I’ve logged more hours and individual (non-postering) trips to Lilliput Records than anywhere else in the realm of records stores. It’s massive, comfortable, affordable, and they occasionally have live events there.
SUBURB
Cudahy. Between being home to spots like X-Ray Arcade and Lala’s Place, my bank, my go-to poster printer, and there being some quietly awesome parks within its borders, I find myself living that Cud-Life most often when I’m not in Milwaukee proper.
BAND/MUSICIAN
While I’m a repeat viewer of many-a modern Milwaukee musician and a bevy of active bands, I think I might have to reach into the past for my all-timer. During their existence, bands like Call Me Lightning, Red Knife Lottery, Midnight Reruns, and Soul Low were basically required viewing when I knew they were playing out. And I still try to catch acts like Telethon, Immortal Girlfriend, Ladybird, and Barely Civil whenever possible, and spend 90ish minutes a year enjoying Buffalo Gospel’s hometown holiday-adjacent outing. All that being said, I still feel like I’ve watched The Fatty Acids more than anyone else during their relatively brief-yet-brilliant run. They played out a ton, hit nearly every festival some years, and their tenure coincided to a time I probably went to more live shows than ever.
FISH FRY
Clifford’s (not Milwaukee, but close) for now, but Pat’s Oak Manor (also not Milwaukee, but close) is knocking on the door of the top spot.
WEBSITE
MilwaukeeRecord.com
