First Impression: Birch + Butcher

Tommy Ciaccio
“Contemporary Midwest cuisine.” The chosen style of cuisine served at the new Birch + Butcher (459 E. Pleasant St., 414-323-7372) feels as amorphous and open a concept as the space the restaurant occupies. The ...

First Impression: Wisconsin Pizza Authority

Tyler Maas
If there’s one thing Milwaukee doesn’t need, it’s probably another pizza place. However, if there’s one thing Milwaukee will never get tired of eating, it’s probably pizza. Last month, we learned the city’s Eas...

First Impression: Izzy Hops

Tyler Maas
Whether you believe Milwaukee's East Side is growing up, in the midst of being whitewashed by developers, or simply changing, you're correct. Rising rent has resulted in the closure (or in the impending rebrand...

First Impression: Hungry Sumo Sushi Bar

Tyler Maas
Bay View isn't hurting for quality restaurants. Adding to the culinary acumen the neighborhood boasts is a wide-ranging cast of newcomers who are bringing a welcomed dash of variety to the bounty Bay View alrea...

First Impression: Sushi Go

Tyler Maas
It's safe to say the food truck trend is in full swing in and around Milwaukee. Most every outdoor event in town now includes an edible component provided by mobile restaurants. Moreover, food trucks are someti...

First Impression: Grate Modern Mac & Cheese

Tyler Maas
Every franchise starts somewhere. Before McDonald's took over the world in the ruthless hands of Ray Kroc, it was a small burger outfit operated by Maurice and Richard McDonald in San Bernadino, California. The...

First Impression: Gathering Place Brewing Company

Tyler Maas
Last year was an unprecedented one in Milwaukee craft brewing. In 2016 alone, Third Space, Good City, and Urban Harvest opened in town. Black Husky, MobCraft, and Like Minds opened tap rooms in the city, and En...

First Impression: Sabrosa Cafe & Gallery

Tyler Maas
Last August, Milwaukee learned that former Taqueria Aztec chef Francisco Sanchez and business partner Ruben Piirainen were planning to open a restaurant, cafe, and art gallery on Howell Avenue in the former sit...

First Impression: DiModa Pizza & Hotspot

Tyler Maas
As Milwaukee struggled to keep pace with the steady stream of news regarding East Side bar and restaurant closings throughout 2016 and up until , the slow demise of Trocadero got sort of lost in the shuffle bac...

First Impression: Bowls Restaurant

Tyler Maas
Though it will always be among the few accessible luxuries of modern life, dining out comes with a certain level of acceptance and an inevitable amount of settling. With the decision to leave home or the workpl...

First Impression: Fro Zone

Tyler Maas
Every local food trend begins somewhere. Before small plates had their heyday, the rise and fall of phở, the regrettable dynasty of elaborate $10 cupcakes, and the inexplicable and still-building ramen expansio...

First Impression: The Laughing Taco

Tyler Maas
Walker's Point, like much of Milwaukee at the moment, is changing. The Polish Moon now overlooks posh new shops flying the "People's Flag Of Milwaukee." Sleek and cutting-edge restaurants, bistros, and lounges ...

First Impression: Broken Bat Brewing Company

Tyler Maas
Last month, a roster of new, largely-unknown Brewers took the field in Milwaukee. Days later, two more unproven brewers—Tim Pauly and Dan McElwee—made their way into an already stacked lineup of established vet...

First Impression: Eagle Park Brewing Company

Tyler Maas
Something exciting is happening at the Lincoln Warehouse. The 1st Street facility that long served Milwaukee as, well, an actual warehouse since its 1928 construction has recently reinvested itself as a hotbed ...

First Impression: City Lights Brewing Company

Tyler Maas
As encouraging as it is to see a sudden influx of brand new breweries, brewpubs, and the like opening up in Milwaukee (and nearby suburbs), the newfound allure of Brew City has also brought about the relocati...

First Impression: Third Coast Provisions

Tommy Ciaccio
Less than a decade ago, Milwaukee's restaurant scene—if you could call it that—was a spackling of stalwarts-turned-culinary linchpins. Most of these spots had clear and easily defined concepts (French bistro,...

First Impression: Mango’s Cafe

Tyler Maas
For a while there, Milwaukee was a one tiki bar town. After Lucky Joe's Tiki closed shop last fall to focus on its Alchemy & Eatery offshoot in Wauwatosa, Foundation was pretty much the only truly dedicat...

First Impression: Like Minds MKE

Tyler Maas
Stop us if you've heard this one before. A small brewing operation begins in Wisconsin and quickly makes a name for itself among local hopheads. The output (which is contract brewed at a brewery in Green Bay)...