Eat Hearty in Milwaukee

By Gothamist on Sep 29, 2010 10:15PM

Milwaukee, or “‘mill-e-wah-que’ which is Algonquin for ‘the good land,’” as Alice Cooper seriously informed Wayne and Garth in Wayne’s World, has always been a favorite day or weekend trip for the residents of Illinois. And some of the best Milwaukee experiences are at the city’s many hearty eating establishments.

Start at a Friday night fish fry, a tradition started by the town’s heavily Catholic population. Try the American Serb Hall, which serves 1,500 to 2,000 plates of fish every Friday night, or the Lakefront Palm Garden, which serves a side of polka with dinner, from 6 pm to 9 pm. (The band might very well play “the chicken dance” song, which was recorded by Milwaukee native Bob Kanes, and extremely popular throughout Wisconsin.) For authentic German food, including the local favorite Usinger’s sausages, visit Karl Ratzsch’s, which opened in 1904. And of course, you have to pick up some cheese at the Wisconsin Cheese Mart, which sells more than 200 types of Wisconsin cheese. Finally, no visit to Milwaukee, no matter how cold the weather, would be complete without a stop at the city’s two most famous (and competing) frozen custard joints: Kopp’s and Leon’s.