Any good cheap eats downtown? (Milwaukee, Leon: buying, restaurant, costs)

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by quijote

A $20 maximum, though, is pretty generous. If the max were pared to $10 or $15, many places here would fall off of the list.

This is true. Heck, for lunch, you could probably hit 90% of the restaurants in Milwaukee for $20 (dinner obviously though more).

I guess when the OP was describing kind of a search for "cheap eats", it kind of fell in contrast to that $20 range, as my definition of "cheap eats" is more like somewhere where one can get a hearty, delicious, local meal for $4, $8, etc.

Originally Posted by quijote

Also, I'm still rather surprised that there isn't a Kopps or Culvers downtown somewhere. For the convention season in particular, it seems that such a place would be pretty popular--with burgers and other things for extra measure. Perhaps there's one in Grand Ave. Mall?

Actually there *is* a Culver's in the Grand Ave. Mall's food court, although I still maintain that Culver's doesn't give one a unique Milwaukee "frozen custard experience" to nearly the degree Kopp's (or Leon's or Kitt's would / does) - especially the Grand Ave. Culver's (which is more of a classic food court type of set up) - so I would rather see the OP find a way the short way up the north shore to hit Kopp's than to settle for the GA food court.

But for what it is / does, I do believe that Culver's tends to do pretty good business in the GA - if folks know about it.

As for a Kopp's, yeah, you'd think there would be Downtown potential, although I question whether the costs of opening a business in Downtown (versus where they are now) make it a bit prohibitive for them.

[quijote]

Originally Posted by EnjoyEP

This is true. Heck, for lunch, you could probably hit 90% of the restaurants in Milwaukee for $20 (dinner obviously though more).

I guess when the OP was describing kind of a search for "cheap eats", it kind of fell in contrast to that $20 range, as my definition of "cheap eats" is more like somewhere where one can get a hearty, delicious, local meal for $4, $8, etc.

Yeah--I even considered recommending Coquette Cafe for lunch (the leg-of-lamb sandwich, ~$10), but figured that wasn't quite what the OP had in mind. And it's always best to break 'em in with our roadfood first, just to see if they can make it through the first round.

Actually there *is* a Culver's in the Grand Ave. Mall's food court, although I still maintain that Culver's doesn't give one a unique Milwaukee "frozen custard experience" to nearly the degree Kopp's (or Leon's or Kitt's would / does) - especially the Grand Ave. Culver's (which is more of a classic food court type of set up) - so I would rather see the OP find a way the short way up the north shore to hit Kopp's than to settle for the GA food court.

But for what it is / does, I do believe that Culver's tends to do pretty good business in the GA - if folks know about it.

As for a Kopp's, yeah, you'd think there would be Downtown potential, although I question whether the costs of opening a business in Downtown (versus where they are now) make it a bit prohibitive for them.

I like Culver's plain custard, but prefer Kopp's flavored custards. I can't believe Kopp's only has three locations (that I know of), but maybe that's how they do so well.

But for the adventurous roadfooder, even a trip to Kopp's via bus isn't too bad. When I visited Providence, RI last year I took a bus to some crazy suburb to try a decades-old donut shop. Worth it!

[Iburytheliving]

I second passing up George Webbs. The food is okay, but it's just like any other resaraunt of that caliber...nothing special at all.

"The Burger Joint" on Brady has awesome burgers.

"Sil's" on North Ave/Oakland is a outdoor stand open all year. They have a variety of hotdogs which are pretty good and really cheap, but the best part is the mini-doughnuts! They are always fresh because they don't make them until you order them...awesome after bar place.

[Iburytheliving]

For breakfast, "The Original Pancake House" on Downer is AMAZING!

"Pizza Man" on North Ave has amazing pizza and a huge (the biggest in WI I think) wine list.

[Sonrise]

Thanks for all of the recommendations. You guys rule! I'll be heading to the airport in about an hour and a half and arriving in Milwaukee tonight around 8 pm. What is open, within walking distance that fits my criteria for some food tonight? Also, I love OPH, been to them in Birmingham, Al, Charlotte, NC and Columbia, SC. My dad and I even considered opening up a franchise here in Greenville, but now with our economy becoming basically socialist, I'll probably stay away from that. Can I walk to OPH from my hotel, may hit there for breakfast tomorrow, if I can. Thanks again, y'all are awesome.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by Iburytheliving

For breakfast, "The Original Pancake House" on Downer is AMAZING!

"Pizza Man" on North Ave has amazing pizza and a huge (the biggest in WI I think) wine list.

Pizza Man is truly unique and I have eaten there well over a hundred times. I think my next visit is going to be 121, although I am probably off by a few. (I got the count one time when I went through my records and counted over 100 receipts, and kept a casual count since that time.)

The GM, who was exceptional, left a while ago for a winery in California, if that tells you anything. The restaurant and wine list have remained consistent with my expectations. Most of the staff seem to share an appreciation for wine, and some of them have been around for a long time. Finally, Pizza Man's wine markup is much smaller than any other wine bar I have been to. The wine prices are very fair for a bar/restaurant, at some times almost approaching liquor store price. Along with the selection, the reasonable wine price makes Pizza Man an obvious choice for an aficionado. It ranked #1 wine list in Milwaukee (OnMilwaukee.com Bars & Clubs: Milwaukees best wine list, 2009: Pizza Man).

Because I can walk home from there in less than twenty minutes, I am afforded the opportunity to enjoy the wine list all that much more.

I also noticed on the above link, that Nessun Dorma, Blu, and Trocadero were mentioned. I enjoy each, but particularly enjoy the neighborhood ambience of Nessun Dorma.

[Iburytheliving]

I've never been there, and I don't know if it's cheap...But the Hyatt has a revolving restaraunt at the very top. It's pretty high up there in relation to the taller buildings downtown, so I'd imagine the view is amazing.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by Sonrise

Thanks for all of the recommendations. You guys rule! I'll be heading to the airport in about an hour and a half and arriving in Milwaukee tonight around 8 pm.

Do be aware -

It'll be COLD here tonight, and tomorrow? They are predicting a big snowstorm of 5 to 9 inches of snow!! So tomorrow, expect plenty of SNOW!

[Sonrise]

Originally Posted by EnjoyEP

Do be aware -

It'll be COLD here tonight, and tomorrow? They are predicting a big snowstorm of 5 to 9 inches of snow!! So tomorrow, expect plenty of SNOW!

WOW!!! Really? I just checked weather.com and didn't see that. Would they cancel the car show tomorrow at the convention center; that's where I'm working. Thanks

[Iburytheliving]

Originally Posted by Sonrise

WOW!!! Really? I just checked weather.com and didn't see that. Would they cancel the car show tomorrow at the convention center; that's where I'm working. Thanks

Haha, no way man. Of course I'm just guessing.