The Swiss Colony Howie Lettow 150 & Milwaukee Indyfest food & activity guide.

Hello Race Fans! Its great to have Indycar & Asa return to America's most legendary oval this week. Heres to a great week of nonstop action all week.

Last year, I put together a little bit of a guide for out of town guests with other local activities that are taking place during this weekend and kind of rehashed last years blog with some update and new places. Included in the guide are several restaurants & bars near the track or in downtown Milwaukee.

Baseball: Sorry the Brewers are out of town playing the the Royals & Twins (Besides you are here for RACING). But you can still go ahead to TGI Fridays for Dinner at Miller Park. From State Fair Park just take I94 East for a few miles & get off the Miller Park Exit. The souvineer shops are usually open and during the afternoons they have stadium tours.

Boating / Lakefront Activities

Take a stroll on Bradford beach, & stop at Northpoint Custard & grab a burger & some custard & watch the sunset by the lake! 2272 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive

Alterra at the Lake 1701 N Lincoln Memorial Dr. Located in an old River Flushing Station built in 1888 (Don’t worry it was cleaned before they put the coffee shop in).

How about a booze cruise? Milwaukee River Cruises has a Margarita Fiesta, dinner Late Night Party cruise for you to enjoy! Spend about 90minutes on a boat that takes you through the Milwaukee area where you can drink all the Margaritas & beer you want, along with all you can eat taco & nacho bars (booze cruises only)! At $26 a ticket it should be a blast! Book a reservation ahead of time. They fill up fast http://www.edelweissboats.com/public/

Festivals

Polish Fest: Friday / Sat from noon – midnight & Sunday from noon – 10pm– Summerfest Grounds 200 North Harbor Drive Milwaukee WI 53202: Get your Polka on at Polish Fest while eating some of the finest Polish food! There is even Vodka tastings for an additional $12. There are some great admission deals Friday & Saturday. Go to: http://www.polishfest.org/index.html for more information.

Hartfest: Friday / Saturday http://www.hartfest.com/ Hart Park is about 10minutes away from the fair park. This year Hartfest will be benefiting The Wisconsin Humane Society, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Heart of Gold, the Wauwatosa East Boosters Club & the National Spinal Cord Injury Association.

Dining

These places are within a few miles of the Fair Grounds so you won’t miss any action during the day or good places to eat at on the way back to the hotel.

Pauly’s Pub & Eatery. 8031 W. Greenfield Ave: A great place to escape the track for a decent meal & a beer at a reasonable price. It’s right across from turn 1!

Benno’s Genuine Pub & Grill 7413 West Greenfield Ave: Over 30 varieties of beer on tap! Stop & try one, or all 30. Just make sure you can make it to race day.

Johnny V’s Classic Café 1650 S 84th St: They serve burgers, & other sandwiches with breakfast 24hrs a day. After bar close this is one of the areas most popular spot for best drunk food. If you see someone flashing a sideways peace sign don’t be afraid they are headin to the V’s for some much needed food after a night of bar hopping!

The Painted Parrot 8028 W National Ave: A fun Caribbean style bar. They always seem to be filled with people on a Friday night. Order the Big Ass Nachos if you go with friends! They are very good & will fill you up if you are on a budget.

A little further away from the track but worth the trip:

Wauwatosa - Wauwatosa (Or as the naitves call it Tosa) has several good dining establishments along State St. Try Left's Luckytown for some awesome bar food (Cheese curds, Big Ass Pretzel, chicken wings, etc). Cafe Hollander has a fine assortment of beers and foods. Ristorante Bartolotta has many northern Italy dishes cooked with the freshest ingridients. They also have a very large wine selection to go with your meals. Maxie's Southern Comfort home to Cajun cooking.

El Beso Mexican Restaurant 5030 S 74th St Greenfield: They have excellent food & bottomless refills on the chips & salsa. Be prepared to spend over $20, as the prices are around $12-$18 a plate depending what you get & if you want a Margarita (Very strong!). If you go with multiple people I suggest getting the pitchers to ease the pain of the price. Ask for Pablo if he is working, he is hilarious. Great tamales, but if you want something with some kick go with the Steak Bistec Ala Mexicana.

Filippo's Italian Restaurant 6915 W Lincoln Ave: Fine Italian dining. They offer thick & thin crust pizzas, as well as other authentic Italian dishes. Ganassi used to get pizzas from here in the 90s.

Downtown Dining

Botana’s 816 S. 5th Street Milwaukee: Awesome Nachos Gringos, & Tamales.

La Perla Mexican Restaurant 734 South 5th Street Milwaukee: Another popular Mexican Restaurant. Awesome tamales (Notice a trend with me LOL), empanadas, and more. They have the best margaritas in town! Don’t forget to ride the chili pepper after your done eating!

Water Buffalo 249 N. Water Street, Milwaukee: Great Riverside dining experience & great customer service. Try the beef tenderloin kabob over rice.

Burgers & custard! What’s more Milwaukee than that?

AJ Bombers 1241 N Water Street, Milwaukee (@ajbombers): Travel channel's Foodwars champion of best Milwaukee Burger. I recommend the cheese curds for an appetizer & the Barrie Burger with extra peanut butter. Peanut Allergy warning! They serve peanuts here & there are peanut shells all over the place. You have been warned .

Kopps Frozen Custard 7631 West Layton Avenue, Greenfield: Dario Franchitti’s favorite place for custard. They have awesome burgers & custard here. The buns are lathered with lots of butter & then lightly toasted on the grill. Add fried onions to the burger with the spicy brown mustard. They usually have multiple flavors of the day. It can be a very busy place on a hot summer night!

Golden Gyros 7233 West Lincoln Avenue Milwaukee: Excellent custard & close to the race track. The custard is a lot richer than Kopps, & usually offers one flavor a day. Excellent Gyros & Greek fries. Cash only!

Gilles Frozen Custard 7515 W Bluemound Rd Milwaukee: Another custard stand close to the race track for fans to enjoy. One of the oldest custard stands around since 1938. Bud Selig the commissioner can be seen here on Mondays getting a burger & cone. The traditional way to eat here is in your car & not at the tables inside. Even in the middle of winter people can be seen eating in their cars.

Leon’s Frozen Custard 3131 S 27th St, Milwaukee: Another amazing place for custard that has been around since 1942. They are open daily from 10am – midnight. If your craving custard & you’re supposed to be on a diet sneak on over when the spouse is asleep! Cash only!

Bars

You’re in Milwaukee right? Drinking is a must; it’s a past time around here. Water Street is a must stop if you are interested in checking out several bars at once. Listed below are few of the popular bars on Water St. Please note Wisconsin law prohibits smoking inside of ALL Wisconsin bars. Most bars will have smokers right outside by the door or on their patios.

International Exports, LTD (AKA: The Safehouse) 779 North Front Street. Milwaukee: Are you a spy? Are you being followed? Are you looking for a Safe House? Well you’re in luck in Milwaukee we have one that is over 40years old! Check out this amazing spy themed bar/restaurant for an epic experience. Try one of their many special mixed drinks. After 7pm a cover of $3-$5 may be charged, but it is worth it if you love spy themed stuff.

Bar Louie 1114 North Water Street, Milwaukee: Offers several different types of beers & drinks.

Trinity Three Irish Pubs 125 East Juneau Milwaukee: Great Irish Bar just off of Water St with a wonderful patio. Order a Pint of Guinness & an order of Rueben Rolls!

The Harp Irish Pub 113 E Juneau Ave Milwaukee: Another amazing Irish bar with a patio that sits next to the Milwaukee River. With the Juneau St bridge closed for repairs it is a nice peaceful spot near downtown.

Lucille’s Rockin Pianos 1110 North Old World 3rd St Milwaukee: A fun place to go with the right group of people! Get hammered & sing your favorite songs played on two gr& pianos competing with each other! Yes they do play Billy Joel’s Piano man & everyone sings along. FOr more information visit: http://lucillesmke.com/

The Horny Goat Hideaway 2011 South 1st Street Milwaukee: Milwaukee’s largest outdoor patio is the place to be on a summer night. They make their own beer & have their 6 most common flavors on tap & offer SEVERAL seasonal beers. I recommend the Exposed & Red Vixen. The have an amazing menu with a great Friday Fish Fry. There is no better place to be than the Horny Hideaway on a Friday or Saturday night just kicking back with a beer in hand sitting by one of their fire pits listening to the band play! http://www.hghideaway.com/

After bar close eats
Try one of the many street vendors or street carts! All what you need is basically pocket change (Nothing more than $4 for most items). I would post their Twitter accounts but its really random who will show up on Water St most weekends. Most of them can be found at McKinley & Water.

Real Chili 419 East Wells Street: Another Milwaukee favorite food to cure a hangover! When ordering from here it’s like going to Coldstone Creamery. Pick your choice chili (Mild, Medium, or Hot), then choose additional toppings to go with it. Chili comes with a heaping bowl of Oyster crackers just like when momma gave you chili! Want more? Order a 2nd bowl for half price!

Rather have breakfast or a Hamburger? Why not try George Webbs. www.georgewebbs.com
There are over 6 locations throughout the Milwaukee area & George Webbs is the unofficial hangover food of Milwaukee! Breakfast is served daily from 12:00am – 11:59pm. The chicken flavored noodle soup goes well with any of their sandwiches. The best deal is if the Milwaukee Brewers score 5 runs or more (Regardless if they are home or away win or lose), you can get 6 burgers for $5 (Cheese is extra).

So there you have it. I hope you enjoy your visit in our city & hope you can checkout some of these local establishments. If there is anything in particular you might be looking for that isn’t covered (German food or places in another nearby city), tweet me @donny2001 . Any locals reading this feel free to post some of your favorite places below!

Thanks & enjoy the races this week!

DON