KCRag Forum

Trying to find a city to go visit on a long weekends....opinions?

Love it. Chicago scaled down and shiny. Great historic district (Third Ward) and downtown, all connected by the river walk. Cool bohemian 39th St like vibe on Bradford St. Seems like most stuff is right in or around downtown. Perfect for a quick weekend getaway, I think.

Cool....I hear the ballpark isn't really close to downtown so cool to hear everything else is.

Miller Field is kick ass.

Went in the spring, it was cold and rainy, but I had a lot of fun. I recommend it just for Miller park.

riverwest neighborhood.

Milwaukee........YES!

Went last year as direct result of need to get the f out of KC for a long weekend and the $49 SW Air fares.

I love that city.  I've been to most major metros and had missed stopping there prior.  It was an awesome positive surprise.

Some highlights:
  -Zaffiros Pizza - this has to be the best pizza in the world. Plan to visit multiple times.
  -Lakeside Brewery- Go for the Friday nite fish fry and be sure to take the tour first. (trust me on both counts)
  -Milwaukee Art Museum - An amazing piece of mobile architecture/sculpture, which houses a really impressive set of collections
  -Five O'clock Steakhouse - Go prepared to eat meat and to eat mass quantities of everything.  This is place is a throwback to a time
       that maybe never really existed. (my memory of this place represents Milwaukee)
  -Pabst Theater - Amazing music venue
  -Hotel Metro - Great historic art deco hotel

I'm not going to suggest anything more.  You need to discover and tell me where to go next.

Just do it.  Go. Explore.  Ask waitresses and bartenders where to go next.  Then come back and tell us all the great fun you had.

Sorry for the double post, but I AM excited about Milwaukee.

Is the Hotel Metro by the museum with a martini bar at the top?

grovester wrote: Is the Hotel Metro by the museum with a martini bar at the top?

It's about 5 blocks west of the museum (lakefront) and has several popular bars and dining options.  There is a rooftop bar, but don't know if it is marketed as a martini bar per se.

Thanks everybody got my flights booked.....keep feeding me cool stuff to do.

Awesome town, especially in the summer.  Miller is just like the TSC, but they have great bus service to the park from downtown and other areas.

We were told to go to the safe house, very odd place, while interesting, I wouldn't recommend it, there are so many better places, but locals love it and you will probably be told to check it out.  You have to find some unmarked door in some alley and have a password to get in or they make you do silly stuff to get in.  A few beers and it could be fun though

shinatoo wrote: Went in the spring, it was cold and rainy, but I had a lot of fun. I recommend it just for Miller park.

Yeah make sure you go in summer - weather sucks massive donkey dong the rest of the year. 

KCPowercat wrote: Trying to find a city to go visit on a long weekends....opinions?

Milwaukee or Minneapolis. Flip a coin. I think I like Minneapolis better, less self assured yet more so, smarter in a nerd sense, though as with all cities a few experiences shouldn't define everything. I work with people from Milwaukee in my company a lot more than Minneapolis, and they all have strong opinions about Chicago and Illinois which I don't have so I know that flavors my ideas. At the same time they all are awesome people, and would love to drink a few or a lot of beers with them. Theres a lot about Milwaukee I don't know, and I do think its worth further exploration. I have been in the summer and of course the upper great lakes midwest in general is heaven compared to the relatively scorching hell that is the lower midwest in july/august. Historically I have liked Milwaukee better than Denver, to sort of triangulate.

I've been to MPLS a few times and if the Twins were in town when I could go I probably would have but Milwaukee had great flight prices and Brewers in town so hitting that up.

KCPowercat wrote: I've been to MPLS a few times and if the Twins were in town when I could go I probably would have but Milwaukee had great flight prices and Brewers in town so hitting that up.

It's been a while since I've been, but my memories are flooding back about Milwaukee. It was probably the first urban core (after of course KC, St. Louis, Denver (which for some reason didn't impress me the way I wanted, or at least after being blown away  by the rockies) and Chicago which hadn't registered as a real city more than a shiny megalith in northern Illinois) that I had been to, and remember being so impressed. Strange to think about that, but it was the first city I'd visited that struck exactly the right chord. I'm sure the midwestern context helped, but it's a great memory, nonetheless.

KCPowercat wrote: Thanks everybody got my flights booked.....keep feeding me cool stuff to do.

And? 

Need to make another shout out to Milwaukee, what a great city.  I think it is very much a peer to KC in size, scope and current place in progress.  Stayed at the Pfister, an elegant hotel, not unlike the President.  Walking distance to the MAM and lots of dining options.  The 3rd Ward and Water Street look like a great area adjoining the cbd.  Our list of meals/drinks:

Mason St. Grill - attached to the hotel, upper end American, great old-fashioneds.

blu - typical martini bar, but on the 23rd floor, great lakeview at sunset, shadows falling on the downtown buildings.

Michagan St. Diner - great classic breakfast, chrome, checkerboard, elvis.

Milwaukee Public Market- great building and environment, great food selections, something city market should aspire to and be able to surpass.


Zaffiro's pizza was awesome!

We're back up in a few months and are already pondering different lodging and dining options.

Well worth a long weekend and $49 airfare.

grovester wrote:
Zaffiro's pizza was awesome!

Oh man, that sounds so good that it literally hurts.  Truly the most delicious pizza I have ever experienced.  I can't think of any other food that triggers such primal reaction in me.  (BTW: those of you in Omaha.  Supposedly one of your movie theaters (chain?) has partnered with Zaffiro's and you can now have this pizza in at least one of the locations in O.)  

You sound like a good explorer, Grovester.  When you are getting closer to heading back, post again and I'll try to have some of our more random favs to add to add to your list of possibilities.  

When you were at blu, did you happen to notice how the homes in Milwaukee neighborhoods seem to be lined up and resembled houses on a Monopoly board?  (this was noted before libations)

I'm from Milwaukee, nice to hear other people give it some respect.

Another cool hotel maybe worth checking out is the Iron House Hotel, it's right by the Harley Museum.

Also, have you ever tried Kopps Burgers, they are awesome and the custard is amazing. 
Their are also plenty of dining options on the East Side around Brady Street/North Ave/Farwell

Also, the Bartolottas are pretty famous in Milwaukee, they own a bunch of fine dining restaurants, Anthony Bourdain has been to one when he did the Midwest no reservations.

Everyone needs to visit milwaukee in the Summer though, there are tons of Ethnic festivals and Summerfest which is the worlds largest music festival, it's a pretty fun time.