Milwaukee... looks gorgeous (!) on Top Chef

Oh, I love Milwaukee! I live in Chicago so not far. It’s a beautiful small city right on the lake.

I lived there for several years for school 20 years ago. I went back for a visit in 2018. I had forgotten how beautiful it is. It's a fun town with great restaurants, theater, museums, young people. They now the Hiawatha Amtrak service with frequent and fairly fast service to Chicago's Union Station. Also, the countryside is only about a 20 minute drive and the city has beautiful lakefront parks.

I love Wisconsin farms. They’re gorgeous

I I lived in Chicago years ago but never went to Milwaukee while I lived there. I did visit Milwaukee last year though while I was following somebody on tour. I absolutely loved it. It was quite a charming town and I'd flown into Chicago so I took Amtrak and it was a really lovely ride to the city.

Although the southeastern corner of Wisconsin is considered part of the rust belt, you wouldn't know by visiting, as you've seen. It doesn't have any of the desolate vibe that you'll find to the east along the Great Lakes.

I went to college in upstate New York, and many of the small towns there are depressing, poverty-stricken hellholes in comparison.

Wisconsin is truly beautiful. I grew up there so I took for granted how lovely it is until I traveled and lived in other places. The people are kind too. But when Wisconsin shits the bed, it does so in spectacular fashion. McCarthy, Dahmer, Scott Walker (we had some of the best public schools in the nation until he came along) Gein etc. But it's a wonderful and picturesque state and the locals don't take kindly to decrepitude. They'll paint a mural on shitty building and fix the roof before they let it fall apart. Usually

I just moved out of Milwaukee for Los Angeles a few years ago. Milwaukee was the worst place I've ever lived: the people are surprisingly insular, there's a sense that if you're not a native, there's something wrong with you; the Wisconsin accent is horrendous, and above all, the weather is about the worst in the nation: horrible long cold winters and brief and ugly little summer. Barely any spring or fall.

The city suffers from being too close to Chicago, and not being either the capital of the state or the home of the state school. All it really offers is beer, cheese, and the Packers. And if that doesn't satisfy you, there's no reason to stay there.

Not to mention the murders.

R5 you're spot on there. I went to Jamestown a few years ago and so much of the area felt hopeless and desolate.

R7 - I will agree that it suffers from being so close to Chicago and not being the state capital or to have the state University. Take away the latter 2 from Madison and it would be NOTHING.

But I disagree about there being nothing there. I lived there for a few years when I was younger. There's a lot to do and it's friendly and relatively inexpensive. The weather is - well, it's fucking Wisconsin - but, that being said, it IS better than the majority of the state. It's actually the warmer part of the state.

It was always shocking to me how few people in Milwaukee had ever been to Chicago - and it's 90 miles away.

For the rust belt - it has a lot going for it, you just need to know where to go. Not a huge city though. It's way better than Detroit, Pittsburgh or Cleveland.

Very segregated city

Milwaukee is a good hub for road trips and summer weekends. You have Door County, Madison, Chicago, Lake Geneva, heck even a ferry that over the lake that goes to Muskegon, which isn’t a destination per se but there are scenic places near it.

Milwaukee is a beautiful city on the shore of Lake Michigan - great restaurants, museums, architecture, night life, etc - BUT high crime rate and #1 segregated city in US. Take your chances.

I was beaten up by two black guys as I left a gay bar in downtown when I lived there. I fought them off somehow. I think they were surprised I put up a fight and backed off. They didn't try to rob me, maybe they decided not to, or it was a gay bashing (I was almost two blocks away from the bar so probably not) or they just wanted to beat up a White guy. Who knows.

Yes, it is a very segregated city, blacks mainly live west of the Milwaukee River, everyone else, east of the river. Because of Marquette, UWM, Milwaukee School of Engineering, etc. it is a young town. There are people of many different ethnicities (including a large Mexican population) and students from around the world.

Milwaukee is segregated - but it ranks #5 on the most segregated large cities in the US. New York City is #9.

The most integrated cities in America include the such diverse populations of Colorado Springs, CO and Anchorage, AK.

So take it with a grain of salt. The high crime rate is also relative - it happens in specific areas as most crime does.

Milwaukee is segregated and provincial, but does have some great restaurants and nightlife. DanDan, Chef Dan's Milwaukee restaurant, has the best Peking Duck I've ever had.

R16, I'd hardly call it provincial what with three universities, a well-known engineering school, an art & design school, an OK art museum, some theater, many music venues, some excellent old and new architecture, movie art houses.

Most American cities are self-segregated along racial lines, though many areas are ethnically diverse.

But can you swim in the lake?

^ Yes, Lake Michigan is pretty clean, but it's COLD 🥶

The accent is intolerable

OP, I was born and raised in Milwaukee. Aside from a four-year stint in the Twin Cities, I’ve lived in Milwaukee and now live in its suburbs on the south shore.

Milwaukee’s architecture is everything you say, OP.

Very liberal blue city. Vibrant LGBT community. Winters aren’t bad, although I prefer cooler weather. And decently low cost of living for what you get.

Watch out for reckless driving, though.

^ "Winters aren’t bad"

The Milwaukee shield 😉

[quote] Milwaukee is segregated and provincial

That it is, and it can also be one of the most racist places in the country.

Its downtown and nearby areas have been beautifully rejuvenated and the architecture is amazing. The historic Third Ward has undergone a lot of welcome change.

But a lot of the rest of the city is still in disrepair.

The parallel for me is Pittsburgh - amazing downtown and lots of growth OR revitalization in certain areas (the Strip, North Shore, Lawrenceville) but the rest of the city is still a slowly decaying pile of rust and dust.

R23 Pishburr?

Milwaukee has this really cool art museum that does this...

ethnically diverse.

But still segregated into separate groups, it's rare for complete integration.

Name a fully integrated American city. Or a European one for that matter.

^ There are none, this conversation is absurd

R18, yes, you can swim in the lake but, like the poster said, it is cold. If you grew up swimming in the Atlantic, as I did, you probably won't like it. It feels and smells completely different, which of course, it obviously should. I just could never get used to it. It often has waves, but they are erratic. You don't get the same rhythm of motion like the ocean.

That said, it is a gorgeous lake with many moods and colors. I had a view of it from my porch for awhile and I never got bored looking at it. The moon and sun rises over it were always sublime. In winter, when it is really cold, there is often a wall of spiraling mist towering offshore, while the city is sunny. It was one of the most incredible things I'd ever seen coming from New York City.

R23, you are completely omitting the entire eastside from downtown up to Shorewood, a distance of several miles. The southside is another fun, livable place. The shitty part of town is west of the river. Were you a tourist?

[quote]Milwaukee is segregated

Like Manhattan?

Milwaukee has both the Viking Octantis and Polaris ships, with Ponant (possibly 2 ships?), Hapag-Lloyd, Plantours, and Pearl Seas all doing either multiple calls or turn-arounds. Some calls are overnights.

Milwaukee is really nice on the lake and in some other areas. It has it's underwhelming/ugly areas as well, but most cities do.

I do remember thinking that the city seemed Frozen in the 80s as far as architecture and building s. My hotel room face the rotating restaurant but I don't think rotates anymore and it would kind of like a alien spacecraft hovering in the air.

One of the few disappointments was that there were no Laverne and Shirley tours available while I was there.

WisCAHNsin

@r32, Viking Polaris is just leaving Thunder Bay en-rout to Milwaukee 🙂

@r35, "WisCAHNsin "

Nobody talks like that, stop embarrassing yourself

[quote] Winters aren’t bad, although I prefer cooler weather.

Cooler than a Wisconsin winter?

^ I like colder weather myself. Southern Wisconsin winters are fine

R37 - yes they do. To deny that there is not a Wisconsin accent is just absurd.

Actually the winters are not fine if you're not used to them. Coming from the Northeast, Milwaukee winters were definitely longer, colder, windier, snowier and greyer. Also, the tornado warnings in the summer were a little disconcerting at first.

^ Not in Milwaukee which is the subject of this thread

Looks like a short trip to Chicago then a train trip to Milwaukee may be in our future. Have never been to The Midwest. Partner (from Boston) and I (from SF) are "Coastal Elites" lol. Have flown over those cities so many times. Flying from SF, after the Sierra Nevada, you see nothing but empty flatland or farmland until Milwaukee or Chicago, which I can identify, as both are on giant bodies of water. Have always wondered what's down there. Would restrict the trip to touristy/downtown areas. The point for us would be to visit, not move there, despite the affordability for us Eldergays.

We are somewhat promiscuous vegetarians. Am picturing Bratwurst with sauerkraut and beer in Milwaukee and a fancy steak in Chicago, and whatever fish from the lake is best.

The accent makes me giggle. I've seen "Fargo" 3 or 4 times. Good to know it's "a very liberal blue city with a vibrant LGTB community," as r21 said. BTW, r21, have you ever driven in Boston? They're all hyper-aggressive. And don't get me started about off-meds SF Bay Area drivers.

[quote] until Milwaukee or Chicago, which I can identify, as both are on giant bodies of water.

The same giant body of water, in fact.

I agree I’ve never been but every time I’ve seen it on tv or in pictures it looks like a beautiful city.

@r43, We don't talk like "Fargo" in Milwaukee 🙄

[quote] Flying from SF, after the Sierra Nevada, you see nothing but empty flatland or farmland until Milwaukee or Chicago, which I can identify, as both are on giant bodies of water

Hello?

My brother went to UW Madison and never left, so now I had Wisconsin family and have spent a lot of time in Madison.

They definitely say Wis-CAHN-sin

^ Madison is NOT Milwaukee. Some of you are just geographically retarded 🤓

@r47, unfortunately, flight routes from SFO to BOS generally fly north and south of where The Rockies are most glorious. There's a skinny part of the range between Idaho and Montana where they are not so spectacular.

@r46, it's all the same to the rest of us; WisCAHNsin, Fargo, and the Twin Cities/Meenasoda all sound the same to us non-natives.

You’re right, r50. It’s a whole 79 miles away. Entirely different world.

^ Yeah, it is and since I'm the one who lives there I'm going to let you be the know-it-all asshole and tell us all about what it's like... Jerk

@r51, Yes, dear, there's a whole big world outside your trailer park and you're not part of it

All I said was people in Wisconsin do pronounce it WisCAHNsin. If you think that makes me a jerk, I’m glad I don’t know you.

^ Not in Milwaukee which is the subject of this thread

How long have you lived here, because you seem to know so much about us?

I smell Greg in this thread.

[quote] I'd hardly call it provincial

I lived there for six years, r17. What I mean by provincial is that the people there don't move around much and aren't well traveled. There rarely move more than 20 miles from their extended family. So shut up.

My brother has lived in Madison for 40 years. If, as you insist, no one in Milwaukee has a Wisconsin accent, then perhaps you have a point that my comments about a Wisconsin accent are misplaced in a thread about Milwaukee. But I’m skeptical.

*they

@r59, " But I’m skeptical. "

It's been established that you're also very stupid, because my friend on Facebook has a cousin who knows you and said you're dumb as a box of rocks and I believe him because he said it's true. So there 😠

One of the weird things about Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and it's 'great restaurants" is that there really isn't a second seating. People in the area just eat an early dinner. There's no such thing as a late dinner. Most restaurants are closed by 9pm. Talk about provincial. A lot of restaurants were massively struggling the last couple of years because they couldn't make money on just one seating a night.

^ It's true because you just made it up to make us think you know what you're talking about, but you don't and we know it

Poor you ☹️

R58, I went to school there for three years and met/was friends with people from around the country and the world, as well as people from across WI. Many of the native Milwaukeeans/Wisconsinites I knew were smart, funny, well educated and not very provincial.

- R17

Maybe you were just attracting people like yourself.

It's been a long time since I visited, but I used to attend GenCon with friends in the 90s. I liked the downtown core—nice architecture and restaurants, and a pretty interesting Natural History museum.

@r58, "I lived there for six years"

Then I got busted for dealing meth and possession of kiddie porn, so it was off to prison, but I still know everything, so shut up 😠

Funny how the series of childish, insulting posts with emojis all are liked as soon as they are posted.

^ Like yours 😏

R58 is correct. The city may have some good museums and art and even music but it's the people who are provincial. When I lived there I met almost no one who'd been to Europe and only a few who'd been to NYC. Milwaukee people consider a trip to Chicago as their great traveling adventure. Most people seem to never leave the state (or want to), and are amazed when you suggest that there are places that surpass Milwaukee in terms of, well, everything.

Never met a more provincial crowd before in my life. I couldn't wait to get out, and now that I am, I would never consider returning.

“ I met almost no one who'd been to Europe”

Going to Europe is the height and depth of provincialism

I'm also a fan. The lakefront is beautiful, the modern art collection is fantastic, as is the Calatrava building housing it, and there are great restaurants along the riverwalk.

I have longtime friends near Madison in New Glarus (famous for their beer) and I absolutely love Wisconsin.

Raab, you on this thread?

R70 - I have to agree with you. It's extremely provincial. I lived there about 4 years when I was younger. I couldn't believe how few people had ever been to Chicago - literally 90 minutes away.

But boy did they love Madison! And the dells! And their cottage up north!

It's a fine city and has a very low profile - most people don't know anything about it except Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley. That being said - don't expect to be blown away by anything.

What do you do in winter? There's like six months that's too cold to go outside, then there's the POOP thaw in the yard in the spring? All the frozen poop thaws at once and smells like a sewage drain, I was told that by a woman who moved here from there.

R74 what's so special about Milwaukee poops?

Provincials are everywhere. I know people who've lived there whole lives in Brooklyn who have seldom if ever gone "into the city". My father never went to the Statue of Liberty or the top of the Empire State Building.

R76 - true enough, but they have been there. Not going to a tourist place doesn't mean provincial. I lived in NYC for 15 years - never went to Statue of Liberty (although saw it from boats) or went to the top of the Empire State.

I feel like a lot of Wisconites have this rivalry with Chicago, which is really one-sided. They feel overshadowed by Chicago - and they are. But Chicagoans really don't even think about Milwaukee or Wisconsin that much.

There's a lot of disparaging Chicagoans - which may be the reason why they don't go. Oh - but most have been to Minnesota - which is over 5 hours away!

R74, a lot of the retirees are snowbirds. There is a lot of drinking and partying in winter.

I'm probably over-reacting to people calling Milwaukeans as provincial. I also really loathe the term "fly over country." Talk about closedminded and provincial.

I really enjoyed my years in Milwaukee for many reasons. It had a lot to offer I just never expected that life in NYC never could. The more I travel in the US, the more I see what a great, beautiful country it is with very kind and cool people. I was never a New York snob, people from here seldom are and when someone is, I know they are not a native. Lately when I come back to NYC, I see how miserable and angry many people are compared to other places.

The Wisconsin accent is real, but it's not widespread throughout the state. I grew up in the rural area just north of Madison (where the DL-famous missing boy vanished), and the people there don't have the accent, except faintly on certain words from some people. And yes, Wisconsin is one of those words.

It's also not the Fargo accent. The only place you might hear that in state is far north, near Minnesota. For anyone interested in what the Wisconsin accent sounds like, Charlie Berens, who was a guest judge on the second episode of Top Chef Wisconsin, mocks it very effectively in his comedy videos.

Charlie nails it in that video at R80. No, not all-- or even most-- Wisconsinites sound like that. But believe me, some do. The dropping of syllables... don't even get me started.

R7 What about the Bucks?

I work with a woman from Osh Kish who has a very noticeable Wisconsin accent.

Wisconsin: Head Cheese, 9-Month Winters, and Alcoholics driving around on Snowmobiles like lunatics cause they're bored.

R84 - you've got that right. They drink A LOT there.

My experience with Wisconsin was definitely lots of provincial people.

Don't get me wrong, lots of lovely polite people, Midwestern nice. But if your uncle Burke didn't go to the same HS and didn't drink out of the same bubbler, then you could only go so far with them.....never inside the inner circle. Uffda!

Milwaukee has lots of great old architecture, but this year they are hosting the evil republican convention so it would be better for someone to blow it up.

I went with my cousin to get her marriage license at the courthouse in Milwaukee, and the people who worked there made the Fargo people sound perfectly normal. HOLY SHIT the thick Wiscansan accent almost made me bust out laughing.

I moved from Southern California to Western New York in 1987 and let me tell you - it was a lesson in regionalism.

Pop? Wait, no - PAWP! Instead of soda? They have quite the accent in WNY. After living there for 5 years I was told I had that accent as well.

I eventually moved back to CA after 10 years. No trace of their accent now, but it is somewhat similar to what people call an Ohio or PA accent. It's nasally - but not as bad as Wisawnsin.

The concert I went to when I was in Milwaukee this absolutely fantastic and it was definitely helped by the energy of the crowd. There was kind of surly and wild energy but also fun and the performance greatly enhanced by it.

I had seen the same person in concert the night before in Chicago and while also excellent the crowd was surprisingly sedate.

Milwaukee is called the City of Festivals. Pridefest is going on now and Summerfest is later this summer. They have a designated festival grounds right on the lakefront and that's pretty cool. I saw Dave Matthews, Pat Benatar, and Berlin there a couple of summers ago. Another thing that struck me about Milwaukee, having lived in D.C. and Chicago, is how easy it is to drive, park, and walk into a venue. They complain about traffic, but have no idea.

Is Door County as nice as they say?

R92, yes. We went last fall and we're blown away. Very much like Maine, lots of beautiful outdoors.

^^were.

R93, their cherries are delicious. That much I know!

It’s a complete shithole

Donald Trump called it a hell hole today

Grew up in Madison WI, lived in Milwaukee for 18 years. Night and day! Milwaukee metro is ultra conservative, very segregated. Can’t really say the LGBT community is vibrant. I volunteered for the one of the first gay pride parades in Milwaukee in the 90s, and endured the most vicious insults from people about the road closures for the parade route. I have to say, in 2022 I returned for a visit (reunion of M&M Club) and was amazed at the lively redevelopment and improvements in the Third Ward and along the riverfront. I moved to the Third Ward in 1989, when the area was first going residential. It never really took off by 1995 when I left, but now it is everything I hoped it would be. I go back for family events in Madison, but I’m really happy I got out for NYC in 1995.

M&M club?

I really like the green ones, but I'm not sure I'd join a club dedicated to candy...

[quote]Donald Trump called it a hell hole today

Insult to injury, R97, Horrible Milwaukee is hosting the upcoming RNC convention. I guess it's only fitting that donald be crowned in a "shit hole" city. You can't make this crazy shit up. The Orange Ogre is INSANE!

I lived in Milwaukee. Its downtown smells like beer (baking bread) and chocolate.

Again, he hates the real world west of I-95.

It's horrible.