Beyond Wayne’s World and Miller High Life, I always thought of Milwaukee as just another city in the Midwest. That is, until one of my good friends moved out there last year. The trip to Milwaukee is too easy for me to make excuses, so I finally went out to visit him. I packed my best drinking hat and went for a weekend of beer, cheese and bacon.

Milwaukee used to be known as a powerhouse of brewing and manufacturing, which is very evident in the industrial feeling of the city. The city has taken large measures to change the image of the city into a more cultural and inviting city. Expanding the art museum and developing the Riverwalk are just some of the very well executed developments.

I was incredibly lucky with the beautiful warm and sunny weather, for late November, it was quite warm. Not nice enough to go for a swim, but it was easy to enjoy the beauty of the lake and walk around the historical 3rd Ward and along the coastline of Lake Michigan. I gave my friend the instructions of, “show me what you do for fun.”

Our weekend started with a standard Wisconsin treat, a fish fry, and naturally, some great German beer. I’ve had fried fish and potato pancakes, but I have rarely had such great, cheap fried Cod. A fish fry in Wisconsin is common at most every pub and non-chain restaurant on Fridays, I only tried one, so I leave it to you to decide who has the best one. After having some delicious fish and beer, we went to the event at the Milwaukee Art Museum, MAM After Dark. This is a monthly event that offers late night gallery viewings, music, a DIY art studio and most importantly, a cash bar. Who doesn’t like drinking a glass of wine and looking at art, and mingling amongst artists and art enthusiasts? While we were there, a group of dancers were performing with an integrated video installation done by the students at UWM’s Dance and Digital Media Departments. In general, I am a big fan of anything that promotes artistic awareness and support for the arts, and this was a wonderful exposition for the local artists and the museum exhibits.

After an evening at the Museum we went out to many of Milwaukee’s bars. In my drinking career I have spent the majority of my time in bars in states that have passed a Smoking Ban. It is really easy to forget that in most places, a smoking ban in bars is a new thing. And most places that I go where there is no smoking ban, the climate allows for the windows to be open, or the places are so big, you don’t really notice it. Wisconsin just passed a smoking ban that won’t take effect until July 2010, and while there are some bars that have already jumped on the wagon; we didn’t go to a single one. It’s easy to forget the annoyance of sitting in a bar next to someone that is going through their pack of cigarettes one by one. – Before I go on, let’s get one thing clear, I don’t smoke, and really disdain cigarette smoke, mostly because of the way it flares up my Asthma. I don’t blame anyone who smokes for that, or care if you choose to smoke, I just don’t like to be downwind of it. And to be perfectly honest, nothing goes better with alcohol than cigarettes. – While at these bars I indulged in a number of wonderfully cheap PBRs and learned a popular Milwaukee game, Bar Dice. This game is quick, and more often than not, ends in someone else buying you a shot.

While I was visiting my friend he also spent a fair amount of time driving me around showing me all of what the architecture and culture had to offer. Of this there were two things that stuck out the most to me, the Milwaukee Public Market, and the Comet Café. The Public Market is a great indoor market for local businesses; I was able to purchase some very fine local cheddar that was freshly packed days before, and had a pretty good cup of Americano at the little coffee shop in there. The best meal I had over the weekend was at a little breakfast shop, the Comet Café. They offered some really delicious looking gut bomb breakfast and brunch items. I am of the belief that bacon can make… anything better, so I had the delicious Bacon Pancakes, and a pretty lame espresso. I’ve had some pretty good pancakes and these really took the cake. You could make them at home, if you were willing to do that to yourself.

While I still do feel like Milwaukee is pretty much just another city in the Midwest, I now have a much greater respect for it. I would love to go back for a visit again in the summer and experience what the lake has to offer, and when you can have the big windows open at all the bars. I had a wonderful time visiting my friend and trying to see if Miller High Life is any better when it’s consumed in the city it’s brewed. I would have to say that Milwaukee is an underrated city, and I would live there if my job took me there, but it’s not my first choice. If you do get the chance to go, be sure to have a cold one for me!