Jake's Deli and more, a day in Milwauk-56K warning

Ok, there was a Jake's Deli thread but as the day unfolded it turned into quite a bite more, plus I thought a 56K warning might help some folks out.

Mrs MFL and I headed into Milwaukee's inner city for our favorite corned beef meal, Jake's Deli. We found Gyp already there, we got seated by a very personable clerk, put our drink orders in (no longer serving beer-they said the cost of the license didn't make it worthwhile), Stewarts diet root beer for me as Sticken_Detective arrived.
Gyp went with the Rueben,

[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/2427284065_cab6079100.jpg?v=0[/img]

Mrs MFL had the pastrami, while S_D and I had both a corned beef and a pastrami with leftovers in mind. Flipping the great Miller rye that all Jake's sandwiches come on, here's what we got, corned beef on the left, pastrami on the right.

[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2026/2427284891_f3b570b3c4.jpg?v=0[/img]


Gyp mentioned that he could go for some Speed Queen BBQ, so off we went to my favorite local BBQ.

[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2397/2428099112_a8bc215d1a.jpg?v=0[/img]

Mrs MFL hit a home run with her Pick 3 which gave her some shoulder with the medium hot sauce and also got her a cornmeal muffin, some collard greens and mixed greens

[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2261/2427287347_05c416ea47.jpg?v=0[/img]

Gyp ordered the shoulder with the mild sauce which is what you get if you don't specify; the hot is just that, really, really hot and is a bright orange in color. I grow hananero peppers but their hot is just too hot for BBQ imho.

[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3242/2428099444_c73f459e51.jpg?v=0[/img]

S_D thought it woul;d be nice to see ChicagoStyleDog who had a Hot Dog University class running in Milwaukee's fashionably hip Historic Third Ward so off we went.

CSD and students were doing a great job and we also met a Chowhounder from Minneapolis that started his day at Jake's too!

The Big Wally!

[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2226/2427288345_f77806568d.jpg?v=0[/img]
btw, a lady asked for his phone number!

We wandered over to the new bakery, Harlequin Bakery, owned by Sandy Amato, the James Beard chef/owner of Sanford's, and next door to his much more modestly priced French/Alsatian bistro, Coquette Cafe. We got his signature rosemary and olive oil breadstcks and ended up sharing them with many as our day unfolded. While not Roadfood in the classic sense, I'd urge anyone staying in Milwaukee's downtown area to dine at Coquette. Mrs MFL and I love to split a charcuturie platter, which is loaded with rich patè's and mousses, French cornichons, dijon mustard cup and crusty sourdough baguette rolls. With a cup of their classically made French onion soup each, we have all we can do to waddle out the door.

[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2318/2427288735_cbf134bb2a.jpg?v=0[/img]

We headed up the street to check out Milwaukee's Public Market. No pictures but trust us, it's worth a visit. Shopping there got our thirst buds calling out for nourishment so we went across the street to the new winner of Milwaukee's best Bloody Mary, The Wicked Hop. We skipped those instead having the daily special, a $2 pint of Capitol Brewing's Maibock.

After giving our new Chowhouder friend a recommendation for a great steak, The Five O'Clock Club, formerly Coerper's, we mentioned that he should check out Mekato's, a Columbian bakery near Miller Park. We decided we wanted to end our day there also. Here's just a small sampling of the goodies we ordered.

[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2136/2427289075_313d002dcc.jpg?v=0[/img]

Beautiful!!The damn flu has had me under for two weeks(except Bobs insistence on going out to dinner last night to get me out of the house-havent been able to TOUCH the leftovers today)Great choices and sounds like you guys enjoyed yourselves..

Awesome.
I'm sorry I missed it.

X1,
I found that the Public Market has a place serving oyster, shrimp and catfish po-boys!

For those PC mustard dog police, I did the Vienna Chicago dog with mustard.
Meh!

awesome, i wish i was invited

coquette cafe is where i had my wedding reception.

the wife likes the flatbread pizzas
i like everything else!!!

great pics and descripts milwfoodlovers

OOOhhhh that corned beef sandwich is a work of art....did it have thousand island dressing on it??

quote:

Originally posted by ndn

awesome, i wish i was invited

Oh we are not that formal! Anyone who wants to join us is welcome. If you see a thread & want to come, just show up! The more the merrier.

I have pics too, of course. I ordered a chicken dinner @ Speed Queen



that I shared with my parents for dinner, along with CSD's hot dogs,



^^Guess which one is Big Wally?

the half sandwiches from Jakes & the treats from Mekato's columbian bakery. My mom was excited about not having to cook dinner & she split Big Wally with me. (Her dad's name is Wally, too!) Neither of us could finish our half of Wally, but we made a valiant effort.



I had the brioche & a blueberry scone for breakfast today that I got at the Harlequin bakery. Never had brioche before but now I want them all the time. :)



Also got some nice things at Metropawlis, check out their sign!!



I got stricken_dachshund a cookie that looked like a squirrel, and one that was called Apple Pie & it looked like a very small apple pie & had real apples in it. He loved them both, but once I gave him a bite of corned beef, no one else in the house existed.


I also took pics @ the Public Market








& of the Wicked Hop's bar area. They have this really cool metal sculpture on the wall, and on the ceiling. I tried to take a pic or two, but I don't think I did it justice.




Check back in this post tomorrow for pics. What a great time! Nice, relaxing day, just what the doc ordered after a long winter cooped up indoors.

Hey, it was great to meet you guys. I just got back to MSP 30 minutes ago -- hopefully sometime in the next couple of days, I can get some photos up. Thanks again for the additional recommendations...I appreciate you leading me to some good food. After I left you, I headed down to Mekato's. My photos will look very similar to yours -- I tried the chicharron which was a bit dry unfortunately, one of the cookies with powdered sugar (good), the Dulce de Leche (good flavor, slightly odd texture) and the star of the show, the flan. That was outstanding. I would love to have multiple visits to work my way through the rest of the food. In years past I would eat one of the large pans of flan, it was so good.

From there, I just meandered around absorbing the feel of different neighborhoods on the south side of the city. I saw several intriguing taquerias as well as taco trucks. Somehow I ended up down by the airport so I decided to sample the Nite Owl. I knew I wasn't going to do much damage, so I ordered a single cheeseburger. It was good but not spectacular -- I appreciated the beef but the low grade cheese and grocery store bun didn't do too much for me. Way, way better than a fast food place and a neat location -- I would return and try the double with bacon for sure. I think more beef would make the bun and cheese less offensive.

By then, it was nearing 5:00 and I was ready for a nap. When I got to the hotel room, I had no intention of leaving, but at around 7:00 I decided I'd better eat a steak. I did end up at 5 O'Clock/Coerper's. It was hopping -- I didn't think I would get in frankly. But I did and enjoyed a nice bone-in ribeye. The atmosphere was the star and the food was good. I think I may have been too full to fully appreciate it -- I realize now that I just don't/can't eat the way I used to. I would have no hesitation going back.

This morning was my usual coffee and bakery at the MKE Public Market. I also had a root beer (the local brand they sell there, not Sprecher's).

Like I said, hopefully I can get a few photos up soon and I hope to run into you all again some time!

OK...let's see if I can do this photo posting thing.

Smoked bratwurst and spaetzle at German Haus in Camp Douglas.



Friday evening at The Philly Way. Yes, there was cheese on the cheesesteak -- it would have been nice, both from a photography and eating standpoint, if there was more.





Manna from heaven:





I'd gladly spend another couple hours in the company of CSD, as well as MFL, Mrs. MFL and Stricken Detective. Once again, it was great to meet you guys:



It didn't look like this for very long!



Five seconds before one of the better bites of flan I've had in recent memory:



The rest of Mekato's (minus the chicharron photos that were too blurry):



Next stop:





And the grand finale:

I am so happy you made it to the 5 O'Clock club.The atmosphere there is intoxicating.Just when you think you will never be seated,there the waitstaff is, taking your order(always at the bar while you enjoy your favorite beverage)I always watch the door open, as i half expect Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack to walk in.The steaks are so char broiled you would think they were overdone-never.Beautifully done on the inside, as requested.I have NEVER had to send one back to the kitchen.My only disappointment of late is that potatoes are now ala carte.But the big bowl of salad,sesame breadsticks and loaf of warm bread(average, but the butter and honey they provide make up for it)round out the meal in a good way.Service is a bit brusque,so dont expect extra personal attention.But its fast once your order is in and the food is great!!