Five Things You Must Do When the Twins Visit Milwaukee

[John Bonnes]

Our closest MLB neighbor has worthier attractions than their retractable roof. 

Image courtesy of © Mike De Sisti - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - USA TODAY NETWORK

Prior to 2010, Milwaukee was a pilgrimage for Twins fans looking for (partially) outdoor baseball. That luster has faded with Target Field’s emergence, but the Brewers are still the closest (less than a five-hour drive) MLB team, and Milwaukee keeps getting better and better as a city to visit. Don’t believe me? Then try these five things you must do when you follow the Twins to face the Brew Crew.

The Ballpark
Tailgate - AmFam (American Family Field, the ex-Miller Park) isn’t in the group of Major League  ballparks that are surrounded by a vibrant downtown social scene (Target Field, Wrigley, Coors, Petco). It’s in the group that is surrounded by a parking lot (Kauffman, The Bank, Dodger Stadium). That’s bad news if you enjoy a pregame bar scene, but it's great news if you enjoy tailgating. And Brewers fans enjoy tailgating.

All you really need is a ticket to the game and a car. You can reserve a spot, but you don’t need to. If you want to tailgate with friends in adjacent spots, they need to arrive with you – you can’t save a spot for them later. You also cannot tailgate long after the game; all tailgating must cease 30 minutes after the end of a game. All the rules are here.

If want to include brats or dogs (hint: you do) but don’t want the hassle of bringing a grill, we used these tiny disposable grills. They’re just 23 dollars for two, don’t take up much room, and each provides enough grilling power for about two hours of grilling. You can put them right on the pavement or bring a small (non-meltable/flammable) table to put them on.

Food & Entertainment
Third Ward - The southern end of Milwaukee’s downtown is the Third Ward, and it’s where you’ll want to eat/drink/explore at least one of your nights in Milwaukee. It’s packed with too many great places, so let’s hit them fastly and furiously.

• Smoke Shack – BBQ and Craft Beer so good you might go back twice in the same weekend.
• The Wicked Hop – Famous, massive Bloody Marys that include a delicious mozzarella cheese mess.
• Tupelo Honey – Southern food. The shrimp & grits was the best thing I ate in Milwaukee – and I don’t like grits.
• Milwaukee Public Market – Enormous, lively food hall.
• Third Ward Beer Garden – Craft beer trailer in Catalano Park.
• Zad’s  - Quintessential Milwaukee dive bar. (Probably officially outside the Third Ward but not by much.)

Beer
Broken Bat Brewing – Let’s start with the obvious caveat: you’re in Milwaukee, so you’re not going to have any trouble finding beer, craft or macro. But if you’re a baseball fan, I can’t recommend Broken Bat Brewing highly enough. First of all, it’s got the basics down: it’s a good brewery, located in the Third War neighborhood, in an old warehouse, with friendly beertenders and at least a dozen very solid beers on tap. I especially like the NE IPA, and my wife wanted to go back for a Belgian Wit she loved. It would be a great brewery even if it didn’t lean into its baseball obsession.

But lean it does. All the beers are named after baseball terms. Baseball is almost always on TV. Bobbleheads and baseball art surround you. Their “mug club” serves beer in hollowed-out baseball bat glasses. When they did a series of Berliner Weisse beers, the flavors were derived from the confections at ballparks, like red licorice or cotton candy. The examples go on and on, but stop there and discover them for yourself.

Attractions
Bobblehead Museum - The highest praise I can give the Bobblehead Museum is that I’m not a bobblehead guy, and it was still great. The organized collection of over 10,000 bobbleheads costs just $5, and it will keep you (and especially kids, I imagine) entertained for a solid 45 minutes. I especially recommend participating in their scavenger hunt that takes you to all the main areas for just about the right amount of time.

It’s not complicated, but it’s engaging, simple, creative, entertaining, and you learn some fun stuff. It’s a great activity to fit in between other pursuits. It’s also across the street from Broken Bat Brewing.

Summerfest –I’m absolutely cheating on my last “must” recommendation because, odds are, the Twins won’t be playing in Milwaukee during one of the three weekends/two weeks of Summerfest. So why mention it? Because if they are, you’ll want to extend your trip. It’s even worth a separate trip.

Summerest is simply the greatest, most affordable outdoor concert series in the world. For three weekends, for three nights each, they have seven permanent stages, and each has two to four national-level bands each night. Take a second and do the math on that last sentence. The range of the bands is incredible: classic to brand new, covering every conceivable genre. Itl happens in downtown Milwaukee, right on Lake Michigan. And the cost is less than $30 per night. 

So embrace the rivalry, but be careful about disparaging our eastern neighbor. Indeed, Milwaukee is worth visiting even when your favorite local nine aren’t playing there. Combine it with an influx of Minnesotans and a couple of Twins wins, and it gets even better.

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[blindeke]

Great guide, John! I'll have to go to Zad's next time.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Great guide John. Will a similar guide be forthcoming to TD about Minneapolis to help us North Carolinians who have not been to Minneapolis since 1987 & 1988 (Mark Davidson invited me both times to see the Twins play some great baseball at the Metro Dome) when we come to town for the playoffs Oct 3rd? 

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Love these kinds of articles for places I just might go (even if not for a Twins game).  I’ve been to quite a few, but they change a lot sometimes from year to year, so the refresher is absolutely needed.  Definitely a great call on Summerfest.  It’s pretty amazing.  

[jimmyc]

We are headed there now!

[IndyTwinsFan]

Should add that the downtown park where Sommerfest is held also hosts numerous ethnic festivals throughout the year.  If you can think of an ethnic group, there's a high likelihood that there is a festival for it somewhere in the city, usually on that site.

My favorite was Germanfest, which is held in the same location as Sommerfest.

[waker107]

Milwaukee resident here: (and twins fan)

My short list of places to go for out of towners.

Coffee: Stone Creek Coffee for nice lattes and coffee, Colectivo for quick coffee and a bite.

Breakfast: Uncle Wolfie's Breakfast Tavern

Lunch: Zocolo Food Truck Park. (Lots of options from food trucks and most outdoor seating)

Going for the good beer: 1840 brewing.

Iconic activity: Lakefront Brewery Tour (Excellent cheese curds here)

Place for a walk: Lake Park (plenty of good houses and park views, stairs leading down to the lake offer great views)

Best bar with a GameDay shuttle: Camp Bar (multiple locations, check with the website on which ones have a shuttle)

Late night eats and custard: Kopps (I suggest getting the KRK a loaded up butter burger with a small side of french fries and Onion Rings)

Other places worth going to:

Ope! Brewing

Comet Cafe

Mader's ($$$)

Harley Davidson Museum

Cafe Corazon

Black Husky Brewing

Von Trier

At Random

Vanguard 

Edited August 22, 2023 by waker107
Adding a great food spot

[Gary_Wayne_Guy]

SAFEHOUSE!  

Fantasticly cheesy (in a good way) spythemed bar.

[jimmyc]

When looking for a hotel room for 3 nights I noticed that many places had higher prices for Tuesday and Wednesday nights than for the weekend.  I was confused until I realized, 'Duh, it's for the influx of Twins fans'.

[Dave Borton]

Cheese.

Quote

Milwaukee Public Market

Hit the cheese vendor at the Market or this shop, West Allis Cheese and Sausage shop. Look for a 17 yr cheddar. You will reach heaven.

Coffee. Hit Stonecreek shop near the train station. Fantastic shop and coffee in an old warehouse where Stoncreek does their roasting.

[Oldgoat_MN]

10 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Great guide John. Will a similar guide be forthcoming to TD about Minneapolis to help us North Carolinians who have not been to Minneapolis since 1987 & 1988 (Mark Davidson invited me both times to see the Twins play some great baseball at the Metro Dome) when we come to town for the playoffs Oct 3rd? 

If indeed you come to town for the playoffs just mention it here in late September. Your years of contributions to this site and baseball knowledge, I suspect, will have many suggestions and invitations directed your way.

[Dave Borton]

Chefs and cooks. The Spice House at the Public Market.

Need sausages to grill when you tailgate? Only one place for me. Usinger's downtown.

https://www.usinger.com/visit-usingers

Italian deli? I sadly miss their meatball sandwiches and Italian sausages lathered with sauce. 1011 E Brady, close to downtown.

https://gloriosos.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/gloriososdelimenu.pdf

 

[Dave Borton]

10 hours ago, waker107 said:

Late night eats and custard: Kopps

If you ain't been to Kopps, you ain't been to Milwaukee. Best custard I have ever had (it's not soft ice cream -- it's custard). Great sloppy burgers and I loved them. Leon's custard rates right up there with Kopps.

https://chicagofoodiesisters.blogspot.com/2016/11/kopps-in-milwaukee-wisconsin.html

 

[nclahammer]

Good stuff.  Thanks for the guidance, will keep in mind the next time we road trip over there.

[Squirrel]

And if you stay overnight, stay in that haunted hotel the teams stay at

https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/oakland-as-player-has-haunted-experience-at-milwaukees-pfister-hotel

[Original_JB]

I'll just add this little locale.....

https://www.geneandmarcyhollerhouse.com/

[tarheeltwinsfan]

9 hours ago, Oldgoat_MN said:

If indeed you come to town for the playoffs just mention it here in late September. Your years of contributions to this site and baseball knowledge, I suspect, will have many suggestions and invitations directed your way.

Thanks Goat. That was a "Minnesota nice" comment.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

1 hour ago, Original_JB said:

I'll just add this little locale.....

https://www.geneandmarcyhollerhouse.com/

What a great video about my kind of place. Family owned, unique, beer and bras on the ceiling.  

[jimmyc]

18 hours ago, jimmyc said:

When looking for a hotel room for 3 nights I noticed that many places had higher prices for Tuesday and Wednesday nights than for the weekend.  I was confused until I realized, 'Duh, it's for the influx of Twins fans'.

Now that we are here, the sh#t-show republican debate is probably what effected mid-week hotel prices.

[big dog]

22 hours ago, IndyTwinsFan said:

Should add that the downtown park where Sommerfest is held also hosts numerous ethnic festivals throughout the year.  If you can think of an ethnic group, there's a high likelihood that there is a festival for it somewhere in the city, usually on that site.

My favorite was Germanfest, which is held in the same location as Sommerfest.

We were just at Irish Fest last weekend, touted as the biggest Irish music festival in the world. Have been going for years, wouldn't miss it.

Agreed on the Fifth Ward- very walkable, very fun.