It's cold in Milwaukee you guys!! Who knew that there were areas of the country that were still pretty cold in May. Well, we do now that's for sure. The day we arrived it was in the 70s, the next day it dropped to 55 and has been anywhere from 40-55 since.
While we aren't necessarily enjoying the cold, it couldn't stop us from exploring this week!
Historic 3rd Ward
The Historic 3rd Ward is a warehouse district in downtown Milwaukee that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Irish immigrants were the early settlers of this area where factories and warehouses lined the Milwaukee River. Today, the area is an arts and fashion district where you can find indy boutiques, breweries, upscale restaurants, art galleries and performing arts venues to name a few.
We walked around the area with the dogs and were really impressed by the buildings and the views of the waterfront. We can't wait to go back and do a little shopping and eating, especially at the famous Milwaukee Public Market.
Rivers Edge Park
Rivers Edge Park is a 32-acre park located between the Menomonee River and North Hills Country Club. Not only is it near one of the coolest named rivers ever, it also boasts a crushed limestone trail that loops around a lake filled with wildlife.
Since the loop is about 3/4 of a mile, we walked around it a couple of times, much to the confusion of the dogs who kept seeing the car wondering if Eric and I had truly lost it. It ended up being a really great walk for a cold day. Emma especially loved looking for turtles!
C-Viche
C-Viche describes themselves as presenting Ibero-American small plates with a Peruvian influence. We have a favorite Peruvian restaurant in LA that we are missing so we decided to give C-Viche a try and were admittedly a little skeptical. When we walked into C-Viche we were greeted by live music and a bustling restaurant. They have both indoor and outdoor seating on a heated patio. We decided to go with inside seating, and while it was very close to being too loud to hear each other, the music was incredible and really set the tone for our dinner. The inside of the restaurant isn't big but they do have dividers between the tables.
We started with some drinks and appetizers. I ordered the traditional Pisco Sour and Eric ordered the Lima which had Pisco, maracuya (passion fruit) juice, and a Rocoto pepper ice ball. My drink was exactly what I would expect and Eric really enjoyed his semi-sweet and slightly spicy drink.
For appetizers, we ordered Papa a la Huancaina (left picture) which was boiled potatoes covered in creamy Peruvian Huancaina sauce, Classic Ceviche (back of the middle picture) which was delicate fish marinated in a classic "leche de tigre", and Esquite (front of middle picture) which was creamy Mexican street corn. From our very first bite, we knew C-Viche rivaled our favorite Peruvian restaurant in LA. Fresh ingredients packed with an incredible amount of flavor, we had a difficult time figuring out what our favorites were.
At this point, we were so excited about our entrees we could hardly stand it. I ordered the Escabeche de Pescado which was grilled salmon smothered with Aji Panca (left picture below), and Eric ordered the Chaufa de Mariscos which was Peruvian style seafood fried rice (middle picture below). Once again, the flavor-packed a punch. The Aji Panca on my salmon was both smokey and fruity while not spicy. My mouth is watering now just thinking about it.
We ended our meal with Alfajores which are traditional shortbread sandwich cookies filled with manjar blanco (aka dulce de leche). We could not have ended our meal on a more perfect note. It will be hard not to go here again while we are in Milwaukee. 10/10 and definitely want to eat again!
Lost Valley Cider Co.
Lost Valley Cider Co. is Milwaukee's first hard cider bar, taproom and bottle shop. They have over 20 ciders on tap, cider bottles, cider cocktails and beer & wine. They are currently located in a pop-up location until May 16th which is in the same building they are usually in but provides a much larger space for socially distant cider drinking.
While I haven't seen the original location, I thought the Annex location was incredible. Large, dog-friendly and incredibly decorated with fun art, I can only imagine what their usual space looks like.
When you walk in, you pick a table, scan a code and order everything directly on your phone. Within minutes, the bartenders are bringing your order over. Their menu is so extensive it took us a while to figure out what we wanted. They are a cidery that has different ciders from many other cideries vs one that makes their own cider. I love exploring different ciders so think both are wonderful! I ended up ordering the B. Nektar Punk Lemonade Cider and Eric ordered the Restoration Blackberry. We really enjoyed both and with a fun dog-friendly atmosphere, we can't wait to go back.
Purple Door Ice Cream
Purple Door Ice Cream is an artisanal ice cream shop with incredibly innovative flavors such as Whiskey, Absinthe, Arnie Palmer, Campfire, Earl Grey with Biscuit Bits and Mexican Hot Chocolate to name a few. They also have a ton of vegan options, sorbets and ice cream cookie sandwiches. They have about 20 flavors on any given day and in a non-COVID world, you could even get a flight of ice cream.
I ended up getting Whiskey (pictured left above) and Eric ordered Beer & Pretzels (pictured right above). The ice cream was creamy, not overly sweet and had a distinctive but not overpowering flavor. We ended up getting kiddie sizes which were not small in my opinion and will definitely be frequenting this Milwaukee staple much more before we leave.
What a Week!
So far, we have yet to strike out anywhere in Milwaukee and are really excited to explore more. We will be taking a break from our regularly scheduled programming next week to celebrate my birthday. Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Until Next Time.
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