Milwaukee Specialty

Locals can argue about the best custard in town but Leon’s is undeniably a staple of the city—and really good. Open year-round (and run by the same family since 1942), they also do burgers, hot dogs, and old fashioned sodas, with the custard sundaes being the clear winners.

Located in the Historic Third Ward section of Milwaukee—its oldest center of commerce/warehousing, which was rebuilt after a devastating 1892 fire—the Public Market is a hub of local and specialty food vendors. In addition to the to-go market items, you can stop here for a meal (there’s seating on the second floor in their Palm Garden), and cooking classes are on offer, too, which you can sign up for here.

In the past twenty-five years, this indie coffee operation has grown to a dozen-plus cafes in Milwaukee (and a few in Madison), which makes it all the easier to get a good brew in the city. Colectivo takes their sourcing seriously (beans come from Colombia, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and more) and they roast everything in-house in Milwaukee; you can see them in action if you hang at the Humboldt Boulevard café in Riverwest, which is attached to the roasting facility.