Flipville USA

Flipville was a crowded dusty memorabilia store in a crooked little building on Farwell Avenue in Milwaukee. The proprietor wasn’t very talkative (at least with us) and his inventory was a little worse for the wear. Visiting Flipville was like an absorbing afternoon in Grandpa’s attic.

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Looking for The Safe House

The entrance to the The Safe House (779 N. Front St.) is crowded with people who will not know the password. We circle the block to give the folks a chance to perform the antics that will be required of them to get in. (The password:  swordfish)

Ten minutes later, we’re back and [...]

All That Watermelon and Jazz

Watermelon Martini at Aloft's Wxyz Bar

Back at the hotel, we sit at the sunken Wxyz bar. Clever name, right? Just wait, The Aloft has more cleverness in store.

The bar’s surface is embedded with confetti-shaped lights that change from orange to pink to green and back. The large-breasted bartender struggles to cut [...]

Das ist gut: Dinner at Mader’s

Mader's German Restaurant

Milwaukee is both my former home and my adopted hometown. Every return visit feels like a homecoming. But this visit to Milwaukee will be a little bit tourist trip.

I want to see and do the things I always meant to see and do. One, I  have never eaten at [...]

Got a Room at Milwaukee’s Aloft Hotel

Clever Room Key

We check into Milwaukee’s new Aloft Hotel (1230 N. 3rd St), the more casual offspring of the W Hotel luxury chain. Decorated in pink and acrylic, the sassy hotel sits on the fringe of the downtown nightlife on Juneau and Old World 3rd Street.

Is the hotel part of a [...]