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Visiting Chicago/ Milwaukee/ Green Bay (1 Viewer)

R

RJS113

Footballguy
I’m heading to the Bucs/Packers game in Green Bay Sunday, and will likely be spending a day in Chicago and a day in Milwaukee. Any recommendations on what I should see/eat in each city? It’ll be me and my wife. 

Flying into Chicago early Saturday morning, planning on driving to Milwaukee and spending most of the day there. Staying in Appleton Sat and Sun night. Monday morning planning on driving back to Chicago and spending some time there before flying out that night.

I’ve been to Chicago a couple times (when NFL draft was there), but didn’t do much site seeing. I did eat at Giordanno’s, and will likely stop there again, unless anyone has better recommendations. 

 
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Btw, I love trying local foods/ whatever that city is known for.  

I was in Buffalo for the Bucs/Bills game last month, and asked a local where I had to eat while I was in town for the weekend. She said TGI Friday’s and Texas Roadhouse. 

Hoping the FFA has better advice than that.  :)

 
Just a heads-up but when crossing the border from Illinois into Wisconsin do not exceed the speed limit too much, in Kenosha and Racine Counties there always seems to be a number of police nabbing the speeders.  

As far as food in Milwaukee, not much of a food conosouer so I cant provide much insight a popular German restaurant is Maders in downtown Milwaukee I have never been there so I can't say one way or the other. But I hope you enjoy your trip to the area.

 
Fantasy_Freak said:
Just a heads-up but when crossing the border from Illinois into Wisconsin do not exceed the speed limit too much, in Kenosha and Racine Counties there always seems to be a number of police nabbing the speeders.  

As far as food in Milwaukee, not much of a food conosouer so I cant provide much insight a popular German restaurant is Maders in downtown Milwaukee I have never been there so I can't say one way or the other. But I hope you enjoy your trip to the area.
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Thanks for the advice! I do tend to ignore the speed limit sometimes, so you probably saved me from getting a ticket. 

 
Hawkeye21 said:
This is a place in Chicago I'd love to eat at.  Their pizza looks amazing.

http://chicagopizzaandovengrinder.com/
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My niece lives walking distance from here and have been there twice.  Had the pizza..never been a fan of Chicago pizza..it tasted good but after a few bites with all the cheese and dough I could not stomach it.   Next time I got the meatball grinder and it was fantastic!   I would go grinder over pizza there.

 
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Skip the pizza and get yourself a nice Italian Beef.  Portillo's (chain) is fine but I'm sure there are some mom and pop places that locals could steer you to

 
Dan Lambskin said:
Skip the pizza and get yourself a nice Italian Beef.  Portillo's (chain) is fine but I'm sure there are some mom and pop places that locals could steer you to
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Good idea.  Italian beef is excellent.  If anyone enjoys a good hot dog the Chicago style hot dog is my favorite.

 
Limp Ditka said:
Last time I was in Milwaukee, we had a great breakfast at Cafe Centraal
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Cafe Centraal is about a mile from my house. Took the gang there for brunch during BeerHole 1. Pretty good food :thumbup:

Maders is solid for lunch. As is the Old German Beer Hall if that's the type of cuisine you're looking for. There's quite a few other places around the downtown area with great food depending on what you're looking for.

Potwatomi Casino has a few nice restaurants and plenty of gambling if you have a hole in your wallet. There's a Harley Davidson museum by the casino as well. Milwaukee Public Museum and Art Museum are underrated imo. Discovery World if you have kids in tow. Beware, there's a Santa Claus 5k on the lakefront on Saturday morning so it could be kind of crowded in the area. Not much to do other than peek at it but the new Bucks arena is coming along nicely. Otherwise we're a bit limited with "things to do" in the winter time, hence all the drinking.

 
The Santa rampage bike ride is Saturday.  Depending on weather, that could mean a thousand or more drunks on bikes dressed as santa in a loosely-organized route that typically includes the Lowlands restaurants such as Cafe Centraal and the Hollanders on East side and Tosa. Its a fun group, but best avoided unless you are extremely drunk, in a Santa outfit and on a bike (me, every year the past 10 or so). Therefore, avoid the Centrall/Hollander restaurants early, avoid Lakefront Brewery all day, Great Lakes, Conejito's area around lunchtime, and avoid Kolchanski's late.  My cousin is coming up from Tampa for the game as well, but I don't think I can get him to do the ride with me this year.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/santa-cycle-rampage-2017-tickets-37431728307

https://www.facebook.com/897453440324491/photos/a.897456350324200.1073741827.897453440324491/897462123656956/?type=1&theater

There are a ton of good lunch / dinner spots in Milwaukee these days. Depending on budget and what you are looking for, I would recommend the 3rd ward area or Walker's point.

 
RJS113 said:
Btw, I love trying local foods/ whatever that city is known for.  

I was in Buffalo for the Bucs/Bills game last month, and asked a local where I had to eat while I was in town for the weekend. She said TGI Friday’s and Texas Roadhouse. 

Hoping the FFA has better advice than that.  :)
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Seems like solid choices.  Apparently they did not have an Olive Garden.  

 
Osaurus said:
Eat at Victoria’s in Appleton.  It’s really good.
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Are there last night. Thought it was good, not great. But huge portions/ great value. 

Bottle of wine

Garlic Bread

Appetizer

2 Soups

2 Huge entrees

2 Deserts

$50. 

Would definitely go go back if ever in town again. 

 
Fantasy_Freak said:
Just a heads-up but when crossing the border from Illinois into Wisconsin do not exceed the speed limit too much, in Kenosha and Racine Counties there always seems to be a number of police nabbing the speeders.  

As far as food in Milwaukee, not much of a food conosouer so I cant provide much insight a popular German restaurant is Maders in downtown Milwaukee I have never been there so I can't say one way or the other. But I hope you enjoy your trip to the area.
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Ate lunch at Old Town German Hall on Saturday. Great food. The pig wings were incredible. 

After lunch we walked around the river and took pictures with Bronze Fonz. Then we stopped at Maders and had a Giant pretzel. Very good!

We also stopped by a cheese store across from Maders. They were actually filming a commercial while we were in there, so we had to sign a waiver allowing them to film us. I was going full “these pretzels are making me thirsty” trying to make the final edit. 

 
RJS113 said:
Are there last night. Thought it was good, not great. But huge portions/ great value. 

Bottle of wine

Garlic Bread

Appetizer

2 Soups

2 Huge entrees

2 Deserts

$50. 

Would definitely go go back if ever in town again. 
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I went to the one in Green Bay more often.  In all honesty, I was drunk 75% of the time when I ate there.

 
Dan Lambskin said:
Skip the pizza and get yourself a nice Italian Beef.  Portillo's (chain) is fine but I'm sure there are some mom and pop places that locals could steer you to
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I wish I took your advice about skipping the pizza. We ate at Giordano’s for lunch. It was good, but I’ve had it before so wasn’t blown away. 

The Sky Deck was closed today, so we had some extra time to kill before heading to the airport. I asked a couple locals where’s the best Italian beef, and both actually said Portillo’s. So we stopped by and split a wet Italian beef with sweet peppers. (Still pretty full from Giordannos). It was outstanding. Probably the best thing I ate all weekend. 

 
RJS113 said:
I wish I took your advice about skipping the pizza. We ate at Giordano’s for lunch. It was good, but I’ve had it before so wasn’t blown away. 

The Sky Deck was closed today, so we had some extra time to kill before heading to the airport. I asked a couple locals where’s the best Italian beef, and both actually said Portillo’s. So we stopped by and split a wet Italian beef with sweet peppers. (Still pretty full from Giordannos). It was outstanding. Probably the best thing I ate all weekend. 
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Can't go wrong with portillos.  :thumbup:

 
A couple other random thoughts from my trip:

1. The tolls I went through in Illinois were $1.90 and $2.80. I know most locals probably have iPass or whatever they call it, but why the eff wouldn’t they just round up to the dollar? Get an extra $.10 or $.20 per car, and make the cash lanes more efficient. This annoyed me way more than it should have, I just found it stupid. 

2. If anyone goes to a Packers games, the people living in the surrounding neighborhoods charge anywhere from $10-$30 to park in their yards. But most of these neighborhoods allow you to park for free on the street. We parked for free in some neighborhood, and it was a pretty short walk over to the Hall of Fame Chop House. (Tailgated there before the game - $20 all you can eat and drink). 

 
RJS113 said:
2. If anyone goes to a Packers games, the people living in the surrounding neighborhoods charge anywhere from $10-$30 to park in their yards. But most of these neighborhoods allow you to park for free on the street. We parked for free in some neighborhood, and it was a pretty short walk over to the Hall of Fame Chop House. (Tailgated there before the game - $20 all you can eat and drink). 
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we always park on the street but my uncle, when he comes in to town for the games, insists on parking in the same yard.. and paying $30 (now).

it's a shorter walk to the stadium for him but $30 to not walk 3-4 blocks? pass

 
RJS113 said:
I wish I took your advice about skipping the pizza. We ate at Giordano’s for lunch. It was good, but I’ve had it before so wasn’t blown away. 

The Sky Deck was closed today, so we had some extra time to kill before heading to the airport. I asked a couple locals where’s the best Italian beef, and both actually said Portillo’s. So we stopped by and split a wet Italian beef with sweet peppers. (Still pretty full from Giordannos). It was outstanding. Probably the best thing I ate all weekend. 
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So sorry that you wasted a meal in Chicago on Gioradano's, Anyone that steered you in that direction should be punched in the throat.

 
RJS113 said:
2. If anyone goes to a Packers games, the people living in the surrounding neighborhoods charge anywhere from $10-$30 to park in their yards. But most of these neighborhoods allow you to park for free on the street. We parked for free in some neighborhood, and it was a pretty short walk over to the Hall of Fame Chop House. (Tailgated there before the game - $20 all you can eat and drink). 
Click to expand...
I got a spot on the street a few blocks from Lambeau Sunday morning.  There are very few things us Sconnies hate more than paying for parking. Great day, great game.

I love going to Tampa and always have fun when the Bucs fans come to town. I wish we were still in the same division. My cousin was with me on Sunday - 63 year old retired guy, long-time Bucs season ticket holder, wearing full Bucs gear and an old school (creamsickle color) Bucs flag as a cape. It was a riot.

 
CletiusMaximus said:
I got a spot on the street a few blocks from Lambeau Sunday morning. 
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:hot:

I love going to Tampa and always have fun when the Bucs fans come to town. I wish we were still in the same division. My cousin was with me on Sunday - 63 year old retired guy, long-time Bucs season ticket holder, wearing full Bucs gear and an old school (creamsickle color) Bucs flag as a cape. It was a riot.
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my favorite part about Sunday (other than the win) was seeing all the fans in their original 80s Bucs gear. not throwbacks, not replicas. the original stuff. satin button-up, dreamsicle orange jackets. 80s jerseys. knit hats that their dad wore one time when temps in Tampa hit 55.

big fan

 
mr. furley said:
we parked on Jay off Liberty but not til more like 11:15 or so

as a kid i played a lot on Kenwood. we played football in the church lot over there.
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I was heading to the Church lot, my normal parking spot, when I got lucky with an open on-street spot.  It was the greatest moment of my weekend, until the walk-off td.

 
@strykerpks @Osaurus

Bump for ideas for an overnight visit during spring break (Hey look at me, I go to Milwaukee on spring break).  2 boys age 12 and 10.  Might catch one of the last spring games at miller park before the season opens.  We hit the zoo with family on a regular basis, so no zoo.

 
harley museum is cool so is the art museum down on the lake and kids that age might like discovery world on the lake to take that to the bank bromigos

 
Discovery World downtown is fantastic. my 9 and 11 year old girls did not want to leave. we were there.... 4 hours? 

if you're there with your wife, Milwaukee Public Market is close by with some local shopping.

 
If the Bucks are playing while you're here (and they're still allowing crowds to come), check out the Fiserv Forum and the surrounding Deer District. Lots of fun on game nights. Fiserv is in its second year and is pretty fantastic.

 
Kid friendly stuff I’m not so good at recommending. Lion’s Den Nature Preserve is an awesome place to light hike with a staircase down the bluffs to the lake.  

 
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