Season 21 of Top Chef introduced the world to the culinary culture in Wisconsin through chef Dan Jacobs. Jacobs, who owns DanDan with his partner Dan Van Rite, made it to the final three. Now the chef is home, focused and ready to explore his city anew with his wife, artist Kate Riley.
“There is a lot of fun stuff to do in Milwaukee,” Jacobs says. “It’s beautiful, it’s clean and the people are nice.” With that in mind, the chef shared the best way to taste, play and see laid-back Brew City over two days.
Day One
First, book a room at the Kinn Guesthouse in Bay View. It’s Jacobs’ favorite spot to house guest chefs when they visit. The boutique property only has a handful of rooms, giving visitors an intimate and personal experience. It is also pet-friendly. Jacobs says the guest house also resides in his beloved neighborhood, where there’s plenty to do, drink and eat.
“It’s the location,” he says. “It’s all about where it is. You are staying in a neighborhood. It’s the eclectic, hipster retirement community full of tattooed 40-year-olds, record shops, bookstores, plant shops, a cool old movie theater and lots of great restaurants.”
For Jacobs, the place to get breakfast is Honeypie Cafe. The chef says it’s casual, but a step above a diner, and it serves classic American fare. Order the breakfast casserole, a nod to the city’s Midwest sensibilities that’s been elevated with house-made sausage gravy, bacon, white cheddar, potatoes and an egg. Jacobs suggests adding on fries, available any time of day. So are the pies, which the shop is known for. His favorites are the banana and coconut cream flavors.
For those who prefer forgoing breakfast or want an early lunch, The Vanguard opens at 11 a.m. Here, you’ll find made-in-house sausage, city-themed toppings and a heavy metal vibe. Highlights include the duck BLT, Nashville hot chicken sausage and classic poutine. The space is fun, though Jacobs’ wife said it reminds her of a teenage boy’s bedroom in the best way possible.
After the meal, the chef suggests shopping around. Vinyl lovers will want to make Acme Records their first stop. The boutique Ursa is the next place to visit for artsy, handcrafted home goods, perfume, olive oils, tinned fish, plants and clothing. Riley sells some of her pottery here.
More plants can also be found at the nearby shop Clover. “There are a lot of places like that in Milwaukee,” the chef says. “Our friend Maggie sells pants there and does paint pottery studios, where you paint a pot she made, you get a plant and maybe a mimosa, too.”
After a shopping trip, go to one of the many beer gardens littered around Milwaukee. Jacobs says the city runs these beer gardens in public parks. One of the best ways to explore the scene is on a bike, which you can rent from South Shore Cyclery. The Oak Leaf Trail (or Route of the Badger) winds 135 miles around the city. It goes to Grant Park and Lake Michigan, where Top Chef filmed the fish boil episode and Jacobs placed in the top three.
While biking around, he recommends stopping at the beer gardens along the way. The drinking culture in Wisconsin is vast, with more than 260 craft breweries in the state.
“We are really supportive of our beers,” he says. “I am a big fan of Enlighten Brewing Company. It’s a real microbrewery in this neighborhood, with really great beers.”
However, Milwaukee isn’t just about beer. Jacobs and his wife frequent several wine bars in the neighborhood. His former bar manager runs Voyager, where vino can get paired with a pick-your-own-cheese-and-charcuterie board. Next, try Nonfiction Natural Wines, which specializes in eclectic pours and bottles made using spontaneous fermentation.
“It’s bright, and there is an outside patio that’s really shady,” he says. “It’s on the street, so you can watch people go by, and the sunsets over there are beautiful.”
Your next move should be a meal at Goodkind, owned by Katie Rose, Paul Zerkel and Lisa Kirkpatrick. Jacobs, who’s worked with the team on and off since he landed in Milwaukee, is especially fond of its bread. “It’s a neighborhood gem and a great American restaurant,” he says. “The menu changes all the time, and they have an old-school French rotisserie oven. I am a huge fan of the roasted chicken.”
He also suggests the carbonara, which he says is made traditionally with egg yolks and no cream. Finish the evening off by ordering the homemade Basque cake, which Jacobs says he craves each year on his birthday.
Day Two
Now that Jacobs’ neighborhood has been thoroughly explored, venture further up north for breakfast at Cafe at the Plaza. From the outside, the restaurant looks like an extension of the apartment building above it. However, once inside, the rooms branch out and have a cozy feel and art deco nuances. If the weather is nice, try to snag a table outside on the gated patio. The menu is full of crowd-pleasing, freshly made foods, including the signature chive hash browns and delicious coffee.
Next, head to the river and rent a Duffy boat. The easy-to-handle electric water vehicles are perfect for slow, self-guided cruising down the river. Pack a picnic and some drinks and spend three or four hours touring the city from the deck, looking for bands floating down the river and playing on rafts. If you’ve forgotten to pack a lunch, stop by any of the handful of bars and eateries lining the river. Each spot has a little pier, including the popular Barnacle Buds, which is great for seafood and cocktails.
“Lake Michigan is huge,” Jacobs says. “It’s like an ocean. And there’s a break wall that breaks the waves.
While the chef doesn’t advise taking the Duffy boat past the break, he does suggest cruising to the Milwaukee Art Museum and seeing what the largest art museum in the state is exhibiting inside. “It’s beautiful,” he says. “You got a great view of the Hoan Bridge, the lake and the river. It’s super, super cool.”
After making your splash, return to the hotel and change before trekking to Ricky Ramirez’s bar, The Mothership. Jacobs says he enjoys Ramirez’s scrappy but elevated space, serving both pitchers of Hamm’s beer and a well-executed Saturn cocktail.
“It’s a party, a fun, weird bar with great cocktails,” Jacobs says. “Across the street is one of the largest dog parks in the city, so you can have an espresso martini and dog-watch.”
For food, chef Kyle Knall’s Birch is high on the list of places to have dinner. The modern American cuisine showcases seasonal dishes such as steelhead crudo with husk cherry and end-of-summer raspberry; ricotta-filled pasta with sweet corn, chanterelles and basil; and ember-roasted walleye. Much of the food comes from the restaurant’s farm, located just outside the city limits.
A lot of the staff at Birch came from DanDan. Jacobs takes that as a compliment: “It’s about how we train and take care of our people. We make sure they go on to greater and better things.”
While Jacobs loves the food at Birch, for dessert, he heads to At Random for the ultimate Wisconsin treat — a boozy milkshake. Owner John Dye, who’s known for buying old bars and turning them into great cocktail lounges, provides funky tiki concoctions and a solid drinks list.
After that, it’s time to venture back to the hotel, ending the glorious weekend in Milwaukee. “There is so much we are missing,” Jacobs says. “But I am just happy the light is being shined on Milwaukee. It’s well deserved.”
