In Our Spring 2016 Issue

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

Opportunities to Eat Local Are Springing Up All Around Us

Dear Reader,

With the help of big barrel-aged beers, Netflix binges of Mind of a Chef and various festivals, we’ve managed to survive another Wisconsin winter. We’ve cooked and stayed in a lot, and after this hibernation, it’s now time to peel off layers and get some fresh air. For some of us, that might mean finding a patio in the sun. For others, it might mean going out to catch, forage or harvest your next meal.

During the cold weather, our thoughts inevitably drift toward escaping someplace warm. Most of us can’t afford that trip to Bali, but what we can afford is to be tourists in our own city. We’ve done the hard work for you, highlighting ten locally-sourcing restaurants for all your daily lunching needs. If you’re looking for a way to quench your thirst at night, read our round of craft beer bar recommendations and start checking some destinations off your list. For those especially suffering from wanderlust, go South by Midwest with a visit to New Orleans by way of Milwaukee restaurant, Maxie’s.

Opportunities to eat local are springing up all around us, bringing along with the season a sense of rebirth and renewal. Our city embodies and encourages these qualities, and we as eaters are hungry for them.

Read on for more information about community-supported agriculture and consider partnering with a farmer for your fresh veggies, meat or dairy. Get to know the men behind the mushrooms at your favorite restaurant and/or farmers markets in our cover story, “Fungus Among Us.” Visit the intrepid food and beverage producers who have taken and transformed an abandoned Bay View warehouse, and mixed their goods and talents into the one hottest new places in town.

Whether you’re a cook, an eater, a cocktail enthusiast, a beer nerd or just a lover of all things Wisconsin, we’ve got something for you here. Take a tour of your city by way of food and drink, and you’ll never run out of things to do.

-Jen Ede, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief