The food that made Milwaukee famous

What Makes Milwaukee Famous

                The cannibal sandwich is an oddity to many places in the world, but not to Milwaukee. This sandwich, raw ground beef and onions on rye bread, has gone from an unknown high-class dish to a  Wisconsin holiday tradition, but it’s not the only food that makes Wisconsin special. Milwaukee, and Wisconsin itself, is a placefamous for many things, from our expansive north woods and Wisconsin Dells to our history. Wisconsin has a lot to offer its visitors, but nothing more so than its food.

                 Foods this state are famous for come primarily from our natural resources,  including Lake Michigan and our vast dairy farms that produce cheese, milk, pork, and beef every day. We’ve also got a few strange things that are unique to us, such as cannibal sandwiches, smoked fish, and many different kinds of bratwurst. Fish fries and our many custards shops are not unique to just Wisconsin, but many of our restaurants have customized these foods in a way you can only find in this state, and many of our restaurants that serve these foods have become universally known, such as Leon’s Custard and Saz’s.

Wisconsin’s Food History             

Milwaukee was settled in the early 1900s and with it came many German immigrants eager to start a new living in a new land. With them came their foods, which make up much of Milwaukee’s identity, such as bratwurst and beer, which come from our world-famous Usinger’s and Miller plants respectively.  Soon afterward came Polish, Italian, and Serbian immigrants, adding to our stockpile of unique foods with what they made best. Much later on, as the years rolled by, came more immigrants, from Thailand, Mexico, and many other countries.  What makes each ethnicity unique is the foods they brought here.

German Foods

-Sausages

-Beers

-Cabbage and sauerkraut

Italian Foods

-Pizza

-Pasta dishes

-Many unique cheeses, such as Gorgonzola

Polish Foods

-Dumplings

-Pierogi

           “I've frequently heard visitors and newcomers remark, though, on the wealth of ethnic restaurants here, from the old guard that includes Polish, Serbian and Italian to the newer waves of immigrants that include Hmong, Mexican and Thai,” says Carol Deptolla, the food critic for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who recently stepped into the shoes of the legendary critic Dennis Getto, who recently passed away.

Making Everyday Foods Uniquely ‘Wisconsin’

            While their food is their own and not unique to Wisconsin, the melting pot these people brought together makes our state a special eating experience. In fact, many of these families that helped to found Milwaukee started restaurants such as Mader’s that have become Wisconsin signature.

             “I’ve never been to  a really good Italian restaurant outside of Milwaukee,” says Carolyn Umfress, senior editor for The Leader newspaper on campus. “Especially in Kenosha, there are some amazing family owned restaurants there, Ruffalo’s for instanceDeptolla feels that a lot of the foods that truly identify Milwaukee may not be served only here, but became popular due to their lucky timing of arrival.

               “I think many of the foods that make up the Milwaukee identity owe a great deal to timing,” says  Deptolla.. Fish fries, for example, says Deptolla.

“For example, you can find fried fish all over this country,” says Deptolla. “And you can find fish fries there on Fridays in Lent. But in Milwaukee, the fish fry is a year-round ritual. Add to that potato pancakes (latkes), an unusual combo, and you have something that is a Milwaukee (and Wisconsin) institution.”

Many of Milwaukee’s signature foods, such as the fish fry, have been done in other places, but Wisconsin, like other states, has added its own unique flair based on its heritage and what it produces, such as dairy products, to make that sort of dish unique to this state and city alone.

“I think that's one of the most insanely Wisconsin food things ever. I think everywhere that there are Catholics you're going to have people that eat fish on Fridays, but people in Wisconsin do it up,” says Rob Hausknecht, a cook at the Lakefront Brewery. “We serve about 600-700 dinners on average. They have a polka band, people sit at big tables with other people they don't even know drinking lots and lots of beer. To me, it doesn't get much more Wisconsin than that.”

Home Cooking

Much of Wisconsin’s food relies heavily on what we do best- dairy products, farm-raised meat, and the many rural products we produce, such as cranberries, wild rice, sour cherries, and smoked fish that can be found at nearly any shop in the state, according to Deptolla.

Another example is the ‘cannibal sandwich.’

“Cannibal sandwiches- raw ground beef on rye with thin slices of onion, or chopped onion mixed into the beef- certainly weren’t invented in Milwaukee,” says Deptolla. “Steak tartare has been around forever. However, they have certainly been embraced here, particularly for special occasions such as the holidays, especially New Year’s Eve, and parties.” The sandwich has been made famous largely by the many small locations that serve it as well as its reputation as an oddity that drives many people to try it, as well as our large supply of beef we have available.  

Certain cities in Wisconsin are known for their specific products as well, such as Racine’s kringles, and the many wineries that dot cities up north, like the Door Peninsula Winery in Door CountyBrats, Beer and Cheese- Wisconsin’s Main Ingredients

Brats, beer and cheese are hallmarks of Wisconsinite culture and come from our rich heritage and the products we have on hand. Over the last few years, says Deptolla, Wisconsin is beginning to mirror is origins, with dozens of small local breweries, microbreweries and brands popping up all over.  It seems like almost everyone has their own unique recipe for beer to share with the world.

Bratwurst is special to us, largely due to Usinger’s sausage, formed in 1880 by Fred Usinger, a wurstmacher (sausage maker) from Frankfurt, Germany who came to Wisconsin for the same reason many others did: a chance at a better life. He and his new wife set to work making their sausages, which have now been around for almost 130 years.  Today, the company is still run by a member of the Usinger family, Fritz Usinger. The company offers its products worldwide, making our Wisconsin sausages as synonymous with Milwaukee as Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.  Cheese, too, has been here since the beginning, with literally hundreds of varieties coming from Wisconsin’s many cows.

While California may now be the biggest producer of cheese, Wisconsin is always thought of first- we are the Dairyland State after all. Arena Cheese in Arena, and several other companies, are well-known for their giant cheese-wielding mice statues that stand in front of their stores where they produce Wisconsin-made cheese curds, shredded cheese, and rich bricks of cheddar, Colby jack, and Swiss decorating their windows and delicately aging, just waiting to be eaten.

As unique as Wisconsin is, eating our sausage and cheese (and cannibal sandwiches) every day would quickly get boring, so our strongest food source is our diversity. “Things like fish fries and custard, I love them. But if that's all I had to eat I'd hate them pretty quick,” says Hausknecht.

“I like Milwaukee because we have some of the best choices around. When I went to New Orleans, I had Cajun food. When I went to San Francisco I had very natural food. When I went to Jamaica I had jerk chicken and lots of seafood. When I'm in Milwaukee, I can have any of those. I think that's what makes Milwaukee unique.”