Dear Dame,
As ambassadors of all that is wonderful about our city, it pains us to think of anyone not enjoying their time here. But we read the reports. Hell, even Bobby Portis was clueless about your state of sadness.
I think we all assumed that a basketball superstar like yourself has a fully booked calendar of glamorous events. Shame on us.
The Milwaukee Magazine team wants to make amends: We volunteer to be your friends and show you to the hottest spots in town. Here are just a few of the things we could do together. Call anytime, and we will drop what we’re doing to show you around.
Ann Christenson, Dining Editor
Mr. Lillard, let me help you find a good restaurant with a friendly bar. I know of a few. Birch affords you scene-setting action – cooks and servers all doing their dance – from your seat at the main dining room bar, plus just a wonderful menu of dishes that bring the farmers market right to your plate. Up a few blocks east of Birch is The Diplomat, where they do food, service and ambiance so well, it doesn’t seem like effort. Their bar is lively, fun and if all else fails, served here is one of the best burgers around, The Diplomac. And lastly, because I think a Cosmo and a platter of buffalo wings are like chicken soup for the soul, you must go to Elsa’s. It can be hard to find a late-night bite in this city, but Elsa’s kitchen is open until 11 seven nights a week. I highly recommend the seats on the east end of the bar, where you can feel buoyed by the crowd but not crushed by it.
Chris Drosner, Executive Editor
Dame – er, Mr. Lillard – I only knew a few people in Milwaukee when I moved here in 2014, and nearly everyone I’ve become friends with outside of my wife’s and family connections were through my foremost non-work interest, beer. Use social media and natural gatherings around your own niche interests to build community. They can quickly become deep, genuine friends. And if you wanna learn more than you ever wanted to about beer, Mr. Lillard: cdrosner@milwaukeemag.com.
But sometimes, a man must embrace the loneliness. At the risk of sounding like a contrarian, I think there is something to be said for acknowledging that we are born alone and will die alone. My favorite places to contemplate the human dilemma are Three Bridges Park, County Grounds Park (particularly its Sanctuary Woods) and Lakeshore State Park.
Carole Nicksin, Editor and Publisher
Wow, that’s some heavy stuff coming from our executive editor! I’d like to take it a bit further: check out what Christopher Walken has to say on the topic. I volunteer to be that excellent friend who can, in Walken’s words, turn life up to 11. We’ll start at the Great Lakes Dragaway – there’s nothing like the smell of burning rubber and the roar of an 800-horsepower engine to drive away the blues. Have you been to a supper club yet? If not, we’ll head over to the HobNob, an oasis of old school glamour, circa 1955. After dinner, we can head back to Milwaukee and do a tour of the wonderful dive bars in our area. Don’t worry about the cost. I can expense it as research for an upcoming story we’re doing – sweet, right? You can learn to play bar dice, enter a meat raffle, and by the end of the evening, you’ll have made so many friends, even Bobby Portis will be jealous.
Brianna Schubert, Associate Digital Editor
Hi Mr. Lillard. Do you like art? If you do, I’d recommend going to the Milwaukee Art Museum for a stroll. I personally love just being around the art and the people, and I think it’s a really nice way to feel a part of the city’s happenings. Or, if you’re more hands on, might I suggest taking an art workshop! A couple places offering cool ones: Tooth + Nail Milwaukee and Yours Truly Studio.
But alas, I understand not everyone is into art and art-making, so I will provide an alternative option. A few months back we published a story about meeting people through these groups called Meetups. It’s an app where you can find people to meet around a common interest, like learning a language or a low-commitment book club. I’m just going to link it here in case you’re interested.
