Guest and Best
First off, the elephant in the room: What am I doing here? You’re getting the backup letter writer this month because our actual editor, Carole Nicksin, is recovering from wrist surgery after bravely diving for an alley shot while playing tennis.
Not to borrow too heavily from this column’s usual occupant, but every time I think of Best of Milwaukee, I recall something Carole alluded to years ago in a September editor’s letter. Best Of is a concentrated blast of what we do all year: highlighting the great things in and around our home city.
That year-round simmer moves to the front burner in spring as we begin planning for this issue by brainstorming all the great stuff in the city that we might write about. The list of ideas, I kid you not, was seven pages long this year.
Besides winnowing this list, our big task is figuring out how to organize it all, because there are a lot of ways to come at this assignment. Over the years we’ve focused on our Readers’ Choice survey, emphasized editor picks (year-in-review style) and adopted different themes. Last year, we leaned into guest curators to include more voices.
For this year’s Best Of, we decided to get practical. Our editors have many areas of expertise, and we brought them to bear on our Readers’ Choice topics and those closely adjacent.
We have work-everywhere digital editor Brianna Schubert parsing coffee shops, mom-of-three art director Chelsea Mamerow breaking down the best kid stuff in 3rd St. Market Hall and, of course, Ann Christenson dishing on restaurants. Arts editor Evan Musil studies every seat in the Pabst Theater. Designer Bianca Cabral takes us through her Mexican-flavored favorites in her old neighborhood.
Having facial hair was enough to qualify me to find the best salon beard trim in town. (Shout out my man Jimmy!) We orchestrated taste tests of pizza, IPAs, frozen custard. I could go on, but you should just turn to this fun (as always) read on page 56.
I can’t close this letter without calling out Tea Krulos’ outstanding feature “From Whence the Witches Came” (page 72), which squares Whitewater’s “Second Salem” reputation with its deep history of Spiritualism. The story weaves in communing with the dead, an iron lode foretold by a seer, and a dash of feminism.
Don’t worry, Carole will be back next month. Until then, enjoy this issue and go Pack go.
— Chris Drosner, Executive Editor
cdrosner@milwaukeemag.com | @WIBeerBaron
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
In This Issue:
Features:
- Best of Milwaukee: Milwaukee, we appreciate you. Welcome to the official, sometimes scientific, slightly obsessive list of Cream City’s crème de la crème.
- From Whence the Witches Came: You may have heard of Whitewater’s reputation as a spooky “Second Salem.” But you probably didn’t know that the origin of those stories is very real.
- Dormant Season: Erinn Springer’s family has lived in rural Wisconsin for seven generations. See the intimate portraits she’s captured of family, friends and strangers.
- Fall Arts Guide: Ahead of this banner season – Ken-David Masur’s last at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the long-awaited renovation of Milwaukee Rep’s digs – we spotlight all the best, in art, music, dance, theater and more.
Your 414:
- Flowers: A dream garden dedicated to the owner’s best-selling rose
- People Places Things: Violins with a powerful message, a quirky typewriter fest, neon making and more
- Tour: Check out some of the coolest sights at this year’s Doors Open Milwaukee.
The Dish:
- Fall Fruit: These are the most decadent caramel apples on the planet.
- Beer Bits: A person who tastes beer for a living (are they accepting applications?), an energizing cannabis bev, and news from the local beer world
- Shop Local: Practical, delicious, artful – and perfect for culinarians
- Review: Las Gardenias’ culinary ode to Guadalajara, Mexico
- Chef You Should Know: How Birch’s Zach Castillo draws on his training as a ballerino
Insider
- Roadwork: After two years dodging barrels, Lake Drive residents have
had enough. - Wildlife: All about the elder-millennial trout caught in Lake Michigan
- MPS: How new superintendent Brenda Cassellius is thinking about the district’s current challenges
- Opinion: Not much is known about the future of the Public Museum’s beloved Streets of Old Milwaukee. Here’s a case for saving it, somehow.
Explore
- Foliage: Where to get the state’s most complete fall color forecast
- Outdoor Adventure: Learn why people who ride ATVs describe it as both an adrenaline rush and a kind of relaxation.
- Roundup: Six Oktoberfests – from La Crosse to Germantown – spread beer-soaked warmth and good cheer.
