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I’m sitting in a chair at Third Ward’s swanky Groom barbershop, embarking on the task of finding the best beard trim in Milwaukee, despite having never paid for this pinnacle of masculine pampering in the 30 years I’ve had facial hair.
As a professional snips and shears millimeter-long hairs from my face, I’m thinking, How could I possibly quibble with any of this? But that’s the assignment.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
I did not walk out of Groom, I strutted. I felt good. Only later did I notice a little tuft between my chin and left cheek; a swirl in the grain there had vexed my barber more than it vexes me. For $25, that’s disqualifying. My next trim, at Stag Barbershop in Bay View, was solid but had a minute unevenness in the chin – the kind of flaw you feel more than see. Still, there must be better?
I found it at The Nobleman in Wauwatosa. The trim by my barber, Jimmy, was perfect: precise, a little well-shaped volume on the chin, even a little cleanup of the temples of a three-week-old haircut. Was it the best of my exploratory beard trims? Yes. Did the accompanying Irish whiskey on the rocks help? I’ll never tell.
