1. Try Lakefront Brewery’s New My Turn: Tony
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
I’m a big fan of pilsner, and it’s been a while since I’ve had a new one that hit me quite like this one. Tony is the latest beer in Lakefront’s outstanding My Turn series, which lets different employees – Tony is the 59th! – take the reins of designing a beer. This is a banger German pils, drier and crisper than the Czech variants that have been taking over pilsner the past few years. Tony feels like it was made for a golf course/patio/misc. summer beer drinking occasion, and I will be loading up on it for the next several weeks. It’s on beer shelves now, but the launch party is June 30 at the Newport if you’d like to meet the man behind it.
2. Dig into Pancakes at Comet Cafe
ANN CHRISTENSON, DINING EDITOR
Are pancakes the food of the gods? I sure think so. I’ve been a connoisseur of these starch bombs since I was a wee thing. I hadn’t eaten pancakes at Comet Café in forever – I remembered they make bacon pancakes (an obviously stellar combo). The great thing about ordering pancakes in a restaurant is you almost always have the power to order one. Now I’m not saying you want only one; I’m just saying you can. Comet serves breakfast until 3 p.m. – if you’re there ordering lunch and think, “Oh, I’d like a pancake with that cheesy tomato sandwich,” you do you! I recently did me, which was a side pancake with my sandwich. It was thick, more dense than light, and the size of a Frisbee. I couldn’t have been more delighted.
Tell us who you’d pick to be a Betty this year!
3. Watch ‘Widow’s Bay’
ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR
In another life, I’d like to imagine I might have been a crusty old weirdo living on a rustic island in New England. Everyone would call me “Ol’ Arthur.” (No one would believe me when I tell them my name’s actually Archer because I’d be a well known fabulist.) I’d fish in the morning and smoke weird hand-rolled cigars in the night and stare out at the fog with a strange glimmer in my eye. The thought of this alternate life moves me deeply. Hence, I was very interested in “Widow’s Bay” a new Apple TV show about just such a scenic New England island – one with a long and very, very strange past. The show follows its mayor – played pitch-perfectly by Matthew Rhys of “The Americans” fame – who is trying to pitch Widow’s Bay as the new Martha’s Vineyard for wealthy tourists. The problem is Widow’s Bay is “cursed,” at least according to local legend. Countless strange happenings straight out of a Stephen King novel have occurred on its shores, driving away any potential tourism. And, as the mayor pushes for more tourism, those strange happenings start to occur again. The show achieves an incredibly difficult thing – balancing comedy and horror without sacrificing either. So far, it’s the best show I’ve seen this year, with great performances, inventive storylines, tons of atmosphere and an equal helping of laughs and frights.
4. Head to the Milwaukee Night Market
AMRITA THAKKAR, DIGITAL EDITOR
The Milwaukee Night Market is one of the biggest markets of the season, and it’s well worth turning out for. Taking up a long stretch downtown, it features vendors selling jewelry, accessories, vintage clothes and wares, candles, handmade art, locally made delicacies and so much more. Plus, you get live music and some of the city’s best food trucks – and it’s completely free to attend. The night market only happens four times a year, and this Wednesday is the first of the season, so mark your calendars.
5. Enjoy One Last Weekend at The Estate
EVAN MUSIL, ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
After decades as a hotbed for local music, the intimate East Side bar and venue known best as The Jazz Estate will play its final concerts this weekend before closing for good. If you wish to say farewell to this storied haunt, or if you’ve never experienced it, now’s your only chance. Local trios kick off the weekend, with the Neil Davis (7 p.m.) and Andrew Trim (9:30 p.m.) trios on Thursday and the Paul Silbergleit Trio on Friday (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.). Chicago’s Twin Talk takes the stage for the last standard show on Saturday (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.). And if you can’t make any of those, you can swing by the no-cover goodbye party on Sunday, with doors opening at 6 p.m. and an open jam starting at 7:30 p.m. May the music never end.
