1. See the Badgerland Water Ski Show
CAROLE NICKSIN, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
I’ve never seen a waterskiing show, but I’m aiming to fix that this week. The Badgerland Water Ski Team will be performing on Thursday, June 26 at 7 p.m. at Fowler Park in Oconomowoc. All I know is you’re supposed to bring a chair. I’ll let you know how it goes!
2. Pop in for a Final Beer at 1840 Brewing
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
On Friday evening, 1840 Brewing (342 E. Ward St.) announced it was closing for good on June 29, followed by a heartfelt video Sunday from co-owner and head brewer Kyle Vetter. It’s a sad time, and the loss for Milwaukee’s beer scene became clear Sunday as I spent a few hours in the Bay View taproom to say goodbye. This is a brewery that did a lot of different things, most of them very well: full-flavored IPAs, big stouts, easy-drinking lagers and lighter beers and, at the core of Vetter’s mission with 1840, funky beers made with mixed-fermentation techniques and barrel-aging. When the last keg of Cashmere Sweater blew on Sunday evening, the taproom staff played Taps over the sound system in tribute to the friggin’ awesome double IPA. I winced; I was literally in line for a pour of that very beer. There was plenty of other beer to choose from instead, and it’s our mission to drink 1840 dry as Vetter and his wife and co-owner, Stephanie, embark on another difficult chapter of their life.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
3. Watch The Phoenician Scheme
ANN CHRISTENSON, DINING EDITOR
Wes Anderson movies are never dull. Rushmore (1998) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) were my intros to Anderson’s style. While I didn’t love 2021’s The French Dispatch – how can you follow up The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)? – no Wes Anderson film could ever be bad. His latest, The Phoenician Scheme, is just great – and so him: quirky, amusing, visually beautiful, brilliantly cast. The story centers on wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda, who dodges assassination attempts as he tries to deviously bankroll his latest business scheme. And because Anderson films are always convoluted and weird, Zsa-zsa is also scheming to make his only daughter, a Catholic novitiate who may not really be his offspring, the heir to his fortune. Anderson tends to use the same actors again and again. People like Bill Murray and Willem Dafoe, who also appear in small roles in the new film. The lead actors here are just great – Benicio del Toro plays Zsa-zsa with a machismo and elegant roughness. Mia Threapleton – a new name, she is actress Kate Winslet’s daughter – is assertive and smart as Zsa-zsa’s daughter. There are many more bright performances, too numerous to name. However, the outlier is Tom Hanks, who does the job but seems a little out of place/mainstream in this film, imo.
4. Check out the Bangin’ Smashburgers at Riley’s Bar + Burger
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
I’ve been spending a lot of time eating burgers lately, for reasons that will become clear when our August issue drops. And just when I thought my colleagues and I had a pretty good handle on the city’s best burgers, Riley’s Bar + Burger (Open daily 11 a.m.-11 p.m., 100 E. Montana St.) opened and sent us back to the drawing board. These burgers are so good – Wagyu beef, smashed in a way that almost tests the limits of the smashburger concept, on an exceptionally pillowy-yet-sturdy bun. At $14 for a double (take Riley’s recommendation to add a second patty; it’s a balance thing), they’re not cheap but are legit among Milwaukee’s best already. The bar where they’re made is a chill, cinderblock structure with friendly staff, a nice tap list and backyard that looked great for just about any day without a 100-degree heat index.
5. Grab a Drink and Some Pizza at Hoyt Park
ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR
For the past three weeks I’ve been super annoyed about the unseasonably cold start to summer. It’s June, how is it still chilly out! Well, I feel like a fool now because boy oh boy, this past weekend was roasting. But right before that brutal heat hit, I stopped by Tosa’s Hoyt Park beer garden and enjoyed a 3 Sheeps Lemongrass Pils and some pizza, and I must say it was delightful, like many of Milwaukee’s beer gardens. If you’re looking for a casual spot to enjoy some sun, a beer and maybe a few slices, I’d say give it a shot.
