READ MORE WHY I LOVE MILWAUKEE STORIES
WHO: Sara Libbey, 52, is a Milwaukee lifer, a senior designer with Do It Yourself Bathroom Center in West Allis who sells handcrafted jewelry on the side. She’s also a connoisseur of Milwaukee pizza, which only deepens her love for her hometown.
WHERE: Balistreri’s Bluemound Inn, 6501 W. Bluemound Rd. Pizza is a big thing in our family.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Everybody’s version of pizza is different. Still, it’s got to be hand-tossed. Then it’s got to have that dark, charred, bottom of the crust so it’s crispy. And nothing can be perfect – no perfect edges. Using fresh mushrooms is a good thing, too.
You’ve got to have friendly service. If you don’t have good service, your pizza doesn’t taste good.
Here in Milwaukee, if you can’t find a good food place, you’re walking with your eyes closed. On the South Side, you can find Southern food and real barbecue restaurants, places where there’s no room to sit down and you’re just standing, eating, making a mess. That’s awesome.
But with pizza, no one is fussy. My favorites are probably Balistreri’s – I’ve been going to Balistreri’s since I was a kid – and there’s this little tiny place on South 76th Street called Tanino’s.
When we found Tanino’s, a friend and I were going out for dinner and couldn’t decide where to go. We were driving past and realized it was such a small place on such a major street but we didn’t know it. I remember saying, “Why don’t we try it?” That was probably 15 years ago, and we’re still going back.
