Why I Love Milwaukee: Food, Diversity, and Diverse Food

Why does Judge Derek Mosley love Milwaukee’s Asian cuisine so much?

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Who: Municipal Court Judge Derek Mosley, 49, gets around. He’s married more than 900 couples (and counting). He’s adopted Siefert Elementary, mentoring the West Side school’s young’uns. And the Chicago native has been slowly steeping himself in the delicious bolt-holes of Milwaukee’s food scene

Where: Milwaukee Asian Market Phongsavan, 6300 N. 76th St.


 

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I’m kind of a foodie.

I don’t cook a lot. I eat a lot.

That’s part of why I am obsessed with Milwaukee street festivals. Whether it’s the Locust Street Festival or Center Street Daze or Garfield Days or the Boulevard Bash on Washington Boulevard, I’m there.

Street festivals bring different people together to share their humanity over local beer, local food and local music. It’s diverse. That’s what I love.

And then there are Saturday mornings. That’s when I go to the Fondy Farmers Market (2200 W. Fond du Lac Ave). You have Hmong farmers growing fruits and vegetables, selling it to diverse clientele, and the market is smack dab in the middle of a predominantly black neighborhood. How beautiful is that?!

It’s the little things, the things that don’t get the advertisement of a Summerfest or a Bastille Days, that I love most about this city.

Have you ever heard of the Phongsavan Asian market? It’s got some of the best pho you’ve ever had. It had been right by my place on the Northwest Side for years, but I’d never heard of it.

Whenever you walk into a place and see you are the minority, that’s when you know, this is where I need to be. This is where you need to go eat.

As told to Adam Rogan


This story is part of Milwaukee Magazine‘s March issue. 

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Adam is a journalist who recently returned to his Wisconsin home after graduating from Drake University in December 2017. He interned with MilMag in the summer of 2015 and has been a continual contributor ever since. Follow him on social media @Could_Be_Rogan