MKE it Mine! Brady Street.
Milwaukee is home to many historic areas. Places like The Third Ward and Water Street have been loved by tourists and locals for years. Arguably the most underrated and hip of them all is Brady Street. Brady Street has often been compared to a mini-version of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district or Chicago’s Lincoln Park. This street has everything for everyone. When it come to dining, night life, or quirky stops and shops, Brady Street if for you.
Brady Street is located within eight blocks between Van Buren Street and Cambridge Avenue in the Lower East Side of Milwaukee. During the first half of the 20th century, the Italian community set up shop, followed by the hippies, artists and antique dealers in the 1960s. Brady Street saw a renaissance in the late 1980s and quickly became the colorful, pedestrian-friendly melting pot destination that it is now, while still retaining elements of its historical identities.
If diversity is something that you are looking for, then look no further! Brady Street features restaurants of many different ethnicities and cultures!
La Masa Empenada Bar elevates the traditional South American pastry with fillings like creamy sweet corn, potatoes and peanuts, mushrooms and truffle oil and even one inspired by the Cuban sandwich. You really get an authentic South American vibe when you walk in the door!
A few paces down the road you’ll run into another cultural sweet spot. Calling itself an “Asian gastropub,” Easy Tyger fuses American and Asian flavors with steamed bao buns filled with fried chicken, miso ranch and lemongrass pickle, steamed mussels in a bacon-kimchi broth and turkey potstickers with curried root vegetable puree that are as tasty as they are beautiful.
Integral to Brady Street’s late-80s renaissance, Mimma’s Cafe opened on Brady Street in 1988 and finally closed in 2016. Dorsia now takes its place. However, while the old Mimma’s space, with its white-tablecloth intimacy, now looks and feels more like a nightclub, Dorsia’s menu is already a hit: duck carbonara, three-meat bolognese, a meatball ciabatta sandwich and nine hearth-fired pizzas (all available gluten-free).
Even if you’re not hungry, Brady Street has other attractions and things to do that catch the eye of anyone who passes by.
Specializing in men’s haircuts, the barbers at Classics Barbershop are known for their friendly service and artistic, precision fades and designs. Experts with a pair of clippers, they take walk-ins and are also a hit with young children ready for their first cut.
Another place to stop by is Art Smart’s Dart Mart & Juggling Emporium. If you’re looking to purchase some toys for children or just check out some of the craziness that the title entails, this place is a must see spot!
You can also look for the bright pink paint and small front porch of the house that Ecopets occupies. This shop specializes in local, natural food, treats and supplies for dogs and cats, but the owner also sells natural and spiritual healing items for humans.
If you ever get the chance to go to Milwaukee, I 100% recommend you check out everything that this amazing city has to offer. Brady Street is just the tip of the ice berg for this city. I am honored to call Milwaukee my home and I hope that the city makes you feel at home too.
