This ambitious Sherman Park operation is a true phoenix, having risen from the ashes of a bank building damaged by fire during a protest in the neighborhood following a fatal police shooting in 2016. The multipurpose community collective bills itself as a “model for healing” and “strives to provide a high-quality space for small businesses-of-color offering diverse foods, wellness services and cultural activities.” Since opening its doors, the emporium has been host to art and film exhibits, and today houses nearly 30 independent businesses that offer everything from yoga to jewelry to counseling. Among the food offerings, you can find very excellent pizza, spring rolls, gourmet popcorn, coffee, local favorite Purple Door ice cream, and, coming soon, Brooklyn-based wings slinger Buffalo Boss.  

The bones of the famed Oriental Drugs pharmacy and lunch counter at the crossroads of North and Farwell could never quite figure out which skin to live in. Through the years, it has housed a multitude of burger and pizza spots to little success. So now it’s a bit of everything: a food hall that includes barbecue, tacos, falafel, ice cream, and even an after-hours speakeasy-style bar. It’s an experimental new start for the building that in many ways is the heart of the old East Side.  

This century-old Brewer’s Hill tavern underwent a loving restoration and rebirth thanks to husband-and-wife team Wolfgang and Whitney Schaefer, who moved in upstairs and set up a home decor boutique on the same property. The final step is this Cream City brick, wood-filled, breakfast-focused spot. There are Johnny cakes and Benedicts, but also huevos verdes y jamon, PB&J-filled French toast, American cheese-stuffed burgers, and a cheesesteak made with coffee-rubbed chuck. Yet with such an Old Milwaukee aesthetic, the bar is still the heart. For a new way to get daytime-buzzed, look no further than the Sake Toddy.    

Pilcrow Coffee owner Ryan Hoban and chef about town Travis Cook have teamed up to combine high-end cafe culture and modern American cooking under one easy-going roof. Think pour-overs, fluffy sausage biscuits, Brazilian lemonades, and languorous MacBook dreaming during the day. By night, it’s an ever-changing lineup of dishes like pork fat madeleines with cheese foam, trout with umeboshi, and liquid cheesecake with Sichuan pepper and burnt white chocolate.  

Oprah’s alleged favorite thin-crust Chicago pizza joint has opened a northern outpost in the town where she spent much of her childhood. A sprawling sports bar on a decidedly college-y strip of Water Street might not inspire thoughts of gastronomic greatness, but with its deep Chicago pedigree — the original was founded by Rudy Malnati Jr. in 1991, and regularly lands on Chicagoan lists of both best tavern-style and deep-dish pizza — Pizano’s instantly shoulders itself into the conversation for best pies in town.

Korean barbecue comes to the Third Ward, taking over the high-ceilinged, elegant space that used to house Hinterland. Fried or steamed dumplings, edamame, grilled avocado, and sweet-spicy-garlicky Korean fried chicken wings dominate the more casual flavor flow of shared plates. Or choose your own adventure on the hot grill stone, with cut options like beef or pork bulgogi, galbi, and cumin-curry chicken thighs. Chef Yosub Yoon is also afforded some room for experimentation: kimchi gumbo, kimchi paella, kimchi poutine? You get the idea.      

La Merenda, the O.G. of Milwaukee’s small-plates scene, has a new little brother in the form of this Walker’s Point shop. Dan Bolton, La Merenda’s butcher, along with owner Peter Sandroni, have crafted a mini marketplace out of their former storage space, within which they sell locally sourced meats and gourmet foodstuffs from bacon to pickles to stocks. House-made sausages get creative — think pastrami and veal knockwurst. Or rather than waiting forever for a table at La Merenda, you can now cook that Argentinian beef at home.

Dons brings dressed-up diner fare to First Street, with a sleek, laid-back sheen that is equally conducive to pancakes or brandy Old-Fashioneds. You can have eggs all day or boozy milkshakes; biscuits and gravy or a fried bologna. There is also a signature burger that underscores just how far we are from your standard diner: Angus patty, aged cheddar, charred onion, demi-glace, and a brioche bun. Add foie truffle butter to really make it count.    

The latest iteration of Valdemar Escobar’s Chicken Palace empire is this Walker’s Point breakfast nook, offering a sprawling menu of daytime heartiness that hits on both sides of the Rio Grande. Pancakes and omelets bump up against chilequiles, moyetes, and chorizo and scrambled-egg tacos. Either genre offers fortifying fuel for a long day of work, or just a tender morning after.  

The most heartwarming tale to emerge out of Milwaukee’s most recent bone-chilling winter is this new Middle Eastern gem on Historic Mitchell Street. Syrian refugees Abdul and Riham Silan are behind staples like kebabs and hummus as well as impeccable platters of kibbeh, kofta, yelangi, cheese pies, and even pizzas — because when your space comes complete with a pizza oven, why not?

There was maybe nothing wrong with Cafe Centraal as it stood, but when the local favorite turned 10 years old last year, the Lowlands Group decided it was time for a physical and spiritual upgrade. There’s been a tangible refocusing since the overhaul, and not just because you walk in a different front door. There are now weekday brunches and a more global bent — kebabs sit next to mole on the menu, chili next to hot-and-sour soup. It’s all part of a fresh personality (bloodies on tap) that continues to nod to its namesake station in Amsterdam with 40 rotating biers.    

Honeypie and Palomino co-owner Valeri Lucks brings a miniature version of her cool aesthetic to this little Oklahoma Avenue garage. The indoor-outdoor counter-service hangout is part cafe, part cocktail stop, part pigout destination, and is already a favorite among locals for its cheesy melts, big brownies, and the main draw: delectable, oil-glistening pies stuffed with fillings like Cuban pork, spanakopita, and yes, cheeseburger.