ARTISANAL CHEESE / CHEESE CURDS
Clock Shadow Creamery 138 W. Bruce St. 414-273-9711 clockshadowcreamery.com
A visit to Milwaukee’s first ever cheese factory means a warm welcome, an offer to sample any of more than 40 delicious and interesting varieties and, if you call in advance, a tour. The cheddar cheese curds, called Squeaks because they do that as you chew, are made fresh every Wednesday and Friday. White or yellow, plain or flavored, they’re as healthful, locally sourced and environmentally sustainable as cheese curds can be. They’re made by masters. (John Schneider)
Runners-up Artisanal Cheese: West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe Sartori Cheese Wisconsin Cheese Mart Runners-up Cheese Curds: West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe Gibbsville Cheese Co, Inc. (Sheboygan Falls) Widmer’s Cheese Cellars (Theresa)
BACON
Bunzel’s Meat Market 9015 W. Burleigh St. 414-873-7960 bunzels.com
Sweeping the retail meat awards this year is Bunzel’s Meat Market, a West Side institution that recently moved into a gleaming new space at 90th and Burleigh. It is almost impossible to pick a favorite product from the butcher’s case here, but certainly the house-made sausages and hearty, double-smoked bacon would place at the top of any proper carnivore’s list. Bunzel’s is still family owned and the care they take with their products is evident in every bite. (Matthew J. Prigge)
Runners-up: Patrick Cudahy Usinger’s Famous Sausage Kettle Range Meat Co.
BRATWURST/SAUSAGE
Usinger’s Famous Sausage 1030 N. Old World Third St. 414-276-9105 usinger.com
Think Usinger’s, think sausage, but more specifically, think brats. But it’s so much more than that! Usinger’s wurstmachers—still working at the site of the original store on Old World Third Street—continue to adhere strictly to the original family recipes that hail back to 1880. The deli boasts sliced meats, hams, bacon, sausage and snack sticks. The Gift Store offers applewood smoked pit ham, Angus beef, cheese and crackers and more. For your carnivorous cohorts far afield, Usinger’s will ship gift packages to them via FedEx two-day delivery. (John Jahn)
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Runners-up Bratwurst: Bunzel’s Meat Market Klement’s Sausage Co. Johnsonville Foods Runners-up Sausage: Bunzel’s Meat Market Klements Kettle Range Meat Co.
CRAFT BEER
Lakefront Brewery 1872 N. Commerce St. 414-372-8800 lakefrontbrewery.com
Every beer brewed here is first rate. The first certified organic beer, first federally approved gluten-free beer, first beer made entirely from Wisconsin hops, malt and yeast and the second of the nation’s now ubiquitous pumpkin beers were introduced here. The beer hall’s legendary Friday Fish Fry features live polka music. The cheese curds come from Best of Milwaukee winner Clock Shadow Creamery. The outstanding Milwaukee actor Norman Moses, for one, is a charming tour guide. (John Schneider)
Runners-up: Milwaukee Brewing Company Good City Brewing MobCraft Beer Brewery and Taproom Third Space Brewing Urban Harvest Brewing Company
CUPCAKES
Classy Girl Cupcakes 825 N. Jefferson St. 414-270-1877 classygirlcupcakes.com
For the fourth consecutive year, Classy Girl takes the (cup)cake in our Milwaukee-Made Cupcake category. The business had its origins in 2009, when attorney Erica Elia baked cupcakes for her own wedding, immediately resulting in requests from several of her guests. Within a year, Classy Girl Cupcakes was founded and the establishment now offers more than 25 cupcake flavors each day, including some of the best gluten-free offerings in town. Not surprisingly, Classy Girl also enjoys robust catering and special-order business, creating novel treats like tasteful monogram cupcakes, “pupcakes” for dogs and even confections called “unicorn poo.” (Selena Milewski)
Runners-up: Margie Story Jen’s Sweet Treats Blooming Lotus Bakery
DISTILLED SPIRITS
Great Lakes Distillery 616 W. Virginia St. 414-431-8683 greatlakesdistillery.com
Using old-fashioned methods with a focus on quality, Great Lakes Distillery gives many of its products a local twist: Roaring Dan’s Rum is named in honor of a Lake Michigan pirate, Good Land Cranberry Liqueur uses Wisconsin-grown cranberries, and Kinnickinnic Whiskey pays tribute to the Ojibwa word that translates (roughly) to “tobacco,” which is often used a descriptor for the smoky flavor of high-end whiskey. Great Lakes opened in 2004, the first new distillery in Wisconsin since Prohibition. (Matthew J. Prigge)
Runners-up: Twisted Path Distillery SoulBoxer Cocktail Co. Central Standard Craft Distillery
FROZEN PIZZA
Palermo’s
Founded in 1964 in Milwaukee as a pizzeria, Palermo’s got into the frozen pizza business in 1979 and now offer their products in nearly every state in the union. In addition to their classic pies, they also offer varieties of thin crust, pizzeria style, and “King Cheese” pizzas. Their Menomonee Valley production plant also offers a popular factory tour, complete with pizza samples and beverages. (Matthew J. Prigge)
Runners-up: Milwaukee Pizza Company Screamin’ Sicilian Pizza Emil’s Pizza
HARD CIDER
Lost Valley Cider Co. 408 W. Florida St. lostvalley.com
A hard cider bar—the first of its kind in Milwaukee—has opened in Walker’s Point. More than 20 tap ciders are available plus cans and bottles. Some Wisconsin ciders are featured, though most come from other parts of the world. Ciders are available by the glass or growler, or can be mixed into specialty cocktails. (Lacey Muszynski)
Runners-up: AeppelTreow Winery Sprecher Brewing Co., Inc.
SODA
Photo via Sprecher Brewery Facebook
Sprecher
Sprecher’s much-celebrated root beer remains the very ideal of the form. Nothing like its syrupy, mass-produced counterparts, Sprecher’s signature soda is rich and complicated, its sweetness taking a backseat to the flavors of real vanilla and real honey. That same quality standard carries through the brewery’s ever-expanding line of sodas, which has grown to include not only cream soda, orange dream and ginger ale, but also unusual colas and seasonal offerings like raspberry and blueberry sodas. (Evan Rytlewski)
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Runners-up: Imperial Flavors Beverage Co. Top Note Tonic Black Bear Bottling Group (now closed)
TEA
Rishi Tea 185 S. 33rd Court 414-747-4001 rishi-tea.com
Rishi Tea celebrated its 20th anniversary last year. The fair-trade tea maker sources ingredients from farmers in countries such as Chile, Thailand, Japan and China. That’s a long way from the tiny Third Ward space it began in. Now Rishi makes eight categories of loose-leaf teas (each with many subcategories) and has expanded into selling their own teapots, infuser baskets and tea tins. You can find Rishi Tea at many cafés, restaurants and stores all over Milwaukee. (Rob Hullum)
Runners-up: Tippecanoe Herbs Fava Tea Company in Greenfield Urbal Tea
