Photo credit: West Allis Farmers Market
Bakery
Rocket Baby Bakery 6822 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa 414-502-7323 rocketbabybakery.com
The vivid exterior of their North Avenue location offers little clue of what’s inside. The interior has the classic feel of an early 20th-century bakery with tile floors, marble counters and wooden ceilings. The front window includes a display of European-style bread baked on-site. The bakery also serves as a café and offers locally roasted Anodyne coffee. Choose from croissants, scones or a cookie for a snack. Currently open for curbside or delivery only. (David Luhrssen)
Runners-up: Aggie's Bakery & Cake Shop Grebe's Bakery Jen's Sweet Treats
Beer Selection/Liquor Store/Wine Selection
Discount Liquor Inc. Multiple locations discountliquorinc.com
A family owned business since 1960, Discount Liquor’s longevity is attributed to customer service, consistently low prices and lots of variety. There are 1,500 import, craft and domestic beers available and more than 8,000 wines, including from countries such as Serbia, Greece, Moldova, Uruguay and Slovenia. More than 3,500 varieties of spirits from both national and local distillers line the shelves. (Sheila Julson)
Runners-up—Beer Selection: Avenue Wine & Liquor Inc. Otto's Wine & Spirits Ray's Wine & Spirits Runners-up—Liquor Store: Avenue Wine & Liquor Inc. Bert's Beer & Liquor Otto's Wine and Spirits Ray's Wine & Spirits Runners-up—Wine Selection: Nonfiction Natural Wines Ray's Wine & Spirits Thief Wine Shop & Bar
Butcher Shop/Meat Selection
Bunzel’s Meat Market 9015 W. Burleigh St. 414-873-7960 bunzels.com
Bunzel’s is a Milwaukee institution and family owned for four generations. Beautiful cuts of beef, pork and chicken will tempt you every time you are in front of their well-stocked case. The knowledgeable, friendly butchers are always willing to answer questions and offer solid suggestions. Milwaukee is a place where people truly appreciate a good brat. If you’re looking for some of the very best the city has to offer, go to Bunzel’s and stock up before your next cookout. You’ll never go back to frozen grocery store brats again. (Susan Harpt Grimes)
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
Runners-up—Butcher Shop: Becher Meats Kettle Range Meat Company Ray's Butcher Shoppe Runners-up—Meat Selection: Becher Meats Kettle Range Meat Company Ray's Butcher Shoppe
Cheese Selection
West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe 6832 W. Beecher St. 414-543-4230 westallischeese.com
West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe is the go-to place for Wisconsin cheese. Most enticing are its amazing selections from Sartori Cheese and Carr Valley Cheese, two of the top cheesemakers in the state. But the store also offers some offbeat, addictive cheeses. You can also find a wide array of cheese from outside of Wisconsin, as well as curds and spreads. The Shoppe also has a booth at the Milwaukee Public Market. (Morton Shlabotnik)
Runners-up: Glorioso's Italian Market Sendik's Food Market Wisconsin Cheese Mart
Chocolatier
Indulgence Chocolatiers Multiple locations indulgencechocolatiers.com.
Offering artisan chocolates and confections such as truffles, toffee, ice cream and chocolate bars, Indulgence is a paradise for those with sweet tooths. Owned and operated by chocolatier Julie Waterman since 2007, Indulgence has three brick-and-mortar locations—Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood, East Tosa, and Shorewood—as well as an online store. Indulgence’s products are also sold at grocery and other stores in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. (Catherine Jozwik)
Runners-up: Burke Candy Tabal Chocolate Ultimate Confections
Farmers Market
West Allis Farmers Market 6501 W. National Ave., West Allis
Since 1919, the West Allis Farmers Market has been a foundation of the community, serving as a lively, festive marketplace connecting urban residents with rural farmers selling vegetables, fruit, flowers, honey, maple syrup and artisan foods. For many years before the boom in farmers markets in the Milwaukee area, it was one of the few places aside from roadside stands to find produce fresh from the fields. (Sheila Julson)
Runners-up: Fondy Farmers Market Greenfield Farmers Market South Shore Farmers Market
Grocery—All Purpose
Woodman's Food Market woodmans-food.com www.ShopWoodmans.com
What began as John Woodman’s humble produce stand in Janesville in 1919 has expanded to 18 stores—each of them averaging 230,000 square feet—throughout Wisconsin and Illinois. In 1998, Phil Woodman, grandson of John, sold the majority of the company to his employees. Besides reasonably priced groceries, Woodman’s stores include liquor departments, gas stations and oil change centers. The company also offers online shopping, curbside pickup and delivery services. (Catherine Jozwik)
Runners-up: Metcalfe's Market Outpost Natural Foods Sendik's Food Market
Grocery—Ethnic/Gourmet/Takeout Deli
Alexis Amenson
Glorioso's Italian Market
Glorioso's Italian Market 1011 E. Brady St. 414-272-0540 gloriosos.com
Glorioso’s house-made creamy gelato, a frozen dessert of Italian origin made with a base of milk and sugar, is crafted from an authentic Italian recipe and made with fresh ingredients. Flavors change weekly; call ahead for current varieties. Glorioso’s gelato is available by the pint, pound or even by the tub for larger gatherings. At press time, Glorioso’s was open for in-person shopping and offered curbside pickup and local delivery. (Sheila Julson)
Runners-up—Ethnic: Cermak Fresh Market El Rey G. Groppi Food Market Parthenon Foods European Market Runners-up—Gourmet: 5ive Seasons Farm G. Groppi Food Market Sendik’s Food Market Runners-up—Takeout Deli: Beans & Barley Benji's Deli Bunzel’s Meat Market
Grocery—Organic
Outpost Natural Foods Multiple locations outpost.coop
Founded at the start of the ’70s, Milwaukee's longest-running natural food co-op helped introduce the city to the concept of healthy eating! Not surprisingly, they responded proactively to the onset of COVID-19. Outpost is a good place to look for organic, seasonable produce, as well as a fantastic array of wholesome packaged goods hard to find elsewhere. You don’t have to be a member to shop at Outpost. (David Luhrssen)
|
|
Runners-up: Fresh Thyme Market Good Harvest Market Whole Foods Market
Sausage Shop
Usinger's Famous Sausage 1030 N. Old World Third St. 414-276-9100 usinger.com
Fewer companies have a longer or more illustrious history in Milwaukee than Usinger’s Famous Sausage. Founded by Frederick Usinger in 1880, it is still family owned and operated by Usinger’s great-grandson Fritz at its historic Downtown location. Usinger’s boasts a truly impressive selection of sausages, deli meats, hams, bacon, brats and more. Usinger’s also offers holiday gift boxes and ships items to every state except Alaska and Hawaii. (Catherine Jozwik)
Runners-up: Bunzel's Meat Market G. Groppi Food Market Ray's Butcher Shoppe
