Long before dueling piano bars and the second-coming of the martini, a guy named Angelo played the trumpet and opened a bar in Milwaukee. The taps may have been kicked since the last time Tony Bennet walked through the door, but gin and vodka are the drinks of choice. This is Angelo’s Piano Bar. There aren’t more than 25 stools and one of them is taken by the piano player. The sparkling lounge singer stands making love with the microphone while the bartender downs a shot and toasts with our glasses of gin and tonic on a quiet night.
There are busier places to visit in Milwaukee. For instance, the Lakefront Brewery packs it in on Friday nights with their quirky drunken tour, drunk Polka band, and tons of fried fish. From the modern microbreweries to jumping hip-hop clubs and trendy low-key eateries, Milwaukee is cool (and frigid) on a late March night. The cool weather draws us into many of these watering holes. These are not famous places. Unlike the well-known (and good) breweries across Lake Michigan or the night-life 100 miles South in Chicago, Milwaukee is known for German sausage and bad beer. Fighting stereotypes is an uphill battle, but plucky establishments like the ever-expanding Lakefront Brewery are at the front line in establishing Milwaukee as a city worth visiting.
Anyone who knows us, knows that we are not hip. But from dive piano bar to dance club to 23rd floor cocktail lounge, Milwaukee seemed happy to have us. When we go back, our first stop will be Angelo’s. It’s not plucky or trying to establish anything, but it’s the kind of place that makes those long cold winters a little warmer.
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