Season's eatings! The weather may be getting colder, but Dining Month on OnMilwaukee is just cooking up, dishing out your winning picks in this year's Best of Dining poll. Dining Month is brought to you by Fein Brothers, your premier food service equipment and supply dealer in Wisconsin since 1929. Congratulations to all of the winners, and happy eating for all those who voted! See all the winners for the month so far here. 

Smoke Shack 

Last year, Smoke Shack not only claimed the top spot when it comes to Milwaukee barbecue, it smoked the rest of the competition, almost doubling its next closest contestant. One year later, things are definitely tightening up in the world of Milwaukee smoked meats – just over 50 votes separately gold from silver in 2017 – but one thing stays the same: The city loves Smoke Shack. 

For the second year in a row, the Third Ward smokehouse has claimed the title of Milwaukee's best barbecue thanks to its mouthwatering meats and salivating sauces. Iron Grate BBQ Co., however, is coming up hot on the defending champ's heels, scoring a solid silver medal finish, while Speed Queen, Maxie's and Double B's BBQ wrapped up the rest of the top five. 

Runners up: 
2. Iron Grate BBQ Co.
3. Speed Queen 
4. Maxie's 
5. Double B's BBQ 

OnMilwaukee editors' pick: Doc's Commerce Smokehouse 

Lori Fredrich's pick: Iron Grate BBQ Co.

In 2015, I lamented the fact that Milwaukee simply was not a barbecue town. But in the past two years, our city has seen an explosion of new barbecue restaurants. But, none showcase the expertise in the art of smoked meats quite like Iron Grate BBQ, where Chef Aaron Patin serves up some of the juiciest smoked brisket in the city, along with a variety of other inventive smoked dishes. Among my favorites is the succulent head-on hickory butter barbecued shrimp. There’s nothing like it anywhere. Same goes for the unctuous Milwaukee rib, a succulent piece of meat we can now proudly call our own.