The votes are in and the winners have been selected for OnMilwaukee's Best: Eat & Drink, 2007. The results of this readers' poll, including an editors' pick, are available in this series of articles that run all October long during Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com.
Joe and Angie Sorge have been more than successful in the Milwaukee market with their Water Street bar The Corner and their ex-Water Street / soon-to-be-Third Ward small plate dining restaurant Swig, so it's little surprise that their latest venture, Water Buffalo, was chosen as OnMilwaukee.com readers' favorite new restaurant of the past year.
With a modern, artistic interior by Flux Design and a two-story outdoor deck with a beautiful view of the river and Downtown, the restaurant easily blended with the aesthetic of the Riverwalk and the Third Ward (As the name implies, the building sits at the high-traffic intersection of Water and Buffalo Streets.)
The food is an obvious draw here as well. Chef Frank Ortleib, the executive chef that created Swig's menu, has created a classically American collection that walks the line between casual and classy, with prices that fairly reflect that feel.
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Maxie's Southern Comfort
Runners-up:
2. Mason Street Grill
3. Patty Burger
4. La Merenda
5. Maxie's Southern Comfort
6. Kil@wat
7. Classic Slice
8. Olive Pit
9. Cameron's Steakhouse
10. Tulip
11. Mi.key's
12. Café Hollander
13. Good Life
14. Jing's
15. Riviera Maya
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
