Because of the nature of my job -- co-founder, co-owner and publisher of OnMilwaukee.com -- I get the same question, or a version of it, all the time:
"What's your favorite _____?"
You'd think I'd be better at answering these questions because I hear them so regularly. You think I'd have answers to the obvious ones that just roll off my tongue.
But I don't, and that's because I give the questions a lot of thought, and my answers change like the seasons.
For example, the question I'm asked most is, "What's your favorite restaurant?" For a while I'd say "Nessun Dorma," but that's not really fair. I like the Bangkok House in St. Francis differently than I like Sala da Pranzo on the East Side, and differently than I like Botanas in the Third Ward or the Fourth Base in West Milwaukee. Sometimes I crave a 2 a.m. breakfast at Ma Fischer's, brunch at Café Centraal or steak at Eddie Martini's.
The same goes for bars. I just don't have one single favorite place these days. For safety's sake, I tend to keep it local at Palomino or Burnhearts or Tonic, but I'll always have a soft spot for the Nomad, Henry's or Von Trier.
Mostly, because of the nature of my job, I get to try new and different -- and frequently awesome -- places all the time. The list of places I don't like is much shorter than the list of places I do.
But I've gotta wonder if people expect more from me, like at a dinner on Monday at which someone asked me where the hottest new place is in Milwaukee is. It took me a good 30 seconds to stumble through an answer because I didn't want to give her faulty information.
So, ask yourself these three questions, and see how quickly you can honestly answer them. "What's your favorite restaurant? What's your favorite bar? If you could take a visitor to just one place in all of Metro Milwaukee tonight, where would it be?"
Piece of cake? Am I just overthinking it? Or are the first words out of your mouth, "It depends."
I'd love to hear your take on the question I'm asked all time. Chime in with the Talkbacks below.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
