Vegetarian$$east-side
Beans and Barley on East North Avenue is a grocery, deli and all-day cafe with a long vegetarian menu of burritos, stir-fries and grain bowls since 1973 here.
Signature: Burritos, Vegan stir-fry
Order: Veggie burrito with brown rice and the daily black-bean soup.
Tip: The deli counter does excellent take-out sandwiches; grocery is open later than the kitchen.
Pizzeria$downtown
Ian's Pizza on Juneau Avenue downtown serves the city's late-night slices with mac and cheese, steak and fries and a rotating roster of weird toppings.
Signature: Mac and cheese pizza, Steak and fries slice
Order: Mac and cheese slice and a steak and fries slice; both go great at 01:00.
Tip: Walk-in counter only; queues run past midnight Friday and Saturday after concerts.
Pizzeria$$wauwatosa
Pizzeria Piccola on West State Street in Wauwatosa, a Bartolotta Group room, runs Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas with Caputo flour and San Marzano tomatoes.
Signature: Margherita pizza, Wood-fired calzone
Order: A Margherita off the wood oven and a side Caesar salad.
Tip: Lunch walk-ins easy; dinner reservations on OpenTable for the dining room.
American diner$downtown
Real Chili on East Wells Street has served Milwaukee three-way chili since 1931, with beans and onions over spaghetti, cinnamon-spiced meat sauce and cheese.
Signature: Three-way chili, Cheese chili dog
Order: Three-way with mild meat, beans, onions, cheese and a side of crackers.
Tip: Open late after Pabst Theater shows; the Marquette location runs college hours.
German$$downtown
Old German Beer Hall on Old World Third Street downtown is a Hofbrau-style bier hall with one-liter steins, giant pretzels, bratwurst and Bavarian schnitzel.
Signature: Pretzel and beer cheese, Bratwurst plate
Order: Giant Bavarian pretzel with beer cheese and a one-liter stein of Hofbrau Original.
Tip: Walk-in only; weekend nights stand for a long Bavarian sing-along around the communal tables in the front room.
Burgers$wauwatosa
Kopp's Frozen Custard on North Port Washington Road, founded by Elsa Kopp in 1950, serves jumbo cheeseburgers and a daily-changing custard flavour today.
Signature: Jumbo cheeseburger, Daily flavour custard
Order: A Jumbo cheeseburger and a small of the flavour of the day with a chocolate cone.
Tip: Lines move fast; counter only and three locations across the Milwaukee suburbs.