Sherman Phoenix is a restaurant in Milwaukee.
Sherman Phoenix on West Fond du Lac Avenue houses 30+ Black-owned food and retail businesses in the former BMO Harris Bank building, opened in 2018.
Why locals love it: 30+ Black-owned food businesses in a former bank building in Sherman Park most downtown visitors don't reach.
Tip: Try Funky Fresh Spring Rolls or Buffalo Boss wings; food court runs Monday through Saturday.
Address: 3536 W Fond du Lac Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53216
Lazy Susan on South Howell Avenue in Bay View runs a small-plates menu of wood-roasted vegetables, steamed buns and a cocktail program with an Asian pantry.
Why locals love it: A Bay View small-plates kitchen with steamed buns and wood-roasted carrots that most visitors haven't heard of and locals book year-round here.
Tip: Order the wood-roasted carrots and steamed pork buns with kimchi from the small kitchen counter.
Discourse Coffee on North Broadway downtown is a small-batch espresso bar focused on single-origin coffees, with a tight pastry case and minimal.
Why locals love it: A small-batch downtown espresso bar with minimal seating and rotating single origins most visitors miss.
Tip: Order whichever single-origin pour-over the barista recommends and watch the daily-rotating list.
Hi Hat Lounge on North Arlington Place on the Lower East Side is a classic Milwaukee cocktail lounge with a tin ceiling, brandy Old Fashioneds and the Garage.
Why locals love it: A tin-ceilinged Lower East Side cocktail lounge tucked just next to the Brady Street bar strip that most out-of-town visitors walk straight past tonight.
Tip: Order a brandy Old Fashioned and ask the bartender for the cocktail-of-the-month from the chalkboard.
Rita's Mexican Tacos on South 5th Street in Walker's Point is a small storefront known for birria de res tacos with consomme dip, hand-pressed tortillas.
Why locals love it: A Walker's Point storefront known for birria de res tacos with consomme dip that fills with lunch lines.
Tip: Order three birria tacos with consomme on the side; the cooks crisp the tortillas on the plancha.
Shahrazad on North Oakland Avenue on the East Side serves Middle Eastern food in a long-running family-run dining room with shawarma, kebabs and mezze.
Why locals love it: An East Side Middle Eastern room locals book but tourists miss, run by the same family since 1991 today.
Tip: Order the lamb shawarma plate with extra garlic sauce and a side of tabbouleh.
Holler House on West Lincoln Avenue is the oldest sanctioned bowling alley in America since 1908, with two basement lanes and a corner-bar shot-and-beer.
Why locals love it: America's oldest sanctioned bowling alley sits inside a Lincoln Avenue tavern most visitors never find.
Tip: Two-lane basement with pin-setters; book a lane for shot-and-beer Saturday afternoon games.
