Milwaukee Food Tour

A week ago we joined our friends, Laurie and Greg, to sample goodies offered by Milwaukee bakeries and to enjoy stories of ethnic holiday traditions while we rode a big yellow school bus. We were on the "Christmas Around Milwaukee Bakery Bus Tour" sponsored by Milwaukee Food Tours.

We started out at Stone Creek Coffee. Coffee beans from all over the world are imported and roasted at the factory store at 422 N. 5th St. 

Stone Creek Coffee is located across from Milwaukee's Intermodal Station.
The building was designed by Burnham and Root, who also designed the
1893 Columbian Exposition (World's Fair) in Chicago.

I'm sipping a cup of Stone Creek coffee in front of the wall that shows all of the
coffees that Stone Creek roasts and blends.

Our next stop was at the East Side Ovens in the Bay View neighborhood. Our friend, Greg, grew up in Bay View so he was able to point out some familiar landmarks. From there we traveled to the Canfora Bakery. This Italian establishment features an assortment of pizza slices on Saturday mornings along with other baked goodies.

At the National Bakery our sample was a ham sandwich on a hard roll - a Milwaukee tradition - and a nice palate cleanser between all the sweets.

While we rode the bus, Sandy, our tour guide, told how various ethnic groups
 celebrated the holidays. Several traditions included eating a big meal
on Christmas Eve and then fasting until another big dinner on Christmas Day. 

Four stops in Wauwatosa were within a block or so of each other.

Cheesecake samples teased our sweet tooth at Simma's Bakery. 

La Tarte was nicely decorated on the outside for the holiday season.

The lemon bar sample from this bakery was light and delicious.

Ultimate Confections is the place to buy a chocolate treat for anyone on your Christmas list - even the local beat cop!

Our last Wauwatosa stop was Rose's Flower Shop. Nothing to eat here but we experienced wonderful smells of flowers and received a carnation during our visit.

Rose's boasts a huge collection of lunch boxes.

No blue or odd-colored poinsettias at this shop!

This display greets customers at the front door.

The Milwaukee Cupcake Company in the Historic Third Ward was the last place we visited on our tour.

Our sample was two mini cupcakes. We were cautioned
not to save them until later because the bakery uses no
preservatives in its recipes.

Who can resist an aluminum Christmas tree
in the lobby of the bakery? 

Here we are at the end of our tour with Sandy. So many sweet treats
delighted our palates along the way.

We would like to check out some of the other tours offered by Milwaukee Food Tours in the spring. Bloody Marys on Sunday morning, anyone?