The Wicked Hop is a Bar/Restaurant in Milwaukee's Third Ward.

I have been to the Wicked Hop for dinner about three times, and I really want to like it, I really should like it, but it falls short in my mind.

The first problem is the name. With a name like "The Wicked Hop" they should make thier own beer, or at least have wicked good beer, but they have pretty much normal beer, Guinness, Bass, a few Lakefront brews, and the normal domestic.

The other thing I don't like about The Wicked Hop is the seating. The tables they have are too close together, and they are upstairs in a long, narrow balcony that overlooks the bar. The bar seating is good, if there is one available, but that is certainly not guaranteed as there are maybe 6 tables total.

The reason I keep coming back to the Hop is the food. Or, at least the food I had one time. I had the best andouille pasta ever. It was super hot, loaded with sausage, chicken, and shrimp, served with bowtie pasta in a cream sauce. Mix that with a couple of Guinness and you are golden. Unfortunately, the rest of their food is good, but not on the same plane as the andouille pasta.

Go to the Hop to hang out, go to the bar, but I would not recommend it for dining.

The Wicked Hop
345 N Broadway
Milwaukee, WI 53202
3 of 5 stars

When I talked last time about the best pizza in Milwaukee I should have qualified it.

Balistreri's has the best dine in pizza in Milwaukee, if you get it to go it is not nearly as good. I don't know why, but the quality falls off a lot.

If you want to order out, the best pizza I have found for delivery is Barbiere's Italian Inn. This is again Milwaukee style pizza, but they cut it like a pie, and they use a little more cheese. Maybe that is what helps the pizza make it back to the house, I'm not sure.

If you live too far from Barbiere's, try Pizza Shuttle. This is excellent pizza, although it is a little more Chicago style than the rest. I also recommend Pizza Shuttle's full menu for carry out/deliver for those lazy Sundays when you don't really want to go out.

Barbiere's Italian Inn
5844 W. Bluemound Rd.
Milwaukee, WI
4 of 5 stars for their carry out pizza.

Two things strike you as you enter Maxie's: This is a strange neighborhood to find a New Orleans style restaurant, and the place is a lot bigger than expected.

The size is, unfortunately, one of its downfalls. While the downstairs bar area look very cozy, seating is very limited so we sat upstairs, and upstairs was not too great. It is basically one big square of a room with nothing separating it into sections, and nothing keeping the tables away from each other. In fact, they were almost organized into rows. So much so that I thought I was in a grocery store for a little while. The dining area was too bright, and the carpet felt kind of threadbare.

The service was decent, our waitress greeted us right away and brought drinks, but after that it took quite a while for her to show up again. The menu seemed limited, although we eventually found some things we liked. I got the blackened catfish and my guest tried the fish fry. They were both good, but neither of them really stood out. The fish was cooked well, and the sides were ok, but there was not an abundance of either.

I think the problem I had with Maxie's is that they tried to be a southern-Creole-fusion restaurant. They didn't just serve southern food, they tried to fancy it up, serving things like Ahi Tuna appetizers. I guess I was expecting seasoned fries and a Bud instead.

Maxie's Southern Comfort
6732 W. Farview
Milwaukee, WI
Maxies Web Site
3 or 5 stars