By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host Published Mar 06, 2023 at 11:02 AM

It’s as important as ever to support the amazing collection of local restaurants that we have in our beautiful city. And there’s no better way to do so than making a commitment to patronize them throughout the year. To guide you on your journey, I’ve composed a list of 52 amazing restaurants. Try just one of these every week and you’ll have visited them all by the end of 2023.  View the full list here OR download an abbreviated printable PDF file.

Allie Boys Bagelry & Luncheonette
135 East National Ave., (414) 988-0388
allieboysmke.com
Deli
$

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Don’t let the casual nature of this little breakfast and lunch shop fool you. There’s mastery to be found in their simple East Coast inspired deli offerings, including New York style bagels (made fresh daily), next level schmears and inventive nibbles.

I love the lazy weekends when I can grab a bagel sandwich and coffee from Allie Boy's. The basic egg and cheese with sausage is sheer comfort; and if you love lox (as I do), you can't go wrong with The Classic featuring house cured lox, tomato, onion, capers, dill, labneh and an herbal schmear. Be sure to get a latke waffle on the side!

But the love doesn't stop there. Offerings like housemade soups, which change with the seasons, are absolute comfort on a chilly day. Bubbe's matzoh ball is worthy of its name and is among their core offerings; grab a bowl and a half-portion of one of their tartines (choose from toppings like chicken liver mousse, lox or tamago egg salad) and it might be among the best lunches you enjoy all week.

If you've got a sweet tooth, be sure to try one of their fried sugar bagels. In fact, I'd recommend taking it all the way with the Lil Miss Sunshine featuring a fried citrus sugar bagel with vanilla pudding cream cheese, calamansi (Filipino lime) curd, toasted meringue and graham cracker.  Yeah – it's sweet, bright and flippin' beautiful.

Also, don’t neglect checking out the bagel of the day; if you’re like me, you usually end up taking home a bagful.

Recommended: Bagel tartines; soups; latke waffle; creative specials

[View their current menu online]

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host

Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. 

When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.