By Jeff Nevin, Wisconsin Premier Realty Group
I spend most of my working life west of the county line, out in Delafield and the Lake Country towns. But I show houses all over Milwaukee County, and one of the better perks of that job is that I eat all over Milwaukee County too. Wings are a Milwaukee thing in a way people outside Wisconsin do not appreciate. Buffalo gets the credit, but this city has corner taverns that have been quietly perfecting a wing recipe for thirty years without ever asking anyone to notice. No hype, no national press, just a fryer, a grill, and a regular crowd that would riot if anything changed. Here are eight places worth the drive, organized the way you would actually eat them: by neighborhood. Because if you are new to Milwaukee, or thinking about moving here, a wing tour is a surprisingly honest way to meet the city.
LOWER EAST SIDE
Points East Pub
1501 N Jackson St, Milwaukee
If you only go to one place on this list, go here.
Points East has been on the corner since 1994 and it lands on national best-wings lists on a regular basis. The wings come off the grill with a crisp exterior and a juicy inside, which is a harder trick than it sounds, and the menu keeps things simple rather than burying you in forty sauce options.
Two things to know before you go, because both catch people off guard. It is 21 and over to walk in the door, even if you are only there to eat, and they card everyone. And they do not do carryout at all. You eat there or you do not eat. There is also an automatic service charge added to the bill.
Order: the wings, obviously, plus the cheese curds.
The neighborhood: the Lower East Side is dense, walkable, and heavy on prewar apartment stock and converted duplexes. It draws young professionals and people who want to live without a car more than most of Milwaukee allows.
Bay View
Club Garibaldi
2501 S Superior St, Milwaukee
A neighborhood tavern and music venue where the wings come off a small grill behind the bar. The rub is the draw here, spicy and layered, and the meat pulls off the bone the way it should. It is also the cheapest stop on this list by a comfortable margin.
Also 21 and over, and worth calling ahead if you have questions about their policies, because a few of them surprise first timers.
Order: dry rub, and stay for whatever band is playing.
The neighborhood: Bay View is the neighborhood most Milwaukee transplants fall in love with first. Bungalows and Polish flats, a genuinely good restaurant strip on Kinnickinnic, and lake access. Prices have climbed for a decade and have not really stopped.
Washington Heights
Spitfires on State
5018 W State St, Milwaukee
This one has a technique nobody else on the list uses. They fry the wings, sauce them, and then finish them on the grill so the sauce cooks into the skin instead of sitting on top of it. The result is a wing where the flavor is part of the wing rather than a coating that ends up on your fingers.
They run more than thirty house-made sauces. The spicy garlic is the one people drive across town for, and you want it redipped, which is a small upcharge and completely worth it.
Fair warning: the kitchen can run slow when it is busy, and there are enough reviews saying so that I would not plan a tight schedule around it. Go when you have time. Closed Mondays.
Order: spicy garlic, grilled and redipped.
The neighborhood: Washington Heights is one of the best-kept secrets in the city. Solid 1920s housing stock, big front porches, an active neighborhood association, and it sits right between Wauwatosa and the Washington Park area.
Leff’s Lucky Town
WAUWATOSA
Leff’s Lucky Town
7208 W State St, Wauwatosa
The Tosa institution. Open until close every single day of the week, which makes it the most reliable stop here when you have not planned anything. The wings are properly sauced and never dried out, and the fried pickles deserve their own paragraph.
This is also the most group-friendly and family-friendly place on the list, which matters if the rest of your table is not on a wing pilgrimage.
Order: wings plus fried pickles, on the patio if the weather holds.
The neighborhood: Tosa is the safe answer for a reason. Strong schools, a walkable village, quick access to downtown and the Medical Center, and housing that ranges from starter capes to serious money in the Washington Highlands.
Walker’s Point
Steny’s Tavern & Grill
800 S 2nd St, Milwaukee
A proper Milwaukee sports bar with an oddly impressive knack for wings that stay hot all the way through the plate. Big space, big group capacity, and a short hop from Fiserv Forum, which makes it a legitimate pregame option rather than a compromise.
Order: wings and the artichoke dip.
The neighborhood: Walker's Point has gone from industrial to one of the most interesting parts of the city. Condo conversions, new construction, and the best restaurant density in Milwaukee outside the Third Ward.
Bluemound Road
These two sit essentially next door to each other, which makes for an easy head-to-head.
McGinn's
5901 W Bluemound Rd, Milwaukee
Breaded wings rather than naked, which puts them in a different category than everything else here. The hot garlic sauce has a sweet edge underneath the heat. Portions are large enough that ordering an appetizer and an entree is a rookie mistake. Closed Mondays.
Order: hot garlic wings, extra crispy. Get the Reuben rolls as your appetizer even though I just told you not to get an appetizer.
McGinn’s Bar
Magoo's on the Mound
5841 W Bluemound Rd, Milwaukee
Big, comfortable, and built for a crowd. The real reason to know about Magoo's and McGinn's both: they run shuttles to Brewers games and to the State Fair. Park once, eat, drink, and let somebody else handle the traffic on Bluemound.
Order: wings and a bloody mary, then get on the shuttle.
The neighborhood: this stretch borders Story Hill and the Bluemound corridor, close to the stadium, the Zoo Interchange, and a straight shot to downtown or out to Brookfield.
How to actually do this
Do not try to hit all eight in one day. Two loops works better.
West loop: start at TomKen's in West Allis, work north to Leff's in Tosa, finish at Spitfires on State. Skip Mondays, since two of the three are closed.
East loop: Points East on the East Side, then south to Club Garibaldi in Bay View, with Steny's in Walker's Point in between. Bring your ID and leave the kids home for two of the three.
Game day: Bluemound Road, no debate.
one last thing
Eight wing joints, seven neighborhoods, and every single one of them is a place where somebody bought a house nearby and decided this was their spot.
That is more or less how picking a neighborhood works. The listing photos tell you about the house. The corner tavern tells you about the block.
If you are weighing Milwaukee County against Lake Country, or trying to figure out which of these neighborhoods actually fits how you live, that is the conversation I have with people every week. Happy to have it with you, wings optional.
Jeff Nevin is a REALTOR® and Team Leader with Wisconsin Premier Realty Group at Keller Williams Realty, serving Milwaukee and Waukesha County.
