The Mango Lassie

If there’s one thing people in Milwaukee are crazy about, it’s baseball, specifically Brewers baseball. If I could name two more signature Milwaukee pleasures, they would probably be beer and brats. All three of these elements converged today when Empanada Boy and I drove to Milwaukee to meet up with Drumstix and Popcorn Princess for a Brewers baseball game.

Watching a game in the relatively new and very elegant Miller Park was a treat, especially because the Brewers won. I also learned a lot about Milwaukee baseball tradition, including the famous sausage race. Yes, that’s right. At the bottom of the sixth inning, five people dressed up in costumes representing various sausages race each other halfway around the outside of the diamond. The sausages (in order of appearance from left to right) are: Polish, Bratwurst, Chorizo (a recent addition), Italian and a regular hot dog. Fans can place bets on which sausage will win the race during each game. Being the open-minded gourmand that he is, Empanada Boy was rooting for the chorizo. The Italian sausage won.

The race was a major reason that Empanada Boy and I found ourselves craving sausages after the game was over. Luckily we went to Water Street Brewery in downtown Milwaukee. Water Street’s proprietary brew turned out to be quite tasty, but their menu offerings seemed fairly average. EB and I immediately honed in on the sausage plates, which were the bright spot of distinction. I had the “Old World Selection” (pictured above). It came with a brat boiled in Water Street’s lager and a knackwurst atop a bed of sauerkraut and accompanied by German potato salad and excellent spicy mustard. EB went Polish with this kielbasa and smoked beef sausage platter. This came with spaetzle, German seasoned fried dough balls.

All of the sausages were made by Usinger’s, which is apparently considered the best for brats among Milwaukeeans in the know. I’m glad Water Street Brewery hasn’t taken items like these off its menu to make way for bland health food wraps or more run-of-the-mill fried dishes. My meal felt like a natural continuation of the themes of the day. Eating the beer-boiled brats and drinking beer at Water Street was, in many ways, like the Brewers game. Only here, the sausages were racing into my mouth… Oh, and there was no more baseball to be played.

Water Street Brewery
1101 N. Water St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414.272.1195