In Milwaukee, some of the most memorable meals don’t require weeks-long reservations, fancy dining rooms or a three-hour tasting menu experience. Sometimes they’re tucked into other businesses, hidden behind unmarked doors or assembled in home kitchens. They’re the places you learn about from friends or stumble upon when you’re least expecting to.
From a front porch in Riverwest to a pool hall in Greenfield, each of these under-the-radar food dealers has a unique story. And each rewards the diner who makes a little extra effort to find great food in the most unexpected places.
Cory the Riverwest Sandwich Fixer
The Buttafuoco. The Cheesy Tomato. The Sloppy Salami. Relics of the original Fuel Cafe in Riverwest, which closed in 2020 after 27 years. Since then, plenty of imitations have surfaced – but none come closer than the sandwiches coming out of Cory von Bohlen’s home kitchen.
Online, he’s Cory the Riverwest Sandwich Fixer. And if his sandwiches taste like the ones you loved at Fuel a decade ago, it’s because he probably made them. He worked there for 15 years, turning out roughly 10,000 sandwiches…