For the ninth straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee, presented by the restaurants of Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, dining guides, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as voting for your "Best of Dining 2015."
Halloween is coming. In fact, it's just over a week away. But, you needn’t sit home and wait for the trick-or-treaters when you could be wining and dining and having all sorts of fun.
Here's seven events that will ensure you a deliciously spooky time.
1. Oct. 29: Second Annual Food Fright
Join Local First Milwaukee as it pulls out all the stops for this creepily delicious evening. Guests will receive four tokens redeemable for Lakefront beer, a souvenir pint glass and food from some of the best restaurants in Milwaukee, including Afro Fusion Cuisine, Bel Air Cantina, Black Shoe Hospitality (Blue’s Egg, Maxie’s, Story Hill BKC), Buckley’s, Cafe Calatrava, Fresh Farm Bowls, Lakefront Brewery Beerhall, Larry’s Market, Meritage, Pineapple Cafe & Mexican Grill, Simmer Cafe, Rumpus Room and Tall Guy & A Grill. Guests can also enjoy the musical stylings of DJ Cat Reince and participate in a costume contest. All guests will also be able to vote on their favorite dishes in the "crowd favorite" category of the Food Fright contest.
Location: Lakefront Brewery, 1872 N. Commerce St.
Details: Festivities run from 7 to 11 p.m.; tickets are $50 for general admission and $100 for VIP, which includes a "Live Coastal" Local First tee and reserved seating at the event.
More information: localfirstmilwaukee.com.
2. Oct. 30: KASANA Halloween Costume Party
Dance the night away at Kasana. Beginning at 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, Kasana will be celebrating Halloween with a special evening of music and dancing. Gustavo from Everything About Dance will offer up complimentary dance lessons for all guests, who will enjoy music from a live DJ, drink specials, a costume contest and more. Table seating will be reserved for diners. Call (414) 224-6158 for reservations.
Location: Kasana, 241 N. Broadway.
Details: Doors open at 9 p.m.; cover charge is $10.
More information: kasana-mke.com.
3. Oct. 31: The Vanguard Goes Chinese-American for Halloween
Those crazy kids at The Vanguard have big plans in store for guests on Oct. 31. In observation of Halloween, the craft cocktail slinging sausage shop will take on a new identity (or costume, if you will). For one evening only, they’ll masquerade as a Chinese-American restaurant where you can enjoy entrees like a scallion pancake with red pork belly and chopped clams ($8), Shanghai noodles with beef or tofu, mushrooms and bok choy (spicy, $8), Trotter potstickers with black vinegar dipping sauce ($7) sticky rice bars with Szechuan chicken, scallions and garlic ($7), hot and spicy lobster ($14) and spicy garlic tofu over fried noodles ($8). Snacks will include Taiwan cucumber ($3), Gwaii Lo eggs ($4) and eggrolls featuring duck ($5) and mushrooms ($4).
Location: Golden Dragon (The Vanguard).
Details: The restaurant will open beginning at 5 p.m.
More information: Vanguard Facebook
4. Oct. 31: All Hallow’s Eve Steampunk Soiree at Meraki
Join the folks at Meraki for this Halloween celebration featuring passed appetizers, buffet-style fare, punch, cocktails and coffee. Come in costume and you could win a $50 Meraki gift certificate!
Location: Meraki, 939 S 2nd St.
Details: Festivities begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $60 per person and include food, punch, coffee and one cocktail.
More information: Call (414) 897-7230.
5. Oct. 31: Second Annual Halloween Party at Lazy Susan
Join Lazy Susan for its second annual Halloween party featuring a parlor show by Raimie Magic, palmistry by George Sands of House of Magik, karaoke and a Halloween buffet featuring roasted goat. There will also be a costume contest, prizes and more.
Location: Lazy Susan, 2378 S. Howell Ave.
Details: Tickets are $20 in advance (with donation of two non-perishable food items for the Bay View Community Center Food Pantry) or $25 at the door.
More info: lazysusanmke.com.
6. Oct. 31: THE POINT Halloween Bash to benefit AIDS Walk Wisconsin
Walker’s Point’s newest event venue hosts its first Halloween Bash. The celebration and fund-raiser will feature a heated 5,000 square foot grand oasis patio complete with a waterfall. Guests will enjoy cocktails, a photo booth, a vodka bar, complimentary champagne, light snacks and a late night food truck. There will also be cash prizes for best Halloween costumes ($500-$1,500).
Location: THE POINT, 906 S. Barclay St.
Details: Festivities begin at 9 p.m.; cost is $15 per person in advance or $20 at the door with $5 from each ticket going to support AIDS Walk Wisconsin Purchase tickets online.
More information: shepherdtickets.com
7. Oct. 31 Brenner Brewing Witchcraft Halloween Beer Release Party
Come and celebrate the release of Brenner Brewing's seasonal beer, "Witchcraft," a blended brew which incorporates nine malt varieties, 70 pounds of molasses and 144 pounds of locally sourced honey, as well as 44 pounds of Anodyne Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee. Witchcraft - a beer that will only be available at Brenner Brewing -- is oak aged for over twelve months, half in bourbon barrels and half in virgin Missouri oak barrels.
The festivities begin at 9:45 a.m. with free tastings (everyone in line gets a swill), followed by a 10 a.m. release of Witchcraft (limited to six 12-ounce bottles per person; $10/each). The Badger game will be on starting at 11 a.m., and between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., guests can enjoy a variety of activities including Halloween candy and beer pairing flights, bobbing for free beer, facepainting and bacon bomb beer brats. Halloween candy will also be available for the kids. Spooky brewery tours will take place at 12, 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m.
The party kicks up between 6 and 11 p.m., when anyone in costume will get $2 off Brenner pints. There will be dancing and vintage Halloween movies all night long.
Location: Brenner Brewing Company, 706 S. 5th St.
Details: Festivities run 9:45 a.m. to 11 p.m.; event is free with beer and food available for purchase.
More information: Brenner Brewing on Facebook
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
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 every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, 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.
