Call it a sign of the economy. Call it a part of Downtown's urban renaissance. Call it a smart dining idea. Whatever the driving force behind it, there's no denying that Milwaukee's Water and Wisconsin hot dog vendor is seeing some curbside competition lately.

Here at OnMilwaukee.com, we're delighted to see all sorts of new vendors pop up on the streets of Brew City. From pizza to pitas, crepes to tacos, the hungry lunch (and bar time) crowd has more options than ever.

This past year saw a growth spurt in the street food sector, an in case it's hard to keep track of them all, we've compiled this guide. We look forward to adding more in 2010. Anyone else hoping for mobile cupcakes?

American Euros
American Euros on Facebook
The cleverly-named American Euros cart hit the streets of Milwaukee in June 2009 and owners Mark Miller and Chad Mydlowski keep it fairly simple. Customers choose from chicken or lamb -- or a combo of both -- marinated in a homemade broth and carved fresh daily at their service kitchen in West Milwaukee. The gyros are reasonably priced at $4 and come "wrapped up like a Sno-cone" in a 6-inch pita bread.

There are many ways to prepare a gyro, and Miller took inspiration from his travels when creating his sandwich. In addition to the standard tomato and onion, he opted for extras like Asian-style hot sauce, as he'd fallen in love with in New York City, and lettuce, which he found to be popular in Germany. And, as an added bonus, they do as the Greek do and top off the sandwich with fresh cut fries.

You'll find them outside Duke's on Water on the weekends, and in front of the Downtown U.S. Bank building on Tuesdays for lunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Pita Brothers
pitabrothers.com
With a focus on sustainability and fresh food, Pita Brothers travel from their National Avenue kitchen headquarters to their desired locale -- most days it's Catalano Square, though they've been known to venture out into other neighborhoods and the occasional summer festival, alerting customers via Facebook and Twitter -- producing zero emissions, and when they park, a generator kicks in to keep the mobile kitchen powered up to produce fresh food to order.

But it's not the pita mobile itself that's gaining attention; it's the homemade falafel, hummus and tahini sauce, followed closely by the chicken bacon and ranch wrap. For $4.75 and $5.50, respectively, the sandwiches are a great deal for what proves to be a quick, hearty meal.

Barbecued chicken, meatball marinara and veggies with hummus round out the menu, but no matter which sandwich you choose, the Lebanese flatbread is key. It's large enough to safely and snugly encase the ingredients, but thin enough to bite through without making a mess down your shirt on the way back to the office. Each sandwich is completed with a choice of vegetables and sauces: tahini, buttermilk ranch, spicy ranch, mayo, creamy caesar and sweet barbecue. Page 1 of 2 (view all on one page)

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