Thanks to many dedicated people and businesses, Downtown is the heart of Milwaukee and the entire state of Wisconsin. This week, OnMilwaukee presents Milwaukee Downtown Week, sponsored, aptly, by Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21. For seven days, we will share stories, videos and photography profiling some of the neighborhood’s best offerings and celebrating those who make it so great. Milwaukee Downtown Employee Appreciation Week, by the way, runs July 31-Aug. 4, 2017.
Brick 3 Pizza
1107 N. Old World 3rd St.
(414) 224-6040
brick3pizza.com
Type of food: Pizza, sandwiches, appetizers.
Prices: Pizzas, $14-$25; by the slice, $3.25-$4; sandwiches, $7.50; appetizers. $3-$6
Vegetarian friendly? Yes. Plain cheese pizzas are available, as are Caesar and garden salads and meatless apps, like garlic bread, fries and mozzarella sticks.
Hours: Sunday-Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 a.m.
The one food I missed most when I moved to Milwaukee from New York City was pizza by the slice. Over the years, a few places came and went, but Brew City was never a pizza by the slice town for the first couple decades I was here.
Then, it changed and now we have Classic Slice, Ian’s, Whole Foods and other places. The best in Downtown is Brick 3 on Old World 3rd Street between Highland and Juneau, which surely makes a killing on Friday and Saturday nights when the bars around there are hopping.
But it’s also a great casual lunch stop, where for $7 you can get two slices. Sorry, a soda will break the lunch challenge budget, so I have to recommend water. Unless you’re a one-and-done pizza slice eater, in which case you can get a soda or a small salad, too.
Hits: A pizza by the slice place has to do a solid plain cheese and Brick 3 does. It should also offer a few other options and Brick 3 does that too (the spinach and feta is quite nice, as is the sausage and pepperoni).
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
