By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published May 24, 2011 at 9:29 AM

Whenever I ask you a question – such as, "which fish fry should I try next?" – you always help me out, dear readers, and so I've come to trust you. And now, I come to ask your advice again.

The painfully brief outdoor dining and drinking season is again upon us and I'm daydreaming of warm evenings outside with friends, family, beer, food. You know, the usual suspects.

Those dreams usually find me at a place like the Cafe Hollander in Tosa, where in addition to having a good selection of beer, there's usually a rushing river, lots of interesting people watching and some very up close and personal trainspotting, too.

Though I don't get there much these days, I also think of the fabulous RiverWalk patio at the Milwaukee Ale House, which is great for river-watching. Barnacle Bud's patio offers another look at the river, too.

I also like streetfront patios like Palomino's or the one around the corner from the Ale House at Wicked Hop. They offer great people- and dog-watching. I'm eager to check out the rooftop dining across the street, too, at the upcoming Cafe Benelux.

For lake views, it's hard to imagine there are better patios than the ones at Cafe Calatrava at the Art Museum and the nearby Harbor House.

But, certainly, there are loads of great patios out there for drinking and dining in the Milwaukee area and I'd like you to use the Talkback feature below to tell me about your favorites, so I can check them out if I haven't already.

Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

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.