My new favorite thing is combining out of town wedding weekends with mom/daughter trips.  Last June, we adventured to Sonoma for Ryan’s wedding weekend.  And this past weekend, we met in Milwaukee for Steph’s wedding.

Immediately after dropping our luggage off at the hotel, we headed to the Milwaukee Public Market, where I remembered having a big ol’ lobster during a previous visit.  We ordered St. Paul Fish Company’s lobster dinner as well as two of every oyster variety on the menu.  Our favorites: Blue Point, Karheen Pass, Charles Island – permanently added to the memory bank.

After a much needed nap {6 am flight!}, we were off to Ardent for dinner. Finding this somewhat hidden gem on the James Beard “best new restaurant” nominee list led to some sky-high expectations, but it was apparent that Ardent was up for the challenge.

We ordered almost everything on the menu: escargot {pictured above}, salt roasted celeriac {mom’s favorite}, milk pan au lait, beef tartare {my favorite, pictured above}, beef with turnip greens, the parsnip dessert, and a bottle of red. The mom-daughter-duo was in agreement that this was one of the best meals either of us had ever experienced.  And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, our server delivered two macarons {that we “cheers’ed} and a wrapped breakfast bread for the next morning with the most adorable note.  The entire night was to a tee!

Saturday day was filled with site-seeing and cheese browsing.

And then I was off to Steph and Jon’s wedding at the Pier Wisconsin.  So. Beautiful.  The entire night was filled with happy tears, laughter, old friends and new.

And on our last day, the mission was brunch.  We walked a seemingly hefty hike to Blue Jacket, another place on which I had done some mini research.

We learned that Milwaukee bloody marys are served with a beer shooter {Austin bloody marys should follow suit}.

And the biggest lesson of all, Southerners aren’t the only folks capable of making perfect grits.  Andouille sausage, brussels sprouts, pickled asparagus, and a slow egg – the combination that topped these smoky, cheese grits was phenomenal.

This trip was the perfect combination of quality time and quality food.  The only thing I would have done differently is snap a few shots with my mama, who is unpictured in this post!