It is an honor and a great
lot of fun to be
a part of the 35th
anniversary season
of Discover Wisconsin.
Just like the 34 years
before this one,
we are out as a team already
creating great stories
to share with you
about the wonderful people,
places, and things
that make this the best
state to hang out in.
Thank you for being
a part of our journey.
Today,
we'll head out to Wauwatosa
to learn a little
history, explore
some great parks,
experience local shopping,
eat some delectable dishes,
and have some adventures
hanging out with the kids.
Don't hesitate to
jump on board with us
as we set out for
some fun in Tulsa.
Hello and welcome
to Discover Wisconsin.
I'm just arriving here
in Wauwatosa, a place
I used to call home.
Known for its vibrant
and rich history.
Wauwatosa hosts a
plethora of landscapes
that house
many remnants of the past.
Although I know a little bit
about Wauwatosa history,
I wanted to chat
with a real buff to get
the inside scoop.
Now I'm here at the
landing at Hoyt Park
with Jeff Rosnowski,
who is quite the
local historian.
Now, Jeff,
I know a fair amount
about the history
of Wauwatosa, you know,
darn near
everything about it.
When you live here
for 40 years, you can't help
but being immersed
by the history of Wauwatosa.
It's around us.
It's preserved,
it's remembered.
It's a part of our fabric.
So as we go back
to the 1830s
and prior to that,
when the Menominee Indians,
Native Americans,
as well as the Potawatomi
Native American tribes,
populated that area
around the village,
the head of those tribes
was known as chief
Wauwatacey.
So you break up in
the Ojibwa language
while Watusi, "wau wau"
the word in Ojibwa
means slash "tay" means fire
and "cey" means fly.
So you put
that all together,
you get firefly.
So we became Wauwatosa.
Hyde Park
dates back to 1926.
The swimming hole, the
ye old swimming hole,
you might
you might describe.
Firefighters created
a hole,
filled it up with water,
and people went swimming.
And the upper diagram
in the lower diagram
was the initial pool
that was built in the 1930s.
It looks beautiful.
That's the same
framework of the pool house
that we see today.
Walking distance
from the landing
lights, some beautiful Hoyt
Park walking trails,
including one of my favorite
Wauwatosa gems, the Hoyt
footbridge overlooking
the Menominee River.
It was this very river
that the original
Pottawattamie and Menominee
natives fished
hundreds of years ago.
To explore the river
a bit more, I decided to hop
on a bubbler bike and pedal
the Menominee Parkway,
a beautiful bike trail
that follows the Menominee
River for three miles
connecting Hoyt Park
up to our second
destination, Hartung Park.
Amidst children
at play at Hartung
lurks another sign of life
that dates back to a time
before even the dinosaurs.
Fossils,
in particular trilobites.
These were about an inch
or two in length.
Trilobites.
So there were
three lobes on it.
They were arthropods,
but lived in this warm ocean
because it was a very
low energy
ocean and warm ocean.
It allowed for these fossils
to be uncovered
with 20 different
types of trilobites
that have been found
in Hartung Park.
Lastly,
the labyrinth here is a
must see at Hartung.
Talk about picture perfect.
So now in Wauwatosa,
I'm at County Grounds Park,
which is this expansive
open space in the
middle of the city,
the Milwaukee Regional
Medical Centers
across the way
and neighborhoods
and Mayfair Mall,
that's all around us.
Hills, trails
and a lot of history.
In fact, Milwaukee
County had an insane asylum
here back in the late 1800s.
Remnants of that
are still there.
And there's a lot of other
great historical things
you can check out
when you download
the interactive
map to your phone
and then just walk
the trails and check it out,
which is what I'm
going to do right now.
It was a beautiful setting,
a park like setting,
and it could be a resort.
There are gazebos
and fountains that
were there in this area
that is now particularly
green space
but remnants remain.
Certain remnants remain.
There's an area, 55 acre
area that we call
Sanctuary Woods
that is just emerging.
And within the last
couple of years,
the city and county
have a zoned
this as a conservancy
to protect it
from development.
People have been walking
through the trails.
They see staircases.
There's an urn
that looks like a dolphin
that's there.
These are some of
the remnants of what
some of the Hospital for
the Insane had included at
at that particular time.
Happy anniversary.
Discover Wisconsin.
35 years. Wow.
I have so
many wonderful memories
working side by side
with some very, very
talented people.
I am so proud to be
part of this legacy.
Hats off to you.
And happy anniversary.
Welcome back
to the city of Wauwatosa
here on Discover Wisconsin.
Now, if you've had
your fair share of parks,
you can always check out
another one of Wauwatosa's
main attractions. Shopping.
If your wallet needs
a workout,
you won't want to miss out
on Mayfair Collection,
one of Milwaukee's premier
retail destinations
for the ultimate indoor
shopping experience.
Be sure to hit up
Mayfair Mall.
If you're one who
wants to shop locally,
Wauwatosa has just
the place for you.
The village.
So I'm here with Melyssa
at the Flannel Fights,
which is
one of the coziest places
I've ever seen.
One of the things
that we have always
felt strongly about
is caring, local,
where and when we can.
We carry jewelry vendors,
we have leather makers,
we've got
metal craft makers,
we have loungewear.
We have all these handmade,
beautiful trees
that come out of
Duluth, Minnesota,
and on the bottom
of the tree,
it will tell you what would
he used to make them.
We have one brand
that is called Jetty,
and they actually use
recyclable materials
in their fabrics.
So what they use
are oyster shells
as well as recyclable
plastic bottles that
they get out of the sea.
We put a lot of thought
into the things
that we bring into the store
and how we
fashion everything,
how we make the store look.
And from one cozy
place to another,
we head over to a local soap
company in town.
So I'm here with Alex
at Cream City Soap.
And this is
a beautiful place.
Very cozy. It is.
Smells wonderful in here.
And you've been here
since 2018, but actually
your business goes back
a lot further than that.
It does.
Yes, it started as soap.
Through the years,
we just kept adding
little bits, candles.
You know,
next thing we'd work on
would maybe be a bubblers.
And you made your soap
in-house, which is
very cool. Yeah, we do.
Hmm.
Oh, that smells good.
Yeah.
And this was actually called
Black Death.
It was inspired.
Yes.
Is inspired
by the Renaissance Fair.
So it actually is
a blend of herbs
that they thought would help
cure the Black Plague.
Oh, yeah.
So the one you're selling
mostly is anise,
black licorice.
So a lot of very
natural ingredients. Yes.
We focus heavily
on keeping things as natural
as possible for us.
We use vegan soap.
We use only essential oils
to center products.
And kind of on that
same note, you're
getting rid of
plastic and packaging.
Yes, we are.
So more natural packaging,
all natural products.
Which brings us to our
next shopping item,
a natural product
Wisconsinites know maybe
a little too well, cheese.
And the owner of the
village cheese shop
we're a cut to order cheese
specialty and wine shop
I think of it as our old
school serve shop
really blends local
and
European products and vibe.
So you come in and it's
the kind of place
where you'll know
people, you'll say Hello.
A friendly,
approachable atmosphere.
One of the a place
where people can come
regularly and buy products,
have it accessible,
enjoy a nice wine,
a cheese all the time,
not just on a holiday.
We have about 80 cheeses
in our case here.
We'd like to offer
a variety of cheeses
and all the
different styles.
We focus on Wisconsin,
the Midwest and Europe.
It's quite fun
because there are a lot
of new, exciting producers
that are quite small
and we love
representing them
and sharing their stories
and their cheeses
and the style of all of
our products here is
they're smaller producers,
farmers,
many of whom I've met
and read about, learn about.
And I love sharing
their stories
with our customers
because once you know
a person, you
love the product. So.
Wauwatosa is a
wonderful community.
People support their
local businesses.
I think a business like
this has to have their core
in their community,
and I do.
And I'm really thankful
for that.
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When we come back,
we discover some of the best
dining in Wauwatosa.
Stick around for
some fresh baked goods
and Italian cuisine.
Discover Wisconsin is back
exploring the city
of Wauwatosa.
This is a gorgeous place,
first of all.
It was the first
bank in Wauwatosa.
One of the
original buildings,
the village, one of three
that made it
through a big fire
over 100 years ago.
So when people
come to the wrap,
what can they expect?
We really focus on desserts.
We use French technique
with Wisconsin ingredients.
Everything's made
from scratch
with real butter,
real ingredients.
This is really good.
And then entrees,
local pheasants
that come from Wisconsin.
It's a very classic
dish that you'd find
if you're in the east
region of France
or the Normandy
region of France.
So you mentioned
this is one of your dishes
where the
Wisconsin influence.
What were some of
the others?
For many of the things,
we try to keep
everything seasonal.
What we found is
one of the
best career cheeses
in Wisconsin
from Saxony Creamery,
and we made a fondue sauce
out of it that we serve
with the Parmesan okie.
We have delicata
squash, that's roasted
and Brussels sprouts
leaves in here, with
some shaved parmesan.
Well, when you get a chance,
make sure you hit Le Reve.
Try
all these different dishes.
And the flaky, baked
goodness doesn't end here.
Rocket Baby Bakery,
known for its danishes,
fresh croissants
and sour dough bread made
from Wisconsin grown flour
is another hot spot
in the Wauwatosa community.
Warm morning treats
made from scratch
and baked fresh daily
with local ingredients
and roasted anodyne coffee.
It's no surprise
that there's
a flock of pastry lovers
lined up half an hour
before the
bakery even opens.
Our approach to Italian food
and dining is
based in tradition,
but also with our own
spin on it.
We want people to feel
like they are coming
to their friend's house
for a dinner party
when they walk
through our doors.
It's meant
to be very reflective of
how we like to eat at home.
We do have one item
that has been on our menu
since the very first day
we opened,
and that's the goat
cheese crust stone,
which is possibly
my most favorite
plate of food
I've ever eaten.
Participants fresh
out of the garden.
It's like magic.
We always have things
like one
Charlie and Horseshoe
throwing stuff
around, style dice,
some of that up
and some individual
to kind of make this
like very earthy,
kind of very rich pork ragu.
The meat seasonings
in that
sausage are wonderful.
It's just such a
great feeling to work here.
We're very fortunate,
very fortunate and
very happy
to be here this year.
And if you're not finished
with the Italian
cuisine quite yet,
head back to the village
for a culinary
tour through Italy
at Ristorante Bartolotta.
It all started
here in Wauwatosa.
It's where my brother
and I and my sister Marie
and her sister Felicia.
Our family grew up
just a few blocks from here.
All the photographs
that you see on the walls
here are actually photos
of our families.
These are literally pictures
of my grandparents
behind me.
So this restaurant
is almost three decades.
It's almost 29 years old.
And it has been in the hands
of this gentleman.
For how long have you been
in charge of this place?
About 20 years.
We started doing this
for a course before menus
specific to every
region in Italy.
We really try to
bring in very authentic,
very traditional dishes.
So the woven ravioli
was not my invention.
And it's a large ravioli
or single ravioli
with an egg
yolk in the center
and a traditional ricotta
and spinach
filling around it .
And if cooked correctly,
when you cut to the center
of this ravioli,
the egg yolk with ooze
out into a brown butter.
And the cheese.
It's it's pretty remarkable.
And then the result below,
the braised beef
cooked in brown,
the wine also very
rustic and hearty.
We want our guests to find
perhaps their favorite
items that they like,
but also, you know, stuff
that that's new and
refreshing and different.
And that's that's our goal.
That's our hope.
Ristorante is always
going to be near
and dear, always was near
and dear
to my brother's heart.
It will always be near
to my mother
and father's heart.
And now it's up to
me and my sister
to keep this legacy
growing with great people
like this.
I
want to
congratulate Discoverer
MediaWorks on the
35th anniversary
of their Discover
Wisconsin program.
I had the great privilege
to work with you guys
for 6 to 7 episodes
and have
so many great memories.
You are a premier
media organization
promoting this great state.
Thank you.
Welcome back to toss up
here on Discover Wisconsin.
So we've learned
where the adults
like to eat in Wauwatosa.
But what about the kiddos?
Turns out
Wauwatosa is a huge hub
for kid friendly activities.
Today we'll grab the kids
and hit up
some of these
action filled spots.
But before tiring myself
out too quickly,
I knew I had to get my fair
share of what
the kids love best.
Sugar.
Which leads me to
the first place
kids love around here,
the donut shop.
My name is Joey Carioti.
I'm
one of the co-owners
of Cranky Al's.
It's me, my aunt, uncle.
And we've been in business
for just shy of 22 years
now. My aunt.
Uncle started this
out of necessity.
Care, driving
back to Chicago.
We stopped at TJ Maxx store.
The woman couldn't
find her car.
They helped her
find her car.
And then what happened
is she wanted to
give them a gift.
Pulls out a box of Krispy
Kreme donuts,
gives it to
my aunt and uncle.
My aunt turns to my uncle
and says,
You're making donuts.
But we've been
in this location since 2006,
and we make fresh
hand-cut donuts every day
here at Cranky Al's
And people come here
from all across the world,
come out Cranky Al's Donuts.
So now that
the sugar rush is kicking
in, I'm ready for
some real excitement.
It's time for the ultimate
toy store experience.
A specialty toy store
inspired
by the kids of Wauwatosa.
Ruckus and Glee
sells unique products
you won't
find anywhere else.
And the real kicker,
you can actually run around
and play with the toys.
And Jackson here
has got me beat, literally.
Now
to really bring out
my inner child,
I grabbed my old college
buddy and his family.
All four of his kids
are my God kids, by the way.
And we hit up first in ball.
An entertainment
destination.
First in ball houses,
football, bowling,
basketball, connect for
darts, bags
and a Nerf arena.
And don't forget
to hit up the bar
in the kitchen for
some drinks and snacks.
And at first and Bull
didn't take us out enough,
we figured we pay a little
more on top of the day.
On our
last day in Wauwatosa.
We end with the beginning.
Park. Park.
Named after one of the first
settlers of Wauwatosa.
Charles Hart.
Hart Park has a playground,
a splash pad, a skate
park, a tennis court,
a football field
and an outdoor track.
Okay.
So clearly not my specialty,
but whether you believe it
or not,
there is something
that hurt park that
this guy is good at.
The great sport of curling.
Ow.
This is the Outhouse
Curling Club.
We are currently celebrating
our 100th anniversary.
This is one of the
very first indoor
refrigerated, dedicated
ice clubs in the country,
the second oldest
in the United States
and the oldest in
the Wisconsin region.
The Altos Curling Club
is a 100% volunteer
run club.
We have a membership
of about 300 people.
We have folks from
all different walks of life.
And as we say before
and after every game,
good curling.
It's been an absolutely
fantastic
time here in Wauwatosa.
We got to check out
some beautiful parks, taste
some phenomenal food.
Check out amazing
retail stores.
And we got to see
what kids are up to.
And that was a lot of fun.
So now it's time
for a little Wauwatosa
History.
As I say goodbye
with my friend Jeff.
How would you summarize
the history of this city?
I think the firefly
is a great image
that really characterizes
almost 200 years
of Wauwatosa.
The Firefly help
guide, Chief Wally Tse
and the Menominee
and Potawatomi
Native Americans
through their villages
and through their hunting.
Ever since that time,
the fireflies,
I'd like to think,
have guided us
through the fire
and the construction
formation as a city,
the redevelopment
that's going on now.
The firefly,
to me, really shines
a light on our history
and on the amazing people
that allow us to keep
living that history as well.
So the Firefly
really summarizes,
I think, what Wauwatosa
history is all about.
Here's to Wauwatosa.
Yes, here's to Tosa.
From the
shores of Lake Superior
to the rolling hills
of the Driftless area,
the adventures are
endless here in Wisconsin.
There are so many
beautiful places to see
and interesting people
to meet.
So hit the road and start
making your
own Wisconsin memories.
Continue
the adventure and stream.
Discover Wisconsin
on all your favorite devices
by scanning the QR code
in the upper right
corner of your screen.