Art and Tacos in Milwaukee

I made a sojourn to Milwaukee again recently to see the 30 Americans exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum before it closes on September 8. It was amazing to see the work of Iona Rozeal Brown, Kara Walker, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and many other African American artists in person. (The works are all from 1970 to the present and address themes of race, class, gender, sexuality, or history.)

The ubiquitous shot of the museum's wings

Lunch at BelAir Cantina consisted of tacos and beans and rice. If you order three tacos, beans and rice are included. I had the ninja pig (crispy, hoisin-glazed pork topped with cucumber and jicama slaw), the carnitas (crispy pork and pico de gallo), and the black bean and corn, despite my call for fish tacos. (Their fish/seafood offerings were a little disappointing: variations with lobster and shrimp, chipotle mahi mahi, grilled tilapia with mango, and breaded and fried tilapia. Tilapia is such a bland fish, I'm not a huge fan of breaded and fried fish or chipotle, and shrimp and mahi mahi are often overfished.)

The ninja pig was yummy, although for my palate, the hoisin could've been scaled back a bit. As all of you know, my sweet tooth is highly underdeveloped, so it was a bit sweet for me. The pork in the carnitas was a tad fatty. They both trumped the ho-hum black bean and corn.

My ninja pig, carnitas, and black bean and corn

Elise had the port-cheso (sautéed portabello mushrooms, queso fundido, black beans, radish, and chimichurri), the rajas (grilled chiles and onions, black beans, and queso), and went old-school with the gringo (ground beef, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and shredded cheddar). She also opted for the black beans, which turned out to be much more flavorful than my pinto beans, which was surprising.

Elise's rajas, gringo, and port-cheso

Sitting outside at BelAir Cantina (sorry for the pole through your noggin, Elise)

Walking by the lake

After lunch, we popped into a few stores and then walked by the lake for awhile. At reThreads, I scored a black eyelet tunic, a lime green vintage top, some turquoise jeans, and a thick bangle.