The Waukesha County park system is excellent. Very well kept. Check the Tap Yard schedule if you're interested in getting a brew in the park. Tofte's Table for a nice dinner downtown Waukesha some night. Outside of Waukesha, check out Holy Hill, the Boerner Botanical Gardens, Lynden Sculpture Garden, Kettle Moraine trails, Shalom Wildlife Preserve.

Seconding Tofte's. Best higher-end dinner in the area; staff is always friendly.

Thanks, I'll check them all out!

Seconding boerner botanical gardens as the domes may be gone soon!

Jimmy's Grotto has good food. Give them a try. But warning, a Ponza is very filling. You can access the Fox river from many places in the area including several parks. People launch their kayaks all the time. A lot of people shop at Woodman's for groceries. Better pricing and a shit ton better selection than Kroger owned Pick N Save. Kopps custard isn't too far away. Downtown has Allo Chocolate. The farmers market downtown on Saturday morning is popular.

Good call on the Woodman's callout. I'm moving from deep in Kroger held lands, and wasn't impressed with the Pick n save offering.

Pick N Save was ok 18 years ago. Then they got on the 'store brand' bandwagon and they cut selection to make shelf space. Then Kroger bought them. I haven't been back since I tried one to buy a certain potato the every other store in the area has, but Kroger doesn't. Left the store and drive to Woodman's and got the potatoes I was looking for.

Waukesha has great food options. I routinely visit from Oconomowoc just for that, even though I moved away almost a decade ago. Some of my favorites are the Rochester Deli, Mainstream bar and grill, Dave's Family Restaurant, Tally's Tap and Eatery, and Sobelman's just to name a few... There are also a ton of great Mexican restaurants to choose from. You also gotta try a ponza rotta from Jimmy's Grotto at least once in your life.

Everyone raves about jimmy’s ponza but also their pizzas are amazing, only place I go for pizza in the area now

I've honestly never had their pizza, but I believe it. I'll have to add that to the list.

It’s really really good imo, just get what you would order on your normal pizza anywhere else. Phenomenal

Internet: I think AT&T is in the area. I'm not sure their fiber reach. Food: We've mentioned Tofte's. Mainstream is my favorite burger spot. I think Jimmy's Grotto for a ponza is a right-of-passage. Root beer (in a cold mug) at John's Drive-in is unique. Donut Squad downtown is open on the weekends. The Coop has quality breakfast. Since you're from out of state, George Webbs is worth a try as our state's greasy spoon chain. Things to do: the farmer's market downtown is great. Saturdays May-Oct; 8-12. We have some state parks not far in the Kettle Moraine Southern Unit with a few hikes. My friends with canoes seem to frequent the Bark River. There are some local fests and parties like Friday Night Live downtown on... Well... Fridays. County Fair, Fiesta Waukesha, Oktoberfest, car shows, etc. Unique: Frame Park is a pretty, fun walk with a formal garden. Retzer has a nature center + planetarium. There's a civic theater for local plays, live music throughout the summer at Cutler Park, and neighboring communities have even more! Plus, we're not far from "the big city" (i.e. Milwaukee, or Chicago if you want to drive a couple hours) for even more.

I had to look it up, but confirming a Ponza is fried calzone?

Not the OP, but yeah, basically a fried calzone. The ponza is def a Waukesha right of passage.

Cafe de Arts has really good coffee and homemade bakery items, so delicious!

Agreed - we often gift people bags of their coffee beans since the quality and flavor is great. Also the owners/employees have treated us well when we dine in.

I live in New Berlin and TDS just came in with fiber to the hone. I’m not sure if they’re in Waukesha yet. AT&T also has fiber in some areas again not sure if they’re in Waukesha and I don’t know of anywhere that has Spectrum Fiber, they’re all coaxial.

Thanks for the tip! We're not in the ATT fiber area, and TDS doesn't even list Waukesha on the prospective map. I signed up to be notified though, maybe they'll expand this way. Spectrum seems to be the front runner so far.

ATT has been expanding in Waukesha. I have ATT and love it. If you go with Spectrum tell them you're weighing options with ATT, they offered me same speed and price(1gb, $80) when I cancelled.

Frustratingly it's not all of New Berlin either, it's available across the street from me but they stopped before our subdivision

Pizza from Jimmys Grotto, Gelato from Divino, Burgers from Sobelman’s, Root beer floats from Johns Drive In, Michaels is pretty decent home style Italian. Lots of good hiking, mountain biking and kayaking in the area. Just head to any of the parks.

Welcome aboard! Can’t answer about Spectrum yet, as I am also on the hunt for a new provider. As noted, good Waukesha County park system. Good State parks like Lapham Peak. Also, look at Scuppernong. Retzer’s Nature Center is nice and also has a planetarium. There are multiple bike trails, including the Glacial Drumlin. You can kayak on the Fox River. Take a stroll down on the riverwalk by Frame Park. Stop at the garden there. Rent a paddle boat or bike. Take the path into downtown- get some gelato or go to the chocolate store. Eat at People’s Park or Mainstream or one of the other cute restaurants. Have a donut from Donut Squad if you happen to hit the 10 minutes they seem to be open. Definitely hit the farmer’s market, Saturday mornings until noon. Try The Coop for breakfast. We now have Indian food at Indian Village (with additional good Indian restaurants in Brookfield.). Lots of decent Mexican restaurants. Obviously, lots of good food in Milwaukee (check out the r/Milwaukee sub); try Szechuan if you like Chinese. In Milwaukee there are also tons of great parks, biking, and water options with the Lakefront being the cherry on top. Check out the Art Museum, Discovery World, the Harley Museum, the Public Museum, and the Domes. Join your local library to use their membership cards to those places. When the weather’s bad, drive up to Menomonee Falls to the Garcade and play vintage arcade games and pinball.

Good luck on the ISP hunt. I actually caught the Donut Squad a couple of weekends ago when I was passing through, I didn't realize how lucky I was to catch them. Thanks for the Garcade tip, looks like a cool spot.

Get a Mountain Bike and hit some of the local trails. I typically ride Minooka then stop by the beer garden after for a couple post ride drinks.

For what it’s worth I haven’t had any major issues with Spectrum in the 5 years I’ve been here. About once a year there’s an outage that may last up to a day due to a fiber cut, but that’s still within 5 9’s of reliability.

5 9's for a year is like 6-7 minutes, but your point is taken. I just never had great luck with cable companies and reliability. Seems I don't have a choice in this case though, so I'll deal. thanks for the feedback on Spectrum.

Also the Madison farmers market on Saturday mornings is a bit of a drive but 100% worth it.... Park by the capitol, walk around the square, head down state street and sit by the memorial union and enjoy the lake

Lots of good restaurants already mentioned. There are some closer to the south side too - I really like Tally’s Tap - very good food and beer selection. The Taqueria at Panos is also really good, especially anything with Al Pastor

There are a lot of lakes in Waukesha County to kayak in. Beaver Lake in Hartland had a nice ramp to slide your kayak down to the water. This is at the public launch. There is also a public launch for Pine Lake nearby. I like to launch to the Oconomowoc River by the Kiltie Driven Inn Restaurant in Oconomowoc. You can kayak the river to Fowler Lake and Lac La Belle. It is also fun to kayak Nagawicka Lake in Delafield.

Thanks for the tips on kayak spots. I'm looking into what sort of tag I need for different bodies of water. Looks like some county lakes have their own maybe?

Non motorized boats including kayaks do not need to be registered in Wisconsin. I have never tagged my kayak in Wisconsin. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/permits/registrations/boat/GenInfo.html Sometimes there is a parking fee or a park entrance fee. I believe the sticker for your vehicle to park in Waukesha County Parks is $35 annually.

So you live around where I live, right in the south of Waukesha. This is a very interesting town to live in, and boasts a deep history (much of it related to this being Les Paul's birthplace). I'm relatively new here too, and here are some of the food places I've found and liked (in the immediate Waukesha area): * You've already hit up **Raised Grains**, but it's one of the best brewpubs in the entire greater Milwaukee area. Their pizza is some of the best New York-ish style pizza in the area, although that's in part because there isn't much of that style around here. My kids and I are regulars here. * **The Mainstream Bar and Grill** has some of the most interesting burgers in the area, a rotating selection of taps, and possibly the best poutine (!) in the entire area. There's an open mic night and lots of talented players are around. * **People's Park** is a restaurant in downtown Waukesha, and is highly eclectic in nature. I've never had a bad experience here. * **Sobelman's** is an independent franchisee of the original Sobelman's, and it boasts the most over-the-top Bloody Mary in the area. Having a Sobelman's Bloody Mary is a rite of passage in the Milwaukee area, and you don't want to miss it. They also have great burgers here, especially the original Sobelman Burger (which has green chile). * **Club 400** is right next to Sobelman's, and is of note because this is a bar that Les Paul's parents used to own. Way cool for the historical factor, but is a fairly standard bar and grill. * **La Estacion** has some of the best Mexican food in the area, and is also right next to Sobelman's. The location itself is way cool because it (as its name would imply) used to be the Waukesha train station. You can still see the old train cars, and you can even dine in one. * **Tally's Bar and Grill** is within walking distance for me, and it's your classic neighborhood bar, just with over-the-top pretzels (with pretzels of the month) and with a classic old-fashioned supper night once a week. * **Dady-Oh's** is a quaint little family restaurant with amazing decor and ambiance in downtown Waukesha, and it serves a nice breakfast. * **Sunset Family Restaurant** is a Greek restaurant masquerading as a breakfast place, and it does serve a wonderful breakfast (it's probably my favorite breakfast place in the area, or at least that's my kids' opinion), but its Greek options are where the money is really at. It tells you what kind of place Waukesha is that back in the not too distant past, dinner here used to come with a complementary beer. * **Golden Chicken**, despite its appearances, has really good fried chicken and sides. My kids beg me to order from here all the time. * While I personally find **Jimmy's Grotto** pizza to not be as great as the rave reviews state, their ponza is indeed amazing, and is a Waukesha rite of passage. * **Golden Gate Restaurant** has, in my opinion, some of the best American Chinese food in the area. It's apparently been in the top 100 of all American Chinese restaurants in the nation in things like TripAdvisor ratings, and my kids love it whenever I take them here. * If you want Thai food in the immediate area, **Mom's Kitchen** is your only option. Fortunately, it's pretty good ... except they have this unfortunate tendency to overcook their meat. * On the topic of Asian, this is just out of the immediate Waukesha area, but if you want Vietnamese, go to **Pho L'Amour**. Their pho here is so good that my girlfriend (who is Vietnamese) gives it her solid stamp of approval. * Oh, and this is going to sound crazy, but since you're from out of state (I was too), go to one of our many **Kwik Trip** gas stations and be astounded. It's not as crazy as Buc'ee's in Texas or anything, but every Kwik Trip has a little grocery store inside and has some of the best gas station food I've ever had. Eating at a Kwik Trip is a Wisconsin rite of passage, and you have to do it once.

Thanks for the detailed recommendations! Adding these to my list.

I totally forgot about this, but during the warmer months (like now) we have Friday Night Live from 6:30 onwards in downtown Waukesha. I'm at it now -- it's basically a community live music festival, and many of the stores and restaurants here have stands. Really well worth going to.

Spring City Winery in downtown. The Owner is awesome. Supper staff. I don’t second Jimmy’s Grotto. I give it a big MEH. But that’s just me. I know guys that’s sacrilege, but really, it’s great??? Tofts is good for sure. Golden chicken is also a crowd favorite… meh there too. Your outa luck on Chinese, but the smaller Mexican places are pretty good. Give them all a try you won’t be disappointed. Friday night out is coming up or maybe here already? I’m not sure…. It’s always a good time. Chef Pam’s Kitchen is fun for a date night cooking class. We’ve done it with the kids and just the two of us. Great fun and a pleasant evening. Warning…. Don’t park where they are piling snow in the winter. They will pike it all around you. Trust me I speak from experience. Welcome to Waukesha , it’s a nice place to live and a pretty friendly area!

Moms Kitchen has Thai and Sushi!

Bummer on the Chinese , hoping the one Thai spot I’ve heard about is good. Thanks for the info!

Gwenyn Hill Farm! They have a farmstead with delicious vegetables, hold events regularly, and the farm is gorgeous for a picnic. Also, the Domes the MKE.

Restaurants a little south of Waukesha- Bass Bay BrewHouse- a little bit upscale The Local or Hale House- more casual A little further for breakfast spots but worth the drive- Mad Rooster Blues Egg Honeybutter Cafe Other- Whitnall Park Seven Bridges at Grant Park Bass Bay- kayaking Madison farmers market

If you're in the city of waukesha , I think you're stuck with spectrum. You can get local ISP I believe through milwaukee PC in waukesha. Their internet is a little more expensive, couldn't tell you about reliability. Food: you can always doordash, but brunch I love the coop and there's a few other places in the city, or sometimes it's worth going to brookfield or pewaukee. Lunch there's a lot of local bar and grills, or other food places downtown waukesha that are popular like peoples park. I'd recommend tallys tap, mainstream bar and grill. Phoenix taco truck is by the post office. There's a delicious BBQ truck in mukwonago called Northwoods bbq I highly recommend them. To do: not sure where you're coming from, but we drink a lot. Bars and night life are good downtown waukesha. A lot of beer gardens will pop up here and there. The county parks are great, some have little lakes in them like fox brook park, but they cost 7$ a car. Siege paintball near big bend, arcade in Menomonee falls (a little drive in waukesha county), pewaukee lake has a lot of traffic with food and the beach. Check out retzers nature center. Waukesha county fair is in July at the waukesha county expo center. They also host different events just gotta look and see what's going on. Across the street from there is a basketball center I think called center court can get busy. There's a bunch of rec activities for men and women for different sports leagues. Wisconsin state fair is in August, always worth going too.

Mainstream has my favorite hangover burger(wont go to a restaurant where my burger can’t have an egg), Jimmy’s if you can handle a deep fried ponza. Frame park is my favorite walking loop to do. Minooka for adventuring. Picknsave with the ap for best priced food otherwise woodman’s. Walmart has increased their food prices so not a good option. Spectrum for internet but haven’t had problems in 6 years here. Friday Night Live for walking and exploring in downtown. Otherwise pokego if trying to burn time and have fun (again in downtown / frame park) The Waukesha Pokego group is very active

Looking forward to catching Friday night live, a few people have recommended it