Benji's Deli

We've written about breakfast before. Often.At length. It's possibly our favorite meal. We are culinary explorers, cuisine spelunkers. But breakfast is our comfort food. We occasionally wander out in search of unfamiliar delights, but we always come back to eggs and bacon and toast (I love toast).

In Seoul, we had to seek out western breakfast. It was the urban legend, an expat's Sasquatch. Rumors were traded like gold coins. And when we found a decent restaurant, it was like finding buried treasure.

But we're in American now, land of all-day-brunch and grease so thick, just seeing it clogs the arteries. We're spoiled for choice, and again, the overwhelming options means we tend toward the familiar. And in this case, the god-damned delicious.

Benji's Sign

Benji's Deli is a Jewish Kosher establishment on Milwaukee's northeast side. It does breakfast, lunch, and dinner from a store front that looks like the '70's came to life and burped out a strip mall.

Benji's exterior

But it is THE place to go for corned beef in Milwaukee. I cannot emphasize this enough. The corned beef is fantastic.

And they'll even throw it in your breakfast.

I got a corned beef hash and cheddar omelet with an everything bagel.

Benji's corned beef hash omelet

Erin got the "Benji's Breakfast," aka eggs, hash browns, and a bagel next to a heaping pile of corned beef.

Benji's eggs and corned beef

And it was fantastic. Just... stupidly good. Benji's is a local fixture, famous in Milwaukee circles. Go there any time of day and you'll see business-type professionals holding impromptu meetings over lox. Or retirees sipping coffee. Or thirty-somethings huddled together for a book club. Local magazines like OnMilwaukee and The Shepherd Express have consistently rated it one of the best restaurants in the city.

So if you're in the area, and you're looking for a good meal, I can heartily endorse a stop. The atmosphere is wonderful, the food is amazing, and they'll sell you corned beef to go. What's not to like?

-Sam

Benji's Deli has two locations, but our favorite is the one off Oakland. Here's a local map!

Benji's map

They're open seven days a week, from 8am to 8pm.