Whether you’re on the North, West or South sides of Milwaukee, a food cart is never far away.

Here are several carts that cook up fresh food everyday except Sunday.

Damean Shelton, owner of Metro Cart, makes a bowl of rib tips and mac and cheese. Shelton has been open for four years, but he recently moved his cart to the intersection of North 76th Street and West Thurston Circle to be closer to his mom.

Shelton scoops mac and cheese into a container. He has multiple menu items, including hot dogs, brats, polishes, burgers, rib tips and jerk chicken.

Metro Carts’ rib tips with a side of mac and cheese.

Shelton poses with his food cart last month in Milwaukee. His cart is open five days a week.

Dwight Vickers with Mike’s Mobile Kitchen grills bratwursts and Polish sausages. Vickers has worked at this location on North 51st Street and West Lisbon Avenue for more than 18 years.

Vickers prepares a bratwurst for a customer.

A Polish sausage from Mike’s Mobile Kitchen.

Food cart — Vickers cooks sausages on a propane gas grill.

A Polish sausage and a bratwurst from Mike’s Mobile Kitchen. The food cart is open six days a week.

Hector Cabrera, owner of Lareños Hot Dogs, tops a burger off with onions.

Cabrera presses a fresh burger on the grill. He opened for the season in June,.

A cheeseburger from Lareños Hot Dogs, located near the intersection West Burnham and South 14th streets.

Cabrera poses with his food cart. The cart is open Monday through Friday in the Historic Mitchell Street neighborhood.

Hot Diggity Dog’s Kielbasa sausage on a poppy seed bun topped with relish, mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

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Hungry? Milwaukee’s food carts serve brats, ribs and more

by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
September 4, 2025

<h1>Hungry? Milwaukee’s food carts serve brats, ribs and more</h1>
<p class="byline">by Jonathan Aguilar / Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service / CatchLight Local, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service <br />September 4, 2025</p>

<p>Whether you're on the North, West or South sides of Milwaukee, a food cart is never far away.</p>
<p> Here are several carts that cook up fresh food everyday except Sunday.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8405-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128237" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Damean Shelton, owner of Metro Cart, makes a bowl of rib tips and mac and cheese. Shelton has been open for four years, but he recently moved his cart to the intersection of North 76th Street and West Thurston Circle to be closer to his mom.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8388-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128234" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Shelton scoops mac and cheese into a container. He has multiple menu items, including hot dogs, brats, polishes, burgers, rib tips and jerk chicken.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8467-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128240" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Metro Carts’ rib tips with a side of mac and cheese.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8445-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128533" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Shelton poses with his food cart last month in Milwaukee. His cart is open five days a week.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_7582-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128228" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dwight Vickers with Mike’s Mobile Kitchen grills bratwursts and Polish sausages. Vickers has worked at this location on North 51st Street and West Lisbon Avenue for more than 18 years.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_7557-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128229" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Vickers prepares a bratwurst for a customer.</figcaption></figure>
<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_7631-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128249" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A bratwurst from Mike’s Mobile Kitchen.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_7601-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128232" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A Polish sausage from Mike’s Mobile Kitchen.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
</p></div>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_7130-1024x819.jpg" alt="Food cart" class="wp-image-126233" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Vickers cooks sausages on a propane gas grill. </figcaption></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_7614-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128230" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A Polish sausage and a bratwurst from Mike’s Mobile Kitchen. The food cart is open six days a week.</figcaption></figure>
<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<div class="wp-block-columns alignwide">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8861-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128528" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Hector Cabrera, owner of Lareños Hot Dogs, tops a burger off with onions. </figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
<div class="wp-block-column">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8835-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128527" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cabrera presses a fresh burger on the grill. He opened for the season in June,.  </figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
</p></div>
</p></div>
</p></div>
<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8881-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128529" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A cheeseburger from Lareños Hot Dogs, located near the intersection West Burnham and South 14th streets.</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8874-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128530" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cabrera poses with his food cart. The cart is open Monday through Friday in the Historic Mitchell Street neighborhood.</figcaption></figure>
<div class="wp-block-columns alignfull">
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:25%">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_9011-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128535" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"> Lareños Hot Dogs' burger.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:50%">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8569-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128536" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Hot Diggity Dog's Kielbasa sausage on a poppy seed bun topped with relish, mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
<div class="wp-block-column" style="flex-basis:25%">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DSC_8466-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-128537" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Metro Carts’ rib tips with a side of mac and cheese.</figcaption></figure>
</p></div>
</p></div>
<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />
<p><em>Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between </em><a href="https://www.catchlight.io/local"><em>CatchLight Local </em></a><em>and </em><a href="https://www.reportforamerica.org/"><em>Report for America</em></a><em>.  </em></p>
<p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://milwaukeenns.org/2025/09/04/hungry-milwaukees-food-carts-serve-brats-ribs-and-more/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://milwaukeenns.org&quot;&gt;Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-NNS-Favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p>
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Hungry? Milwaukee’s food carts serve brats, ribs and more

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