the road | the food | a new direction
You can have drippy, juicy one-third, two-thirds, or full-pound burgers, dressed plain or fancy (or just plain weird); a mountain of French fries that were recently whole potatoes; and beer. That’s it. The entire menu. Oh, they’ll also make you a sandwich with the available burger toppings if you’d like, so there’s a grilled cheese, a ham sandwich, a BLT… but you want a burger, preferably in the double (2/3-pound) configuration or larger. Continue reading
Duluth, Minnesota is one half of what is known as the Twin Ports, the largest freshwater port in the world. The “other” port, across St. Louis Bay, where the St. Louis River meets Lake Superior, is Superior, Wisconsin, a more blue-collar city with a decidedly lower tourist profile. If you like brewpubs, stopping in to Thirsty Pagan Brewing is a great way to see, closeup, the difference between the two cities. Continue reading
This comes from Dan Kaercher, the founding editor of Midwest Living magazine — his favorite places to eat in the Midwest. He once took an 8,000-mile, 44-day, six-meal-a-day eating tour of the Midwest for Iowa Public Television, so he’s probably better qualified than most to speak authoritatively on the matter. Among his favorites: the Jaarsma Bakery in Pella, IA, home of Dutch letters, Hamburg Inn No. 2 in Iowa City, where he enjoyed a chocolate shake with a slice of chocolate praline pecan bourbon pie blended in (!), The Bohemian Cafe of Omaha, soon to close permanently, and the spectacular fish boils at The White Gull Inn in Door County, WI. See the complete story here.
Cheese curds, those squeaky unaged nuggets of freshly made cheddar, are one of the three major food groups of Wisconsin (brats are another; the third is either frozen custard or beer, you choose). What’s the best way to eat curds? Your choices are fresh-from-the-bag, accentuating the clean, mild dairy flavor while enjoying the squeak, or breaded and fried, sacrificing squeak for crunch, best accompanied by a cold one. USA Today Network-Wisconsin has taken a look at the white versus yellow issue and discovered that there’s no difference, other than a little flavorless annatto coloring. Continue reading
On June 26th at Fendryk Brothers Farm in Crivits, WI, feast on pancakes, cheese curds, sausages, maple syrup, milk, juice, and ice cream sundaes for $7/$4 kids, then head outside to enjoy the petting zoo, face painting, balloons, kids’ bouncy play area, wagon rides, and music, and view the barns and cattle. At Achenbach’s Hy-View Farms in Eastman on June 4th, dine on pancakes, sausage, cheese curds, cottage cheese, pudding, applesauce, sliced cheese, milk, coffee, milk shakes, and frozen custard, then tour the dairy operation. Those are just two of the dozens of family farms hosting the public for farm breakfasts as part of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board‘s Dairy Days of Summer. Continue reading
The Chicago Tribune has presented a list of 12 particularly memorable things to eat in Milwaukee, their neighbor about an hour-and-a-half to the north. You’ll find a mix of new discoveries and old classics, like the butterburgers at Solly’s Grille, which the Tribune calls silky (?) and butter-soaked (for sure). These burgers are near the top of our Milwaukee list as well. They also fell in love with Parmesan tomato soup with cheddar grilled cheese on sourdough at Benji’s Deli, which we know as our source for hoppel-poppel. We’ve tackled the famous Mader pork shank and agree: don’t miss it! Dessert? Leon’s tin roof sundae. Continue reading
If we were to put together a list of our top ten regional foods, somewhere near the top of that list would be the specialty of Racine, Wisconsin: kringle. We’ve adored the race track-shaped pastry since the moment it made first contact with our tongues. Kringles are sold year-round but, as you might guess from its name, sales explode as Christmas approaches. In fact, experience has taught us that if you intend to place an order around the holidays, either for yourself or as a gift, you’d better get started in November. By the beginning of December, they’re all spoken for. Continue reading
Booyah! It sounds like the sort of fad expression Ivy League college students used to say a century and a half ago, but no siree, it’s a soup found in northeast Wisconsin. We’ve been to Wisconsin multiple times, even northeast Wisconsin at that, and left without ever having heard of much less tasted it. Our loss, apparently. The concoction, said to originate with Belgian Walloon immigrants (though that is in some dispute), is generally prepared in huge kettles, outdoors, for big public gatherings. It’s based on chicken, often supplemented by beef or pork, with plenty of vegetables including some combination of cabbage, beans, potatoes, rutabagas, carrots, and tomatoes. Continue reading
One of our favorite dishes will soon be available in three locations in suburban Milwaukee! Hoppel poppel is a Midwest breakfast specialty of eggs scrambled with chunks of potatoes and salami, and sometimes other vegetables. What makes the hoppel poppel at Benji’s deli so special is the use of kosher salami, which scents the whole mish-mosh with a touch of garlic. We like to order ours in the super configuration, which adds peppers, onions, and mushrooms (and cheese, but we ask them to hold it – cheese don’t go!). Continue reading
The first Alma Center Strawberry Festival was held way back in 1945, and the local Lions Club upholds the tradition to this day. First thing to know about this three-day party: there’ll be strawberry shortcake! Isn’t that enough? But there’s more: how about brats (this is Wisconsin, after all) and chicken and hot pork sandwiches? Continue reading
Door County, that little pinkie of Wisconsin that juts out to separate Green Bay from Lake Michigan, is known as the Cape Cod of the Midwest. It’s a popular tourist destination with a distinct Scandinavian bent, and some unique dining opportunities. You can find fresh cherries growing throughout the region, dine on Swedish pancakes with lingonberries at a restaurant with goats grazing on the sodded roof, or have dinner at one of the many Wisconsin supper clubs. One meal you should not miss is one of the area fish boils! Read more about dining in Door County here.
Pizano’s Pizza and Pasta will be opening their first restaurant outside of the Chicago area in late spring, in Milwaukee, at 1150 North Water Street. Pizano’s, which began in 1991, now has six restaurants. The mini-chain was founded by Rudy Malnati, Jr., son of Rudy Malnati Sr. of Pizzeria Uno fame (and who may or may not have invented deep-dish pizza), and half-brother to Lou Malnati. Continue reading
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