Long famous for its fine artisan cheeses, Wisconsin also serves up a smorgasbord of other fresh, locally produced delights and offers a distinctive variety of flavors from farm, brook and forest.
“Wisconsin’s agricultural farming heritage and rural flavor has long been the setting for tourism experiences,” says Lisa Marshall, spokeswoman for Travel Wisconsin. “Small towns, rural communities and individual farmers across Wisconsin have responded to this trend in agritourism by developing events and attractions such as corn mazes, farmers markets, apple orchards, pumpkin patches and harvest festivals to attract visitors and as a means to diversify the local economy or create additional farm income.
Travelers are looking for foods and experiences authentic to the local community,” she says. “In Wisconsin’s case, it’s all about its deep agricultural roots, from cranberry bogs to dairy farms.”
Here’s a look at some of the uniquely distinctive agricultural and culinary offerings around the state, with a focus on freshness.
Greater Milwaukee
Known for decades as one of America’s beer-brewing capitals, Milwaukee is now fully on board with sustainable farm-to-table foods.
“Hardly a new phenomenon in Milwaukee, the local farm-to-table movement began with Roots Restaurant in 2004,” says Paul Upchurch, president and CEO of Visit Milwaukee. “Farmer, owner and chef John Raymond pioneered a new focus on locally grown ingredients and seasonal produce that has expanded to almost all of the city’s top restaurants. And now with local urban farms like Sweet Water Organics providing produce and fish to many local restaurants, people are finding no excuse not to ‘eat local.’”
A great group experience can be had at Sweet Water Organics, a transformed warehouse featuring flowing waters and lush flora and offering public and private tours. The unique establishment specializes in aquaponics, a relatively new process leveraging the symbiotic relationship between fish and plants. The indoor wetland raises about 80,000 fish in tanks, topped by beds of lettuce and other crops.
Sweet Water provides produce and fresh fish to numerous Milwaukee restaurants, including Coquette Cafe in the Historic Third Ward. Delivered in coolers, the fish “are literally jumping around,” says Chris Hatleli, co-owner of Coquette.
Additional farm fun can be had at Growing Power, an urban farm presenting 90-minute tours that showcase sustainable gardening at work—from worms eating waste to bees pollinating plants. Groups of up to 30 can be accommodated, and private tours are arranged for groups of 10 or larger.
The historic two-acre farm is home to some 20,000 plants and vegetables, thousands of fish and a livestock inventory of chickens, goats, ducks, rabbits and bees.
And when it’s time to feed your group, the aforementioned Roots, Milwaukee’s only farmer-chef-owned restaurant, provides a gratifying group setting. The stylish establishment has space for about 75 in both its upper and lower seating areas, with full buyouts available.
The outlying communities of Waukesha and Pewaukee have some enticing options of their own, including the chance for some tasty time-traveling.
“Waukesha & Pewaukee has the opportunity to pair visitors’ food experiences with hands-on activities, both on-site and off-site,” says Tiffany Zamora, marketing manager of the Waukesha & Pewaukee CVB. “Old World Wisconsin, the country’s largest outdoor living history museum, can be rented for a day’s worth of cultivating, farming and harvesting the land for seasonal crops, [working] hand-in-hand with interpreters re-enacting rural life of the 19th century. And visitors are welcome to dine at The Clausing Barn Restaurant on typical ethnic fare of the time.”
Madison
A progressive college town, Madison takes no back seat to Milwaukee when it comes to fresh flavors.
“Madison is a culinary mecca for the farm-to-table movement,” says Judy Frankel, public relations manager for the Greater Madison CVB. “With our nationally known Dane County Farmer’s Market, our amazing array of dining options that includes everything from high-end fine dining to fabulous food carts, Madison offers so much. From brats to banh mi, locavores to limburger, you’re sure to find something for everyone.”
The appealing college city offers a number of tours that enable groups to savor the appetizing array. Frankel particularly suggests Madison Food Explorers, which includes among its interesting stops Ian’s Pizza, where patrons can enjoy mac and cheese, lasagna and chicken pot pie-flavored pizzas. If your crew wants to delve into some of the area’s acclaimed microbreweries, Hop Head Beer Tour Co. is an easy choice.
Other options include Eplegaarden, a charming apple orchard and pumpkin patch in outlying Fitchburg with a true Norwegian flavor, and Schuster’s Playtime Farm, which focuses on family fun but also offers plenty for adult groups. Casual bonfire gatherings, customized team-building events and even a historic, event-ready round barn are just a few of the group possibilites at Schuster’s.
Monona Terrace, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed convention center, focuses on sustainability—even using 100 percent wind-generated electricity—and goes the extra mile with their green, locally sourced menus for catering.
Wisconsin Dells
Set in the state’s south-central realms and heralded as “The Waterpark Capital of the World,” little Wisconsin Dells is also the center of a grand dining tradition perfect for groups.
“The ‘supper club’ experience in Wisconsin Dells has a history all its own and was built around the notion of making an evening out of going out for dinner, somewhat of a lost art these days,” remarks Melanie Platt-Gibson, director of marketing and communications for the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau. “It starts with a brandy old fashioned at the bar and maybe some complimentary Wisconsin cheese and crackers, followed by a leisurely paced meal, impeccable service, made-from-scratch family recipes and great steaks.”
Platt-Gibson highly recommends a pair of local supper clubs that reside in handsome buildings designed by James Dresser—a friend and protege of the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright.
“The Del-Bar has a traditional prairie style to it, and Field’s at the Wilderness [Resort] presents a more modern interpretation of the architect’s enduring style, furthering our claim that the supper club was perfected in Wisconsin Dells,” she says.
Sheboygan
About an hour’s drive north of Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Michigan, Sheboygan has some wonderful fresh food options to explore, and it’s tough to top the allure of the Field to Fork Grocery and Cafe. The establishment serves up breakfast and lunch specialties created from the natural ingredients of 15 local farmers, and visiting groups can explore a cheese cave built right into the floor, revitalize with shot glasses of wheat grass or even hold their own evening event.
And only a short drive inland, groups will enjoy two other culinary adventures.
At the Wade House, an 1860s “stagecoach inn” originally designed to serve travelers between Sheboygan and Fond du Lac, guests can enjoy a hearthside dinner, working together to create a sumptuous meal and dine together.
A more regal learning experience can be had at the Osthoff Resort, where L’ecole de la Maison, essentially a French cooking school, offers one- and two-day courses as well as shorter workshops focused on using fresh herbs and produce grown on property.
Green Bay/Door County
Brenda Krainik, director of marketing for the Green Bay CVB, has two top picks for meeting groups seeking to explore the fresh food scene in the state’s northeast corner.
Cooks Corner bills itself as “The Nation’s Largest Cooking Store,” but it’s really so much more, offering group tours, cooking classes, special events and more.
“It’s a true culinary shopping experience,” Krainik says. “They are really good with groups and fun demos, too—and always a hit!”
And at Farm Market Kitchen, about a 40-minute drive east of Green Bay, groups can take in cooking demonstrations or prepare and package treats of their own. The unique “incubator” provides aspiring foodies the perfect platform for cooking and learning, and also includes ample meeting space.
“The people who use this facility are aspiring culinary geniuses, and the groups we take there get to taste some of their creations,” Krainik says. “It’s very fun!”
Fox Cities
In east-central Wisconsin, Pam Seidl, director of marketing at the Fox Cities CVB, has a few suggestions in mind for groups keen on fresh foods—including the flourishing Downtown Appleton Farmers Market.
“It’s every Saturday morning from June through October before it moves indoors for the winter—six blocks of fresh, local produce as well as artisans, live music and food vendors,” Seidl says.
She adds that the markets are often held as special “art markets” and “green markets” focusing on arts and crafts or “green” items once a month, and that the attraction draws thousands of people each weekend.
Seidl also recommends Mulberry Lane Farm in Sherwood, where guided farm tours include the opportunity to milk a cow by hand. And if you’re hosting an event that could use some colorful catering, Fox Cities delivers in that realm as well.
“Fox Valley Technical College’s Culinary Arts program offers ‘Chefs Gone Grillin’,” Seidl says. “The students and instructors from the program bring a large grill and all the fixins’ for everything from a business event to a wedding.”
Lake Winnebago
A thriving boating and fishing hot spot, Lake Winnebago and its surrounding communities serve as the perfect spot for a regional dining tradition that’s great for groups—the fish fry.
Essentially just a simply prepared serving of fresh fish, with perch and haddock particularly popular in these parts, the dish is served at a number of establishments in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac that are good group possibilities.
In Fond du Lac, top choices include the casual Schmitty’s Oar House, featuring a special Friday Fish Fry and located right on the water; Wendt’s on the Lake, famous for the perch and in business since 1962; and the Campbellsport Inn, featuring their own Friday Fish Fry and pike served in a number of ways.
And in Oshkosh, fish fry fun can be had at Becket’s Banquet Hall, the Boat Yard Bar & Grill, the Brooklyn Grill and George’s Gaslight Grill. Or for a meal that’s low on cost but high on memories, cruise by Ardy & Ed’s Drive-In, where roller-skating car-hops bring fish fries, burgers and more right to your car or picnic table.
Lake Geneva
In the Lake Geneva region, it’s no surprise that a trio of plush properties provide impressive dining offerings that groups will appreciate.
At the Abbey Resort, options include fine dining at Fontana’s—which now includes vegetarian and gluten-free selections—and the more-casual Waterfront Restaurant and Bar, plus the handsome and historic Porto, an old wooden A-frame venue popular for catered events. But true foodies might want to set their sights on the property’s “Great Chefs at the Lake” series held each year.
“The series brings in three different regional chefs on three weekends to conduct cooking demonstrations, prepare their signature four-course meal and more,” says Molly Lynch, spokesperson for the resort, adding that this winter’s slate features Chef James Gottwald of Rockit Nov. 11-13; Chef Mike Noll of Elate Dec. 9-11; and Chef John Bogan from Lake Geneva’s School of Cooking Jan. 20-22, 2012.
And at the Lake Geneva Resort, offering a variety of dining options that include the Geneva Chophouse and Ristorante Brissago, the focus on freshness is reflected in the property’s natural vegetable and herb garden. The Natural Garden was added in 2009 and showcases vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, squash and eggplant, plus herbs like basil, thyme, rosemary and cilantro.
And at the elegant Geneva Inn, delightful dining possibilities include special Winemaker’s Dinners at the heralded Grandview Restaurant or holding your own private affair in an appealing lakeside patio and atrium area.
La Crosse/Central Wisconsin
In the heart of the state, the pulse of sustainable farming and fresh produce is beating stronger than ever.
“Organic is a big part of our community, and really a way of life here,” says Dave Clements, executive director of the La Crosse CVB. “We are home to the some of the best organic farming in the U.S.”
The La Crosse Center, the community’s main events hub, even hosts one of the largest organic farming conferences in the country: the MOSES Organic Farming Conference. And when it’s group dining time, Clements recommends several eateries with a strong emphasis on farm-to-table freshness.
“We have Piggy’s Restaurant, Schmidty’s, the Freight House and Kate’s on State,” he says. “And those are just a few of the very many.”
