TOMAH, WISCONSIN

Going from Chicago and would love to know of some stops and restaurants around that way. I don't want to eat Perkins, Denny's etc...perhaps any culinary delights I can't find out the internet?

Thanks in advance!

Don't know if it's still a culinary delight, but a few years ago, I had a good steak at an old-school supper club called the Carlton in downtown Tomah. Google says it's still there, but I'd check it out before dining.

Carlton Restaurant & Lounge
309 Superior Ave, Tomah, WI
(608) 372-4136 ‎

Skip the TeePee Supper Club. Based on the name alone and the fact that they bill themselves as a "supper club", we gave them two tries on two separate trips through Tomah. Both were disappointing in terms of food and atmosphere. The best thing abou this place is the name and outer facade, kind of an odd art deco/native American melding. Take a picture of the outside and keep driving.

Also, unless I'm mistaken, the Carlton has been repurposed into an okay Americanized Mexican restaurant. We ate there on our last trip through Tomah. We spotted the name and decided to give it a try as an alternative to the TeePee. We parked the car, walked in the front door and immediately realized this wasn't the place advertised on the sign out front. Already hungry with few prospects for dinner (other than Culver's) between Tomah and our ultimate goal of Minneapolis, we decided to give it a try. Like I said, it was just okay, nothing ground breaking or memorable, but a passable Mexican American meal that was still better than anything we had at the TeePee.

Buddy

A friend of mine recommends:
Burnstad's European Restaurant
701 E. Clifton
Tomah, WI 54660
608-372-5355
http://www.burnstadseuropeanrestaurant.com/

Dave148 wrote:A friend of mine recommends:
Burnstad's European Restaurant
701 E. Clifton
Tomah, WI 54660
608-372-5355
http://www.burnstadseuropeanrestaurant.com/

I tend not to trust European restaurants with coconut shrimp and tilapia on the menu, but what the hell. The jaegerschnitzel and pork osso bucco look good. I also like that they went both the second AND third most popular mushroom spellings out of the four seemingly acceptable variants, in one menu item:

Portabella Ravioli – Square pillows of pasta filled with portabello mushrooms. Topped with creamy alfredo sauce, sautéed wild mushrooms and parmesan cheese….12.99

A non-restaurant stop along the way that I highly recommend is Powers Country Gourmet. Mrs. Powers runs a mail order candy business from the family farm. However if you phone a week or so ahead, you may be able to arrange to pick up your order at the farm. I'm partial to the caramels and hand dipped chocolates. She also offers fudge, peanut butter cups and sugar free chocolates. Be sure to ask if she has any non-candy items available (usually cheese, mustards and cranberry related items). If Mr. Powers is around, you might be lucky enough to engage in a few moments of conversation about the challenges faced by family farmers.

Powers Country Gourmet
W3857 Hwy 12 & 16
Lyndon Station WI 53944
(608) 666-4782

Target Bluff German Haus in Camp Douglas about 10 miles south of Tomah might be worth a try. It has been there for decades, and is another restaurant in the Wisconsin supper club tradition. The emphasis is on German and other hearty food. I always enjoyed it, but haven't stopped there in several years because that kind of food makes me too sleepy and I usually have a long way to drive.

Target Bluff German Haus
208 U.S. 12
Camp Douglas, WI‎
(608) 427-6542
http://www.german-haus.com/

Thanks for the great replies, please keep them coming!

I've passed through Tomah many times over the years, stopping only occasionally to eat there. It's not a big place, and beyond the above suggestions and the usual fast food chain suspects, I'm not sure there are many more replies to give. Are you locked into Tomah as a culinary destination or do you have a wider radius to work with?

Buddy

Hi Buddy,

I am staying in Tomah and driving from Chicago. We will have the most leeway on the drive from Tomah to Chicago...lunch/brunch suggestions would be great. I would be willing to go 10/15miles around Tomah to get to a gem if one exists. Only a weekend.

Also of the ones mentioned if I could only go to one place as we are staying at a lakehouse looking forward to not doing much, which place would you dine?

Thanks!

Even though I've never been there and know nothing about it, just based on what I know of, or have personally experienced at the other places mentioned, the only one I would seriously consider is the German Haus in Camp Douglas.

That or a double butter burger and a frozen custard at Culver's.

Buddy

About eight miles north of Tomah is Warrens. Just west of the Warrens exit off of 94 is a restaurant called "The Bog." It's been a few years since I ate there, but they had a decent breakfast. They do have a website: http://warrensbog.com/

Bonus, they are right next door to the Orchard Market, a small retail store owned by Star Valley Orchards. They sell apples, assorted squash, jams, jellies, syrups, baked goods and other assorted goodies.

Thanks a bunch to all! Looks like we'll have to rely on our own culinary skills!

Also - any other shops for jams, cheeses, goods of any kind that are important, I'll just as well figure it out myself but thought I would ask...

Thanks and cheers to all!

Too bad your destination isn't further north, so then you could go to Norski Nook in Osseo(1 hour north from Tomah on I-94, so it may be too far north for you). I'd bet at the very minimum, you could probably find something on your Tomah-Chicago drive in the Madison area, and Janesville and Rockford could very well have a few options.

The Warrens Bog restaurant sounds interesting, and ditto with Target Bluff German Haus. Worse comes to worse, I suppose you could trek west to La Crosse(45 min west on I-90) and find some interesting places there.

The Norske Nook, IMO, is a pale shadow of the restaurant once lauded by Jane and Michael Stern. Gone is the local ownership, management, and cooking staff; replaced by a corporate owner that loads its food with salt and a parade of ingredients that came out of cans with Sysco labels. Even the pies, the items that put Norske Nook on the Roadfood radar, were just so-so. It gives me no pleasure to say it, but the Nook has lost its place in the world of great down home eats.

Buddy

Norske Nook Restaurant & Bakery
13804 7th Street
Osseo, WI 54758
(715) 597-3069 or (800)294-6665
http://www.norskenook.com/index.cfm?event=home

Buddy, I agree that the Norske Nook restaurant (either the Osseo original or the branches that have opened in other towns further north http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=25159) are just not the same as when the Osseo original was owned by Helen Myhre. Her cookbook Farm Recipes and Food Secrets from the Norske Nook is still in print. http://www.amazon.com/Farm-Recipes-Food-Secrets-Norske/dp/0299172341 In addition to her pie recipes, it has an interesting chapter of Scandinavian recipes, including a recipe for Sylte (head cheese) for which the ingredient list starts out, literally, with "1 pig head".

Santander wrote:

Dave148 wrote:A friend of mine recommends:
Burnstad's European Restaurant
701 E. Clifton
Tomah, WI 54660
608-372-5355
http://www.burnstadseuropeanrestaurant.com/

I tend not to trust European restaurants with coconut shrimp and tilapia on the menu, but what the hell. The jaegerschnitzel and pork osso bucco look good. I also like that they went both the second AND third most popular mushroom spellings out of the four seemingly acceptable variants, in one menu item:

Portabella Ravioli – Square pillows of pasta filled with portabello mushrooms. Topped with creamy alfredo sauce, sautéed wild mushrooms and parmesan cheese….12.99

Burnstads is about the best you are going to do in Tomah. I ate there last month or so and another time a year or so ago. Good soup and pie. Decent meal overall. Keep with German and European dishes. Probably should not go for the coconut shrimp. I think of Trader Joes frozen coconut shrimp whenever I see such a dish in the midwest.

Just down the road in Mauston is Carr Valley Cheese, with a retail shop just off the Interstate. Some seriously good artisan cheeses.

mrsm wrote:Target Bluff German Haus in Camp Douglas about 10 miles south of Tomah might be worth a try. It has been there for decades, and is another restaurant in the Wisconsin supper club tradition. The emphasis is on German and other hearty food. I always enjoyed it, but haven't stopped there in several years because that kind of food makes me too sleepy and I usually have a long way to drive.

Target Bluff German Haus
208 U.S. 12
Camp Douglas, WI‎
(608) 427-6542
http://www.german-haus.com/

(Cross-posted from Grub en route to Minnesota? thread):
We stopped for lunch at the Target Bluff German Haus in Camp Douglas. We liked the place and the food quite a bit, although it might not be to everyone’s taste. The Target Bluff is an impressive towering bluff across the highway from German Haus. The restaurant is gemütlich kitsch, with heavy chandeliers and torch-like wall sconces, dark carpeting and large studs on the padded chairs. Saturday lunch is not their busy time, but we had very tasty sandwiches while serenaded by the easy-listening style German songs, including polkas and the inevitable yodeling. We enjoyed homemade corned beef on fresh marble rye, fresh bratwurst (they had a choice of smoked too) on an excellent toasted, buttered bun, and the Target Burger. We also ordered two sides, sauerkraut and German potato salad, both very respectable versions. German Haus also boasts a large bar area, numbered cloakrooms, and an attached gift shoppe with a small but good selection of imported German foods, chocolates, and wines, as well as some cookies and pies baked on the premises. They also rent bicycles. We met the baker, Amy, who was working behind the counter in the shop. We bought her favorite cookies, craisin and white chocolate chunk; they are soft and not too sweet. We like them. Amy told us that Saturday night was a monthly German smorgasbord of all you can eat German specialties for $15.95 and predicted the restaurant would be very crowded later. She showed us the menu, and it looked fantastic. Check their web site for the dates.

Here is my take on the Tee Pee. http://eatwisconsin.wordpress.com/2007/06/28/83/

I actually had a pretty enjoyable meal there (nothing spectacular though). The best food in Tomah may (honestly) be at the Ground Round.