Baldwin, WI

Hello, everyone. First-time poster, long-time browser. Eeee.

Anyway, we're heading up to Baldwin, WI (just a bit west and north of Eau Claire, en route to the Twin Cities) tomorrow from the Schaumburg area. Starting super-early, around 4am or so, since we want to go there and back again in one day.

Any suggestions for food along the way? I've read varying reviews of Norske Nook in Osseo and how it's apparently declined since its original owner sold it. Some reviews do say the pie's still good, though. Thoughts? Any advice would be appreciated, as we've never been up in that direction in Wisconsin. Something slightly off the beaten path is fine, just not too far off. Roadfood's website was suggesting places in the Twin Cities, and while we may check them out if we ever get that far, we probably won't be doing that tomorrow.

How about a response from another long time lurker, first time poster?

If you are willing to go a little west of Eau Claire first, I might suggest that you stop for breakfast at Bohemian Ovens in Bloomer. This is a great place, run by amazingly nice people. They grafted a restaurant onto a bakery that focuses for European style breads and pastries. After breakfast you can pick out some baked goodies for the folks you are visiting.

http://www.madpages.com/bohemian/

fishfryguy,

Welcome and thanks for your reply. Based on your screen name, I gather you like fish fries. Do you have any recommendations for especially good and/or unique fish fries.

If I could introduce a wishlist, I am also dying to go the a lutefisk church supper. I understand the Lutherans corner the market on that one, but I always learn about them after the fact.

Regards,

fishfryguy wrote:How about a response from another long time lurker, first time poster?

If you are willing to go a little west of Eau Claire first, I might suggest that you stop for breakfast at Bohemian Ovens in Bloomer. This is a great place, run by amazingly nice people. They grafted a restaurant onto a bakery that focuses for European style breads and pastries. After breakfast you can pick out some baked goodies for the folks you are visiting.

http://www.madpages.com/bohemian/

Ooh! That looks wonderful! As a professional bread-baker myself (and in fact, I also use a wood-burning oven), that's extra-exciting!

Looking at how long our journey is going to be, and considering that we'll be doing it round-trip in a single day, I doubt we'll be going an hour and a half (according to Google Maps) out of our way tomorrow. But my SO and I both ride motorcycles, and love to find new destinations to ride to when it's not the middle of winter. I won't be surprised at all if we pay this place a visit on our bikes this summer. I'm definitely putting it on my to-do list.

In my travels, I frequently pass by the town of Bloomer WI, located on Hwy 53 about 15 or 20 miles north of Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. Bloomer has always struck me as one of those quintessential small towns: tidy little houses, compact and seemingly vital main street business district, public library located conveniently near the highway exit (for those times when you’d like to use their Internet connection). So I really wanted to like the breads offered at Bohemian Ovens, as it would give me another excuse to make a stop in Bloomer.

I stopped by midday on a Saturday. Their website indicates that bread is baked in a brick oven, so I was looking forward to some crusty loaves of bread. Upon entering however, I saw immediately that the entire bread inventory is pre-wrapped in plastic bags. They had a large selection of 10 or 12 different types of bread on offer. All were rustic style loaves.

I selected a cranberry walnut loaf and an oatmeal bread with sunflower seeds. As I suspected, the crust was soft. The cranberry walnut bread is tasty, but barely on par with grocery store versions that I’ve had which managed to retain a crispy crust. Upon unwrapping the oatmeal bread, I was greeted by a strong whiff of yeast, as though too much yeast was used in the dough. The loaf also appears to me to be slightly under-baked and tastes “yeasty”.

Because I only focused on the bread counter, perhaps I did not select the best that this bakery has to offer. Other assorted display cases offered sweets such as cookies, bars/slices (lemon, banana, pecan, pumpkin and others that I do not recall), and savories such as meat filled buns which were referred to as kolaches (and which I had previously only seen in Texas). There were also coolers with frosted cakes and pies on display. I did not see any European pastries.

I may give them a call the next time I pass that way, and see if they will hold a few loafs of bread unwrapped for me. I suspect the bread would be better that way.

Bohemian Ovens
905 Martin Road
Bloomer, WI 54724
715-568-3676

Exit Hwy 53, eastbound Hwy 40/17th Ave., follow the road about 3/4 mile until it turns left and becomes Main Street, follow Main Street for about 3/4 mile and turn right at the sign for County Road SS which is also Martin Road.