Lake Geneva, The Dells and some points in between.

Didnt see a good match on any existing threads, feared some of these spots would get missed/buried.

Just got back from a Mon-Fri trek up north. Started with 2 nights in Lake Geneva, then 2 nights in The Dells. A couple stops in between and a stop in Madison on the way home.

Days 1 & 2:

Got into Lake Geneva around 11:00 a.m. on Monday, immediately went to Popeye's after seeing their pit going. Chickens and a whole hog going over lump charcoal.. you cant beat it.

We shared a combo of the chicken and roasted pork. THis pork was as good as anything I have done/eaten, and the chicken was great as well. Pork came with a slab of crispy pork skin(my wife snagged that). Pork was great, Im guessing injected with a mojo type marinade, chicken was just as good. Light smoke, I personally feel that oversmoked meats arent very good, just alot of creosote not good technique or good flavor.

Broccoli cheese soup was a revelation, buttery, creamy, just great. I think I make a great broccoli cheese soup, and this one was right up there with mine.

Popeye's pit:



cream of broccoli soup:



pork & chix:



Other meals in lake Genva were less than impressive, it is what it is.

A nice olive oil store I stopped in downtown Lake Geneva was really cool, Plenty of olive oil varieties, and balsamic vinegars on hand for sampling and purchase.

The Olive Oil Stores





Nice place I grabbed a bottle of Australian olive oil.

On 2 nights I enjoyed drinks at the bars@ the Grand Geneva where we were staying. There is a bar next to the Geneva Chophouse and the Lobby bar. Service was much better at the lobby bar, drink selection was superior at the bar nex to the steakhouse.

Basil Haydens as well as Don julios. New Glarus bottles(taps were out).

million dollar view:



Dinner @ Popeye's again for supper on night #2:

Popeyes roasted chicken:



Popeye's Lake Geneva
811 Wrigley Drive
Lake Geneva, WI.

http://www.popeyeslkg.com

The Olive Oil Shops
211 Broad Street
Lake Geneva, WI.

http://www.theoliveoilshops.com

Travel 1/2 day and more to come.

Grand Geneva

http://www.grandgeneva.com

Travel day to the Dells took us up through Whitewater, and into Fort Atkinson with the single purpose of taking this route to stop @ Ken & Betty's. A Philly steak, and hoagie joint.

I have been searching for a good Philly in Chicago for years without any luck, and Ken & Betty's is a pretty good version. We ordered one regular Philly with white American, and added some grilled onions. We also got a South Philly Steak, topped with whiz. Also added some grilled onions to this one. Both were good, but I preferred the Regular philly, the whiz was just too much. Meat isnt shaved ribeye as we used @ Donti's back in the day, but it was ok. Good flavor, perfect bread(steamed, soft and chewy), and grilling technique. I wouldnt hesistate to hit this place again, and am actually craving a philly as I type.

Ken & Betty's:




original Philly:


Philly with whiz:



Ken & Betty's Cheesesteaks, Hoagies & Grinders
41 W. Sherman
Fort Atkinson, WI.

http://www.kenandbettys.com

The Dells, a cheese shop, a meat shop, and Madison(Graze) to come

I'm heading to Madison tonight, and was thinking about Graze, so anything you can get up would be appreciated.

Vital Information wrote:I'm heading to Madison tonight, and was thinking about Graze, so anything you can get up would be appreciated.

Graze is coming up, we went for lunch and had mixed results. Great concept, sometimes lacking execution regarding their lunch menu imho. Their dinner menu looked really nice.

The Dells, I know there are plenty of haters who dont like The Dells, but I gotta say we had a really good time. Like with anything in life things are what you make of them, what can be better than seeing your kids have fun, and having a relaxing time. Mid-week was the way to go, with manageable crowds, and great weather.

We decided to go old school with our lodging, wanting to stay at an old tyme motel downtown Dell's vs one of the mega water parks. The Blackhawk Motel fit the bill. Right off the main drag downtown Dells, clean rooms, 2 pools, and walking distance from downtown. Id stay here again.

First nights dinner I got a free pass to go out solo while my daughter and wife spent time together doing the touristy stuff. Del Bar was my choice, prime/aged beef, oysters, Happy Hour, etc. Happy Hour was daily from 4:30 - 6:00, a nice Happy Hour food menu with oysters, big shrimp, etc. drinks were also 30% off, with Basil Haydens, Van Winkle, and Spotted Cow as my drinks of choice. I had some nice Kamamoto oysters and some Blue Points at the bar. Both were good, fresh, and briny, but I preferred the Blue Points by a slim margin.

Dinner, I went all out: Wedge salad, shrimp cocktail, sauteed scallops in vermouth saucce, 9 oz. prime/aged sirloin & hashbrowns. All items were good, but the steak was the winner, as good as any steak I have had anywhere. Perfectly cooked to rare, packed with flavor and juice and just a great steak. I like the sirloin cut as I think it has alot of flavor. Hash browns were cooked perfectly, adn were crispy. Wedge salad was my ok, shrimp cocktail was pretty good with some pretty big shrimp. Scallop dish wasnt to my taste, scallops were cooked perfectly, but the vermouth sauce didnt do it for me.

Overall a great time, cocktails, appetizers, and meal. Service was professional and friendly. Overall tab for drinks and dinner was about $120 for one person, and worth every penny.

oysters:



shrimp cocktail:



prime/aged sirloin & hashbrowns:



All the Van Winkle, Basil, Spotted Cow and great meal took their toll, I was out by 9:00 p.m.

The next morning we got up "early and made a dash for a visit to a cheese shop and a local butcher.

Took a trip about 25 minutes north of The Dells to Mauston to an outlet for the Carr Valley Cheese Co. Sampled some great 10 year aged cheddar, some goat cheese, etc.

Purchased some 5 year cheddar, some gouda, some applle smoked cheddar, as well as a gift swiss almond spread, and some snack sticks. Nice place, cant wait to dig into that aged cheddar



My cheese munching little mouse Shay:



cheese haul:



Next stop was a meat store, I needed some brats, polish & kilbasa. Nice market featuring their own products, sausages, beef, pork, plus venison, & buffalo.

I went for some fresh brats, jalapeno brats, polish & kilbasa. I am doin them tonight and am looking forward to the results. Prices were dirt cheap around $2.60/lb. of the above.

Wisconsin River Meats:



Sausage haul:



Lunch was a surprise, I was not expecting much from Marley's but was kind of pleasantly surprised. Jerk chicken was pretty good as were the greens, and beans and rice it was served with. The dark meat bone in quarter of dark meat chicken had nice flavor, and was juicy and tender. I had to share alot with Vangie. My lunch companiosn shared the beer battered chicken breast sandwich. Not a bad sandwich, chicken breast was pretty flavorful for what it was.

Big find of this visit was the Jerk ketchup on the table, and available for purchase in the gift shop. Cane sugar, cane vinegar, and a little spice. Really great, we bought a bottle for $4.

Marley's:



jerk chicken plate:



Dinner that night was a return visit to Del Bar for happy hour(its that good)

shrimp cocktail, oysters rockefeller, calamari, and tempura shrimp for all. Van Winkle & Spotted cow for me.

happy hour spread:



a fun day, some exploring, hours at the pool, and some good food and drinks

Del Bar
800 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy
Wisconsin Dells, WI.

http://www.del-bar.com

Carr Valley Cheese
1042 E. State
Mauston, WI.

http://www.carrvalleycheese.com

Wisconsin River Meats
N5340 Hwy HH
Mauston, WI.

http://www.wisconsinrivermeats.com

Marley's
1470 Wisconsin Dells Pkwy North
Wisconsin Dells, WI.

http://www.marleysclub.com

Madison being only an hour from the Dells was the perfect place to stop for lunch. I had been looking forward to a visit to Madison & Graze. Graza is a new gastropub there maybe open a little over a month.

It is set in the US Bank building lobby, and airy, modern space. They strive for local ingredients, etc.

We arrived arround 11:30, and by 12:00 the place was packed. Miller High Life bottles for $2.50 as well as quite a few tap beers.

We came away with mixed opinions on Graze and the food. Overall I thought it was a good visit, some fo the food could have been better and we could have had a better server. She disappeared for long stretches, and i knew more about their menu than she did.

We went with the soft pretzles( 1 large really nice pretzle with 3 different mustards and cheese). The Ramen Noodle bowl(the best dish of the visit, noodles, rich broth, veggies, pork belly, braised pork, and a poached egg. a really nice dish). Mixed Salumi(server didnt stick around to tell us what was what on the plate, I guessed prosciutto, mortadella, salami for a couple, served with grain mustard, olives, id guess goat cheese, and a hunk of bread. Dish was decent but no way it was worth $14.) I did a cheeseburger topped with a fried duck egg(burger came out without the duck egg tghe first time, but that was corrected. Pastured Highland beef was moist and perfectly cooked to rare but lacked any flavor(its neat to use local beef, but when you turn out a flavorless burger thats pretty sad). Duck egg was a nice touch, and the bun was an english muffin. Sadly they slathered mustard on the bottom bun(even though the server said it didnt come with any), which overpowered and really impacted the taste of the burger in a bad way.

Overall tab was about $45. Pork dishes look good, and based on the pork belly and braised pork in the ramen I bet they pull it off.

Graze:




pretzle and slaumi plate:




ramen dish:



burger:



Overall a good visit, not great, if I was in Madison again i would go back. A return visit to Madtown is in the cards for sure, 2.5 hours from my door, food carts, interesting dining, it made a great last day of the trip.

Graze
1 S. Pickney
Madison, WI.

http://www.grazepub.com

thanks for checking out my short trip up north:

nice posts Jim, looks like a great trip!

jhawk1 wrote:nice posts Jim, looks like a great trip!

thanks danny, it was alot of fun, we are going to do it again next summer.

Great post Jim, excellent pix!
The HH at Del Bar looks great-
You'll have to try out House of Embers and Ishnala on another Dells trip,
because I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy them, too.

If you get back to Madison, let me know your opinion on Brickhouse BBQ. I went on Friday with my crew for a pre-Great Taste tapping of some Short's beers. They have a heckuva beer selection, and the BBQ was not as underwhelming as I expected. We just tasted the ribs, and they had some chew to it--definitely not fall off the bone--and a bit of smoke, though with the lighting (and a couple pints of Short's) I couldn't make out a smoke ring. They were sauced already. The sausage combo I had wasn't shabby, either. The Great Dane was good, as my brats before the beer fest really hit the spot, but I'd stick to their more out-there beers, as the waitress' choice tasting flight I had left me underwhelmed for such a vaunted beer spot. Bloody Marys come with your choice of chaser, though

Brickhouse BBQ
408 West Gorham Street
Madison, WI 53703-2004
(608) 257-7675

Great Dane Pub and Brewing
123 East Doty Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 284-0000

I have never been to the Del Bar, despite being in the Dells upwards of 15 times. Next time I'll have to finally check it out. We were up there a couple weeks ago and had some good meals as well. I loved the High Rock Cafe. http://www.highrockcafe.com/ Very un-Dellsy, very good. One service miscue, but the food was very tasty. My wife's grilled salmon and shrimp with a smoked tomato burre blanc sauce was spectacular.

irisarbor wrote:You'll have to try out House of Embers and Ishnala on another Dells trip,
because I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy them, too.

Ishnala for sure, their munu, and the setting looked nice.

jimswside wrote: Hash browns were cooked perfectly...

Has anyone else noticed a "Wisconsin Effect" when it comes to hash browns? Not sure why, but they just seem to taste better in Wisconsin. I'll be doing extensive research on the subject this weekend...

Paul SL wrote:

jimswside wrote: Hash browns were cooked perfectly...

Has anyone else noticed a "Wisconsin Effect" when it comes to hash browns? Not sure why, but they just seem to taste better in Wisconsin. I'll be doing extensive research on the subject this weekend...

same thing with bacon

Paul SL wrote:Has anyone else noticed a "Wisconsin Effect" when it comes to hash browns? Not sure why, but they just seem to taste better in Wisconsin. I'll be doing extensive research on the subject this weekend...

Not so much a "Wisconsin effect", but the "supper club effect" in regards to hash browns. Supper clubs out south west of the city where I am at do up hashbrowns just as good. Places like John's North Star, Monari's, & Cherry Supper Club to name a few

This summers trip took a different route, but I will piggyback on this thread.

This trip the spots hit were New Glarus, Madison(2x), The Dells, Tomah, Friendship, & Wisconsin Rapids(2x)

First stop was the town of New Glarus, some window shopping and a quick visit to the legendary New Glarus Brewery. A must stop for beer folks imho.

The beer garden area is special, plenty of space, quite a few tables, and spectacular views of the rolling Wisconsin countryside. Enjoyed some tasters @ the tap room $3.50 for 3 samples and keep the glass. Other option is a $6 glass with $3 refills of a full size beer.

Good deal either way. Planning a return trip here asap for an afternoon of drinking on a nice early fall day. I would have liked to check out a couple of the restaurants in New Glarus, but we had plans for a spot in Madison.

Got some great buys @ the beer store on site, a couple items only available @ the brewery store.














New Glarus Brewery
119 County Road W
New Glarus, WI.

http://www.newglarusbrewing.com

Next: Quivey's Grove (Stable Grill) - Madison, WI.

Gotta tip my hat to "griffinswife" and LTH for this find. When I read of Quivey's Grove in the Monroe Wi. thread I knew it was a place we wanted to try.

A nice property, it is what remains of a 130 acre farm. The barn/stable has been converted into a pub/grill, and the main house a restaurant. The Stable Grill is where we had lunch. Magnificently refurbished stone and wood work, a nice bar area, and cozy dining sections.

Of course went with Spotted Cow as the beverage of choice, and I went with the Kegonsa Perch. A pretzle crusted fried perch sandwich. Nice lake perch, perfectly fried. I am not the biggest fan of pretzle crusts, but this one was pretty good, not overly salty as some versions can be. A nice light lunch and visit.

I would be interested to try dinner at their main house someday







Quivey's Grove
6261 Nesbitt Road
Madison, WI.

http://www.quiveysgrove.com

Great post Jim! Quivey's Grove looks like a real find. If you get back to New Glarus here is a favorite of mine, Toffler's. My favorite is the Stinky buger with blue cheese and garlic!

http://www.tofflers.com/home.htm

LikestoEatout wrote:Great post Jim! Quivey's Grove looks like a real find. If you get back to New Glarus here is a favorite of mine, Toffler's. My favorite is the Stinky buger with blue cheese and garlic!

http://www.tofflers.com/home.htm

thanks

the previous LTH post about Quiveys was all I needed to make a visit, my kind of place(history, drink, food)

Defintely going back to New Glarus in September, thanks for the Tofflers rec.

A return visit to Del Bar this past Saturday night was solid, not spectacular but solid. I really enjoyed my 2 consecutive nights here last year, this years dinner with the family was ok. Decent service, and good food. Bad part is we got stuck in toddler purgatory(a grouping of tables in the back all with kids). Kind of distracted from the meal.

Happy hour is a hit here 4:30 - 6:00, discounted appetizers and drinks.

I went with the hangar steak, well cooked and flavored cut of meat. Hash browns were top notch. Sauteed mushrooms were a nice treat with other varieties other than button.

Other than Monks for a burger, Del Bar is still my favorite dinner destination in the Dells.

happy with this pic of the outside and sign:



old fashioned:



supper:



Del Bar
800 Wisconsin Dells Parkway
Wisconsin Dells, WI.

http://www.del-bar.com

Had an enjoyable lunch @ Burnstads European Restaurant in Tomah, WI. A grocery market, restaurant, pub, amish store & boutique all in one.

Amish store got a bunch of my $$ for some fresh butter, and candies. Pub got some $$ for lunch and drinks.



Bloody Maria with Bud Lite sidecar $4.99



Bloody Maria was a nice start, priced right, goods and lots of snacks to nibble on. Some Spotted Cows were also downed.

A pretzle appetizer with mustard dip and cheese dip. For some reason i really like fresh pretzles. This one was good and the cheese for dipping was the favorite:




Next out a fantastic chicken spaetzle soup... Rich broth, fluffy spaetzle...:



Pork cutlet & a smoked turkey, bacon and 2 cheese croissant. Both were well done.:





Thouroughy enjoyed our visit here. Grabbed some brats and hot dogs from the market as well.

Burnstad's European Restaurant, VIllage & Pub
701 E. Clifton
Tomah, WI.

http://www.burnstadseuropeanrestaurant.com

After our lunch in Tomah, we headed towards the Wisconsin Rapids area, word was there was some blugegill to be had. Bluegill is pretty common on Friday nights, but other nights made it a hard find.

We found some nice bluegill, fantastic lake perch, and a nice surf and turf @ The Branding Iron Supper Club in Wisconsin Rapids. Maybe 45 minutes north of the Dells.

Really nice patio area for enjoying some drinks and a warm late summer afternoon. Typical supperclub inside, bar in front, dining in back.

I went with a cheap surf and turf(lobster tail and steak $24). My mom went with the bluegill and Vangie did the lake perch.

The bluegill was really nicely done, but the lake perch was some of the best lake perch I have eaten. Great flavor, perfectly fried.

I was not happy with any of the pics of the food from this visit.

The Branding Iron Supper CLub
9721 State Highway 13 South
Wisconsin Rapids, WI.

http://www.brandingironsupperclub.com