looking for road food on the way to the UP

Next weekend I'll be headed northward to commune in the woods of the upper peninsula of Michigan. I think I enjoy the ten hour drive by myself as much as anything. If I want to pee at every gas station we pass, no one will complain. If I want to pull off the interstate and poke around, no one will whine.

In MI I'll stick to Lake Superior white fish and pasties, so I'm looking for a couple of interesting places in WI. My route will basically hug Lake Michigan. I get very depressed driving down abandoned Main Streets in Anytown, USA. So while I will do some exploring, I'm sure the economy has made things even worse than my last venture this way.

Last time, the only meal I had that sticks in the memory, was at a nice stool and counter place that boasted of their turkey sandwich. It was a wonderful open-faced, roast turnkey sandwich, with mashed, and scratch gravy covering all. Mmmmm

Just a suggestion for the UP. You might look up a place called the Camel Riders Resort and Restaurant. It's right in the middle of the Hiawatha National Forest. You take a dirt road, to a dirt road to a dirt road, and you come to a lovely rustic resort right on a lake. The restaurant was actually fairly good (for the UP), and the atmosphere was a 10. We were quite surpised when we got to what seemed to be such an obscure location (we were told about it by the people we rented a cabin from) only to be asked if we had a reservation. We didn't, and had to wait an hour!

I love the UP. It should be glorious this time of year.

Ramon wrote:Next weekend I'll be headed northward to commune in the woods of the upper peninsula of Michigan. I think I enjoy the ten hour drive by myself as much as anything. If I want to pee at every gas station we pass, no one will complain. If I want to pull off the interstate and poke around, no one will whine.

In MI I'll stick to Lake Superior white fish and pasties, so I'm looking for a couple of interesting places in WI. My route will basically hug Lake Michigan. I get very depressed driving down abandoned Main Streets in Anytown, USA. So while I will do some exploring, I'm sure the economy has made things even worse than my last venture this way.

Last time, the only meal I had that sticks in the memory, was at a nice stool and counter place that boasted of their turkey sandwich. It was a wonderful open-faced, roast turnkey sandwich, with mashed, and scratch gravy covering all. Mmmmm

Where in the UP are you going to be? I just got back from a weekend trip to Marquette, and my family has spent much of the summer up there for decades..

It would help to know your specific path as well, or at least cities you'll be driving through.

A general suggestion if you head through marinette, wisconsin, is mickey lu bar-b-q, which has been serving up butter burgers since the 50s or so.

It's a very sparse menu, but the burgers are excellent.

Mickey-Lu-Bar-B-Q
1710 Marinette Ave
Marinette, WI 54143-3709
Phone: (715)735-7721

Aha, a trip we take often.

In Milwaukee, Benji's Deli, right off the Brown Deer Exit on 43. Sprechers on tap, great soups, great corned beef.

Wayne's Family Restaurant in Oconto for good chili and pies--we have neighbors who always pick up an extra quart of chili to bring to their cabin

In Marinette, WI. Micky Lu Bar B Que (great photos at http://www.jldr.com/micklu.html )

In Menominee, Mi Schloegel's Bay View Restaurant for soup and whitefish.


I cannot vouch for, but someday want to test out, the competing ice cream places in Manitowoc, which include Beerstens, a soda fountain that has been at the same location since 1932, (http://www.beerntsens.com/ be sure to check out their menu), and Cedar Crest Ice Cream, available at their factory ice cream parlor in downtown Manitowoc. http://www.cedarcresticecream.com/

Speak up if you also want advice for Marquette and vicinity.

Ann Fisher wrote:In Milwaukee, Benji's Deli, right off the Brown Deer Exit on 43. Sprechers on tap, great soups, great corned beef.

Of course, in Milwaukee you can also go to Jake's, which was featured on the recent LTH Milwaukee Roadtrip

Jake's Delicatessen
1634 W North Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53205-1252
Phone: (414) 562-1272

I believe Jake's is supplied by the Spice House as well, another Milwaukee landmark (but not for eating). I know Tom Erd, one of the owners, is a huge fan of Jake's.

-ed

As to the route, the "cabin" as it is affectionatley called (its more of a shack) is relatively near the town of Paradise.

I'm confused as to my route though. I'd always thought it was closer to go through WI than the IN to MI to BIG BRIDGE route -- because my dad told me so. I just checked about five different driving direction sites, and they all showed going the non WI route!

So, then I did directions for Chicago to Green Bay and Green Bay to Paradise.

Stats: Route through WI to Paradise: 9 hours 19 minutes, 468 miles. Route IN to MI, 8 hours 37 minutes, 480 miles.

Now I'm confused as to which way to go! I'm in no rush, but, in truth, after six hours driving alone the voices in my head get a little scarier than usual.

In terms of your route, I just did the Michigan side all the way across the bridge (with a stop at Mackinac Island, Saugatuck and points in between). It was a great trip with lots of chow stops to make. If you decide to go this way, post here and I'll make some recomendations.

The s/o has a full family in da U.P. Mom, dad, sister, cousins, nieces, nephews, assorted friends, grandfolk - the whole shebang. This means that several times a year, we load up one of the seebee mobiles, and make the 6 to 7+ hour pilgrimmage. Been doing this for 10 years now, and for 10 years, we either pack a few sammiches and snacks, or stop for roadfood on the way. The usual roadfood consists of Subway, McDonalds, but recently, it's been Jimmy John's or Taco John's. Yes, Taco John's is well, um, not great, but I like their salsa bar - the verde can be screamin hot sometimes . I've pretty much given up on Subway, their "roasted chicken" was the only thing I would eat there, and now they've changed it from real chicken to a foamy, chicken like substance which is a deal breaker in my book. Jimmy John's I used to like ten years ago, but their roast beef is now just an oversalty mess, so I tend to shy away. So anyway, we got off at the Lineville exit near Green Bay for gas and eats a few trips ago, and I saw a sign for BBQ. Bates City BBQ. I figured what the hey. Something different. I was not expecting much at all, but just, something different. Worth a shot. Something different. Anything different.

I'd classify this as a "score."
This is smoked bbq.

This is my new "go to" spot for our trips. This is some pretty decent, quick off/on the expressway eats. Granted, I have never tried Rocky Racocco's pizza, or Hardees, or Beanos, but I don't think I'll ever be stopping at Jimmy John's or Taco John's, or Mcd's on our trips ever again unless we're driving at a time when Bates City BBQ is closed, or we are already sated. Is this great food? NO. Is it the best bbq ever? NO. Is it the best food I've found that is really quick to grab on a road trip while driving through Wisconsin on 94 or US 141 / 41 or whatever it is? Yes, by a wide, wide margin. And the prices are very decent, to boot. The ability to gas up, and get real bbq a scant 1/2 mile or so from the exit? Count me in as a fan.

Now, Like I said, this isn't GREAT stuff (although we all know about bbq consistency - maybe they have some days where some things are great.)

I'll give a rundown on what we've had and liked, and disliked.

Disliked the turkey. I envisioned the Texas Cue joints' smoked turkey when I saw they had turkey on the menu. For those unfamiliar with the Texas joints, well, I feel for you. I ordered Bates City BBQ's "turkey sandwich" and it was that stuff. That stuff that people call "deli turkey" for some reason. It was not turkey. I was not happy. Live and learn. I'll just leave it at that.

Disliked the potato salad. It was that sugary glop. It wasn't bad like the Orville Kent or Reeser's glop. It looked like it was prolly made in house. Waaay too sweet for me. I don't understand the lure of sugary potato salad, never will.

The last time I went, I ordered the mixed plate, and chose brisket as one of the meats. I ate it all, but it was dry. Like real dry. I'm not sure if any self respecting pitmaster would have served that to anyone. Real dry. I'll assume that is not the norm. I'll probably try it again.

The beans. Well, I could learn to love these beans here. If they were about 1/3 to 1/2 less sweet than they were, they might have been stellar. Still, I happily ate them, and liked them, but they were borderline shockingly sweet. Personal preference on sweetness, but I gotta say, the flavors were outstanding save for the sweetness. Definitely getting these again.

Pulled pork: this was just chunks of smoked pork. Decent. When I think of pulled pork, I'm thinking the moist juicy shreds. This was more along the lines of small pork chunks. It was ok.

Chicken: Liked it a lot. Much better on the bone as like a half or whole chicken. They will pull it for you, and make a sandwich, or serve it pulled as a choice on a "mixed plate," but after trying it both ways, I'd stick to a half chicken.

Spares: These are big ol Flintstone spares with tip attached. I had ribs both times we went, and I will always get them each time we go. They are decent. Not meat jello - definitely smoked q. Both times, the rib meat held up on the bone and had a decent chew, but it was possible to pull a good chuck of meat off with one bite. I prefer a more chewy rib, but I don't have anything really bad to say about these.

French Fries: I'm not a big fry person, but these things are some of the best fries I've ever had. These are like a cross between Parky's and Gene and Jude's and I am not kidding one bit. They are a little bit thicker cut than Parky's, thinner than Gene&Judes, and fried well. They know what they are doing with fries at this joint. Like, seriously. Both times, I just ordered "fries" - didn't have to specify "well done" or "extra crunchy." These fries are the bees' knees.

Sauce - I've seen two kinds. mild and hot. LOVE the hot. Both are tomato based, and probably compare to commercial brands like bullseye or kc masterpiece the most, although the Bates sauce is a litte runnier. The hot sauce floats my boat here. It's not hot like the unforgiveable heat of Uncle JOhn's, but it is a subtle sizzle that put a bead of sweat on my forehead after prolonged exposure last time. The meat is definitely not held "in sauce" but the sauce is poured on top of your order. Of the two times I went, the food was never bathing in sauce. Next time, I might ask for no sauce, and then use the bottles on thje counter to sauce my own.

I am happy as all get out to have stopped here. Ribs, chicken, fries and beans will be my baseline order here, and the prices are right. (Love the "add a rib" for 1.69 option) I think for two ppl, a 1/2 chicken dinner with fries, 2 or 3 ribs, and maybe a small side of beans would be a phenomenal deal coming in right around 10 to 12 bux. I am all about this place for quick roadfood if driving through.

Menu:



Briskets:



Choppin up some burnt ends:





I'm guessing pork shoulders?



Birds. Juicy and Smokey:



Resting rack for the Q:



The fries. I'm tellin you these fries are stellar. The picture is a close up, they are thinner cut than they appear here:



Mixed plate. Really bad (in car) picture:



If you're passing through, I think this place is VERY decent all in all. Ribs, bone in chicken, fries, and beans are quite solid indeed considering price, and the fact that it's just off the expressway in Green Bay somewhere.

http://www.bcbarbque.com/

A bump for a request for any other finds lately, and also to let folks know that this place exists. Lotta travelin this wknd. We're making our pilgrammage on Friday after work. Bates City is again the planned stop unless we get word of anything else that may be decent.

seebee wrote:A bump for a request for any other finds lately, and also to let folks know that this place exists. Lotta travelin this wknd. We're making our pilgrammage on Friday after work. Bates City is again the planned stop unless we get word of anything else that may be decent.

we're making our pilgrimage friday morning. lunch at jake's, might try a fish fry for dinner after we hit marinette/menominee. but judging by the looks of bates city, maybe that'll be an afternoon snack and we'll get our fish fry on in gwinn/marquette.

seebee wrote:Bates City BBQ.

Thanks for the tip! I'll be heading up this way in a few weeks, will definitely have to make this our dinner stop.

gleam wrote:

seebee wrote:A bump for a request for any other finds lately, and also to let folks know that this place exists. Lotta travelin this wknd. We're making our pilgrammage on Friday after work. Bates City is again the planned stop unless we get word of anything else that may be decent.

we're making our pilgrimage friday morning. lunch at jake's, might try a fish fry for dinner after we hit marinette/menominee. but judging by the looks of bates city, maybe that'll be an afternoon snack and we'll get our fish fry on in gwinn/marquette.

Well, ya hay!

I'll be staying on a camp on Shag Lake just outside of Gwinn. Probably do some fishing on Johnson Lake too! Home base is Negaunee when we're not on Shag Lake.

Any good eats in Gwinn? Fish fry, you say?

seebee wrote:

gleam wrote:

seebee wrote:A bump for a request for any other finds lately, and also to let folks know that this place exists. Lotta travelin this wknd. We're making our pilgrammage on Friday after work. Bates City is again the planned stop unless we get word of anything else that may be decent.

we're making our pilgrimage friday morning. lunch at jake's, might try a fish fry for dinner after we hit marinette/menominee. but judging by the looks of bates city, maybe that'll be an afternoon snack and we'll get our fish fry on in gwinn/marquette.

Well, ya hay!

I'll be staying on a camp on Shag Lake just outside of Gwinn. Probably do some fishing on Johnson Lake too! Home base is Negaunee when we're not on Shag Lake.

Any good eats in Gwinn? Fish fry, you say?

oh, geez. my parents' place is on bass lake just east of gwinn. minutes away.

the word is that the crossroads bar at 553 and CR480 has a very good fish fry. We had a pasty the last time we were there and it was really impressive, with a very flaky and tender crust. the gas station mini-mart across the street has very, very generous scoops of Jilbert's as well.

are you heading in to marquette for the 4th of july festivities? we should meet up.

We'll be on Shag lake for the entire 4th, back to Negaunee on Monday.
As far as MQT, I have no idea when we'll go into the big city, but I think I'm gonna try and make a bigger push to try the new (ish) greek/mid eastern style place. I heard other ppl calling it "Indian" but when I looked at the menu, the first thing I saw was hummos, baba ghannouj, and some really Greek sounding things as well. Found a copy:

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/208/1463620 ... -Marquette

Fattoush, samosa, baba ghannouj, pasanda, and falafel on the same Menu? In MQT?????
It's like I almost HAVE to try this trainwreck!

my grandmother (who spent a lot of time as a child in Iran, and lives in Marquette) actually was fairly impressed. I gather it's not bad.

GRRRRRRR -
Late start, missed Bates City by a few minutes. Stopped at a Taco John's. Ordered 10.00 worth of food, and ate about 18 cents worth. Salt overload. Threw it all out. I'm eating something good today. Not sure just what yet, but I'm, not settling today. Bates City will be seeing me on my trip back - GUARANTEED.

Oh well, it will all be a distant memory after the parade, a decent lunch, and a trip down to the lake. Hopefully the gills will be biting all day, and the big rainbows will be biting around dusk. One thing's fer sure, the skeeters will be biting all day.

Well, we did make it to Bates City on the way back, and it did not disappoint.
Simple meal, 1/2 chicken dinner, side of fries, 3 ribs, and a side of baked beans. The fries are still stellar, the chicken was a bit on the salty side compared to other visits, and the ribs were decent, not great, but decent. All in all, a great, quick roadfood stop for the price. Took a few snaps of our quick pit stop. They now have baby backs on offer, (I'll stick with spares, thankyouverymuch) and have gotten some pub from some Green Bay peeps.

seebee wrote:Bates City BBQ. I figured what the hey. Something different. I was not expecting much at all, but just, something different. Worth a shot. Something different. Anything different.

I'd classify this as a "score."
This is smoked bbq.

This is my new "go to" spot for our trips. This is some pretty decent, quick off/on the expressway eats. Granted, I have never tried Rocky Racocco's pizza, or Hardees, or Beanos, but I don't think I'll ever be stopping at Jimmy John's or Taco John's, or Mcd's on our trips ever again unless we're driving at a time when Bates City BBQ is closed, or we are already sated. Is this great food? NO. Is it the best bbq ever? NO. Is it the best food I've found that is really quick to grab on a road trip while driving through Wisconsin on 94 or US 141 / 41 or whatever it is? Yes, by a wide, wide margin. And the prices are very decent, to boot. The ability to gas up, and get real bbq a scant 1/2 mile or so from the exit? Count me in as a fan.

Great call. I'm now a fan as well. We stopped at Bates City BBQ for a late dinner this past Thursday, and it definitely beat the hell out of the fast food crap we usually grab on the way up.

The three of us found that the $30 family-style Bates Pile was the best deal. The spare ribs had some nice chew, the brisket was tender and tasty (guess we got a better, more tender batch than you did on your stop), the big pile of soft, white rolls went perfectly with the 'que, and the hot sauce was pretty damn good. I didn't care much for the burnt ends - they were tasty enough, but seeing how I don't have much burnt end experience, I'm not sure if I don't like their burnt ends or if I don't like them in general.

Oh, and the icing on the cake: they've got Spotted Cow on tap.

After a harrowing drive through apocalyptic storms, flooded highways, and the resultant insane traffic, some decent BBQ and a couple of ice-cold pints really hit the spot. After the first few bites, my buddies happily declared a dinner stop at Bates City BBQ our new guys' weekend tradition.

Many thanks for the tip!

Khaopaat wrote:...the brisket was tender and tasty (guess we got a better, more tender batch than you did on your stop)

Many thanks for the tip!

GREAT news about the brisket, thanks for reporting. I shied away from it last time, but I was hoping I just got a bad batch when I tried it. Hopefully I'll get their good stuff next time. Glad you stopped and enjoyed it!

Hi, Based on some of the love posted here on our recent trip up to visit our boys at Scout Camp,
we stopped at Bates City for a late (2:30) lunch.
I was hopeful pulling up when we saw the full rack of wood, that's always a good sign.
Hubby got a pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw, which was OK,
although it was hard to taste much under the amount of sauce that was applied.
He did like the slaw


I ordered the ribs and burnt ends.
They came covered with lots of sauce which is not a thing that makes me happy.
I feel like BBQ is all about the meat, and it should stand on it's own, if I want sauce, I will add it-
or at least ASK me if I want sauce- plus they have a big side bar with lots of sauces-
so it would be very easy for me to choose which one I want or to try several, instead of it being all covered with sauce-
but that would be OK if it was good underneath, unfortunately what I got was dry and tough on both counts.
It tasted like it had been in the smoker too long, or held too long, or maybe both.


I had the side of beans, and while the flavor was good, they were also overdone, and pretty mushy,
close to mexican frijoles.


So sadly this was pretty much of a miss for us,
and next time thru Green Bay it will probably be back to our old Favorite,
Titletown Brewery, where the cooking is creative and delicious and the rootbeer (and other beers) are home brewed.

http://www.titletownbrewing.com/

Well, that kinda stinks, but you can't win em all. Those ribs look pretty dry, and almost like compacted dried out?
The burnt ends I saw them chopping up looked dry as hell. Tho it might be a hard sell, my guess would be that if you were to return, you'd have a greater chance for success? If you do decide to go back, and chicken is an option for you, try a bird, some fries, and ribs again. I've only been there a handful of times, but each time, the ribs were good n greezy (in a good way) not dry.

P.s. I'm gonna have to check on this Titletown joint now. Thanks for the info.

So, we made the Trek up to da U.P. last night again. We left at a decent hour, so Bates City was our dinner stop. The placed shined once again (as far as quick - road food can go, that is.) Once again, perfect fries, the 1/2 chicken was the standout this time. Ribs held at too high heat, but still very decent and smokey - some overly dried parts, but mostly very good. I ordered a 1/4 lb of sliced brisket just as a trial on a different night. I think I'm done with their brisket. It was shaved super thin like lunchmeat.
I think they are in over their head with the brisket. Beans had more meat and less sweet than last time. I liked them more, but still a touch sweet for my tastes. I still heartily endorse this place as a fantastic alternative to fast food if road tripping in the area. Again, is it the best bbq? No. Definiitely not. Is it the best food I've found that is really quick to grab on a road trip while driving through Wisconsin near Green Bay on 94 or US 141 / 41 or whatever it is? Yes, by a wide, wide margin.

GRRRR -
If anyone cares, they are moving. Better be close to to xpway. We decided to come up to da U.P. for Easter, and as we approached, we called to order ahead, and got the ol "recording."

Bates City BBQ has re-opened. It's nowhere near as close to the xpway as I'd like it to be, so I might not ever stop there again At teh same lineville road exit, there is a newer joint called "Panda House." We read up on it, and decided to stop. Random reviews on whatever site, claimed it was decent eats. It was worth trying, but not worth going back. It might be decent by Green Bay standards, but it tasted to me like it was d grade Chinese Buffet fare. We had:
Chicken Lo Mein -
Decent wheat noodles but a little overcooked. Only vegetables I saw were carrots and cabbage. Only real flavor was soy sauce.

BBQ Boneless Ribs - These were small, bite sized, strips of bbq pork which was baked in sweet sauce. Out of all of the food we ordered, I ate the most of this. It wore me down eating around all of the fat. It wasn't good, but it was better than the rest of the food.

Bourbon Chicken - Never had this before. Heard about it being decent mall food court eats. It was their special of the day, so I figured what the heck. It was pretty gross. They used thigh chunks, which I normally love, but these had globs of fat that just kinda turned me off. I'm not a chicken fat prude, either, I normally like it to be seared crisp if I'm gonna partake of it. This stuff was just flabby, and bright yellow on almost every piece of chicken. The sauce was a sugary mess.

Pan Fried dumplings. These were OK. Tasted like the filling was beef liver, but I liked the dough well enuff to munch these gone.

Spring rolls - Bad. just plain out bad. Boring. Bad.

Probably good for Green Bay, but not sure I'd go back.

Making our Pilgrimmage next Friday for a long stay. Just testing the waters again to see if anyone has found anything recently. I think our timing dictates that the dinner stop will be right around Green Bay. This will probably be the trip where we finally try Mickey Lu's either there or on the way back. The way back would probably make more sense, but we'll see. So here's our deal. We normally do 43 to to 141 to 41, but then at the split after Green Bay (Iron Mountain or Marinette) we normally take the Iron Mountain way - this is probably why we have never stopped at Mickey-Lu. We've only gone the other way maybe twice out of 40 trips. Anyway, so we're trying to find some gem along that route. Seem to be a buncha bbq spots right around GB, but closer to Lambeau (expectedly) which would take us west of our path (hugging the lake and going over the bridge in GB.)

DAMN YOU, BATES CITY! Why'd you have to move??? Would have been the PERFECT spot for us yet again.

I just was in iron mountain last weekend.
The construction by green bay is awful.
By the time the kid and I got hungry the only thing in sight was an A&W.
At least they had fried cheese curds.

I found nothing in iron mountain worth going to. Fortunately I was just up there for the weekend after dropping the kid off for an "order of the arrow" at Lefeber.

Found a new joint for q.

It's actually in Kenosha so it's not too far up, but it qualifies as a possibly stop for "on my way to the U.P."

Dickey's Bbq Pit

It's seriously RIGHT off of 94, and just a hop away from that Woodman's grocery store so I can load up on Spotted Cow, get gas, and real smoked q all in one stop.

It's chain. Based in Texas.

I usually always stop at that Woodman's for a couple of sour beers, and a case of Spotted Cow, and then the Mrs likes to grab a Starbucks across the road. The Woodman's is also a good leg stretching stop. I also like to peek at their clearance oddities which they line the front of the store with stuffed into shopping carts - a cart full of short dated granola bars, off brand tortilla chips, rice a roni, etc. I love clearance oddity perusal. You just never know what you'll find.

So anyway, on this trip, we stopped at that exit planning to play fast food roulette for the trip. Like a beacon of light, we saw the banners flapping in the wind of a newly opened joint. BBQ? Yes, fate had a plan for us.

It was real q. Was it the best stuff I've ever had? Nope. But it was a decent effort, and it was real q. I chatted up the guy who seemed to be the one running the joint. He told me about the smoker which was in plain view. They are using an "Old Hickory" which burns logs with gas fuel. He was very friendly, and offered to let me taste anything before deciding what I wanted. The issue there is that I don't work that way with bbq. I want to try it all, and then try to make an informed decision on what is best that day. So, I just ordered a little of everything. They have a few "plates" (one meat, two meat combos, things like that) or you can order by the pound. What we tried:

Pulled pork: decent. Based on what we had, nothing was downright BAD, but nothing was exemplary.

Chopped brisket: ditto

Spares: A little above avg. Nice rub, nice chew. The rub wasn't overly salty, but had a decent tang to it. It was mild, but balanced.

"Spicy cheese sausage" This was the standout of our trial. There was a real cheddar in this sausage and it had a really nice kick of heat. Not overly salty at all, either.

All of the meats were not aggressively smokey, but there was definite smoke flavor. I prefer much more smoke flavor, but for roadfood that you can get as quickly as fast food, I'm not complaining. Sides we tried were not much to speak of - waffle fries and mac and cheese. Not much to speak of at all. They had all of the other sides you'd expect.

I really liked their hot&spicy bbq sauce too. Kind of like a kc masterpiece style, but thinned out a little, and a healthy dose of red pepper flakes in it. It was on the sweeter side of the spectrum too, but I'm ok with that. They also had a normal sauce which I didn't try.

Opened for only 5 months, I'll hope they get better, but as it stands, this might be my new "everytime stop" for my trips up north. It's a quick easy stop for the seebee clan that includes the Woodman's, Starbucks, and quick, real food, all in one spot, instead of settling for the standard fast food stuff.

What's up, y'all? Letting out a quick secret. Ol' seebee here has been bringing a little bit of ghetto to the northwoods for quite some time.

We do 94 to 43 to 41/141 to M95. Right after you get through the city of Green Bay, there's gas station on the side of the highway. It used to be a decent sized gas station, but a few years ago, it was remodeled, now it's pretty bright and fancy. Hand dipped ice-cream, several kinds of coffee, A&W restaurant attached. Big beer selection - yes New Glarus here, homemade baked goods - usually cookies, cheese curds, nice jerky selection, and the main reason I go: Broasted Chicken. The place is on a street called, "Chicken Shack Road." My GUESS is that some kind of place has been selling chicken at this location for a long time, hence the name, but I don't know for sure. There's been a gas station selling fried chicken here for as long as I've been going to the U.P. which is damn near 20 years. Anyway, they do broasted chicken. They will fry it up "to order" if you want, but they usually have a good selection of bird parts on display in a heated case. Grab a box, and it's self serve, pay at the counter. This is pretty much MY STOP on the way to Lake Superiorland. Jr. is down with the A&W's mini corn dog meal, the Mrs. gets her favorite dinner ("I don't care, whatever.") so it's win/win.

Here's how I do:

Grab a cardboard box with the logo of some stupid happy bird on it. Line it with the nicely fitting piece of parchment paper, and grab all of the wings in the case. There's usually no more than 6 or so, but I'd probably get a dozen if I ever saw that many. If there's not enuff wings to my liking, I'll go with legs or thighs. Once the box is filled with the desired amount of animal parts, you step around the corner to make the magic happen. They have a little prep table with condiments for their random food offerings:


I step over to the table, and then I disassemble the wings. Remove/discard the tip, and then sep the wingette from drummette:

Today's batch includes 4 wings a thigh (pulled in half) and a leg. They only had 4 wings, so I had to supplement. I do this work to make this way easier while manning the wheel. Once the parts are all in manageable pieces, that's when it's about to go down..


Drizzle of Frank's (that's all they have:)


Drizzle of whatever random bbq sauce they used to fill that squeeze bottle:


Close the box, shake vigorously to coat:


Das right, y'all. Seebee is rockin the DIY Uncle Remus in the northwoods, ya heard?

In all seriousity, the Mrs. tries to pretend she doesn't eat half of it. It's fkn awesome.
This is the joint:
The Store
5070 US-141 S, Oconto, WI 54153

I've made your journey many many times over the years but usually don't have the courage to try anything I don't have good reviews about!
But Broasted chicken was one of the first delights we had when we moved to Wisconsin decades ago!
My usual Green Bay stop is Kroll's near Lambeau Field.
Thanks for the Post!-Richard

seebee wrote:Here's how I do:
...
This is the joint:
The Store
5070 US-141 S, Oconto, WI 54153

Looks great, I'd have garnished with some of those nacho jalapenos.