Mars' Cheese Castle, Kenosha, Wis.

Mars' Cheese Castle doesn't have its own thread, and of course it should. While there are other cheese shops between Chicago and Milwaukee, this one is surely the most iconic.

I'm rarely excited about the bulk of the cheeses on offer, but there are always a few special ones. Besides cheese, the market sells wine, crackers, chocolates, olives, pickles and gourmet foods; a tavern (with beer garden in season) serves drinks; a sandwich stand offers things like grilled bratwurst (I like the veal best); and there's a gift shop and a bakery (try the sharp-cheddar cheese bread).

Mars' Cheese Castle
800-655-6147
http://www.marscheese.com
2800 W. Frontage Road
Kenosha, WI 53144

Complimentary "King of Clubs" Sharp Cheddar Cheese Spread and crackers in the bar
Good Bloody Marys
The long sausage sticks sold in the deli
Cheese curds,string cheese
And yeah,that cheddar cheese bread is phenomenal,with the cheese laced liberally throughout the loaf.

We have always passed on Mars because, sorry for the pun, it looked kinda cheesy (aka touristy). Next trip up north I will make a stop.

Elfin wrote:We have always passed on Mars because, sorry for the pun, it looked kinda cheesy (aka touristy).

Well, it is, but in a good way.

I haven't been to the new building (apparently, the old castle is gone), but I love this place. Aside from a nice bakery, a wide array of Neuske products, and some nice cheese, their sandwich shop has an amazingly good liver sausage sandwich.

Plus they have incredibly fresh cheese curds -- especially useful should you wish to make poutine (as some friends of mine did for New Year's Eve).

So a very fun place to stop.

New building much better then the last old one. They make an awesome Bloody Mary in the tavern which, in Wisconsin tradition, comes with [your choice of] beer chaser. Bloody and a New Glarus? Don't mind if I do! Sadly, even on a Friday they close at 8pm.

I would suggest a stop at Woodman's Grocery on HWY 50 just east of I94. they probably have most of what is sold at Mar's and for a lot less. I live in the Town of Somers in Kenosha County and stopped at Mar's once about 30 years ago. Seem's like it's built to catch the Illinois crowd. If I stop at a cheese place it's one of the real cheese factories and not one with a cheese factory name of which there are some in Wisconsin.
Merkt's is just west of I94 a little ways off of HWY50 in Kenosha County.
For another real cheese experience try Widmer's http://www.widmerscheese.com/ just off HWY 41 north of Milwaukee and you cannot only purchase cheese but watch them making cheese on the premises most days.
There are a number of other cheese producers on the back roads, you just have to search them out.-Dick
BTW make sure you have a designated driver if you have one of Mar's Bloody Mary's,
I and others drive these roads also.-Dick

budrichard wrote:I would suggest a stop at Woodman's Grocery on HWY 50 just east of I94. they probably have most of what is sold at Mar's and for a lot less. I live in the Town of Somers in Kenosha County and stopped at Mar's once about 30 years ago. Seem's like it's built to catch the Illinois crowd. If I stop at a cheese place it's one of the real cheese factories and not one with a cheese factory name of which there are some in Wisconsin.

I agree with you 100%. There is very little you cannot get at that Woodman's

jlawrence01 wrote:There is very little you cannot get at that Woodman's

You cannot get a grilled bratwurst or a bloody mary.

LAZ wrote:

jlawrence01 wrote:There is very little you cannot get at that Woodman's

You cannot get a grilled bratwurst or a bloody mary.

Nor can you get that Cheese bread. This isn't your run of the mill cheese bread where flecks of cheese are speckled throughout. This loaf has ribbons of cheddar running all through it.

Also in the greater Mars Cheese Castle-plex area is Bobby Nelsons (Mit or Mitout), which is a great source for brats and Wisconsiny style sausages. Although Bobby Nelson's is small, and dwarfed even further by the newly expanded Mars Cheese Castle (which I find to have lost any character it once had in favor of a warehouse type environment), the sausages offered there are superior to anything I've seen at Mars. The cheese curds are very fresh as well.

Bobby Nelson's Mit or Mitout
2924 120th Ave
Kenosha, WI 53144
(262) 859-2232

stevez wrote:Also in the greater Mars Cheese Castle-plex area is Bobby Nelsons (Mit or Mitout), which is a great source for brats and Wisconsiny style sausages. Although Bobby Nelson's is small, and dwarfed even further by the newly expanded Mars Cheese Castle (which I find to have lost any character it once had in favor of a warehouse type environment), the sausages offered there are superior to anything I've seen at Mars. The cheese curds are very fresh as well.

Bobby Nelson's Mit or Mitout
2924 120th Ave
Kenosha, WI 53144
(262) 859-2232

Important to note that Bobby Nelson's is cash or check only. I've been known to empty out my quarters stash when I've been short on cash in my wallet.

Mars just is not Mars anymore.....the old place had so much character...especially the dark wooden bar...which we were assured prior to the move would be nearly exactly replicated in the new place......not by a long shot unfortunately...

But we'll still go occasially, just to shoot the bull with Mario (the owner) and the great bartenders.......

Just too sterile to be a "go to" place any more...

The new building sort of looks like a big mini golf hole to me.

As a semi-local, I would also suggest to go to Woodman's to get the same cheese at a much lower cost than Mars.
I had to put together a care package for my wife's relatives out of state, and she suggested going to Mars. (as opposed to many of the better places). I simply showed her the cost at mars and then we went down the road to Woodman's. 1/3 to 1/2 the cost for what we bought. The same thing for the Tom's cheese outlet you see a little further north of Mars - expensive but the only place I know where you can get a gallon of Merk's cheese spread now that the Merk's outlet is closed.

The GP wrote:Important to note that Bobby Nelson's is cash or check only. I've been known to empty out my quarters stash when I've been short on cash in my wallet.

Another issue is that no prices are shown on anything in the case. There's a hand-printed sign mentioning a few things, but for most you have to ask.

Sort of cheesy (sorry) but Mars is the only local place i do know to pick up the pine incense that I like to burn once in a while.

stevez wrote:Also in the greater Mars Cheese Castle-plex area is Bobby Nelsons (Mit or Mitout), which is a great source for brats and Wisconsiny style sausages. Although Bobby Nelson's is small, and dwarfed even further by the newly expanded Mars Cheese Castle (which I find to have lost any character it once had in favor of a warehouse type environment), the sausages offered there are superior to anything I've seen at Mars. The cheese curds are very fresh as well.

Bobby Nelson's Mit or Mitout
2924 120th Ave
Kenosha, WI 53144
(262) 859-2232

I would suggest a trip or detour to the Usinger Factory store in downtown Milwaukee. Unlike Chicago, if not rush hour the trip is usually uneventful and quick, free parking and the best selection of German style sausage in the Midwest as well as the best quality. Cheese is also on hand. Senior Discount on M-W I believe.
No Bloody Mary's though. Across the street is the Hofbrau house and you can get Brat's and Hofbrau beer but I wouldn't have more than 1/4L if driving!-Dick

Comparing Woodman's to Mars' is an apples-to-oranges comparison. One is a massive supermarket. The other is a cheese shop (with add ons).

Woodman's prices are lower than Mars' (and indeed less expensive than most other SE Wisconsin supermarkets, as far as I can tell), but its cheese selection, though vast, tends to be limited to domestic cheeses with a heavy emphasis on commodity brands. It offers cheeses from many Wisconsin producers, but mostly the larger ones. If you want to choose between 20 kinds of colby, you can do it at Woodman's. If you want imported cheeses, they're few and far between.

Mars' is higher priced, but it does offer European cheeses as well as the local products and some things from smaller, artisanal cheesemakers.

The selection of noncommodity cheeses at either does not rival what you'd find at Chicago's best cheese shops (where the prices are akin to Mars' or higher) or Great American Cheese.

The last time I was at a Woodman's they had quite a selection of foreign cheeses in addition to all the Wisconsin cheeses.

It is always amazing to see that any cheese that is reasonably priced is characterized as a commodity products even if it comes from small cooperative dairies that are located throughout Wisconsin and even if they are run by Master Cheesemakers.

jlawrence01 wrote:The last time I was at a Woodman's they had quite a selection of foreign cheeses in addition to all the Wisconsin cheeses.

It is always amazing to see that any cheese that is reasonably priced is characterized as a commodity products even if it comes from small cooperative dairies that are located throughout Wisconsin and even if they are run by Master Cheesemakers.

The foreign cheeses, in my local store anyway, are grouped in a case that also has the cheese spreads and hummus. They have a nice selection of Mexican cheeses as well.

jlawrence01 wrote:It is always amazing to see that any cheese that is reasonably priced is characterized as a commodity products even if it comes from small cooperative dairies that are located throughout Wisconsin and even if they are run by Master Cheesemakers.

Woodman has those, yes, but they also have vast amounts of blocks of plastic-wrapped commodity cheddar and colby and mozzarella. And if you don't already know that one cheesemaker is a small cooperative dairy and another is a huge conglomerate, there's nothing and no one at Woodman's to tell you. I must admit that every time I go to Woodman's I am so overwhelmed by the hugeness of the dairy department that I just grab the first kind that looks interesting and let it go at that. (The last one was Nordic Creamery's Capriko, a goat and cow's milk blend I found surprisingly bland.) There's something to be said for what you might call a curated selection.

I'm not knocking Woodman's -- it's a great supermarket for much more than cheese -- I'm just trying to describe the differences between the two stores. At Mars', you can talk to the counter clerks and get information about the cheeses, they'll cut to order and they put out samples -- it's a different sort of environment.

I wouldn't say one is any better than the other. It depends on what you're looking for. Mars' is a fun place to stop between Chicago and Milwaukee, maybe get a bite to eat or a drink and pick up a few goodies.

Woodman's is for serious grocery shopping. They have the best ethnic goods selection I've found in the Milwaukee area, and they stock a lot of Chicago brands, which is a plus for me. Also, they are open 24 hours. But it's so huge, I don't go there unless I have at least two hours to spend.

LAZ wrote:
Mars' is higher priced, but it does offer European cheeses as well as the local products and some things from smaller, artisanal cheesemakers.

The selection of noncommodity cheeses at either does not rival what you'd find at Chicago's best cheese shops (where the prices are akin to Mars' or higher) or Great American Cheese

If you're cheese buying WI, why look for European cheeses

I come down here firmly on the Woodman's side. About 6 weeks ago, my wife and I visited them on the same Sunday. Except for the vaunted cheesebread, there was really nothing I felt like buying at Mars. The higher end cheeses, were mostly Carr Valley, and not great prices. To me, on one hand, if I was looking for unique or special WI cheeses, I'd go to the Milwaukee Public Market, the Carr Valley outlet in Middleton, Fromaganiation in Madison, or best, the Dane County Farmer's Market. For outstanding prices for a lot of really good stuff, it's Woodman's.

And it's not just cheese. Much cheaper there for New Glarus beers, and really good prices for Nueske.

A year ago, I would've staunchly defended Mars Cheese Castle as being more than a cheese shop, but a fun little experience if you're up in that area. However, I thought the new facility was pretty soulless and awful - it felt to me like the terrible rip-off gift shop one is routed through after getting off a roller coaster.

So now, no question: Team Woodman's all the way.

For the best in Wisconsin and Imported cheeses, if using I43 North to Green Bay, stop at
Larry's Market just off Brown Deer Road West.-Dick

I live within sight of Larry's, and while it is a great place, it is very expensive compared to what you can get by driving just a couple of miles away.

Please continue. What's a few miles away?

I always tell visitors who are looking for curds on their way home to head to Woodman's instead. The curds are 1/2 of what they charge at Mars and are just as fresh.

One of my favorite Milwaukee cheese shops is the West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shop. The place has been around for 40 years and has expanded to two satellite shops. The small shop in the Milwaukee Public Market has become my main stay since it's opening. This little store store is a hidden gem, a diamond in the rough, and one of the best kept secrets behind the Cheddar Curtain. http://www.wacheese-gifts.com/

I'm happy as a clam,
Right where I am,
Cause I'm a cheesehead,
In beertown.
-Kevin Mulvenna

I hadn't been to the new Castle and this thread had me thinking about buying a loaf of cheese bread. They had samples set out so I was able to try both the regular and jalapeño versions. The cheese part was good but I wasn't happy with the puffy insubstantiality of the bread itself (I decided not to buy any). Have a look at those French loaves, presumably made with the same dough.



That's the regular cheese bread at lower right. Samples of raspberry kringle were also on offer. Let's just say it's no threat to Bendtsen's "up the road" in Racine.

Mars' Cheese Castle
2800 W Frontage Rd
Kenosha WI
262-859-2244

Bendtsen's Bakery
3200 Washington Av
Racine WI
262-633-0365