"have to" stops between Mil. and Minocqua?

In a week or so I will be driving up to pick up some scouts after their camp.
Leaving Milwaukee, and ending up just outside of Woodruff.

Last year was great - I hit two county fairs, and a BBQ contest that drew in national contenders.

This year the camp is a week later and I am looking for places to stop on the way up.
I am NOT looking forward to being subjected to Paul Bunyan's on the way back. Or the Golden Corral that two of the scouts
insist on stopping at because "the cooking is so much better than their mother's".

How flexible is your route?

Nueske's company store in Wittenberg is worth a stop, if you're willing to take the eastern route. It's basically Mecca for bacon connoisseurs; the smell you get from walking in the front door is a truly religious experience, at least for us true believers. The retail store also carries fresh meat, primarily steaks, along with the full line of smoked meats. Retail prices for bacon and other products are better than the catalog prices. Plus the store has a decent selection of Wisconsin cheeses and other food products.

Make sure to check the chest freezers in the back room; that’s where they drop the odds and ends, overruns, etc from the factory down the street. Nueske does white-label production for other retail brands, so the brand names may vary but the product quality is all there.

Take a cooler.

Very flexible route going up. Thanks for the tip, I would not have thought of that.

(edit) Great Idea! I just looked at the map and I will be able to do back roads I haven't been on before after Oshgosh and stay off the main roads. My usual path was through Stevens pt.

(more edit) their web site says that I will be there for the smoked ham sale. I made the mistake of asking my wife if she wanted any and the reply left no chance of me avoiding them.

In Minocqua (well, Woodruff, actually) is Hoggie Doggies. Great Chicago dogs and awesome homemade fries. I love the Chili Cheese ones. The burgers aren't bad either.

If you go the Madison route take a detour and hit up Carr Valley's store in Middleton or if you want to stay on the main roads 39/51 Mullins in Mosinee, just south of Wausau is a fun stop and the curds are great.

If you want to stop in Wausau I like the Red Eye brewery. Great wood fired pizza and great beer. They try to locally source as much as possible. If you have time after walk thru the Yawkey museum. They do a great exhibit every year, Birds in Art. Worth the time to look.

http://www.redeyebrewing.com/


http://www.lywam.org/


In Stevens Point I like the Hiltop

http://www.hilltoppubandgrill.com/


For a list of fairs you can try.... http://www.wisconline.com/attractions/fairs.html I always have a good time at fairs.

I'll second the Hilltop - it's on Route 10 just about a block west of the I-39/US51 interchange.

Slightly dated, but you might find a few other ideas in this article.

Thanks all, at present I am thinking i will be going up through oshgosh and then backroads the rest of the way. Stopping for the ham on special at nueske's. The kid and I did one of the fairs today, so I will pass on the way up. Depending on the scout's conditions and appatite, hilltop may be a stop on the way back.

If I come across anything interesting on the way up I'll post.

2146 North - thanks for the suggestion of Red Eye Brewery in Wausau. We found ourselves passing through around lunch time today and a quick forum search led us there. Nice place. Super friendly staff (also very baby-friendly.)

We split a salad of mixed greens w/ candied pecans, crumbled bleu cheese, dried cherries, and house-made honey-whole grain mustard vinaigrette. Nothing groundbreaking, but a well-executed version of a nice combo. They split the salad on two plates for us which we appreciate. Came with a couple of seeded crackers.

We also split the Greek pizza. The whole thing exceeded my expectations from crust to toppings. Really very satisfying. Splitting one salad and one 10" pizza was perfect for lunch. For dinner I'd probably want my own pizza. We'd definitely stop in again if in the area. Beer wasn't shabby either....