Elkhart Lake Wisconsin

Heading up north with the family for a couple of nights this weekend. Any food (or other) recommendations? We are staying at the Osthoff resort in the town of Elkhart Lake. We will have a sitter one night so fancy?!? is ok.
thanks, Will

Small world . . . Mrs. Kman and I will be up there this weekend as well (Friday and Saturday nights) to flog the 'vette around Road America Saturday & Sunday. We'll be staying at The Victorian Village Resort. My only real experience in the area is hitting the bar at Siebkens Tavern because that's where a lot of the racing teams hang out (when there are races in town, of course).

BTW - it occurs to me, based upon recent posts about geographical references - will we be in "the Wis"?

If you want to head into Sheboygan, you can eat at Trattoria Stefano. IMHO, one of the finest Italian restaurants in the United States (Pinch me, could I possibly be in Tuscany, its that good.) Stefano and his wife Whitney own this trattoria and the pizzeria across the street. I think its called Il Ritrovo. The pizzeria is a bit more casual but the wood fired pizzas are excellent. Adjacent to the pizzeria, they also have a salumeria and wine shop with fine Italian tablewares. A great place to pack a picnic to take to RA. If it is a race weekend, you need to make reservations ASAP. Bratwurst capital, who would have thunk it?

Trattoria Stefano
522 Eighth Street
Sheboygan, WI
920-452-8455

I love both of Stefano's places. I was planning to have lunch at Il Ritrovo tomorrow, but I was just informed by the boss that we are meeting friends of hers for lunch at the Culvers in Manitowoc. I am afraid it is going to be that kind of weekend. Will try to hit Siebkens at some point though.
-Will

I've been spending summers in Elkhart Lake for years, and in the past five years or so the options for fine dining have broadened quite a bit. I would recommend dinner at Victorian Village's restaurant, the Back Porch Bistro, for a "fine dining" experience. They emphasize locally grown ingredients and their young-ish chef is involved in the slow food movement. Its located right on Elkhart Lake and has a pretty nice atmosphere too. They actually have one of my favorite fish fries in the area on Fridays, it may not be on the menu so you will have to ask about it. Another good option is the Lake Street Cafe. They have both a "fancy" side and a casual side that serves good pizzas, salads, and sandwiches. Probably a good spot to take the kids. Haven't eaten on the fancy side in a while but I remember loving the Tenderloin Shiraz.
Seibken's is a great tavern and you should definitely stop by for a few drinks (and shots of Jagermeister - the vice of choice for locals and tourists alike). Another good option tavern-wise is the Brown Baer. GREAT bar food, somewhat unique for the area, and quite a lot of food for the money. The specials are usually outstanding, as are the wings (grilled) and the pork sandwich.
One last note - if you get into Sheboygan I will make a recommendation for Gussy's Tavern, located on Union Avenue. Excellent steak sandwiches, made the classic Sheboygan way on a buttered hardroll. They are only open until 6 or 7 o'clock, however, and I think they are closed on Sundays.
Have fun!

Just to report back....Friday night we ate with the kids at Lola's, a new place in the Osthoff. It was good for higher end continental cuisine, though nothing special. The Sweetbreads were good, and I had a nice veal ribeye chop. They had a great wine list, with a lot of diversity at a reasonable markup. Lunch Saturday was pizza at Lake Street. Excellent wood burning oven crust, almost up to Il Ritrovo standards. Date night on Saturday was at Back Porch. I really enjoyed the pork plate (pulled, sausage, and a smoked chop.) The chef definitely used local stuff, though this late in the season it was mainly chard and mushrooms. Overall, suprisingly good eats for a seasonal resort town.
-Will

My trip report from "the Wis" . . .

Friday night we ate at the Back Porch Bistro; convenient as it was just a walk across the street. It being past prime season the place was pretty dead but the service was spot-on and treated us very well.

My wife and I started with the day's soup, a terrific tomato (clearly made with fresh tomatoes) and green bean soup with fresh grated parmesan on top. This was hearty and very flavorful - excellent on a cool fall evening.

Wife ordered the walleye - a very large filet served in a sauce that I forget accompanied with sweet corn mashed potatoes - mashies wth kernels of corn mixed in. I didn't try it but she absolutely loved it and had one clean plate to show for it. After reading that the beef is all locally sourced & grass fed I figured I had to see what that was about and ordered the ribeye, medium rare. All steak choices come with one of 3 sauces - a chimichurri, a sauteed mushroom, and a ground cherry; I chose the chimichurri. Though advised that the chimichurri would be spicy I found it to have no heat at all (and kind of wished I'd gotten the mushroom instead). It really didn't matter as the steak had been seasoned and was quite flavorful and prepared as ordered, medium rare. I have to say, though, that there just wasn't enough fat on the meat for my taste; I'm guessing that's the nature of the beef that they are procuring and understand that it's probably appreciated by the majority of their customers. The beef was still quite tasty but in my mind I was comparing it to the ribeyes at Keefer's and wanted a higher fat content. But hey it didn't stop me from eating the whole thing. I also had the sweet corn mashies as my side and they were very good - clearly house mashed (with lumps!) but I'm a sucker for mashed taters.

I was pretty full but the description of one of the dessert offerings tempted us to split a spiced pumpkin cake; it was a copy of the cake being served on Sunday at the chef's wedding. The cake was topped with a cream cheese based frosting and had a caramel running in between the layers. Though initially too cold (can't blame them, there were only 4 tables of diners), once the cake warmed a little it was really fabulous (and I don't much care for pumpkin).

Given that the chef was getting married in a day and a half I was guessing that somebody else was running the kitchen yet I thought they did a great job. I'd like to try them during the high season and see what it's like.

The upside of the low turnout (for us) was a window seat so we could look out over Elkhart Lake while the sun set.

Oh yeah, extra props for having Belvedere vodka and hand-stuffing some olives with blue cheese for my martini.

I'd go back and probably will the next time I'm flogging my car around Road America for a weekend.

WillG wrote:Just to report back....Friday night we ate with the kids at Lola's, a new place in the Osthoff. It was good for higher end continental cuisine, though nothing special. The Sweetbreads were good, and I had a nice veal ribeye chop. They had a great wine list, with a lot of diversity at a reasonable markup.

I'd more or less concur with this, from a recent visit. I found the bread and desserts to be above average, as well as the salads. Entrees were good, not exceptional, but substantial. The view is terrific.

The Osthoff Resort itself is gorgeous and surrounded by a quaint town: a very nice place for a weekend getaway or a longer stay. Some of the suites have complete kitchens with full-sized fridge and range. Even the regular rooms have half-sized fridges and microwave ovens. In summer, the rates are very high, but they're much more reasonable in fall and winter. I noticed they'll be having a Christkindlemarket in early December.

I was only up there overnight, so I can't comment on other restaurants in the area. On the way back, we stopped at a couple of cheese stores, Plymouth Cheese Counter and Mars' Cheese Castle.

The former disappointed a bit, since it's mostly a touristy gift shop. However, there's a walk-in cooler full of cheeses. They mostly look somewhat industrial, but the 6-year-old cheddar was excellent, sharp and full of calcium lactate crystals, which some consider a flaw but I really like.

I'd been to Mars' before but forgotten that it's not only a cheese-and-kitsch shop but also has a sandwich stand, a bakery and a barroom. We'd meant to stop at Bobby Nelson's down the street, too but they turned out to close earlier.

Lola's on the Lake
The Osthoff Resort
101 Osthoff Ave.
Elkhart Lake, WI 53020
920/876-3366, ext. 1128
www.osthoff.com
Dennis Getto review

Plymouth Cheese Counter
Intersection Hwy 57 & Cty Rd PP
Plymouth, WI 53073
920-892-8781
www.cheesecapital.com

Mars' Cheese Castle
2800 120th Ave.
Kenosha, WI 53144
800-655-6147
www.marscheese.com

Just made a reservation for Back Porch Bistro tomorrow (Saturday) night, but I'm wondering if there are other excursions around Elkhart Lake (groceries, cheese-makers, farm stands) for me to go on while the S.O. is watching the go-karting extravaganza at Road America.

I'm bringing a cooler (never leave home without it), and I'm game for trying any local specialties.

It's not too far of a drive to Kohler - you can visit the hotel or the museum there.

The Horse and Plow Pub at The American Pub has the lovliest Beer and Cheese Soup ever...



http://www.destinationkohler.com/