Wisconsin is so immersed in restaurant culture, and I would love to share that with you. Whether you just moved here, you’re planning on traveling here, or maybe you’re just here looking for a fresh new idea for places to eat and things to see. If you’re traveling to any of these places that you see on this website you will see cows, lots of them, and you’ll point them out every time, it’s a Wisconsin thing.
Wisconsin restaurant culture
To explain Wisconsin restaurant culture, I’m going to take you all the way back to a Friday night in 1995. I would have been 5 years old when I piled into a car with my grandparents and whoever else was coming along. We would drive about 25 minutes out of town to what seemed like the middle of nowhere. The parking lot would be full, so we were probably parked all the way by the duck pond. Then we would head into our favorite supper club, find our usual seats at the bar and have our favorite bartender Mary (she always gave me extra cherries in my kiddie cocktail I still love her for that) take our names down for a table while everyone sipped on cocktails for an hour. If the wait got really long grandma would even take me out to see if there were any ducks in the pond that we ended up parking next to. One of my first memories of my childhood is that darn taxidermied fish above the jukebox. After a few cocktails one of my Grandpa’s old nicknames would be called over the speaker and we would head to the dining room where we enjoyed fried fish, broasted chicken, coleslaw, potato pancakes, french fries and more. It was worth the wait, and the wait was half of the fun.
Now that story, my husband has the same exact one, from the same exact restaurant even though he lived in a town another 20 minutes further away. That’s Wisconsin food culture, and that’s why I think it’s important to share Wisconsin’s best restaurants with you. There might not be as many classic supper clubs still in business, but the ones that are left are as great as they were back in their prime.
Why all the beer?
Beer is going to be a very prominent subject on this website. Beer will always be a huge part of Wisconsin culture, it’s probably all of that German heritage shining through. Miller and PBR will always have a home in Milwaukee, but these days it’s all about the craft beer. It seems like there’s another new brewery opening on every corner of Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, and towns much much smaller. I love trying new brews, and I would love to share some of my favorite breweries with you. Also, my husband might work in the beer business, so even our daughter knows all about styles and ABV’s and things that some grown adults don’t fully understand about beers (she’s 7.)
Let’s be honest
At least I’m going to be honest. Unfortunately when you look for lists like “Best breweries in Wisconsin” you get a list that looks like it was written by someone who hasn’t stepped foot in any of the breweries mentioned, and probably just did a Google search and put the first 10 they saw in a list. It’s disappointing. I vow to never write about any restaurant, brewery, festival, or destination if I haven’t experienced it first hand. I don’t think you can authentically write about a place if you haven’t experienced the atmosphere, smells, tastes, and sights.
Meet the writer
Hey guys, I’m that 5 year old in that story above, but you know, 24-ish years older. My name is Brittany and I live in a small town called Fond du Lac (don’t capitalize that middle “d” it bothers me to no end, fun fact Fond du Lac is French for bottom of the lake and that’s where we are, at the bottom of Lake Winnebago.) Our little town is conveniently placed in between all of the best parts of the state, I can get to Madison, Milwaukee, and Green Bay within an hour.
I write all about my life over on thedomesticgeekblog.com so if you want to hear more about what I do on a daily basis with my husband, daughter, 2 dogs and 2 cats you can head over there. I share recipes, homeschooling tips and more over there.
Here’s a picture of me that my daughter took while we were hanging out at a brewery. She doesn’t spend a lot of time at supper clubs, but more time at brewpubs and taprooms. So she’s become more of a burger and rootbeer kind of gal, and it works.
If you have any suggestions on places I absolutely need to try and feature shoot me an email or tag me on my socials.
deepfriedwisconsin@gmail.com
Twitter: @DeepFriedWisco
Instagram: @DeepFriedWisco
Facebook: fb.com/deepfriedwisco
