Kohler Wisconsin/American Club

I'm headed to Kohler, Wisconsin to the American Club for New Year's weekend and I'm looking for good food for lunches and dinners. We have two nights to plan for dinner. I've heard there's a great Italian place that's close by, but no one seems to know the name of it.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated. Thanks and Happy New Year!

Hi there,

The husband was just up at The American Club a few months ago and I remembered him telling me that he had eaten at an Italian restaurant. He said that while he's forgotten the name of the place, it was recommended to them by the concierge at the hotel. The restaurant is in the town of Sheboygan (which has a pretty cute little downtown) and is a person's first name. Hope this helps!

Have fun,

Kim

The name of the place is Steffano's. The owner is Steffano and runs the joint with his wife. They also have a brick oven pizza place across the street (in cute little downtown eighth street).

Back in the days of Mallization of semi-urban America, there were plans to cover the downtown shopping district --anchored by Prange's (now Yonkers, too East coast U.S., rather than L. Michigan West Coast if you ask me).

Prange's is the genesis of much familar Germanic-Sheboyganese vernacular, e.g."Meetch-jah down by Prange's once, enso?" , which is poised as a question, but really a declarative (as no answer is generally required--they also don't use directionals when driving, as everyone already knows where you are going).

Anywhoo-at one time the street was closed to traffic and retro-paved in cobblestone...sound familar to any State Street with which you might be familar?

You might also try the homey Lao-Thai food at Toy's on Eighth.

On Sunday, I had a delicious brunch at Silver Springs restaurant, a former trout farm that Grampa took us to once in a while, just outside of Plymouth on the edge of the Kettles. I'll try to write more about that later.

pd

The pizza place across the street is called Il Retrovo & definitely check it out. They also do soups, salads, sandwiches, & more. The pizza is outstanding as well as all their other offerings. I haven't tried Stefano's yet but am eagerly anticipating dining there. The quality at Il Retrovo is so good that Stefano's must be great considering it's the more formal dining of the 2. Connected to Il Retrovo is also a store that sells salumi, cheese, wine & great imported pastas, tomatoes, & other foodstuffs.

At the American Club - the Horse and Plow has the best beer and cheese soup i have ever had.

Enjoy - the grounds are beautiful!

In regards to the dining options at The Club, my girlfriend and I found the Immigrant Room to be terribly overrated and even more terribly out-of-fashion. Other than that, we did have a nice breakfast, and I managed to have a decent steak at Blackwolf Run. The rest of our meals were taken "off-campus."

It is a lovely setting, and the service at the Club is top rate. I was in a magical trance the whole weekend, right up until the moment I was presented with my itemized bill.

Erik M.

My wife and I had dinner at the Immigrant Room a few years ago. The food was good, but it was hard to justify the price.

We didn't try the Hearth & Plow, but the Wisconsin Room offers food that is as good as the Immigrant Room for a lot less money. It's still far from cheap, but a better value. The Wisconsin Room is also a traditional dining experience with very good service. In fact, even for the same money, I'd rather dine at the Wisconsin Room than at the Immigrant Room.

The American Club is a wonderful experience, but a good way to save is to stay at the Inn On Woodlake. It's next door to the American Club and you have the same access to American Club facilities. The rooms aren't as fancy, but are still nice. They have Kohler showers instead of Kohler Spa baths.

Rooms at The Inn on Woodlake run about $100-175 instead of the $250++ at the American Club.

By the way, there is a decent Italian restaurant in the adjacent mall. It's call Cucina and we've had a couple of good meals there.

Also, be sure to visit the Kohler bathroom museum. I know it sounds goofy, but it's a fun thing to do. Downstairs is historical stuff, and upstairs you can see the latest and (sometimes) most outrageous in bathroom design. Great for those thinking about redoing the bath.

Who goes to the American Club to save money, particularly for New Year's Eve?

As one travel writer who went to Gulf Shores, rather than Daytona, for Spring Break wrote "once you are there, you no longer wonder why all the fun people pay extra to go to Daytona".

Its called the Kohler Design Center, nearby is also the Kohler sponsored Food and Wine Magazine ultimate entertaining house. Check the web for details, it may still be open.

By the way here is the link for Silver Lake Restaurant. Could be a nice stop after a scenic ride in the kettles.

pd

pdaane wrote:Who goes to the American Club to save money, particularly for New Year's Eve?

Well it's certainly not applicable to NY Eve, but most folks I know (myself included) stay at the American Club as by doing so it's the only way to get guaranteed tee times at the Black Wolf Run golf courses. It's definitely NOT saving money but it is creating convenience.

My visits to the American Club have left me feeling that the food is acceptable, the service good, and the prices out of line and I appreciate the thread for giving me an awareness of other dining options in the area.

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm looking forward to Stefano's and your other suggestions. Have a great weekend.