Wisconsin aka sconnie style eating in and around Lake Geneva

I got some random stops from in and around the Lake Geneva area that I've been to the last year or so and some which I've been to long ago which I continue to still go to when I get the chance. All of these food places featured are very "sconnie" and worth the stop when vacationing around Southeast Wisconsin. Whether it's beer and cheese, burgers, assortments of encased meats and sausages, Italian Delis and groceries, pizza or Drive Ins and baked goods like kringles or pie and don't forget the likes of ice cream and custard. Truth be told you can find everything that makes you fat and it's just a day trip away. But if you really want to spoil yourself spend more than a day and make sure it's somewhere that has a refrigerator, microwave and grill. There's also lots to be shopped for and then eaten.



Great stops for brats and pies to bring back home or to a home rental

If your driving into the state or back to Chicago there's a few great places en route. For a great example of the fantastic baked goods found throughout WI check out the "Pie Guy". I call it the "pie guy" since the old man whom lives next door is the guy who owns the place and makes the pies and jarred goods sold there. He tells good stories too. Check this great stevez post with him in it HERE. I'm a big fan of the guy and his pies and recommend stopping by for one. Then a little bit up the road there's Lake Geneva Country Meats. This is a wonderful representation of the many world class butcher shops still left in the state. I love the Brat Stop in Kenosha right off the highway en route to LG. Its a great place to stop in and EAT a brat at the bar while drinking a Schooner of beer. But I buy my brats for the backyard at LGCM. I think they're some of the best in state which makes them some of the best in the world. Also found along this little food shopping oasis (Highway 50) is River Valley Ranch.



River Valley Ranch in Burlington

Discussed elsewhere on many threads throughout the site here by folks like me who are big fans of theirs already. These days you can find RVR at a few different Chicago farmers markets and elsewhere. They are a mushroom farm first who also grows many other produce goods and makes some of the best canned and jarred products around. Let me say it for the up-teenth time on here that their five cheese garlic spread is one of the best condiments on earth. Great burgers both old school and tavern style are found all over sconnie land and a top notch representation of one is Fred's Bar which is also in Burlington.


Fred's Bar and their "world's best burger" in Burlington. More on them HERE.

Breakfast is also big in Wisconsin. Farmers and larger framed people need to eat early and often. So a good place to get it along with a fantastic Friday Fish Fry near Lake Geneva is Daddy Maxwell's Antarctic Diner in nearby Williams Bay.


As seen in the 'Breakfast Stops in Wisconsin' thread

So speaking of Friday Fish Frys is there anything more "sconnie" than those when it comes to food? Well maybe cheese, beer and brats but the Friday Fish Fry's are as much a part of the state as is the beer and cheese. The only places that serve food and don't do a Fish Fry are fast food outlets and in many cases, places that don't serve food at all, sometimes do fish fry's. Daddy Maxwell's is most likely the best fish fry I've had in state as far as taste but theres another place close by that's almost as good as far as the actual food but way better in terms of authentic atmosphere.


Freddie's West End located on nearby Lake Como

Already given its own thread (deservedly so) HERE. Thanks to Mr. Hammond for the heads up on this fantastic little locally known secret. This is the type of place I seek out when on the road in Wisconsin. Described perfectly in its own thread I'll just throw in that on the night we visited, which was a Friday, the only day Freddie's serves food, a local was having a party so pretty much the only people that weren't there were the ones not invited who were at Freddie's instead. They were talking about the party and it's hosts all night you can easily guess whether it was good or bad words. We got there right when the fish fry begins just in case there was going to be the normal rush that comes each Friday Freddie's does it's fry. Call for exact times.


The food menu (available Fridays only)

I'm a big lake perch fan but as noted by David Hammond, blue gill is rarely seen on most of the places menus in the Midwest where it used to be much more common. The only other place I know of that has it on menu is a little bikers dive bar in South Haven Michigan called The Curve Inn. So I went with the blue gill and she had the shrimp de jonghe.


Friday Fish Fry with Blue Gill


The shrimp de jonghe was alright but you cant pass on fried fish and potato pancakes

I enjoyed this fish fry very much and would put it as #2 on my all time 'Fish Fry ' Scorecard. The blue gills were very good but I honestly cant tell the difference between it and perch. One day I'll try them both in one sitting. I like each of them served lightly fried and try them whenever I see a place that offers them on the menu as a specialty. I can imagine on a hopping summertime night or a Friday during lent that the atmosphere inside is very sconnie. The cold chocolate eclairs that came with the check were a nice touch of Wisconsin*.

*anything that fattens you up


An authentic sconnie style fish fry

Not as well known as the Fish fry but also very sconnie is the fish boil. It's a Door County thing so for the most part you wont find them outside of that area. But just across the IL border in Genoa City is Fitzgerald's Genoa Junction. It's a ten mile drive from Lake Geneva and it is mentioned HERE and also HERE.


Fitzgerald's Genoa Junction: Famous for their fish boils

Fitzgerald's is a really fun experience and in my opinion the food is as good or better than most everything you can get around the downtown Lake Geneva area and a better value too. So it's worth the drive in my eyes. Popeye's is cool and the rotisserie meats are good on weekends when it's moving and a few other bars are said to have good Fish Fry's (beer battered cod) but other than that I don't think the dining options in/on Lake Geneva are great. Then again I've never been to Ryan Braun's Restaurant but I wouldn't trust the chicken and beef as being 100% organic and hormone free


The view of the bar coming down from the second floor

As is mentioned in previous discussion on this place it's like going over to someones house to eat. You know those times where your at someones BBQ and not sure if you should just leave your plate where it is or if theres supposed to be a garbage can or empty bin to put things and if there is its nowhere to found and no one has said anything about it? It was kind of like that here. We walked in and saw the bar to the right as you enter the house. Your supposed to go into the room to the left and get a ticket for dinner which is cash only. It's AYCE and the options are boiled fish, bbq chicken and ribs. You can get just one, pick two or get all three for a little extra. They give you a ticket which you present to the person working the food line.


The buffet line & The view inside one of the dining rooms in house

On top of the fact that Fitzgerald's is located in an old historic octagon house making it a fun place to visit is the actual fish boil itself. They do them Wed-Sun during the summertime and remain open over winter but with less hours and days. The boils start at 5p daily except Sunday when they do start them at 3p. The octagon house is big and aside from the small bar and a little closet turned giftshop theres a few dining rooms to eat at both downstairs and up. Each floor has a buffet table where the boiled fish, chicken and ribs are served. Along with the entrees you also get the options of boiled potatoes, cole slaw, rye bread and dessert. There's an outdoor area where you can see the fish boils flame away as you eat. There are trees in the way from some views outside but there's seats in front where people waiting to be seated or those that just want to see one live can do so. We had the perfect view from our seats outside.


The view from the outside deck dining area during a boil

Going back to this being like your eating at someones bbq house party is the fact that the food is served in a buffet line so you have to go into line to get it. There is someone there to serve it to you though. They don't tell you where to pay or what to do when you come in or how it goes from there but we figured it out. I got a fish, chicken and ribs ticket since it was a few dollars more than just the fish which is what your there for. So the first time around I went with fish and the rest of the sides thrown on, butter too please. Instead of the more commonly used whitefish they use cod here and have melted butter ready to be thrown onto your plate if you so desire. They say this is poorman's lobster with the butter added on and I could taste that in a sense but monkfish is still much more similar. I liked the fact that there were big hunks of the cod being served onto each plate and ate a couple plates worth. As far as value goes this meal was worth it for me.


Fitzgerald's Fish Boil Dinner

The chicken and ribs were two different stories. I really liked their honey bbq chicken alot more than the fall off the bone, pains me to say it, Chicago style ribs but those were ok too. As long as your cool with eating baked pork and not real bbq. The bbq chicken is another sconnie style dinner popular at many places throughout the state, usually served on Sundays. Each are cooked on a gas grill near where the boil takes place. So I imagine both are baked beforehand but the chicken is still very good and I ate the ribs which they gave me so those weren't inedible. Next time I would get the fish and chicken.


bbq grilled chicken and baked ribs with frosted apple square for dessert


An authentic sconnie style fish boil

The frosted apple squares were very good and I ate a few of those as well. I feel for the poor girl who was working the downstairs food line. You know the mother in law or maybe grandmother that needs everything a certain way and what not and it better be explained? There were like 10 of them here. No one wanted an end piece of the dessert and others didn't know what they wanted as they stood not knowing what was going on. Some said yes to butter even though they didn't want it. All I could do was simply state what I wanted, say thanks and send her a smile. Elsewhere around town theres an old school supper club/tavern type place for sale for anyone who's ever wanted to own their own. I know such a 1950's type dream but in some ways I think it'd be really cool, not so much so in some other cases.


Genoa City, Wisconsin

Along with the artisanal cheese and crafted beer movement in the state theres also alot of local co-op type grocery stores opening or that have been around already. They're spreading away from Madison in all different directions now. These places tend to sell local food and offer wines and beer as well as spices and grains too. On my most recent visit to Lake Geneva we stayed at the Abbey which is in LG but on the other side of the lake away from the more popular parts. En route to the Abbey is the Green Grocer in Williams Bay.


"Organic and locally grown produce, beef, poultry and dairy"

I stopped into the Green Grocer on the way into the Abbey resort when we first arrived one trip back. I decided it might be right to grab a few things for the fridge which was a good call by me. This was right around when winter was ending so I'm sure with summer in full swing theres some good locally grown stuff at the Green Grocer. They have a good selection of wines and beer as well as a full deli and make soups and offer dinners to go on some nights.


Local Cheese & Sausage offered

I liked what I saw and would stop in if near there and looking to get some good local sconnie brewed beer, cheese, produce or other new age hippie supplies like body and skin care lotions and homemade candles. I ended up getting a sandwich which was made perfectly (Boars Head meats are alright) and some Lake Louie 'coon rock' cream ale which if you haven't had it yet is one of my favorites from the state.


So much better (and cheaper) than room service

Over in Delavan (12 miles from Lake Geneva) theres a great place to stop in at for an afternoon snack and some drinks while your at it. The Brick Street Market opened up in 2008 and as they state on their website "cheese is our passion". If cheese is one of your passions too like its becoming one of mine than you need to head over here while in the area.


Delavan, Wisconsin

This was a great stop on my most recent trip. We went in looking to try a couple cheeses and buy some too and ended up staying here for over an hour eating cheese and drinking beer and wine. They have a display of locally made cheeses and an international case too. The lady that runs the place is really sweet and was a big help. There was one other girl there to help here but between cutting the cheese and making sandwiches to order and giving tastings of wine she was busy the whole time.



Some views from inside

We started off with a cheese plate which comes as a daily selection in both coach and 1st class flights. The cheeses featured are written down on a chalkboard and come on a tray with salami, breads, pickles,fruits, nuts and a bunch of other good stuff. We went with a first class flight which includes six cheeses and I thought was a bargain at $15. It could satisfy three maybe four as a snack. They serve beer and if I remember correctly it's $3 a bottle with New Glarus brews featured. Wines from around the globe are available by the glass and bottle too.


1st Class Cheese Flight from Brick Street Market

They had a local mustard seed gruyere that was not on the plate that she gave me a try of that I loved. On the plate there was a local blue cheese called "little boy blue" that was great too. I got a few to take home and the lady behind the cheese counter was great helping me pick them out with suggestions and samples of each one. I cleared out their orphanage bin which is their campaign to have "no cheese left behind" They have little bits and ends of all the fancy cheeses that they've gone thru wrapped up and on sale for a buck or two depending on size.


A little bit of everything from the cheese tray made into a sandwich

If your looking for a little more than just cheese to eat they serve some spectacular sandwiches at BSM too. Soups and salads too. Not only are they using their great selection of cheeses in these sandwiches but the bread is from a local baker and meats like the roast beef and turkey are made in house. They make and toast them to order and offer them in halves if your not all that hungry. I went with the one made up of "slices of top round on hearty rye bread with your choice of 2 year aged swiss or blue cheese with tomato, lettuce, and mustard"


The Rye Wrangler Sandwich

So as you can see this was quite the pleasant surprise. I forget how we came about it but I believe it was recommended by someone working at the Abbey. I also remember a customer who came in on a last second call to get a cheese tray for a party his wife was having and he was very thankful they could accommodate his request. So for those with homes near Lake Geneva Brick Street Market is another great grocery store and food shopping resource.



An authentic 'sconnie cheese experience

As many a Sconnies know, man cannot live off beer, cheese curds and fish fry's alone. After taking it "light" on Friday's, Saturday nights are dedicated to beef. Prime Rib is usually the most commonly ordered menu item by folks dining out at one of the states many supper clubs on a Saturday. Staying in Delavan we head over to the Village Supper Club which is the only restaurant actually located on Delavan lake these days.


Delavan, WI

The Village Supper Club has been serving the folks of this community and its vacationers for nearly five decades. I enjoyed it greatly for its real deal old time supper club atmosphere. I thought the food was ok a little better than average but it wasn't overpriced and so I was told they have the most popular fish fry in the area and some say the state. It's all you can eat so I think that may play a part. Don't forget where we're at and what (and how much) they eat.


The view at the bar with their fish tank with locally caught fish in it

The service here was excellent and I would recommend the place based on the easiness factor. It was quiet the Saturday night we stopped in but it was a rainy day and vacation season was nowhere near in full swing yet. I'd eat here if it's near and you like classic supper club food. They have all the usual's including prime rib available everyday. They also have an Italian menu with dishes influenced in the Italian-American sort of way. Pasta's with red sauce served 10 different ways, pretty much all tastes the same type were used to in Middle America. They do the free relish tray and salad bar which all diners can walk up to and each meal comes with soup or salad too. Don't forget about the free bread. I thought the French Onion soup was below average but I wasn't expecting much.



Getting started at the local Supper Club

I don't remember anything about their whiskey sour old fashioned but that's good enough to mean it wasn't so bad I remembered it. I think they did it right. Like all supper clubs they should be able to do onion rings right. Village does a thinly sliced variety isn't my favorite style but these freshly fried thin slivers of onions were extra good. They advertised housemade Italian sausage which my companion loves so she got that with spaghetti, it was good in that homey sort of way but I wish they would of given more sausage with it. I got the prime rib and was happy with my perfectly little rarer than medium rare piece with a side of cheesy hash browns with onions. It hit the spot that night.



An authentic sconnie supper club dinner

Don't forget dessert. Sconnies love that too. There's some great ice cream and custard shops, chocolate confectioneries and other sugary fun eats abound in these parts too. I particularly like the widgets aka fried donut balls at Dari Ripple in Walworth. they do a sundae with them too. Looking it up on google there seems to be quite a few Dari Ripple's across Northern IL and across the border in WI. Maybe they were once a chain of which a few remain but not theres much else on the places or their history on the WWW. The same can be said for Frostie Freeze also found out around this way. There's a traveling shaved ice and sno-cone cart that can found around here too but I'm not big on shaved ice. But I've been told that's because I've never had the authentic stuff in Hawaii. I believe it. Stay tuned. A round up of Southwest Wisconsin to come.



Dari Ripple's Widgets (L) - Banana Split Sundae from the local Frostie Freeze (R)


Sno Days Shaved Ice found around the area



Lot's to explore outside...


...Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva Country Meats
5907 State Road 50
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
(262) 248-3339

"The Pie Guy"
25600 75th Street (Hwy 50)
Paddock Lake Salem, WI 53168
(262) 843-3041

River Valley Ranch and Kitchens
39900 60th Street
Burlington, WI 53105
(262) 539-3555

Fred's Bar
596 N Pine St.
Burlington, WI 53105
(262) 763-8370

Daddy Maxwell's
150 Elkhorn Road
Williams Bay, WI 53191
(262) 245-5757

Freddie's West End
W4118 Lakeshore Drive
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
(262) 248-6183

Fitzgerald's Genoa Junction
727 Main Street
Genoa City, WI 53128
(262) 279-5200

Green Grocer
24 West Geneva Street
Williams Bay, WI 53191
(262) 245-9077

Brick Street Market
104 East Walworth Avenue
Delavan, WI 53115
(262) 740-1880

Village Supper Club
1725 South Shore Dr
Delavan, WI 53115
(262) 728-6360

Dari Ripple
102 State Road 67
Walworth, WI 53184
(262) 275-3539

Wow! What a great post!
I may just have to make a family trip to Lake Geneve this summer.

exactly what I was thinking!

DaBeef, you need to write a book on eating in Wisconsin.

eatwisconsin, you're right: Da needs to put together all his posts into a book. Probably one of the most thorough --not to mention enthusiastic-- known to the world of eaters. I don't know how you do it, Da! You have the endurance of a hundred eaters!!

Tnx for this!

Geo

Da Beef wrote:Discussed elsewhere on many threads throughout the site here by folks like me who are big fans of theirs already. These days you can find RVR at a few different Chicago farmers markets and elsewhere. They are a mushroom farm first who also grows many other produce goods and makes some of the best canned and jarred products around. Let me say it for the up-teenth time on here that their five cheese garlic spread is one of the best condiments on earth.

On my journey to Kenosha yesterday, I decided to make a u-turn and visit the mushroom place. I have driven past the place 50 times and never stopped because of the lack of a lot of signage AND the place has never been open when I was there.

They have a good variety of mushrooms - fresh and jarred. If you need a large supply of mushrooms, tehy have it.

Unlike many places in Wisconsin, they actually serve some prepared foods. I had the portabella mushroom brats, a brat made with a mixture of the mushrooms and pork. Personally, I thought it had more the taste of lamb. They also have a good variety of soups/chilis and mushroom tamales.

I also stopped in to Lake Geneva Meats which is a mile sown the road. The place has the largest variety of meats that you will find anywhere locally, even including Ream's. It is also one of the priciest places that I have shopped - much more than Sorg's where I normally head.

Next Door Pub has a pretty good vibe along with a unique enough tasting pizza that makes it worth a stop if you're in need of some food. We stopped thru one evening where pretty much every other place was packed, not to say they weren't so here but there were a few tables near the bar.


Locals Favorite for over 40 years

On my visit wings were on special and they weren't all that bad. Nicely fried, good flavor in the sauce, how they're supposed to be done. Specialty of the house here is their pizza. You can see them making it thru a window in the parking lot and it's hard not to want some when the aroma from the exhaust hits you in your lips. They seem to have an airier texture than most others. The crust is the same way, almost like it was just cooked thru. Good sausage, nice thinly sliced onions. Not a bad pie by any means, you could do much worse at one of the chains.


Large Sausage and Onion Pizza

Next Door Pub & Pizzeria
411 Interchange N
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
(262) 248-9551

Have you tried Mars Resort? Good Friday fish fry, great fried chicken.
They're on Lake Como with a Lake Geneva (town) address -- the South Shore Drive is on Como (don't drive to the other side of Geneva Lake)

Mars Restaurant & Resort
W4098 S Shore Dr, Lake Geneva, WI 53147
(262) 245-5689

Mars on Lake Como

Food is good, nothing spectacular. Standard Wisconsin supper club fare: prime rib on Saturday, fish fry, steaks, grilled chicken. What is fantastic is the copper topped bar, live lounge entertainement, and the views from the room and deck of Lake Como. Worth going just for the atmosphere!!

The Trout House in Palmyra Wisconsin

Palmyra is located at the southern tip of the Kettle Morraine State Forest Southern Unit. The State Forest is worth the drive with beautiful scenery and Old World Wisconsin's collection of 1870's farms.

Rushing Waters Fisheries is a rainbow trout farm which provides fresh trout to Chicago restaurants/seafood stores. They also have trout fishing ponds and a wonderful restaurant, The Trout House.

The restaurant features local ingredients with creative cooking at moderate prices. http://www.rushingwaters.net/the-trout- ... nner-menu/

A wonderful restaurant and worth the trip.

The Trout House
at Rushing Waters Fisheries
N301 County Road H
Palmyra, WI 53156
(262) 495-2089
http://www.rushingwaters.net/the-trout-house/