Chicago To White Lake, WI (Up North!)

I will be taking a much needed holiday weekend for the 4th of July - my GF and I will be driving from Chicago to White Lake, WI (I have never been, but supposedly it is a slice of Americana and they do the 4th right!). We'll be taking our time Friday, stopping on the way at anywhere that seems interesting.

I'm very familiar with the drive from Chicago to Milwaukee, and have plenty of ideas of where to stop (though I'm always open to more!). However, I almost never go north of Milwaukee and really don't know where to even start.

We will be taking 94/43 up there and I would love any suggestions - restaurants, bars, shops, whatever - particularly for the northern leg of our trip. I pledge to document my findings upon my return.

White lake is just above the Reservation between Langlade and Antigo.
On the way up or down, Kroll's in Greenbay for a steak sandwich, don't spare the butter. Visit the Stadium location, easier to get to and you are right next to Lambeau which is good or bad depending on whether your a Bear's fan.
We used to spend a week in Langlade renting a river house and fishing and running the Wolf and there is really not much that is steller that I ever found. You won't starve at the Wild Wolf Inn but it's nothing special. Never found anything much in Antigo either. On the way back if you take HWY 41 South from GB to Milwaukee, there is Mhim's in Menasha Wisconsin which serves an excellent chopped steak sandwich over charcoal. Not chopped as in Salisbury but real chopped. Thier father, Rudi served a real steak sandwich in a little spot near the present location that I grew up with.
Those are stops i make on the way back from that area and I have learned not to eat and drive at the same time as the mustard is a pain to remove.
There is a tour hatchery on the area, so you can cook your own or let the Wild Wolf Inn do it for you.-Richard
BTW as to stopping, the Wolf is definitely a must and the Wild Wolf Inn is the spot.
Gilmore's Mistake is at the Inn and the Kayakers line up to run and you can easily watch from the shore of the Inn. Staying at the Inn is great as you go to sleep with the constant sound of the rapids!
If you go 41/141 to 64, you will go through the Nicolet National Forest which has places to stop.
Bears and wildlife abound. Stay on marked roads/trails as it is Off Road vehicle land and the most common modes of transportation are pickups and ATV's. It is also very easy to get lost if you stray from marked areas and don't have compass or cell coverage.
Antigo is home to Mepp's and tours are available.

I'd second Kroll's in Green Bay, although I prefer the East location. Late's in Manitowoc is good for butter burgers and fried curds. Point Beach State Park in Two Rivers is really nice. Charcoal Inn (both locations) in Sheboygan is good for butter burgers and steak sandwiches. Maribel Caves in Maribel is interesting and is near I-43. Also depending on your route, Nueske's is in Wittenberg and always a great stop. They were grilling smoked brats for $1.50 and had some good deals on bulk bacon when I was there around Memorial Day.

Also in Sheboygan is Meisfelds. Well worth a stop to pick up some brats, bacon & restaurant steaks. They also frequently have the grill fired up for brats & burgers grilled "at the source".

Man, what I wouldn't give for a couple of Miesfeld's *right NOW*!!

Tnx stevez. Not.

Geo (brat-jonesing in beautiful Upstate New York)

I'm guessing you already know the Kenosha Woodman's + Penzeys + Starbucks + Dickey's BBQ Pit stop right off of 43. It's not too far up, but everything is right next to the highway, so it's one of our planned stops before doing the stretch to Green Bay. The clearance carts at Woodman's, and their beer selection (though their New Glarus offerings on Sat June 27 were pretty slim - plenty of Spotted Cow, but not much else) always keep me intrigued for a good 15 minute walkthrough.

Dickey's BBQ Pit is decent quick roadfood. The Jalapeno&Cheddar sauges are reliably decent, the ribs are usually pretty decent, and the brisket...well...you need to ask for a sample before committing to the brisket.

Woodman's is a great call and thank for all the steak sandwich suggestions. I think this calls for a steak sandwich taste-off!

The GF and I also found a shooting range in Green Bay (trying to embrace the north woods vibe) so I think we will have quite a nice pit stop, between steak and firearms!

The trip is going swimmingly - Charcoal Inn is the clear winner over Kroll's! More on that later...

We are staying in Antigo - any suggestions within a reasonable drove for a particularly good supper club?

Mr. X and I are fans of Field to Fork in downtown Sheboygan. It's been a regular stop on our way to or from an annual trip to the UP. This last trip, he had the grilled BLT salad, which was great. I had a dish that included rice, beans, toasted local cheese and a couple of eggs.

If you like the Charcoal Inn, which is great, you would also like Gosse's in Sheboygan near the old NW tracks. Lots of history in that building. The burger, steak, or pork chop Sammy uses the Sheboygan hard roll. Good stuff.