TRAVEL Fall trips for food lovers SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
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THE COURIER
FALL TRAVEL
www.wcfcourier.com
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015
Cheers! The National Brewery Museum in Potosi, Wisconsin. PHOTOS by BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer
Potosi Brewing toasts the future, salutes its history with beer JOHN MOLSEED john.molseed@wcfcourier.com
POTOSI, WIS. — In the midst of the craft brewing boom, Potosi Brewing Company is sitting on an advantage. Beer caves, dug into the bluff behind the old brewery building more than a century and-a-half ago, provide a glimpse of the past and opportunities for the future. One lagering cave, visible in a corridor past the gift shop, is more than a curiosity or a preserved
piece of history. “We’re actually using it,” said Larry Bowden, president of the American Breweriana Association. “This stuff is cave aged.” He points to barrels behind a glass door where specialty sour beers are aging. The cool temperature, humidity and other conditions specific to the cave are being used to create equally unique beers. “It’s a great opportunity to take something cool about the brewery and make it useful,” said Steve
McCoy, head brewer at Potosi. The craft beer explosion in the last two decades has ushered into existence hundreds of new breweries. The Potosi Brewing Company began operations in June 2008. But the brewery is not an upstart operation. It was originally founded in Potosi in 1852. Like most breweries of that era, it was a small operation that produced ale for area farmers, fishermen, and miners. Most towns and villages had Zach Kuhl, left, and Alex Reinecke load bottles of Oktoberfest at the their own breweries. Before rail- Potosi Brewing Co.
FALL TRAVEL Sunday, September 27, 2015 www.wcfcourier.com The Courier roads and mechanical refrigeration, beer was consumed close to where it was produced. “You can’t really store an ale,” Bowden said. But about the time the Potosi Brewery was formed, German immigrants into Wisconsin began introducing a different style of beer – the German-style lager. “A lager, you could keep it for a while,” he said. The key to brewing a lager is to ferment it and store it in a cooler environment. Naturally occurring caves along the Mississippi River offered a natural brewing infrastructure to create and cultivate Potosi lager. The caves gave the brewery an advantage more than a century ago to help the brewery become Wisconsin’s fifth largest brewery. Today, the caves and its location might help to give it a competitive edge again. No upstart brewery can boast of 150year old beer caves – at least not for the next 150 years.
Getting there
The historic brewery building along the river bluff is also home to the American Breweriana and the Wisconsin Great River Road transportation museums. Coupled with a restaurant and craft beer, it puts Potosi, population 685, on the map of Midwest destination spots. The brewery and museums are miles away from the nearest interstate. However, the winding river roads that take you there make the journey there part of the experience. Although Potosi is only a 20-mile drive from Dubuque, the best route from Iowa is the one that lets someone else do a portion of the driving. A river ferry carries passengers and their vehicles from the Mississippi River bank near the unincorporated town of Millville in Iowa across the river to Cassville in Wisconsin. The ride offers a chance to stretch your legs, get some fresh air and enjoy the best view of the driftless area river bluffs. It’s a scenic ride any time of year, but in the autumn, the trip offers breathtaking views of the patchwork colors of the changing leaves.
History
The heyday of the original Potosi lager – the 1950s through the 1960s – came at the same
The Cassville Ferry makes its way across the Mississippi River to the Iowa side landing, near Millville, Iowa. time light American lagers were king of the craft. Hundreds of breweries across the country fought in their regions for tap and shelf space. This led to a burst of creative advertising as each brand tried to get a leg up on competition. That Potosi was in the midst of the competition and producing creative, colorful ads and signs and custom packaging for distributors, it’s fitting that the American Breweriana Association chose the brewery for its museum site. Milwaukee was another close option, but the brewery building in Potosi is a display piece itself. “We like to say this is beer’s home,” Bowden said. The upper floors have permanent and rotating displays of signs, art work and factory scenes, beer cans, bottles, bottle, openers, coasters, beer trays, taps, wooden cases and neon signs. Bowden began his personal collection with a pair of Blatz chairs. He now has expanded his collection with a focus on Potosithemed pieces. The museum collection spans both before and after prohibition. For contributors to the museum collection, the hunt is most of the fun. “The biggest thing about this is you’re always learning something new,” Bowden said. Dave Eulberg, who loaned some of his collection for display, searches for items with his family name on them. Eulberg Brewing Company, in Portage, Wis., was founded in 1884. His father sold their namesake brewery in 1944,
but Eulberg beer promotional items still turn up. “People will clean out a basement, clean an attic and they’ll find it,” Eulberg said. Like Eulberg, most of the brands succumbed to the large national breweries. The original Potosi was a casualty of the trend, closing its doors in 1972. Now reopening in the midst of a craft beer revolution, McCoy is enjoying being able to tap into history while trying a few new things too. He isn’t afraid to embrace what the brand was known for by producing its classic lager. Some craft beer enthusiasts might wrinkle their noses at an American lager. It’s a style many beer snobs leave to the big breweries. However, it’s also a style that’s difficult to do well. In other beers,
At the Potosi Brewing Co., Steve McCoy draws a pint of Oktoberfest. small mistakes can be masked by other flavors or dry-hopped into oblivion. Lagers leave little margin for error. The brewery brought a new brewhouse online this spring. Their old in-house system produced about 1,000 barrels per year (a barrel is 31 gallons of beer). When demand expanded, Potosi contract brewed at Stevens Point producing 6,000 barrels per year. The new Potosi in-house system will have a capacity of 10,000 to 12,000 barrels per year. The flavor of the lager won’t be the only throwback to Potosi’s golden age. “If we keep things humming we can get production back up to what we were in the 1950s,” McCoy said. Getting there has been a long effort. The project began in 1995
PAGE 3 when Gary David bought and began renovating the Potosi Brewery Bottling buildings across the street from the brewery. Today, David runs a woodworking shop at the former bottling building. David crafted the taproom bar and stools at the brewery. After David and four other investors acquired the brewery building itself, it was donated to the nonprofit group Potosi Foundation in 2001. The group of principals secured state and federal grants along with donations to save the building, said Rick Natter, of the ABA. “It’s been a labor of love,” Natter said. Teaming up with ABA and the state of Wisconsin for a transportation museum helped the group secure some of the grants toward the $7.5 million the renovation of the brewery cost. Profits from the brewery go to community, educational, historic preservation and charitable causes. Although the beer will be going out into wider regions this autumn, Natter and ABA members say they want people to come to the brewery and museums themselves. “Location is what hurts us,” he said. “It’s not something you just stumble onto.” Being out of the way, the destination, and the journey getting there, makes the trip worthwhile. For visitors 21 years of age or older, admission to the brewery comes with a free pint of beer in the taproom.
Moser Family Pharmacy Featuring • Kodak Picture Kiosk • Melissa & Doug Toys • Willow Tree Angels • Iowa, Iowa State and UNI Merchandise • J.W. Stannard Windchimes • Elkader and Iowa Apparel • John Deere, Western Items and Harley Davidson • Baby Gifts and Children’s Books • Thinkfun Games and Blue Orange Games • Puzzles for the Entire Family
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• New gifts and home decor • Isabel Bloom • Jim Shore • Jewelry and Scarves • Seasonal décor and a lot more • Free gift wrapping and personal service
508 Washington St. Cedar Falls, IA 50613
(319) 277-1933
www.ivytrellisgifts.com
Hours: Mon. - Sat. 10am - 5 pm
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The Courier
FALL TRAVEL
www.wcfcourier.com Sunday, September 27, 2015
Timeless Lake Okoboji is familiar paradise for relaxing, fun retreat JOSH NOEL Chicago Tribune
OKOBOJI — I have seen the heart of America. It is a timeless place where little ever changes. It is a place of big lakes, where people boat and fish and swim and children run off docks at full speed. The heart of America, naturally, is in Iowa. At the very least, the Iowa Great Lakes are a Midwestern paradise — the kind of place that people drive to not for what’s new but for what’s always been there. No one, it seems, has just started visiting. They’ve been going since they were kids. And now they bring their kids. Who will bring their kids. Tucked in the northwest corner of the state, just below the Minnesota border, Iowa’s Great Lakes comprise a region of two small towns (Okoboji and Arnolds Park) built around a handful of deep, gorgeous, glacial lakes. Up north is Spirit Lake, which tends to be quieter, and more of a place for the locals to boat and fish. It is, however, the state’s largest natural lake and known for some of the best fishing in the area. So it’s worth an angler’s effort to get there. The heart of the tourist action is West Okoboji Lake, a nearly 4,000-acre body that runs as deep as 135 feet. At the lake’s southeast-
Arnolds Perk Coffee offers an eclectic scene and a mean iced coffee. ern edge stands one of its most indelible sights: the 125-year-old Arnolds Park Amusement Park, with its blue-and-white Ferris wheel reaching 63 feet into the sky. That timelessness is what brings visitors back to Okoboji year after year after year. It also leads people from all over to build or buy lake houses ranging from modern ornate to old, rickety, peeling shacks, many of which are emblazoned with the name of the owning family and the place from which they hail: Omaha; Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Winterset, Iowa; even Boulder, Colo.
As for the downside of being trapped in another era, well, not evolving means you’re still largely eating the same food you did 10, 20 or 30 years ago. In fact, Okoboji is remarkable for just how unremarkable its food is. I went to O’Farrell Sisters, even though a local had lamented that the sisters sold the place a long time ago. But that didn’t stop the tourists from stepping back into the ‘50s — red booths, black-andwhite tile floor and gold-flecked Formica tables while waitresses hurried with omelets and pancakes and “That’s Amore” played
CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS PHOTO
from the speakers above. Lunches and dinners fell somewhere between satisfyingly predictable and satisfyingly tasty (and often a bit overpriced in a resort town kind of way) — which left as Okoboji’s most notable delicacy the Nutty Bar. A legend that’s decades old, the Nutty Bar is a hunk of Blue Bunny vanilla ice cream jabbed on a stick, dipped in chocolate, rolled in nuts and sold beside the amusement park for $3. There are both sweetness and innocence in the Nutty Bar and in the Nutty Bar being your town’s signature menu item.
Where to find award-winning craft beers Like the rest of the country, Iowa’s in the midst of a craft beer craze. About 40 new breweries have opened in Iowa in the last three years. Everything from smoked beers to sour beers are testing tasters’ palates. Many breweries offer beer tasting flights so you can sample a variety of beers. Here’s list of some of the award-winning Iowa craft beers from www.traveliowa.com.
WEST O COCO STOUT, West O Beer, Okoboji : Winner of the Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival 2014 in the Sweet and Cream Stout category. BLONDE FATALE, Peace Tree Brewing Co., Knoxville: Winner of the Gold medal at the World Beer Cup 2014 in the Blonde Ale or Pale Ale category. WORKMAN’S COMPENSATION, Lion Bridge Brewing Co., Cedar Rapids: Winner of the Gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival 2014 in the English-Style Mild Ale category. TOPPLING GOLIATH BREWERY, Decorah: Five beers on the top beers of the year list by RateBeer, including Assassin, Kentucky Brunch, King Sue, Mornin’ Delight and pseudoSue.
You can go to www.traveliowa.com to download the Iowa wine and beer app.
Sample a wide range of Iowa-made spirits during a fall road trip On a crisp fall afternoon, choose a designated driver, then visit one of Iowa’s distilleries and sample the spirits — whiskey, rye, gin, rum and vodka. A relative newcomer, Artisan Grain Distillery keeps it local with grains grown on an organic farm 10 miles away, then distilled and bottled in Davenport. Their spirits include moonshine, white whiskey, white rum and other “younger” spirits while whiskey ages in wooden barrels.
Norwalk’s Broadbent Distillery is home to corn whiskey, grape grappa, limoncello and orangecello and other beverages made from Iowa-grown grapes and grains. Tour and taste. Malted rye whiskey, dark rum and pear brandy are only a few of the spirits available at Iowa’s first microdistillery, Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery in Swisher. You can also find their wines and enjoy a light meal at their café bistro.
In Clive, Dehner Distillery is known for their vodka, 151, Havana Judge Rums and Red Boot Whiskeys. Steel Drum Rum. Prairie Fire Cinnamon Flavored Whiskey and Country Gal Moonshine are a few of the spirits distilled in “ridiculously small batches” by the Iowa Distilling Co., in Cumming. Iowa Legendary Rye is handcrafted from a prohibition-era recipe. Distilled using Carroll
county grains in small batches. Sip some Cody Road Bourbon or River Pilot Vodka while experts at the Mississippi River Distilling Co., in Le Claire, explain the “grain-to-glass” approach to their beverages. Paradise Distilling Co., produces their spirits in Dubuque. You can tour and sample Island Bay, Caribbean Mist and White Sand rums. Sipp’n Sweet Corn Whiskey is produced in Grimes and has a
taste reminiscent of Iowa sweet corn with melted butter. Templeton Rye is bottled in Templeton, and can be found in bars and restaurants around the U.S. It was Al Capone’s whiskey of choice during Prohibition. See where it’s made and taste a sample. Rum, coconut rum and single-barrel sippin’ rum are fermented, distilled and bottled at Werner Distillery in Holstein. Source: www.traveliowa.com
Sunday, September 27, 2015 www.wcfcourier.com The FALL TRAVEL Courier
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Amana’s Oktoberfest celebrates 50th anniversary AMANA COLONIES — Iowa’s popular Oktoberfest celebrates its 50th anniversary with a threeday festival Oct. 2-4. “Last year, we had upwards of 40,000 people attend over the course of the weekend,” said David Rettig, executive director, Amana Colonies Convention and Visitors Bureau. “I believe it is the longest-running festival in the state of Iowa.” The Bavarian-style festival kicks off with the loading and tapping of the Oktoberfest keg. The keg will be loaded at Millstream Brewery and taken to Festhalle, a converted centuryold barn, for tapping and the start of the opening ceremonies. Beers from the first keg are free to those who follow the beer wagon to the Festhalle. Saturday starts with the Oktoberfest Parade and includes the Eisenman contest and brat eating contest. “That’s our heritage,” Rettig said. “Music, beer, brats, wine and dancing.” One- or two-day passes are available for a nominal fee, and admission is free Sunday. Here is a link to more information: www.festivalsinamana. com. The Amana Colonies is one of America’s longest-lived communal societies and is a National Historic landmark. Six original
villages were established begin- out,” Rettig said. ning in 1855, and a seventh village Tannebaum Forest, Nov. 27 was added in 1861. established in to Dec. 20 1855 For this event, Festhalle is filled Declared a National Historic with dozens of real Christmas Landmark in 1965, the Amana Colonies attract hundreds of thousands of visitors annually all of whom come to see and enjoy a place where the past is cherished and where hospitality is a way of life. Here are more fall activities to be found in the Amana Colonies:
Fall Fiber Show and Sale, Nov. 7 and 8
Sponsored by the Amana Arts Guild, this event is a special holiday shopping event featuring rug-making, spinning, weaving and needlework. Several artisans will demonstrate their craft. Additionally, the guild’s “Handmade in Amana” shop will be open. It features quilts, baskets, rag rugs, needlework and more. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Hot cider and treats will be available, and admission is free.
Prelude to Christmas, Dec. 4-6
This is the colonies’ Advent celebration featuring candlelit streets and the Amana Church Craft Bazaar and Cookie Walk. “The businesses really go all
An oompah band plays at the Amana Colonies.
COURTESY PHOTO
trees decorated by local businesses and organizations. Santa is available for visits and the 17-foot handcrafted Weihnacht’s Pyramid will be on display. Goodwill donations are
accepted and proceeds are donated to charity. For more information and a full schedule of Amana Colonies events, go to www.amanacolonies.com.
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FALL TRAVEL
The Courier
Your LocaL
amish communitY
www.wcfcourier.com Sunday, September 27, 2015
Come visit the Amish community outside of Fairbank and surrounding areas. Shop locally where you are sure to find quality products and services in each of the Amish businesses. Amish Closed • Sundays and Church Holidays
150 Discount Store LLC: Great prices on groceries and general merchandise including: Dog & cat food, small appliances, tools, toiletries, household products and so much more! Carter Discount Groceries: Discount groceries, miscellaneous items, canned goods, candy and juice, hunting and sporting goods. Inventory stock changes daily. Helmuth’s Country Store: Amish made furniture (beds, tables & chairs, jewelry boxes, dressers. Children’s furniture: baby beds, high chairs, rocking chairs, cradles). Quilts, crafts, cookbooks, jams and NEW Poly-Made lawn furniture: gliders, rockers, chaise lounges, gazebos, tables and more! Long Lane Bargains & Collectibles: Large variety of antiques, primitive and vintage items. So many unique treasures that you will just need to stop out to our store!
Maple Hill Tarp Shop: Custom made tarps for boats, cars, trucks, trailers, cycles, air conditioners and much more. We also make tents and awnings. New or Repair-Free Estimates! Millers Country Store: Bulk food headquarters known for decades. General store merchandise including: baking goods, spices, soup mixes, candies, decorating sprinkles, candy making supplies. Also carrying outdoor lawn furniture. Yoder’s Discount Grocery: Big Savings on grocery items, household products, toiletries and a variety of other items. We also have discount meat sales and a NEW larger store!
• Old Christmas- Jan. 6 • Good Friday • Ascension Day • Thanksgiving
150 Discount Store
LLC
Bring in this coupon for 10% OFF everything in the store! One per customer. Valid until 10/15/15 1664 150th Street, Hazleton, Iowa 50641
Raymond & Lucy Stutzman Monday-Saturday, 8am-5pm
Maple Hill Tarp Shop Custom made covers for boats, trucks, semis and much more!
Tents & Awnings New or Repair Hours: Mon-Sat 8:00am-5:00pm
Henry Kauffman Family 1536 140th Street Hazleton, Iowa 50641 Please call Sheila at 319-290-6234
Leave name, phone number and information to call back
Sunday, September 27, 2015 www.wcfcourier.com The FALL TRAVEL Courier
Yoder’s Discount Grocery
See Our NEW, BIGGER & BETTER Store
Large assortment of grocery items! Canned goods Boxed Dinners Candy Household Items Toys Toiletries Footwear And Much More! 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month we have discounted meat and produce Open: Monday-Saturday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. • Closed: Sundays & Holidays
1456 130th Street Hazleton, Iowa 50641
Helmuth's Country Store
Poly Lawn Furniture (available in multiple colors)
NEW STYLES ARRIVING NOW!!
Swivel Chairs & Gliders • Bar Stools Rockers • Adirondeck Chairs • Tables
Handcrafted Solid Wood Furniture Tables • Chairs • Hutches • Bedroom Suites Entertainment Centers • Mattress Sets Poly Lawn Furniture • Gazebos Housewares • Crafts • Variety
1620 110th St. Hazleton, IA 50641 Open: Mon-Sat 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed: Sundays and Holidays
Coming Summer 2016 Cedar Lawn Furniture
Furniture:
Benches • Coat racks Swivel Saddle Bar Stools and much more!
FaRm maCHiNeRy
Bulk Foods • Baking Chips • Large Assortment of Spices • Soup Mixes • Decorating Sprinkles • Candy Making Supplies • Large Assortment of Candy
FoRsale 315 & 311 New HollaNd
1573 160th Street, Independence Iowa 50644 Ben Miller
Samuel & Martha Gingerich
Small Square Baler and
HourS: Mon - Sat • 8am - 5pm • CLoSeD: Sundays & Holidays
New HollaNd Rake in Good Condition
Five 180-250 BusHel GRavity Boxes wanted: Good Horse Machinery McCormick & Delaval Cream Separators
Carter Discount Groceries and SPORTING GOODS • Grocery Items • Meat Smokers • Toiletries • Meat Processing • Household Products Equipment • Fall & Winter Gear • Meat Grinders • Clothing • Vacuum Sealers • Footwear • Meat Stuffers • Pellet Guns • Fishing Poles & Rods • Hunting Accessories • Ice Fishing Tents, • Outdoor Gear reels & poles Inventory Changes Daily
1153 Carter Avenue, Fairbank, Iowa 50629
(Located 1 mile south of Fairbank off of Hwy C57) Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri. 8am-7pm Thur., & Sat. 8am-5pm (We accept Cash & Check only)
Hershberger’s Horse training We will train any breed to drive or ride! 7 New Box Stalls Available for Boarding
large variety of misc. items Coming in daily!
Antique & Vintage Items – John Deere & Harley Davidson Collectibles lawn ornaments • antique Furniture • old Jewelry • Signs Clocks • old Books & recipes • Firewood for Homes or Camping And So Much More!
Home made
• JamS • PiCkleS • red BeetS • SalSa • aPPle Butter and Home remedy Book
Long Lane Bargains & CoLLeCtiBLes
Neil HeRsHBeRGeR, JR. 1475 Grant ave. Hazelton, ia 50641
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The Courier
FALL TRAVEL
www.wcfcourier.com Sunday, September 27, 2015
Our kind of chow, Chicago is ... still setting trends (and worth the trip) TOM SIETSEMA
The restaurants
The Washington Post
On the surface, the everyman dishes of Chicago sound simple. Hot dogs, Italian beef, deep-dish pizza: All can be eaten with the hands. Yet the food of the proletariat turns out to involve more instructions than Julia Child’s epic recipe for baguettes. Consider the hot dog. Most purveyors buy their allbeef sausages and their poppy seed buns from a handful of suppliers, then steam, simmer or grill the links. What makes it a Chicago dog are the many garnishes: “Dragged through the garden” refers to the yellow mustard, pickle relish, chopped white onions, chili peppers, tomato slices, pickle spear and celery salt dressing each dog. Conspicuously absent from the mix? Let the sign at Fatso’s Last Stand in West Town make the point: “It is considered bad manners and harmful to the taste buds to put ketchup on your hot dog within the city limits of Chicago.” Across the city, diners can find novel food at all price ranges, be it at Alinea; a stage set like Intro, where visiting chefs have a restaurant to call their own for a limited run; or one of multiple pan-Asian darlings. Young entrepreneurs behind the hottest scenes are “cooking the food they want to eat,” says Chef Rick Bayless, who could just as easily apply the description to himself and his work. No chef in the country does better Mexican food, at all price points, than Bayless, whose skill with the cuisine was rewarded in 1995 with an Outstanding Chef award from the Beard Foundation. At the top is Topolobampo for fine dining; in the middle is the fiesta called Frontera Grill. The baby of the bunch is Xoco (“little
WASHINGTON POST PHOTOS
Workers at Portillo’s in Chicago deliver the restaurant’s famous hot dogs over a busy counter.
An artfully composed cheesecake with matcha, berries and hibiscus at Grant Achatz’s modernist Alinea. sister” in Aztec), serving topnotch versions of Mexican street food. Chef Paul Kahan’s stable of stars includes Blackbird, one of the first modern restaurants to jump on the farm-to-table bandwagon; Avec, a wine bar whose spare design inspired Momofuku in New York; Publican Quality Meats; and the Violet Hour, one of the city’s pioneering craftcocktail sources. Nico Osteria, a relative newbie in the collection, excels with Italian seafood dishes. Steakhouses abound. The old
guard is represented by places like Gene & Georgetti, prized for the char the unseasoned steaks pick up from 1,000-degree gas broilers. Of the more contemporary steakhouses, Chicago Cut Steakhouse, overlooking the Chicago River, is choicest, in part for the VIP service it doles out to Regular Joes but mostly for its superior shopping. The beef, all prime, is aged and butchered in-house, and even the Oreo mint pie shows flair, flavored with an intense peppermint oil.
Alinea, 1723 N. Halsted St., (312) 867-0110, www.alinearestaurant. com: At chef Grant Achatz’s exquisite, modernist dinner theater, the show might include “spring” (asparagus, begonias, pea tendrils) being served on “concrete” (meringue) that smacks of black truffles, a live fire and dessert balloons filled with helium and tasting of green apple. Chicago Cut Steakhouse, 300 N. LaSalle St., (312) 329-1800, www. chicagocutsteakhouse.com: The new-wave steakhouse’s beef is prime, aged and butchered in-house. The service is sterling, the prime rib is fabulous (and should be, for $64) and so is the Dover sole, sauteed in Plugra brand butter. Spring for the Oreo mint pie. Dove’s Luncheonette, 1545 N. Damen Ave., (773) 645-4060, www. doveschicago.com: A Tex-Mex diner with a Southern accent, swivel stools at a winding zinc counter, a jukebox playing blues and soul, and heaping helpings of modernized comfort food. Gene & Georgetti, 500 N. Franklin St., (312) 527-3718, geneandgeorgetti.com: At this 74-year-old institution — supposedly built with wood salvaged from the Chicago Fire of 1871 — the intense heat of its gas broilers gives a beautiful char to the wet-aged sirloin, filet mignon and bone-in rib-eye. Italian American dishes include winy chicken Vesuvio with potato wedges and peas. Fat Rice, 2957 W. Diversey Ave., (773) 661-9170, www.eatfatrice. com: Macanese food borrows from the repertoires of China, Portugal, India and Southeast Asia. The signature dish is arroz gordo (or “fat rice”): jasmine rice layered in a clay pot with Chinese sausage, Portuguese chicken thighs, pickles and more, typically served only in homes on special occasions. Fatso’s Last Stand, 2258 W. Chicago Ave., (773) 245-3287, www. fatsoslaststand.com: Picking a winner among wieners is impossible, but Fatso’s oozes easy charm. The guy behind the counter sounds a gong after every order of signature dogs. (“Always charred! Never steamed!”) Get yours “wit everything,” and it arrives in its poppy-seed bun with green relish, yellow mustard, chopped onions, “sport” (chili) peppers and a dusting of celery salt.
La Chaparrita, 2500 S. Whipple St., (773) 247-1402: A combination grocery store and dining room, this taqueria uses a charola, a wide circular stove top, for cooking. Go for the twoply tripe taco, with its agreeable funk and crisp-soft chew. And go easy on the seriously hot salsa, made in-house. Parachute, 3500 N. Elston Ave., (773) 654-1460, www.parachuterestaurant.com: Chef-couple Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim fuse American, Asian and French ideas to come up with a thrillingly original menu — and a groovy design. Order the bing bread, flavored as if it were a loaded baked potato. Tete Charcuterie, 1114 W. Randolph St., (312) 733-1178, tetechicago.com: Source of some of the city’s best cured meats and sausages. Home in on the pates and terrines; pink “pot roast” in a mosaic with carrots is like nothing any mom ever made. The biggest surprise in this former meatpacking operation might be the kitchen’s celebration of vegetables in the “garden,” staged in a deep pot. Topolobampo, 445 N. Clark St., (312) 661-1434, www.rickbayless. com/restaurants/topolobampo: Twenty-five years after Rick Bayless launched “Topolo,” this sophisticated companion to Frontera Grill still sets the standard for high-end Mexican cuisine in this country. Lunch is a deal: $25 for three courses. Uncle John’s Barbecue, 8249 S. Cottage Grove Ave., (773) 952-6236, www.unclejohnsbarbecue.com: A no-frills barbecue joint where you order from a cashier behind a glass partition and ought to eat the signature meats on the spot: Fried hot links lose their snap if they travel, and pork tips (sparerib ends) lose crustiness. The source: an “aquarium” smoker that helps define Chicago-style barbecue. Ask for the sauce on the side — with extra napkins, of course. Vito and Nick’s, 8433 S. Pulaski Road, (773) 735-2050, vitoandnicks. com: Red and green neon glows in the windows, the stools are aqua, and the drill is cash-only and no deliveries. The main attraction is thin-crust pizza adorned with sausage and cheese and cut grid fashion, or “party style.” The crackery, buttery crust nearly upstages the toppings. Fans of local fish come for the Friday night special: all-you-can-eat smelts (plus salad and fries) for $10.
Sunday, September 27, 2015 www.wcfcourier.com The FALL TRAVEL Courier
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y r o t c e r i D y r e n i W Planor the Perfect weekend retreat... sPontaneous road triP.
From weekly events at the winery to our on-site retreat lodge, Fireside is the perfect relaxing destination. Enjoy live music. Host your next party. Celebrate an anniversary. Or simply enjoy a bottle sitting by the fireside. We invite you to make plans to visit – or just stop by. Savor the sensations with our select wines, great live entertainment and relax by the fire to take in the beautiful countryside
39053 Great River Rd., Guttenberg, IA 563-252-2665 www.promiselandwinery.com
Family owned and operated with award winning wines 1966 337th St. Decorah, IA
563-735-5809 Visit our tasting room in Marengo, IA — just 4 miles north of I-80 and Tanger Outlets
Keep up to date on winery events, check Retreat room availability and purchase wine online at firesidewinery.com
Check website for hours www.wwwinery.com
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The Courier
FALL TRAVEL
www.wcfcourier.com Sunday, September 27, 2015
Hot spots beneath that cold Food challenges, exterior in wintry Milwaukee Iowa-style KATE SILVER
Special to The Washington Post
MILWAUKEE — It’s just after 11:30 p.m. on a frigid winter night in Milwaukee, when my boyfriend, Neil, and I descend a handful of stairs bathed in red light and enter a small, very dark, very crowded space that is one of the hottest late-night spots in town. We add our name to “the list,” behind seven other parties, and we’re told it’ll be about a 20-minute wait. “Ice Ice Baby” blares so loudly that we have to speak directly into each other’s ear as we stand shoulder to shoulder in the crowd, our eyes tracking servers as they walk from the lighted kitchen to the dim restaurant floor. They’re delivering large, steaming bowls of what we’ve all come here for: ramen. Yes, ramen. Once a college dorm-room staple in America, ramen is now to soups what kale is to greens. That is, every Friday and Saturday night at 11:30, a fine-dining spot named Ardent morphs into Red Light Ramen, and bowls of the tonkotsu soup are the only thing on the menu. Everyone here seems giddily happy, and as our ramen shows up, its broth so rich in pork it’s practically opaque, it’s easy to understand why. The salty soup is the epitome of comfort food, punctuated with the complementary textures and flavors of the noodles, pork, nori, egg and pickled wasabi greens. We slurp it down without speaking, using both hands as we clumsily attempt to coordinate chopstick and spoon motions. Milwaukee is manageable in size and easy to navigate, and it has incredible food options. The Walker’s Point neighborhood is an industrial area that’s seeing an influx of local, artisanal businesses. Here, the sidewalks are filled with people
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Eat late-night ramen noodles prepared by professional chefs at Milwaukee’s Red Light Ramen/Arden. energetically chatting and laughing, having just come from a boozy tour at Milwaukee Brewing Co. or its neighbor, Central Standard Distillery. We walk through Clock Shadow Creamery, a small, dairy-filled storefront that proudly proclaims its status as Wisconsin’s first “urban” creamery, and ogle the extensive cheese offerings. Then we visit Indulgence Chocolatiers, a chocolate-and-wine shop, and each choose a decadent truffle for now (caramel fleur de sel for me and mint for Neil) and a vanilla bean malt bar for later (it doesn’t last long). The cold doesn’t seem to put much of a damper on the frozen custard business, we learn when we drive to Leon’s, an old-timey drive-in with huge neon signs. There’s a line five deep outside (where’s a good carhop when you need one?). Neil joins it while I wait in the car with the heat on, too cold for custard. Or so I think, until I try a bite of his doubledip of butter pecan, which, with the ideal combination of saltysweet-fat to make the addiction centers in my brain stand on end, makes perfect sense, winter or no winter. The next day, at about 3 p.m.,
Sobelman’s bar and restaurant is more packed than the ramen place. We’ve heard — from my boyfriend’s personal trainer, no less — that they make the best burger and bloody mary in town, so we belly up to the bar and wait. There I watch in awe as the bartender constructs beverage after beverage, putting things on a stick that just don’t belong on a drink. Like bacon-wrapped deep fried cheese curds. And a bacon cheeseburger slider. On our way out of town, we stop at a little brunch spot called Blue’s Egg, where we struggle to interpret parts of the menu. “With the monkey bread,” Neil asks the waiter, “what does it mean to ‘crunk’ it?” Our server explains that the “crunk” version comes with a side of whiskey caramel sauce. (It is insanely good.) With that, we get in the car, preparing for our 90-mile drive back to Chicago/reality. But as we turn out of the parking lot, we still aren’t quite ready for the weekend to end. I look at Neil. “One more custard?” I ask. He puts Leon’s in the GPS again. This time, we both line up in the freezing cold for one last bite of butter pecan.
Got an appetite as big as a whale’s? Why not take on some of Iowa’s most extreme food challenges? At traveliowa.com, the getaway blog offers a few places to start, including the Cedar Valley’s own Screaming Eagle, along with what purports to be the world’s hottest burger and sandwiches that pack more calories than what you should eat in a week. Besides heartburn, you’ll get your meal free. Grab a napkin and read on: 28,890 Challenge: That’s three 9630 hamburgers (named for the John Deere tractor) at the Screaming Eagle Bar & Grill – plus three kinds of cheese, jalapeno bacon, ham, grilled onions and mushrooms, jalapenos, lettuce, pickle tomato and spicy mayo. On the side, an order of fries, half order of onion rings and a side salad. Now, chow it down in under 45 minutes. Adam Emmenecker Challenge, Jethro’s BBQ, Des Moines area: He was a former basketball standout at Drake University, and Jethro’s BBQ has concocted a meal from all his favorites. You have to eat it all in 15 minutes, too: Pork tenderloin, buffalo chicken tenders, white cheddar sauce, fried cheese curds, Texas brisket, applewood smoked bacon, cheeseburger, spicy pickle and a pound of fries. Adam Richman from Travel Channel’s “Man vs. Food” tried and failed. Airbus burger, Airliner Bar in Iowa City: Can you eat a pound of ground beef, four bacon strips, four slices cheese
and three onion rings in a ciabatta roll with a large order of fries — at one sitting and in less than 30 minutes? Big Max Challenge, Max’s Highway Diner, Altoona: It’s as big as a dinner plate – a fourpound sandwich made from a ground beef patty, covered in melted cheese and all the fixings on a giant Kaiser bun. Scarf it down in less than an hour. Killosal sandwich, B&B Grocery, Meat & Deli, Des Moines: One challenge, four sandwiches, 20 minutes. Four cheeseburgers, a pork tenderloin, vegetables and deli meat. Triple Double Food Challenge, Brick City Grill, Ames. Can you do it? Six beef patties, a dozen cheese slices, 12 pieces of bacon, toasted brioche bun and a double order of fries in 30 minutes or less. Xtreme Hellfire Challenge, Xtreme Smokehouse & Grill, Washington. It’s billed as the hottest burger in the world: a ½-pound beef patty infused with ghost pepper powder, Carolina Reaper pepper, cayenne pepper and HPLC-rated five million Scoville units of pure chili extract before grilling. Then it’s loaded onto a bun and treated to lettuce, homemade pepper relish, Xtreme Hellfire Sauce, a sprinkle of Carolina Reaper powder and topped with a few drops of pure grain alcohol. Then the whole thing is set ablaze. You’ve got 15 minutes to eat it, and a 10-minute waiting period after completion.
Sunday, September 27, 2015 www.wcfcourier.com The FALL TRAVEL Courier
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Deadwood’s historic facade hides plenty of modern-day fun DEADWOOD, S.D. — With ongoing restoration, Deadwood, South Dakota is being transformed back into the frontier town that once drew legends and legions in search of their fortune. The entire town is a Registered National Historic Landmark, but don’t let that fool you. Behind all the historic facades is plenty of modern-day fun. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 set off one of the last great gold rushes in the country. In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills. That’s where they came across a gulch full of dead trees and a creek full of gold…and Deadwood was born. Practically overnight, the tiny gold camp boomed into a town that played by its own rules that attracted outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers along with the gold seekers. Wild Bill Hickok was one of those men who came looking for fortune. But just a few short weeks after arriving, he was gunned down while holding a poker hand of aces and eights— forever after known as the Dead Man’s Hand. Calamity Jane also made a
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Deadwood visitors love watching the daily shoot-outs between outlaws and lawmen on street. name for herself in these parts and is buried next to Hickok in Mount Moriah Cemetery. Other legends, like Potato Creek Johnny, Seth Bullock and Al
Swearengen, created their legends and legacies in this tiny Black Hills town. Watch daily shootouts on Main Street. See re-enact-
ments of the slaying of Wild Bill Hickok and the trial of his murderer, Jack McCall. See the final resting places of Deadwood legends or take a walking or guided
tour of the entire town that’s a registered National Historic Landmark. There are plenty of amenities, including resort hotels and spas, casinos and shops, fine dining and gaming with up to $1,000 bet limits. Everything is within walking distance so visitors can easily experience the mountain town in the Black Hills. Tucked in the northern reaches of the Black Hills, Deadwood offers year-round outdoor recreation including mountain biking, hiking, fly fishing, skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and more. Plus, you’re just one scenic drive from Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Devils Tower National Monument and other great Black Hills attractions. Source: travelsouthdakota.com
Minneapolis offers flavorful, diverse dining scene MINNEAPOLIS — Deliciously diverse and always evolving, the Minneapolis dining scene packs a flavorful punch. From Uptown to downtown, the city bursts with top-notch restaurants, talented chefs and friendly staff ready to serve.
nightlife. A palpable energy feeds an exciting dining scene that ranges from the Monte Carlo, a classy joint with a century of service, to sleek, sexy Cosmos, a stunning temple to edible opulence. Kieran’s Irish Pub brings a bit of Ireland to Minneapolis in the form of a Warehouse District Anchored by the Target traditional Irish pub, while Center’s Hubert’s Sports Bar exotic Saffron exudes global & Grill, scores of music venues taste and ambiance. and the iconic First Avenue, Hennepin Avenue the Warehouse District is Restaurants in the city’s the epicenter of Minneapolis bustling theater district serve
dramatic, inspired fare. Showcasing contemporary Italian cuisine at its finest, Marin Restaurant located in Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis, never ceases to delight guests. CRAVE’s chic atmosphere and locally sourced food impress as much as their rooftop views, while the more casual Rock Bottom Brewery satisfies with handcrafted beers.
more than 50 in the core alone — is impressive. Offerings span the globe and excite the palate: established visionaries such as Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, Vincent and Hell’s Kitchen push the culinary envelope, while Bon Appetit darlings Mission American Kitchen and FireLake Grill earn positive buzz. Clubby Oceanaire is loaded with leatherette booths and retro charm. Trendy Café Downtown core The depth and quality of Lurcat attracts the hip and downtown’s restaurants — discriminating crowd while
cheery Brit’s Pub offers the perfect beer food.
Farm fresh
A creation of long-time natural restaurateur, Brenda Langton, Spoonriver has been serving the finest gourmet natural cuisine since 2006. The Red Stag Supperclub, Minnesota’s first LEED-CI certified restaurant, serves as many local and organic foods as possible. Source: minneapolis.org
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The Courier
FALL TRAVEL
Wake up to Burlington!
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www.wcfcourier.com Sunday, September 27, 2015
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