It's interesting, you travel out of town, you are staying in hotels, and you have to eat, so where do you go? Well first thing is to ask for recommendations from friends. Other ways are to ask for recommendations from hotel staff, because if it turns out bad, it's the staff who sees you when you return and you'll surely tell them about your experiences.
Another way might be to look up local restaurants on restaurant.com. Restaurant.com has many listings, and can even provide you with some very interesting coupon discounts to the local eateries. But don't stop there. Once you get your recommendation, look it up on Yelp.com, and READ the reviews. They can be very informative and save you some headaches, before you purchase your restaurant.com coupon.
Recently we visited a very small restaurant in St. Germain WI called the Wolf Pack Cafe. It is in a small North Woodsie strip mall and seems very uninviting and nothing special about it. The interior is also a North Woods decorated atmosphere, with plenty of sports memorabilia, and of course, photos of Wolves.....duh! But the big surprise at this place was the food. Actually, darn good gourmet food to say the least. We started off our meal with a cup of soup. The flavor was called "Darn Good Soup", and it certainly was. It was very similar to Italian Wedding Soup, but with a tomato base, yesterday's left over hamburgers, shell noodles, and vegetables, along with some very interesting spices. DELICIOUS!!!
Our next course was split between the two of us and was a salad that consisted of Spinach, fresh blueberries, sliced strawberries and walnuts, covered in a dressing that was familiar in taste but I simply could not put my finger on exactly what it was made of, although I did suspect a touch of miracle whip dressing. Our sandwich was the best of all. It was served on sliced home made toasted Asiago baked bread, and filled with fresh basil, mozzarella cheese, and fresh tomato. Again DELICIOUS!
This was followed by Home Made Banana Cream Pie, and a slice of Home Made Coconut Cream Pie, and deliciously tasting fresh coffee.....
Now you have to get there early if you want to try the food here, because they are only open from 6:00AM to 1:30PM. We were pleasantly surprised at the creativity of the chef's creations, and the quality and tast of the food. I'd give it five stars, and it is the best place we have eaten, so far, on our Northern WI adventure so far.
Our evening meal was at a restaurant in Minocqua WI called "Matt Morgans". We started off our evening with Bloody Mary. Our table was situated on a windowed porch like area over looking beautiful Lake Minocqua. At first the service was quite quick. Our Drinks were served promptly. They did not expect so many customers for a Monday evening, according to the waiter. Our appetizer consisted of chicken wings, and they were served with our choice of sauces. We chose the Sweet Baby Rays Barbecue, an Asian Sesame Seed, and a Buffalo Spicy. Later, as we were eating, he also brought a ranch and a blue cheese. All of them were very good, but the Buffalo was not very spicy or hot to the taste.
Our next course was a cup of Broccolli and Cheddar Cheese soup and a cup of Spicy Mexican Bean. Both were very good also. So far, so good. We were well on our way to enjoying our meal. However, we over heard a trio at the next table complain of the wine they ordered. They had ordered a Shiraz, and I heard the gentleman state that he though it was old, and wanted to know if it came from a "fresh" bottle. The waiter apologized and checked with the bar tender and ensured him it was a fresh bottle and would he like to choose another selection. The gentleman switched to a Chardonnay and I never heard him complain after that.
We waited a long time for our main course. The waiter was certainly overwelmed, and I am sure the kitchen was the same. I ordered the Barbecued Ribs, and my companion ordered the Baked Walleye, with a cream sauce. The ribs were obviously not freshly made, and were somewhat cold. They did fall off the bone, but were not up to our expectations. The walleye would have been good, although somewhat slightly on the cold side, if the chef had not over salted it. Needless to say, we did not stay for desert. Now I must mention that even with our $25.00 off coupon, we still paid an additional $48.00. Way over priced for the service, taste and quality.
Now the best place we have found for evening dinner was "Sister's Saloon" in Arbor Vitae WI. There steaks are great, and their ribs were the best ever. Our host, Heidi, said she and her husband are the new owners and have had it for three years. The Bloody Mary's were terrific, and Heidi made sure they were filled with the local accompaniments of olives, pickle, mushrooms, and pickled brussel sprouts. The steak was a broiled prime rib, plentiful in size. The barbecued ribs were also a half rack, but I swear they gave me a full rack, or I dread what the size of a full rack might be. The portion was huge. I also had a garlic mashed potatoes, and a beef barley soup. We would always go back there for the food, great hosts, and atmousphere.
All in all, we are continuing our tour of the Northwoods, and will continue to explore the many fine restaurants as we travel about.
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