Category: Food & Drink
Get the scoop on Door County food and drink scene, including breweries, restaurants and taverns. From Brussels to Washington Island, we’ve got the latest on what the peninsula’s chefs, bartenders, and artisans are cooking up for you in Door County.
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Land of Midnight Sun Comes to Light in Door County: Scandinavian traditions in the Door
Scandinavians staying in Door County have been known to experience a more friendly type of “Stockholm Syndrome” whereby the affected travels thousands of miles to feel as if he never left home. Case-in-point is recent Swedish immigrant Helene Ingsten-Anderson, owner of Flora Special Occasion Flowers in Sister Bay, who sees glimpses of her homeland at […]
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If you’ve never eaten at Good Eggs you are, in my opinion, missing out on one of Door County’s best and most unique breakfast experiences. (Maybe I’m biased: Joel Bremer, owner/manager/head cook at Good Eggs, is a friend and former roommate. I was actually one of Joel’s guinea pigs for the restaurant when finalizing the […]
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The Peninsula’s Golden Buzz: Gathering honey in Door County
Ray Bradbury once asserted that all bees have a smell. And if they don’t, they should for, “their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.” I roll this thought around in my head in slow motion, as I listen to the low hum of thousands of bees circling the three of us. We […]
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“Handshake and Trust”: Washington Island and the Cultivation of Island Wheat Beer
“People love the story of the beer,” Kirby Nelson says simply. “They love the fact that the ingredients are close to home, and that it’s made by a Wisconsin brewery.” For people who are in love with the way Door County “used to be,” it certainly doesn’t get better than Washington Island. The island, located […]
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Gratitude is Attitude: Uncle Tom’s
It’s not unusual for the soul searcher to pull up roots and start a new life in a new place. A man compelled to search for peace and quiet might pack his things, travel as far north as possible, turn right at the farmer’s field onto a quiet, seldom traveled road, and hole up in […]
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One of the best things about summer is cooking with fresh, local produce. All winter, I make do with vegetables and fruit that have traveled from afar – losing most of their flavor along the way. Come July, however, an array of brightly-colored and flavored offerings are available, the strawberry being one of my favorites. […]
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It took their honeymoon for Carol and Dick Skare to realize they could fall in love all over again. But this time, it was with an idea – to open a restaurant in Door County. The beginnings of The Cookery restaurant in Fish Creek began as most romantic endeavors do, with a chance meeting. Wanting […]
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Familiar Faces: The Sister Bay Bowl
The old adage “good help is hard to find” might be true when it comes to staffing a restaurant. Of course, there are always exceptions, and the Sister Bay Bowl is one of them. “The Bowl,” as it is called by locals and longtime visiting patrons alike, has long had a reputation for giving ample […]
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Good Taste is All in the Family: The Shoreline Restaurant
Mike and Mary Mead have a saying about how your meal is served at their Shoreline Restaurant in Gills Rock: “First you eat with your eyes.” If that’s true, between “drinking in” the panoramic water view and enjoying the presentation, you could be full before you take your first bite. But the Meads invite you […]
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Donny’s Glidden Lodge Restaurant
The highest praise you can give a restaurant in the county is to say that locals frequent it. That is definitely the case at Donny’s Glidden Lodge Restaurant. You aren’t just going to find locals, though; visitors and summer residents are also very much in the know when it comes to where to find a […]
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Actor, Prankster, Restrauteur & “Mayor”: Fish Creek’s Digger DeGroot
In Door County, the definition of what makes someone a “local” seems to fluctuate depending upon who you ask. For some, it’s a title given to all babies born north of the county line; for others, it’s a designation reserved for those whose family trees have roots on the peninsula through multiple generations; and then […]
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Approaching the Coyote Roadhouse in the high summer season, you are likely to see cars filling the lot, parked amongst the trees and lined up along the roadside. Walk in the door and the place is hopping. Bar stools are occupied, booths are filled with families, friends are mingling at tables on the porch overlooking […]
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Prohibition Era in Door County
As the harsh Door County winter settled in shortly before Thanksgiving in 1933, John R. Seaquist addressed the Door County Council of Religious Education at the Ephraim Moravian Church. On that 19th day of November, just two weeks before the repeal of the 18th Amendment would be ratified, Seaquist pledged his organization “to do all […]
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Island Resources Equal Sustainable Saveur: Washington Island Hotel and Restaurant
A ship’s captain could take comfort while guiding his vessel through Death’s Door, knowing a nourishing meal and a peaceful night’s sleep awaited him on Washington Island. The Washington Hotel and its kitchen, established by seafarer Captain Ben Johnson in 1904, existed to provide those at helm with reprieve from the ship’s hold. A century […]
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How Does Your Garden Grow?: Door County’s Organic Farms
For more and more locals, raising their crops and herds in harmony with Mother Nature is becoming the method of choice. By following organic practices (particularly, eliminating the use of pesticides and genetically modified organisms – or GMOs) these farmers are kind to the environment while producing exceptionally flavorful and nutritious foods, and they’re doing […]
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Healthy Casual: Bluefront Café in Sturgeon Bay
With the revitalization of Sturgeon Bay’s downtown area, Third Avenue is bustling with foot traffic through its shops and Jefferson Street has a full three blocks of antique, craft and specialty stores. And let’s face it, all of that shopping can make a person hungry! Off on the quiet end of Third Avenue there is […]
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Living the Life Less Ordinary: The Red Cup Coffee Shop
From an outsider’s perspective, living on Washington Island is a difficult thing to fully appreciate – especially if you’re one of those city-born people, accustomed to all the luxuries of an urban setting, who thinks that to move there would constitute drastic, even crazy, behavior. I traveled there this past February, however, to meet with […]
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A Restaurant for All Seasons: Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar
A sage is defined as “one venerated for experience, judgment and wisdom.” Mitch Wise, chef and owner of Sage Restaurant & Wine Bar in downtown Sturgeon Bay, despite the obvious pun on his own last name, is a restaurateur who certainly isn’t lacking in any one of those characteristics. Sage, which opened in 1998, is […]
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I went to dinner at Trio Restaurant in Egg Harbor with two friends in preparation for this article; my intentions were to enhance and refresh my memory of the dining experience, capturing the nuances of the setting, the cuisine, and the service. However, as I savored the last spoonfuls of the orange chocolate mousse, I […]
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A Tiki Bar…Northwoods Style: Fred & Fuzzy’s
The delicious smells of an open grill wafting through the air, the sounds of waves washing upon the shore, sunshine on your face and an ice cold margarita sweating on the table in front of you – no, this is not some Caribbean island fantasy. You are sitting at one of the outdoor tables at […]