Mars Cheese Castle

Dear readers, please forgive me for my lengthy absence. I've been spending a lot of my free time decorating and improving things in my apartment and that has led to not getting out much over the past couple of weeks. I've been sitting on this Mars Cheese Castle post for nearly two weeks now and it's time to share with you this awesome cheese shop that has become a tradition among my group of friends. 

I was probably in junior high or high school the first time I stopped at the Mars Cheese Castle - 15 years ago it was a divey time warp that didn't look all that much like a castle but within it was contained a cornucopia of cheese that would cause any average cheese-loving American to swoon. Now, it is a legitimate brick castle complete with faux moat and pointy roof thanks to a complete rebuild of the shop a couple of years ago. Don't be fooled, dear reader, because cheese is not the only treasure you will find here. There are a myriad of other Wisconsin made treats ranging from whole apple pies (baked in a brown bag by Wisconsin's own Elegant Farmer), New Glarus beer, Door County wine, to jellies, local honeys and a whole wall of hot sauce. The store is ginormous and really exciting for food lovers - I was able to find white truffle honey, which I've been looking for for years (and which tastes amazing drizzled over goat cheese flatbread).

Somehow, day tripping to the castle has become an annual (sometimes biannual) tradition for me and my gal pals. Located about an hour north of Chicago in Kenosha, Wisconsin, it is something most Chicagoans visiting Wisconsin have seen driving up the 94 expressway. Our personal tradition dictates that breakfast must be had at the Cracker Barrel down the road from the castle and cheese drenched apple pie (brown bag) must be devoured after procuring our cheese and other miscellaneous comestibles.

If you like the combination of sweet and salty flavors you
have got to try putting sharp cheddar cheese on your pie.

You can get many combinations including chocolate cheddar and blue cheese cheddar.

When you see this sign you have got to stop for some cheese and pie.

A vacation to Door County, Wisconsin

Two weekends ago my gal pals and I took a much needed weekend trip to the Hamptons of the Midwest. That's right, peeps, Door County, Wisconsin. After trying to get my girls up there for ten years, we finally were able to plan it and they adored it. It's about four and a half hours away from Chicago and great for a long weekend. There's tons to do no matter what your interests are from biking up the coast, parasailing, paddle boarding, kayaking, to lots of shopping and great beaches. However, there are a few things which you must do if you find yourself in the Scandinavia of the US.

Stop at the Walmart in Sturgeon Bay to stock up on food and supplies. Because no trip is ever complete without a trip to the local Walmart.

Rent a condo and cook half of your meals at home. We stayed at the Landmark Resort in Egg Harbor because this is where I've been staying with my family since I was a little kid. They've got an indoor pool that's open 24 hours and we made good use of it.

Cook an awesome dinner your first night in town.

Walk around the resort and take pictures of the scenery.

Get up early in the morning for a trek to Al Johnson's for some Swedish eats.

Take obligatory pictures of the goats on the roof while waiting for a table.

Take silly pictures in the gift shop while still waiting for a table.

Fill up on Swedish EVERYTHING, including meatballs, pancakes, and lingonberry preserves (not pictured).

Go to the beach because the sun is burning holes in your skin and the only cure is jumping in a large body of cool water.

Later on, for dinner, you must witness the famous Door County fish boil. We went to Pelletier's in Fish Creek for ours.

You will learn how to bone your piece of fish, but it won't work as well as in the pictures because whoever created this manual is clearly a fish boning guru.

But aside from the bones it'll be the best piece of whitefish (caught that day!) you've ever laid on your taste buds.

The next morning you will wake up early to make breakfast, check out of your room, and then drive along Hwy 42 to visit all the shops.

You will take more obligatory pictures with the faux humans at Nan & Jerry's Bait & Tackle in Fish Creek.

Then you will stop at every food market along Hwy 42 from Fish Creek to Egg Harbor.

You will see cherry pies at every stop along the way and kick yourself for not buying one. You were conflicted because Cafe Selmarie in Chicago makes the best damn cherry streusel pie ever ever ever but when you return you will find out that it's currently "out of rotation" from their shop. You will stare longingly at this picture of scrumptious cherry pies.

And really, what trip to Wisconsin is complete without a basket of deep fried cheese curds among the best friends a girl could ask for.

Connie's Diner (Formerly Phil Rohrer's) in Two Rivers, Wisconsin

My gal pals and I took a trip to Door County last weekend (more on that in the next post). I've been up there a handful of times since grade school, but one particular trip with my brother and his wife, had us stopping at this 50 something year old small town diner called Phil Rohrer's along the way. We got burgers for like three bucks and because my affinity for greasy spoons in Small Town USA abounds, I knew I had to get back here, like stat. Well, stat became about a decade and in that decade Phil Rohrer retired and Connie took over. I may spend a lot of time going to gourmet restaurants and cooking with unusual ingredients but I am a sucker for dives who believes that therein lies the lifeblood of America. If you want to truly know America you must visit its small town diners. Connie's Diner, located about 3 hours north of Chicago, is one of them.

We arrived with empty bellies and salivating tastebuds at around lunchtime, settled down in a booth, and studied the menu.

Fresh caught fish beckoned from the specials board.

I ordered the classic, a griddle burger slathered in mayonnaise on a toasted bun. Sometimes you've gotta go for simplicity.

This is the coconut shrimp Nina ordered.

Jessie ordered the lake perch.  

 And I...well, I certainly never said there was going to be anything healthy about this place. They are famous for their "raw chips and gravy," which are freshly fried thin potato chips in a brown gravy. And surprisingly delicious. I have no idea what is in that brown gravy and I don't think I want to know.  

 I often think this decor is overdone or ends up looking like a contrived 50's diner. Back when it was Phil Rohrer's it didn't have the kitsch, which was part of the charm for me.

Our waitress did all the cooking for our table herself and brought us our food one by one as it was finished.

 To finish the meal off I ordered a slice of delicious homemade custard pie and Jessie ordered the red velvet cake.