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.
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.
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| If you like the combination of sweet and salty flavors you have got to try putting sharp cheddar cheese on your pie. |
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| You can get many combinations including chocolate cheddar and blue cheese cheddar. |
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| When you see this sign you have got to stop for some cheese and pie. |
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