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Wisconsin
By Andrew Zimmern on October 27, 2009 12:56 PM | Permalink | 10 Comments
Ever been to Camp Randall on game day in Madison on a crisp clear fall day? Badger fans take their football seriously and their tailgating even seriouser. Marching down State Street with the University Band, grabbing a few moments at each house on Fraternity Row to listen to music or grabbing a bratwurst and then pushing on to the stadium is my idea of a perfect morning. Ever fish the lakes in Wisconsin? Pull a trout out of a hidden stream on a late September afternoon?
Or enjoy a burger at the Anchor Bar in Superior? How about eat a farm-to-fork dinner at L'Etoile? Munch on BBQ at Speedqueen? Have you ever done a side by side taste test in your car of the custards served at Kopp's and Leon's? Have you ever cheered on the Bucks at the Bradley Center? What about cow chip tossing in Prairie du Lac? Or dinner at the legendary Sanford's in Milwaukee? Ever stay in a hotel as regal and as quirky as the dowager Pfister? What about tucking into a meal at Lake Park Bistro or Coquette? Have you ever taken in a game at Lambeau Field and cheered on the Packers? Now how about the Wisconsin State Fair? Or touring Roth Kase, or Carr Valley or any of the other superb cheesemaking houses in the Dairy State? Have you gone to the world class spa and hotel at Kohler? Or taken the family to the Dells for the ultimate kitschy family vacation? Have you eaten at any of ancient German or Eastern European restaurants in Milwaukee like Ratzsch's, Three Brothers, Old Town or Ilija's Place? Or how about Usinger's Sausage factory, ever been there? Eaten Ian's pizza late on a Saturday night?
Well I have ... and none of that (almost) was for this shoot. I did get to showcase a couple of my fave haunts in the show and hang out with friends like Shana Martin, Myron at Chalet Cheese and the D'amatos. Wisconsin is America. Not the America of New York or Los Angeles but the America of Lake Tomahawk, where families gather at night for Legion events, meat raffles, bake sales and yes, snowshoe baseball and everyone knows your business, which is good and bad, but the sense of community and respect runs deeper than anywhere else I have ever spent time ... anywhere. I live in Minnesota, moved here 18 years ago from NYC, and with Wisconsin being our next door neighbor and part of the vibrant upper Midwestern 5 state area, I have had more opportunity than most to explore this amazing region ... let me tell you, Wisconsin is awesome. In our show we explored the Lumberjack Bowl in Hayward, made limburger in Monroe, ate lutefisk brats and played snowshoe baseball in Lake Tomahawk, water-crossed in Wausau on snowmobiles at 80 mph, ate our way through Madison and Milwaukee, tossed poop in Prairie du Lac and lots more but as always it's the awesome people I remember most, the little old ladies selling pies at the ballgame to raise money to support our troops overseas, the hundreds of patrons of The Old Fashioned in Madison stuffing themselves on apple pie and cheese curds, the night at Leon's eating the worlds best custard with Sandy and Angie, the chef at Polonaise ... like the crowds scream every Saturday at Camp Randall, "when you've said Wisconsin, you've said it all."
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- rolex: hi
- nathalie : Your show ROCKS!! i watch reruns over and over and it still amazes me every time :) More power...
- Alma : Andrew I am a huge fan of Bizzare Foods and Bizzare World. I watch your show every chance I...
- Endang: Thanks Andrew for visiting and let people in America especially to see beautifulness of Bali....
- Charlie: Chalk me up as one of those who was instantly made ill by watching this episode. The...
Andrew - it's Prairie du Sac, not Lac. Looking forward to the show, anyway (even though I'm from Sauk City)!
Thank You, Thank you, Thank you, for calling Wisconsin the Dairy State!!!!! I'm so tired of seeing the anorexix cows from California that claim they are the dairy state. We Are Wisconsin, Heart of the Midwest, and always the Dairy State
Andrew - just watched your show tonight on Wisconsin. Great job depicting all the things we love to do everyday in the heart of the USA. My friends and I love to skip our snowmobiles across the lake on the open water, have a cold beer, eat cheese, and watch the Packers! Gotta love Ians in Madison. We are going there this weekend before the Badger-Purdue game. Thank you from Oconomowoc!
I am also from Minnesota and enjoy regular forays into the Dairy State. My husband and I were recently at the Friday Fish Fry at the Palm Garden in Milwaukee and had been told that you had filmed there, so we anxiously watched for that in the Wisconsin program. We did finally catch a glimpse of the Palm in the closing credits. Would have loved to have seen it -- and the adjacent Lakefront Brewery with the best tour -- featured more prominently, but realize there's a lot to take in in Wisconsin. Maybe a second episode is in order?
Andrew, I missed your show on Wisconsin, so I'll have to watch the rerun on Nov 3. I was told by another viewer that you might have tried czarnina (duck blood soup). I will be interested in hearing what you had to say about it. I live in Minnesota, and making czarnina is a family tradition of ours.
Andrew, This blog post is great and really makes me proud to live in Madison, in the heart of Badger country. I found it amusing to see Ian's in the episode, having ate there for lunch just the other day. Would have loved to see more Madison footage - like the UW band, or anything you depicted in your blog opening here. I agree with Beth - maybe a second episode is in order. Love your show, by the way.
Thanks for all your kind words about our wonderful state. My wife and I watched the Wisconsin show and loved it, we're going to Ian's pizza on Saturday because of your recommendation.
Also, thanks for recommending Rusty's Market in Cairns Australia on your Bizarre Foods show, we would have missed out on a great experience if you didn't feature it on your show!
thanks for the great visit to lake tom...that kind of publicity is just what the northwoods needs. i cant believe we actually made it onto the travel channel. i mean really we arent even on a map
I am so excited that you came to Wisconsin. I agree with what you had to say in your blog about how great it is here. I have lived all over, London, LA, Las Vegas and many more...I just moved here 4 months ago and I love it. I will most likely spend my life here. I always was a big city girl until I moved to Monroe WI. I wish you could have come here. This tiny little town will leave you with a big smile on your face. Take care!
andrew im so glad you picked ians pizza to try the famous mac and chz pizza. brings back memories. i used to work across the street and they would always be open after closing the bar. they were always ther when ever i had the late night munchies.