It has happened to almost everyone.
You return from vacation and some well-meaning foodie shrieks, ”You were in (enter your destination here) and you didn`t eat (enter regional specialty here)?”
So you fall into a blue funk, knowing you probably have missed another one of life`s peak gastronomic experiences.
In some places, signature dishes are so inextricably tied to a region that seeking them out is easy. Anyone who doesn`t try Key lime pie in South Florida, lobster in Maine or hot dogs and deep-dish pizza in Chicago gets exactly what he deserve.
But some specialties take a little more work to search out, especially in the Midwest, where the culinary legacy is all too often overcooked steak, a foil-baked potato and a salad of iceberg lettuce, packaged croutons and bottled French dressing in day-glo orange.
However, there are some gems out there, discovered during research for
”Quick Escapes from Chicago: 25 Weekend Trips from the Windy City”(Globe Pequot Press, $12.95), a book I co-authored.
Here are six dishes that are worth a turn off the highway:
– Pasty: If you`re traveling on U.S. Highway 151 in Wisconsin between Madison and Platteville, don`t miss the Cornish specialty, pasty, in the old mining town of Mineral Point. Lead miners, who had emigrated from Cornwall in western England, carried the meat pies in their pockets, then heated them on the blade of a shovel for lunch.
While it rhymes with ”nasty,” the pasty is a delicious combination of steak or ground beef, potatoes and onions (and sometimes rutabagas) baked slowly between two flaky crusts. A good place to experience your first pasty in Mineral Point (where artists` studios have replaced the lead mines) is at the Red Rooster Cafe. For about $5, you`ll have a delicious meal-at ground level, of course.
Proprietor Helen Lawlinger`s recipe has been passed down from one generation to the next.
”For the restaurant we bake it in a large casserole,” said Patti McKinley, Helen`s daughter, who works alongside her mother, ”but if you take it to go, it`s like a turnover. That way the miners could hold it by a corner of the crust and then throw the corner (held by dirty hands) away. It was the first fast food.”
(Two other areas in the Midwest in which pasty is served are the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Minnesota`s Iron Range.)
Red Rooster Cafe, 158 High St., Mineral Point, Wis.; 608-987-9936.
– Blueberry pancakes: Southwest Michigan is the blueberry belt with about 50 million pounds produced annually. No one puts those sapphires of the produce aisle to better use than the North Beach Inn, a wonderful South Haven restaurant where the portions are huge and motherly waitresses make sure the coffee cup is never empty.
Some places dump a glop of blueberry pie filling atop pancakes that could patch a tire, but here the pancakes (which cost about $5) are featherweight and responsible for large crowds queuing on weekend mornings. The blueberries also show up in muffins, waffles and French toast. Anyway you order `em, this is a breakfast worth the drive.
North Beach Inn, 51 North Shore Drive, South Haven, Mich.; 616-637-6738.
– Bratwurst: Bratwurst is available all over Wisconsin, but even natives of the Badger State know that if they want the best of the wurst, they head to Sheboygan. Here German immigrants first brought brats from the Old World in the early- to mid-1800s.
The locals are friendly folks (providing you pronounce their favorite food as ”brought” rather than as an obnoxious child) who recommend that you go to Luedke`s or Poth`s Meats, where they weigh about five to the pound-and grill your own. But it`s awfully hard to fire up the Webber in the back seat of a Honda Civic, so weary travelers who want to experience Sheboygan`s calling card can head to either location of the Charcoal Inn, where it is served on a traditional Sheboygan hard roll, slathered with brown mustard and smothered with onions and pickles-all for just a few dollars.
Charcoal Inn, 1637 Geele St., Sheboygan, Wis.; 414-458-1147; or 1313 S. 8th St., Sheboygan; 414-458-6988.
– Sauerbraten/schnitzel: When you get a craving for Teutonic taste treats, there`s only one place to go: Milwaukeee.
At least a half a dozen spots are worthy of mention, but Karl Ratzsch`s Old World Restaurant, which has been around since 1904, is one standout. The sauerbraten versus schnitzel dilemma is handled easily with a combination dish. Even at a tab that hovers just under $20, it remains the restaurant`s best seller.
For a sauerbraten that is fork-tender, the roast sirloin is marinated in three vinegars-red, white and tarragon-and pickling spices. The secret to the schnitzel, Tom Andrea, general manager, insists, is veal that is first-rate.
”Veal is very expensive, so it has to be closely monitored when it is delivered, so you make sure the quality is consistent.”
You can find these dishes in Chicago, but it`s doubtful you can find them in a place where a bread basket overflows with addictive garlic toast and a string trio plays ”Edelweiss” and other appropriate music.
”They do play some Brodway show tunes,” Andrea says, ”providing, of course, that it`s not too crazy.”
Karl Ratzsch`s Old World Restaurant, 320 E. Mason St., Milwaukee;
414-276-2720.
– Fish boil: There`s little danger it will replace the back-yard barbecue, but the fish boil is a grand tradition in Door County, the finger of land that juts out from Wisconsin into Lake Michigan.
From Sturgeon Bay to Gills Rock at the very tip of the peninsula, restaurants and inns tout the authenticity of their fish boil, which was brought here by Scandinavian settlers.
Chunks of whitefish (often caught that very day), seasonings, onions and potatoes (once a major crop in the area) are thrown into an huge pot. Kerosene is tossed on the fire and huge flames leap into the air. The pot bubbles over, taking the fish oil with it. Add rye bread, cole slaw and a thick wedge of cherry or apple pie topped with Wisconsin-rich vanilla ice cream and you have a satisfying meal, to say nothing of a photo opportunity.
Everyone has his own favorite spot, but two of the most popular are The Viking Restaurant ($10.25; nightly, between May and late October) and White Gull Inn ($13.25; Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through October; thereafter, call for the schedule).
The Viking Retaurant, Gills Rock, Wis.; 414-854-2998. White Gull Inn, Fish Creek, Wis.; 414-868-3517.
– Shoofly pie: If New York is the Big Apple, then the Crystal Valley area, 15 miles east of Elkhart, Ind., is the big pie crust.
Crystal Valley is home to 20,000 Amish and Mennonites for whom pie baking is not just a pastime but a way of life. You don`t have to worry about culinary shortcuts here; visitors need only see the horse-drawn buggies to know that doing things the old-fashioned way is not just promotional puffery. Shoofly pie typifies Amish Country: simple, economical and definitely not for anyone watching calories. It originated in Lancaster, Pa., but a quick glance at the recipe, which calls for flour, brown sugar, butter, eggs and a whopping two cups of sorghum, makes it look as if it were something cooked up by dentists with large mortgages.
The best place to experience shoofly pie is at Das Dutchman Essenhaus
(”eating house”), which employs 20 full-time bakers and boasts 33 varieties on its pie menu.
”It`s definitely a big draw,” said John Sauder, general manager at the restaurant. ”But other flavors, such as peanut butter, baked raisin and apple streusel, are very popular too.”
Das Dutchman Essenhaus, 240 U.S. Highway 20, Middlebury, Ind.;
219-825-9471. –
