Sheboygan Roadtrip

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties

- Back to Sheboygan for more

Oktoberfest is here! My favorite Octoberfest beer is only found in Wisconsin. It's made this brewery called New Glarus, maybe you've heard of it? I ask with slight sarcasm. If not, I can only assume you've never been to Wisconsin. New Glarus is well known for their Spotted Cow brew but the Staghorn Octoberfest is my favorite beer they make. So I like to spend time in Wisconsin during the Fall. There's lots of spots to go. This week we take a roadtrip back to Sheboygan to see what's up.

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Il Ritrivo

The folks at Il Ritrovo are big time multi-taskers. They run a Neapolitan wood fired pizzeria that gets national acclaim as well as a wine bar and an Italian grocery store. Nowadays pretty much every town has a wood fired pizza place but when Il Ritrivo opened some 15 years ago it was definitely bringing something new to the people of Sheboygan. To their credit they've done nothing but support this place. I highly recommend trying one out if ever here or passing thru. It's as good as anywhere.

Sausage and Basil at Il Ritrivo in Sheboygan

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 Schwarz Fish Market

Sheboygan's location on Lake Michigan makes for some readily available fresh fish in these parts.
Schwarz Fish Market can be traced all the way back to 1912 when it started out as a smoked fish shop located on the Sheboygan River. over the years they expanded and went into the fresh fish business as well as prepared foods. If like me you're always down for a plate of fried lake perch this is a nice place to stop and get some. Even better is the fact you can take home some fresh whitefish, walleye etc. No doubt about it these places are a dying breed. One day they'll all be gone.

Fried Plate of Lake Perch at Schwarz Fish Market

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Union Oriental Market

I've posted before on Wisconsin's connections with the Hmong people and how they've successfully integrated into many Wisconsin towns. Sheboygan has a few spots where you can get your hands on Hmong style egg rolls and other prepared foods as well as ingredients to cook with. Union Oriental Market was stated in 1982 as a way for the towns local Hmong people to connect and what not. It's grown into a big grocery store with some very popular egg rolls. But it doesn't end with just the egg rolls. the carry-out menu from here is filled with treats like Hmong sausage and Hmong stuffed wings.

 Hmong Style Egg Rolls with a killer hot sauce at Union Oriental Market

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 Four of a Kind

Aside from beer and brats and lake perch and Hmong food there's quite a few other local Sheboygan specialties. One of them is the steak sandwich. It's called a steak sandwich but that's too generic a term for this half steak half hamburger style sandwich. I've posted on them before as they're available at the legendary Miesfeld's Butcher and they're technically called restaurant steaks. Though I believe these are usually popular at home grill outs etc some places like Four of a Kind also serve them. When paired with one of the local Sheboygan style hard rolls, which are the best burger buns in the world, this is a fantastic sandwich. Everything includes a big heaping amount of butter. Oh yeah.

Restaurant Steak Sandwich at Four of a Kind

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Frankie's Pub

Frankie's is a local watering hole popular for not just their booze but also their massive burgers. They easily feed two though in these parts some people can easily eat two. The burger portion of the menu boasts a traditional cheeseburger and also a couple of house creations. I shared a Frankie Burger with my cousin on our visit and it was bigger than I thought it was going to be. It basically took up an entire entree plate and came with a knife in case anyone wants to eat it like a pizza.

Frankie Burger at Frankie's Pub

The burgers are only 12 ounces of fresh angus beef but it's a wide patty on a large hard roll and in the case of the Frankie Burger it comes with alot of toppings. It was smothered with melted Swiss cheese mixed with some well placed Italian seasoning and piled high with sauteed mushrooms. All of that was drenched in beef gravy. The hard rolls being the sturdy buns they are held all of this together just fine. While it tasted more like a Sunday night Pot Roast dinner than a burger I thought my half was worth the calories consumed.

The insides

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Gosse's at the Northwestern House

No trip to Sheboygan for me is complete without a stop at Gosse's. Read all about it in this post from back in 2012. There's three things worth your time at Gosse's. One is the previously mentioned steak sandwich. Two is the lake perch sandwich and three is the torte. The last of those being a special dessert found all over Sheboygan but none do them better than Gosse's. I'm not sure why the torte became so big in Sheboygan but the multi layered cake is found all over. Gosse's are great.

Oreo Torte at Gosse's

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Brockman's Market

Two other stops I recommend come in the form of a small butcher shop. Check out Brockman's if the scene at Miesfeld's is to much for you. Then go get some custard at The Point over in the Falls.

The Point in Sheboygan Falls

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Il Ritrivo
515 S 8th St
Sheboygan, WI 53081
(920) 803-7516

Schwarz Fish Market
828 Riverfront Dr
Sheboygan, WI 53081
(920) 457-4486

Union Market
2022 S 17th St
Sheboygan, WI 53081
(920) 457-0779

Frankie's Pub & Grill
2218 Indiana Ave
Sheboygan, WI 53081
(920) 459-7000

Four of a Kind
811 Indiana Ave
Sheboygan, WI 53081
(920) 457-0977

Gosse's at the Northwestern House

1909 Union Ave

Sheboygan, WI 53081 

(920) 457-8696 

Brockman's Market 

1708 S 12th St

Sheboygan, WI 53081

(920) 457-3063