Roadfood in Racine

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties 
- Roadfood Favorites in Racine Wisconsin

I love all the little lake towns found up and down Lake Michigan. I’ve taken the circle tour twice in life which allowed me to visit many of them. Though my favorite is just a short ride from home. Racine sits at the mouth of the Root River just 22 miles south of Milwaukee and 60 miles north of Chicago. It’s neighbors with Kenosha though Racine is typically looked at as the rougher of the two which is probably another reason I like it. Racine isn’t all that different from most Rust Belt towns but its location on Lake Michigan adds some prettiness to the grittiness of it. I’ve been exploring this area for a long time but never for more than a day at a time as it’s so close to home there’s no point in visiting longer than that. But I recently had a work related gig that had me in town for four nights which meant I got to hit up all the classics in one swoop. Racine is a big Roadfood town which is the main reason I like it so much. I always enjoy stopping in at the city’s iconic eateries but usually have to pick and choose as I’m typically only in town a few hours max. Racine has as good of a starting five of iconic eateries as you’ll find in a town of around 75,000. Four of the places we’ll visit have been featured on here before but never together in one swoop like this. Let's check them out. 

Pics from Racine
_______________________________________________

Bendtsen's Bakery

The Kringle is Racine’s claim to fame in the food world so it’s only appropriate that we start out at the locally loved Bendtsen’s Bakery. The Kringle is said to have come to this area with the Danish in the late 1800’s. Racine would later earn the nickname Kringleville giving you an idea of just how popular the kringle is in these parts. The shareable rings of buttered and glazed pastry come in many flavors and are found all over town but my favorite comes from this fourth generation bakery. I just cant decide if it’s the cherry and cream cheese or the pecan - so I always get one of each. Since 1934. 

Kringle from Bendtsen's Bakery
_______________________________________________

Kewpee Sandwich Shop

There’s just 5 locations left of this once thriving franchise that Dave Thomas frequented as a kid (he once credited Kewpee as the inspiration for Wendy’s). I’ve been to them all - three are in Ohio and another is in East Lansing - but the Racine location is by far the best of the bunch. In fact it’s one of the better burgers anywhere. Kewpee is the second oldest hamburger chain in the country having been founded in Flint Michigan all the way back in 1923. Named after the Kewpie doll it’s currently headquartered in Lima Ohio where their downtown location is a local landmark. Though both the Racine and East Lansing locations are separately owned meaning the burgers are a bit different at each of them. There’s a rumor they still grind beef hearts into the blend here in Racine but I don’t know for sure. What I do know is the beef tastes like it used to and the double cheeseburger here is one of my favorite burgers anywhere. They have some weird hours (8a-2p) and some even weirder dolls staring at you as you eat sit in their oldest of old school dining rooms, but this is a burger worth seeking out. Not just one of Wisconsin’s best but one of the best burgers anywhere. Since 1926. 

Double Cheeseburger at Kewpee Sandwich Shop
_______________________________________________

DeMark's Bar & Restaurant

It only took me a decade since first learning of it but I finally made it to DeMarks Bar & Restaurant for their popular Pizza Burger for the very first time last summer. You may have had a pizza burger before but unless you’ve been here you haven’t had the original which is unlike all others. It starts with what they simply call “pizza sausage” but it isn’t just sausage like that on a pizza. It’s a full fledged patty that’s 100% pork but texturally it’s just like a thick and juicy burger. I don’t know how they get it like they do but my best guess is they grind their Italian sausage into a more coarse product than usual. The end result is a fennel forward flavor bomb that’s easily the best “bomber” I ever ate in Racine and or Kenosha - bombers are what they call Italian beef, sausage, and meatball sandwiches loaded with marinara, melted cheese and hot peppers on French bread in these parts. DeMark’s is a textbook tavern with a fully sized shuffle board and all sorts of cold booze available for there or taking out. They started serving drinks back in 1939 although the business itself goes all the way back to 1906. 

Pizza Burger at Demarks
_______________________________________________

La Tapatia

Racine is a crispy taco town as evidenced in this post from 2016. But not the kind made of store bought shells, the type made crispy by frying them to order. There’s handfuls of spots around Racine making real deal tacos dorados but this family run convenience store with a restaurant in back was the first and is still the best. Get them with ground beef and be generous with the salsa. Since 1981. 

Crispy Tacos at La Tapatia
_______________________________________________

Wells Brothers

What more can I say about this place? There was a time when there was little info online about the legend that is Wells Brothers Pizza. It was named one of the country’s best pizza spots in a random list in USA Today circa 2005 which sparked someone on LTHforum to ask about it but the thread went silent for four years until I visited back in 2009. I posted about it on here around that same time and have been hyping it up ever since then. No I’m not taking total credit for its popularity outside of Racine but I can tell you right now I’m the one that set it in motion as there was a time when my blog post would pop up as the first result when you searched Wells Brothers online as there was little coverage of it outside of that. Wells Brothers was also featured in a New York Times piece by Kenji Lopez who learned about it thru Steve Dolinsky who was taken there by me. The sausage pizza is why you’re here - it’s my favorite pizza anywhere. It’s pretty much the only thing I ever get but sometimes I’ll also add a side of spaghetti and meatball and yes meatball is meant to be singular in that you can get a side of spaghetti with a house meatball for like $3 and it’s pretty damn good. 

Spaghetti and Meatball 


Pizza Burger

The pizza isn’t quite as thin as that at Zaffiros in nearby Milwaukee but it’s still one of the thinnest anywhere and I love the cornmeal crust on the bottom. They almost always cook it perfectly which is a bit on the well done side resulting in a crispy crust throughout. Wells also makes the best Italian sausage so that’s what you should get as far as toppings. You can also try a pizza burger here which is made with that same incredible made on site sausage and it’s worth an order should you need something on top of the pizza. While not quite as good as DeMark’s it's different enough to stand out on its own. When I was working up here in December I knew I would be taking a pizza home with me so I was finally able to stop in and try their popular lasagna which is $12.25 with soup or salad on Wednesdays. On top of that you can add a piece of Italian sausage for a buck. What a deal! My only complaint was I wish they put more melted cheese on top but other than that it was peak red sauce Italian. I’ll always have a special spot for the 2009 inaugural winner of the “Roadfood Stop of the Year” which is why I almost always stop here anytime I’m near. The pizza reheats really well so I often take it home but dining in at Wells Brothers is an experience in of itself. Sit at the bar and get a large sausage pizza and indulge in a cold Spotted Cow or one dollar cans of Hamm’s for full effect. Since 1921 - though the pizza recipe came up from Chicago with some relatives post World War II.

Sausage Pizza at Wells Brothers
_______________________________________________

See ya next time @chibbqking

More Roadfood in Wisconsin

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties
- Exploring Western Wisconsin

There’s just something about Wisconsin that I absolutely love but what’s funny is I cant quite pinpoint exactly what that is. My best guess is I spent some of the best years of my life at college in Madison and going back often triggers memories of those good times. But it’s more likely the natural beauty and the bar culture that really draws me in. Wisconsin isn’t winning any prettiest state in the union contests but it’s underrated and has lots of charm to it. The state touches two Great Lakes and the Mighty Mississippi winds its way along 230 miles of Wisconsin's western border. Milwaukee is very underrated as a city and Madison is one of the best college towns in the country. Add in all the delicious Roadfood (burgers, fish fry, custard etc) and it makes for a great place to escape to for a few days. Today we’re headed off to the area towards Minneapolis - about 5.5 hours from from Chicago.

Pics from Western Wisconsin 
_______________________________________

Dorine's Family Restaurant (Sparta)

First stop takes us to Monroe County along the LaCrosse River. Dorine’s Family Inn is found in the heart of Sparta. It’s a textbook Midwest breakfast and lunch spot serving up all the American diner classics. When I’m at a place like this with lots to choose from I like to check the google reviews to figure out what’s popular. Stuffed Hash Browns are mentioned more than 25 times and not just at Dorine’s but other breakfast spots in the area too. At Dorine's an entire section of the menu is dedicated to them. I chose the original stuffed hash browns which come with ham, mushrooms, green pepper, onion, and Swiss Cheese. Pictured below is the small version. This is Wisconsin after all.

Stuffed Hash Browns at Dorine's Family Restaurant 
_______________________________________

Ray's Place (Eau Claire)

Next stop was a spot long on my list. Ray’s Place has been serving drinks to the residential neighborhood in which it rests since 1949. Ray’s is a vintage Wisconsin tavern with some classic roast beef sandwiches. No they don’t look pretty but locals and visitors alike, myself included, will enthusiastically vouch for them. Roast beef debris in a thick brown gravy goes into a cheap bun with a full slice of raw onion. It also comes with a little plastic container of their made on site horseradish mustard. One bite and I was hooked on these tavern sandwiches. They also have an equally popular chipped ham sandwich which in turn produces a fantastic batch of split pea soup. Pure Wisconsin.

Roast Beef Sandwich at Ray's Place
_______________________________________

River Inn Bar (Chippewa Falls)

River Inn Bar is a textbook tavern down to the classic Old Style sign outside. The land where it sits has had a bar resting there in one way or the other since the 1940’s. The current owners of River Inn bought it in the early 2000’s and haven’t changed much. Locals pop in for all you eat chicken wings served Mon-Thurs but I don’t know how anyone can eat more than a few of these things. The fully intact broasted wings (flat and drum) are some of the biggest I’ve come across. I prefer smaller wings bc larger ones can be a bit tough but not these which were some of the juiciest I can recall with the meat coming right off the bone when bitten. Perfect when paired with an ice cold Spotted Cow.

Broasted Chicken Wings at River Inn Bar
_______________________________________

Ellsworth Creamery Coop (Ellsworth)

What’s a trip to Wisconsin without some cheese curds?!?! I feel like any cheese curds served freshly fried in a bar setting are pretty good but to reach the peak of cheese curd prowess they need to be extra fresh and battered on site - both of which are a thing at Ellsworth Creamery in Pierce County (one hour east of Minneapolis). This little area is considered the heart of Americas Dairyland with more than 180,000 pounds of cheese curds being manufactured here at Ellsworth Creamery on a daily basis. Ellsworth Cooperative was incorporated into a creamery back in 1910 with their primary product being butter. They actually didn't begin making cheese curds until 1968 but the popularity of these squeaky orange and white morsels was enough to make them the cream of the crop. Ellsworth has a bustling retail store with a selection of over 240 kinds of Wisconsin made cheese including the creamery’s own varieties. But the biggest draw is the Curd Wagon which sits outside during warmer months. Customers line up all summer long for some of the best fried cheese curds anywhere.

Fried Cheese Curds at Ellsworth Creamery
_______________________________________ 

Stockholm Pie and General Store (Stockholm)

If you’re looking for a place to eat along the upper half of the Great River Road - this is your spot! I’d heard from those in the know that the tiny town of Stockholm (pop. 78) was home to some of the best pie in the country and I love river towns so I made a plan to stop on the way north into Minnesota. I originally planned to just try a few slices of pie but that plan was quickly scratched upon arrival as the chicken pot pie was calling my name along with pretty much every other piece of pie listed on the days fresh selection. Just like sandwiches with bread, a pie can only be as good as its crust and the crust on both of the pies I tried was outstanding. The chicken pot pie had some of the best pie crust I’ve ever encountered. It was extra flaky and full of flavor while being completely dry on the bottom. The fillings were also good but it’s the crust that takes this from good to great. I also tried the Bumbleberry on rec of the lady at the register and she earned a little extra on her tip as this was the best piece of fruit pie I’ve ever had and again it was all about that crust but also the local berries that go into it. It was so good I had to take a slice of the signature Stockholm Apple Pie to-go. I also liked the town of Stockholm itself, it’s as cute and quaint of a rivertown as you’ll come across. It’s pretty busy considering just how small it is in population but it’s a popular stop on the Great River Road in big part due to its most famous resident - that pie has been featured in many food pubs over the years and comes strongly endorsed by a guy I know who's ate his weight in pie across the country.

Chicken Pot Pie at Stockholm Pie and General Store 

Bumbleberry Pie at Stockholm Pie and General Store
_______________________________________

Foss Fine Meats (Sparta)

Bonus Stop back where we started in Sparta. Wisconsin has the best butchers and I always like stopping in at one of them whenever I find myself in the Cheese & Dairy State. It doesn't matter where in Wisconsin you are you're never that far off from a good independent butcher. Foss Fine Meats is a great example of what I'm talking about. It's an old school, small town spot dating back to 1939. I like to check online reviews to figure out what each butcher shop does well and all reviews pointed to the natural casing hot dogs at Foss Fine Meats. Those and the ring bologna are what they're known for with the hot dogs warranting a stop whenever I find myself near this place again. I'm a natural casing Vienna Beef guy thru and thru but I have a deep appreciation for all spots cranking out natural casing wieners like those found here. They make an excellent extra peppery product. 

Hot Dogs at Foss Fine Meats
_______________________________________

If you liked this post you might also be interested in:

Eating BIG in Minneapolis (and beyond)

Roadfood in Driftless Wisconsin

Eating BIG in Madison 

Bar Food in Wisconsin 

Friday Fish Fry in SE Wisconsin
_______________________________________

 See ya next time @chibbqking

Eating BIG in Minneapolis (and beyond)

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties
- Exploring the North Star State

I took an end of the summer road-trip up to the Minneapolis area at the end of August. The purpose of this trip was to soak up as much summer as possible and I chose this part of the Midwest due to two things. I would be able to do some outdoor stuff and also get some good food. Minnesota has lot to offer from an outdoor perspective and Minneapolis just might be the second best food city in all of the Midwest. I listed it third behind Chicago and Detroit but second place could go either way in that one. I hadn't visited the Twin Cities since 2016 so it had been awhile and it had been even longer since I had visited in the summer which is the best time to go for obvious reasons. Here's where we ate... 

Sights from Minnesota 
_______________________________________

Al's Breakfast 

Our first stop is one of the 2004 winners of the James Beard ‘Americas Classics’ award. Al’s Breakfast in the Dinkytown neighborhood is the type of spot I typically like to check out while traveling but I hadn’t made it here on my previous trips so I made sure to fix that up on this one. The 14 seat diner sits on the University of Minnesota campus and is probably the most iconic eatery in town so be prepared to wait in line. It took about 30 minutes for me to get in but it was student move-in week so lots of college kids and their parents were also planning to eat there. I got the José which is real deal hash browns topped with homemade salsa, cheddar and two perfectly poached eggs. Since 1950. 

The José at Al's Breakfast 

_______________________________________

Owamni by The Sioux Chef 

If Minneapolis wasn’t so far I would’ve tried Owamni much sooner. The 2022 James Beard winner of the “Best New Restaurant” award wasn’t the only reason I decided to roll into the Twin Cities but it was one of the main reasons I wanted to roll thru. It’s ran by Chef Sean Sherman, a Oglala Lakota chef who only cooks with ingredients used before the arrival of the Europeans. So no wheat, flour, dairy, cane sugar, black pepper etc. It sits in a slick space along the Mississippi River and it’s considered the most prominent indigenous kitchen in the country. First up was Tepary Bean with pickled walleye, green beans, red onions and tostadas. Think of it as a mix between refried beans and hummus. It was the perfect starter on a very warm day. Moving on I was told the corn chowder is one of the most popular menu items so I ignored the fact it was 90° out. It too was really good, especially the fried wild mushrooms on top. I tried two of the taco offerings including the bison asada with pesto and guajillo salsa which was good if a bit dry but the corn taco blew me away. It was a flavor bomb of maíz starting with heirloom blue corn tortillas spread with a sweet corn jam topped with fried corn, popcorn and micro-greens from the Mississippi. This was as unique of a taco as I’ve come across in a long time. All in all this meal will be considered when I round up the best bites of 2023 in December. 

Lunch at Owamni
_______________________________________

Union Hmong Kitchen

Minneapolis and St. Paul are home to the country’s largest Hmong community so I got some Hmong food while there (but I missed out on some Somali food this trip). I ended up doing that at the Union Hmong Kitchen which is part of a food hall near Target Field. The Hmong sausage platter hit the spot on a hot day. Hmong sausage is similar in flavor to other SE Asian sausages though it tends to be a bit drier than the others from my experience with it. But it worked well when wrapped up with the purple sticky rice, Khao Sen rice noodles, pickled veggies and the lettuce that comes with it. 

Hmong Sausage Platter at Union Hmong Kitchen 
_______________________________________

Oro by Nixta Tortilleria

I always search out the best Mexican food and Nixta looked like a worthy stop. It’s an heirloom tortilleria that has a dinner spot next door where they serve a menu revolving around masa. The Molotes are little torpedoes of fried masa that come stuffed with picadillo and dressed with lettuce, Mexican dry aged cheese, salsa tatemada, and crema. I don’t think it would be possible to elevate the classic crispy taco any further than this dish did. I also got a killer veggie taco made with bok choy, huitlacoche - black beans, salsa macha, and pickled veggie relish. It’s a shame that Chicago really doesn’t have a spot like this when it comes to the heirloom tortilleria portion of the business so I brought a couple packs of their corn tortillas back with me. They're thick with a nice corn perfume. 

Dinner at Oro by Nixta
_______________________________________

Pumphouse Creamery 

The Midwest might be the best region for Ice Cream. I’ll hear arguments from the Northeast but that’s about it. I found Pumphouse Creamery searching for the areas best ice cream and there was a Reddit thread with lots of mentions for the fruit flavors. I tend to prefer fruit when it comes to ice cream and gelato so I decided to check them out. All of the fruit flavors are made with local fruit from nearby farms including a blend of honeyberry and raspberry crisp of which ice cream dreams are made of.

Local Honeyberry and Raspberry Crisp at Pumphouse Creamery 
_______________________________________

Boomin Barbecue (Hudson, WI)

Our next spot is a bonus stop of sorts. According to Daniel Vaughn, barbecue editor at Texas Monthly, you can find Minneapolis's best bbq in Hudson, Wisconsin (30 mins east). I guess the city made it a real bitch for Boomin Barbecue to operate its smoker thanks to stupid municipal laws and what not so they said f-ck it and moved their business to Hudson where they park said smoker in the lot and setup shop in the kitchen of Nova Bar. It's a great partnership and with the surrounding landscape it feels like you could be somewhere out west. I enjoyed a smoked beef and cheddar sandwich on special. 

Smoked Beef and Cheddar at Boomin Barbecue 
_______________________________________

Meister's Bar & Grill (Stillwater)

I was falling in love with all the river towns on this trip. Stillwater is a lovely little river town that reminded me alot of Galena. It sits on the St. Croix River about 30 mins northeast of Minneapolis so it’s basically a suburb. We stopped in at an iconic German bar that sits in a residential neighborhood. Meister’s is a typical Wisconsin tavern that happens to be across the river in Minnesota. The kitchen is the grill behind the bar and the ground beef is supplied by a local butcher as are the brats. The signature Burgermeister is a bacon cheeseburger with fried onions and high quality bacon bits. Thick chunks of extra smoky bacon are mixed into extremely well melted cheese acquired by placing the top of a pan over the burgers when the cheese goes on - a very good bar burger. The brat comes in patty form and is squeezed in-between locally baked marbled rye with Sauerkraut and Swiss. All of this is fresh cut fries on the side shows this place still does things the old school way. Since 1948.

Lunch at Meister's Bar & Grill
_______________________________________

Nelson's Ice Cream (Stillwater)

After lunch we went over to the historic Nelson’s for some ice cream. I’d heard they pack it on big here but was not prepared for what I was given after I ordered a small cup of rum cherry. I was convinced he had misheard me as this was easily enough ice cream for two and then some. I got a kick out of the kitchen sink they have outside so customers can wash up after eating as they give you so much ice cream there’s no way that some of it doesn’t melt and end up on your hands. Since 1923.

Cherry Rum (small) at Nelson's Ice Cream 
_______________________________________

Bev's Cafe (Red Wing)

We drove down to the shoe making town of Red Wing one day for breakfast and also to get stuff from the farmers market which was said to be a good one and it was but it was also pretty small with no more than ten vendors on a Saturday. My love for regional food led us to Bev’s Cafe where they make gritwurst or gritzelwurst as it was called in the German butcher shops of the upper Midwest way back when. It’s a mix of pork meat and oats and or barley and it’s very similar to Cincinnati’s goetta. Not bad but it could’ve been crisped up a tad bit more and some seasoning wouldn’t have hurt it either.

Gritwurst at Bev's Cafe
_______________________________________

Hanisch Bakery and Coffee Shop (Red Wing)

Bakeries are another one of the Midwest's food strengths. There seems to be a longtime bakery in pretty much every Midwest town. In Red Wing, Hanisch Bakery is that spot. It’s been around in one form or the other since 1961 when it started out as Pirius Bakery. They have a ton of stuff on offer so I went ahead and asked the lady behind the counter what the most popular donuts were and I ended up with a couple Long Johns stuffed with cream and also a couple or the cherry donuts. 

Donuts at Hanisch Bakery and Coffee Shop
_______________________________________

Kings Place Bar & Grill (Miesville)

I was able to add a few spots from Minnesota to my always growing Midwestern burger database. The second of them was King’s Place Bar & Grill in the tiny town of Miesville (Pop. 125). It’s a popular spot with bikers and often mentioned as the home to Minnesota's best burger. They offer more than 100 different options but me being a bit of a burger purist I went with the California Burger from the ‘King’s Originals’ which are the burgers that started it all back when it was just a small general store with a few burger options. It starts out with a 1/3 lb hunk of beef that’s lightly smashed on a small and always packed flattop, this place stays busy. It comes dressed with lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a lightly toasted bun. It was just about perfect which means it got a B+ on the burger grading scale. This means it was very good and gets honorable mention status among the country's best burgers. 

California Burger at Kings Place 
_______________________________________

House of Coates (Coates)

Final stop on the mini Minnesota burger tour took us to another tiny town called Coates (pop. 161) about 20 mins northwest of the previous stop. The House of Coates is the type of bar you tend to find in the upper Midwest in that its an outdated place that caters to the motorcyclers in the summer and to snowmobilers in the winter plus thirsty people passing by all year. It’s got a very Northwoods feel with a tended to pull tab booth inside and a fantastic neon sign outside. They’re known for half pound burgers including the Swanee which is a bacon cheeseburger with fried onions and a side of pickles plus a cup of blue cheese dressing. We weren’t asked how we wanted it cooked so I guess medium is standard which is better than well done but not as good as medium rare so that was my only complaint about an otherwise formidable bar burger. That's it for this trip. 

Swanee Burger at House of Coates
_______________________________________

See ya next time @chibbqking