By Ken Alan
Lighthouses. The gentle surf. Freshly painted white-sided houses. Church spires and countless cozy cottages. Fiery fall foliage.
These all add up to the perfect New England visual, a quaint seaside slice of Nantucket Island, if ever there was one.
Except — it’s not.
This is Door County, Wisconsin, “The Cape Cod of the Midwest.” If you call up the state on Google maps and look for Green Bay, Door County is the long fingered peninsula jutting northeasterly into Lake Michigan.
Combining quaint village settings with the nautical personality of their back East brethren — add 300 miles of coastline, a host of first-rate hotels, motels, inns and bed & breakfasts; attractions and amenities galore; five state parks, 11 lighthouses, a laudable performing and visual arts presence; restaurants and even more restaurants – it all translates to the keys that open Wisconsin’s seaside sleeper of a destination.
For me though, it’s all about the cheese. “America’s Dairy Land” produces some of the finest cow and goat’s milk products on the planet — a cheddar, Swiss & bleu-lover’s dream-come-true.
What you won’t find on Google Maps though, are the people who populate this verdant region. What is said about Wisconsin-ers is true: Some of the nicest people live here, and few places are as legitimately welcoming and open as Door County.
My trip is a quick one, three fast days and two rapid nights where I’ll enjoy small town hospitality in a unique setting. This is a see-and-do destination, a place to take-it-outside and walk. Run. Hike. Propel…
It begins at Orchard Country Winery & Market. Here, I learn about the exceptional viniferous qualities to be found in this part of the peninsula, thanks to the summer’s heat, autumn’s chill and the alkaline and limestone qualities of the rich soil.
It all adds up to sweet (but not too cloying) sips of apple, and especially the cherry wines produced from the orchard’s 100 flourishing acres. Add in some tasty local artisan cheeses and I’m enjoying a fun — if not decadent — late-morning repast as I sniff, swirl, sip, and chomp another creamy morsel.
Meanwhile, the scent of freshly-baked cherry pies tempt me as they emerge from hot ovens.
The light alcohol burn only stimulates my appetite, which is fortunate, because my next stop is Wilson’s Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor.
Wilson’s is about nostalgia — an authentic old-fashioned parlor scene that dates from 1906, and believe me, little seems to have changed since that bygone era.
With Shelley Fabares serenading “Johnny Angel” on the jukebox, I’m chomping a burger and sipping a home-brewed draft root beer float with a big old scoop of cherry ice cream bobbing on a frothy surface. Old-time tchotchkes line the walls here, and a sleepy-town feel is pervasive to the place. Wilson’s is no re-creation. This is as Americana as it gets.
It is here where I’ll rest my head on each of these next two nights. I’m staying at The Lodgings at Pioneer Lane, a clean and well-kept abode featuring eight rooms and suites. Each one offers a theme, including nautical, Adirondack, Scandinavian and nostalgic. My enclave (“Bill’s Room”) is rustic and warm — a nice nodding-off place after each long and active day.
If Ephraim has a craft-filled quietude to it, nearby Egg Harbor is definitely more energetic with a wide choice of restaurants and pubs. Several of us duck into the Shipwrecked Restaurant, Door County’s only microbrewery — “A Place to Get Wrecked” as the bumper sticker asserts.
The decor here is nautical (naturally), though the real revelation comes in pint-sized pours of craft beer goodness. This is no poser; rather, it is a tap house knowing how to brew: crisp Bayside Blonde, the creamy Peninsula Porter, and a sprite and refreshing Cherry Wheat. In this late-fall season, I cherish the hoppy bite of their snappy IPA.
Just down the road we go for dinner at a place called Mojo Rosa’s, one of the few Mexican restaurants on the long Door County strand. It is a lively place. Colorful parasols are suspended from the ceiling as bar patrons call out for “Another round of ‘rita’s!” The fare is typical and flavorful with the exception of (an overly salty) piece of whitefish. The catch is yet another staple of the County. I’m sure to sample other filets of the fish while here.
“We have the best pecan rolls and cardamom coffee cakes around,” assures 4th generation proprietress Jewel Peterson Ouradnik, her ruddy face a cherubic, smiling reminder of the area’s long-running Northlander heritage. She won’t profess to provide a big city experience at this off-the-beaten path property, which is tucked in a scenic harbor and offers an unspoiled and unparalleled view.
Me and the other travel writers breakfast here at Grandma’s Swedish Bakery, indulging in the copious 14-foot buffet of breakfast fare, as we learn about the resort’s many offerings, including a nearly unlimited array of outdoor opportunities: hiking, biking, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, birding, Seqway-ing. Segway-ing?
Yep, Steve of Seaquist Segway Tours assures us those two-wheeled, 12 MPH-pulling contraptions of modern ingenuity may look so seemingly unbalanced, but are, in fact, actually very safe and easy to maneuver. Indeed, after a quick lesson, I find the learning curve to be somewhere between “easy as pie” and “no sweat.”
Okay, so the Segways I’ve seen plodding along my own city’s streets never appealed to me. Unique, sure, but thrilling? Not so much.
After zipping along the Rowley Bay Resort’s woodlands, and spinning along private orchards and into hidden dales, I am now stunned in knowing that Steve operates one of the only off-road tours of this type in the country.
Take note entrepreneurs. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity! Fun stuff for sure!
Afterward, some of my companions join in a cooking class and then have lunch at Savory Spoon Cooking School, an interactive way to combine flavors and cultures.
I, on the other hand, dine at The White Gull Inn, an historic B&B which is in yet another charming-as-all-get-out village (Fish Creek) full of general stores, diminutive cottage cafes and several retail/sundry shops.
Our guide drives us back to Egg Harbor and a-cheesing we go. Schoolhouse Artisan Cheese is a small and pungent store where cheesemongers ply us with generous tastings: A soft, ripened Petit Frere, Snow White Goat & Cheddar; a nutty Buttermilk Bleu, and a wedge of Pleasant Ridge Reserve — the most celebrated cheese in America.
The shop may smell like my son’s room, but it is the tastiest stop in town. I am now officially a Cheesehead.
At Harbor Ridge Winery (“Solving the World’s Problems One Sip at a Time”) we sample several impressive pours of white, red, and, of course, cherry wines. Like the beer at Shipwrecked Brewery, Door County’s wineries are not merely variations on a theme; they are well-produced and highly-rated originals in their own rite.
Dinner up the road at The Log Den makes me want to yell “Timber!” because that’s what this vast restaurant is all about. Hand hewn logs that form a rustic chalet. Inside, they provide their famous fish boil. It’s a la carte on this night so I try yet another variation of that famed whitefish, a light and satisfying dish.
Each evening we see a performance. The first, held in a vast auditorium and possessing outdoor trails and a fire pit right on the shore of the lake, is the Peninsula Players Theatre in the Garden – America’s oldest professional resident summer theatre (since 1935). “Lombardi!” is there, a theatrical homage to the man and his mythos.
“Cheeseheads: The Musical” is the bouncy, hilarious musical featured at the American Folklore Theatre, a comfy 350-seat venue with an outdoor arena that’s used during warmer months. Both shows provide a fine, fun sense of Wisconsin, their revered football coach and that delicious foodstuff.
My final day begins at the Door County Coffee & Tea Company.
Inside this glowing, cheerful place, owner Vicki Wilson — a friendly (if not highly caffeinated person) — greets us like the welcoming cup o’ joe she’s serving. Vickie and her staff provide hearty breakfasts, baked fare and giftables amid Door County’s premier coffee roasting facility. This is not Dunkin Donuts coffee. And it’s not Starbuck’s. In the warehouse adjacent to her adorable store/cafe, Vicki works with the top 2% of specialty, single origin, fair trade and private label coffees available anywhere in the world.
I’m not sure what’s harder, finishing that last sip of Jamaican Blue, or, saying goodbye to Vicki and her staff.
Such good people. So typically Wisconsin.
My final moments are spent at Door County’s Maritime Museum, touring through their fascinating displays, re-creations & interactive dioramas, and learning from Executive Director Bob Desh who gives us a thorough presentation that goes by far too quickly. I could spend a full day here.
I grab a quick bite in the town of Sturgeon Bay at a cute storefront eatery called Blue Front Café, and have my fill of amazing curry chicken salad (I’m a chicken salad snob and rate theirs a solid 8 on my personal Chix-O-Meter).
I bop around Sturgeon Bay, the largest of the county’s towns and discover cool little independent book shops, antique shops and craft store nooks.
It has been a most Cape Cod kind of visit (minus the lobsters), a maritime sojourn that’s been cherry-tinged, barrel aged, slightly hopped, and definitely a pungent way to experience the delights of Door County.
Thanks to those friendly Wisconsin-ers, I am now officially a Cheesehead.
Photographs credited to Ken Alan and Len Villano.
