So, we went on a tour of the Midwest after Belinda’s wedding last month. We hit many destinations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota and had lots of tasty tidbits along the way (actual destinations will have to be in another post.. haha) :

• Cheese curds.  Tasty!  Apparently they are something only to be found in Wisconsin (and in Minnesota, a little bit).  They are basically a “young cheese”, sold in bags of different flavors.  We had a bag of cheddar and dill curds.  Also, they are uber tasty deep-fried, which is done as an appetizer in a lot of restaurants.  Think extra-fresh mozarella sticks!  Mmm!  I’m already having curd withdrawal.
• While we were at Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge in Minneapolis, there was no seating for two available so we ended up sitting with this group of people about our age for dinner.  It was fun!  We discussed all the midwestern food items and learned about something called hotdish.  I was pretty confused until we figured out it basically meant a casserole.  I tried to find out if there was a restaurant that served it, but apparently it’s an at-home thing to make.  I’m intrigued by the tater tot hotdish.. must try making that soon!  The item that we had at Suzi’s that I’d like to try making at home is sort of a sushi roll made out of pickle, cream cheese, and ham.  Sounds gross but it was tasty.
• In Minneapolis we also compared the Jucy lucy hamburger from both Matt’s Bar and the 5-8 club.  Yes, we had happened to have seen the episode of Man vs. Food the week before we left, where we got this idea.  Good timing.  If you’re too lazy to click to see what a Jucy Lucy is, it’s a burger with a molten cheese center.  Genius!!! We both agreed that we enjoyed the 5-8 club Jucy Lucy for its “doggy nougat” cheese.
• Northern Iowa has absolutely no tasty food.  We tried.  We failed.  We ate dinner at a Taco Bell at 9pm one night.  And it was hopping!
• Desperate to find something tasty we did some internet research and stopped at the Motley cow cafe in Iowa City.  Oak and I both got fairly simple egg dishes – mine was a spicy omelet, but they used fresh fancy eggs in them, so the eggs came out almost a dark golden yellow.  I think it was the best egg I’ve ever had.  Now I understand that passage in Martha’s Pies and Tarts book where she compares a tart made with supermarket eggs to one made “with eggs from my hens.”  Oh, brother.
• In Chicago, we did the Hot dog Tour.  Key places visited:  Hot Doug’s and Superdawg.  Both were good – I do have to say, even though it did not seem appealing to me, the Chicago hot dog (which includes:  “mustard, onion, sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt”-Wikipedia) is on the top of my list as far as hot dogs go now.  Even without the ketchup.  Apparently the higher authorities of Chicago will kick you out of town if you put ketchup on your hot dog.  There’s enough other stuff on there that you don’t really miss it.  Hot Doug’s has the edge for french fries and overall food quality, but Superdawg had serious style.
• Finally had a deep dish pizza at Giordano’s.  I’ve actually never been to the Pizzeria Uno so it was a new experience.  Talk about heavy!  Sorry Chicago-ites, I love your hot dogs but I’m not sure I need to experience that pizza any time again soon.  And I heart cheese!!!
• Dried meats are all the rage in the midwest.  Stop at any gas station, and you have an array of slim-jim esque sausages to choose from.  These, with many varieties of root beer and cheese curds, were our “driving food.”  De-lish!
• We also have like 4 different pictures of me with giant mice eating cheese statues around Wisconsin.  Apparently Wisconsians (?) enjoy Badgers (the U of W mascot) and mice.
• Had the best bubble tea ever at Joy Yee, where all the juices for the tea are fresh-squeezed/blended.  Of course, we knew Belinda would not steer us wrong.  If you get the huge bubble tea plan not to be hungry for several hours…. apparently the bubbles expand in your tummy!
• Another Chi-town stop was Kuma’s Corner, land of strangely dressed burgers named after Metal bands. I got a burger that had a pear and Gorgonzola cheese on it; but to be fair this was eaten on the same day we had the deep dish pizza so I think my heart just wasn’t in it.   Fruit plus hamburger meat is a weird combination. Oak had a “greek burger” that was very good!
• On our last day, we got the Mother in Law sandwich that Anthony Bourdain had.  It’s basically a tamale in a hot dog bun covered with chili.  I got the “Father in law” which added cheese to the monstrosity.  It was, while extremely messy to eat, quite satisfying.

So, after gaining about 30 pounds, we returned home.  Luckily our CSA is in full swing now and I can at least pretend that I’m eating healthier now! More soon (and, hopefully some pictures!)

Posted by Carrie on Monday, April 27, 2009
Categories: food, travel · 6 Comments »