Wisconsin, Part 2

Sometimes when you find something good, you stick with it. While I am always up for trying a new place, I was glad to return this year to the Paddock Club and find the food there just as spectacular as before. Being a busy time, it can be pretty loud in the restaurant but the food makes up for it. Fresh pasta, amazing seafood and steaks, all prepared flawlessly; it was a stark contrast to the previous night's dinner at the Supper Club. The bustle around us at the Paddock Club made chatting a bit more challenging, but the food was so outstanding that I would be willing to turn up the chatter volume just to delve into another bite of that pasta.

Another treat of going to the races at Elkhart Lake is walking around downtown and seeing the gathering of cars on display. With something for every taste, they range from wildly exotic to antique. We spotted a very new Ferrari 458 Italia, a model which has since been recalled by Ferrari due to a tendency to burst into flames. On the other end of the spectrum was a classic 1960's Citroen, bearing a note describing it's power source as "Rubber Bands." Watching this same little top-heavy gray car go loping around the track the following day, I could see where the owner developed that rubber bands notion. Even at what appeared to be a snail's pace, the little Citroen that could decided it should go exploring and wandered off the track more than once. Just seeing the collection of cars and knowing they were all driven into town and a large portion driven at speed on the track is a memorable experience, especially for a car buff. My own little sliver of heaven was turning a street corner and finding a Lotus Elise parked behind a Morgan Plus 4. Best of all, those weren't the only autos from Morgan and Lotus in an endless sea of offbeat, classic or just memorable wheels.

As we discovered last year, the track food is pretty good. Not to say it's going to win "Gourmet of the Year" awards, but for an event / concession stand food, it's well above average. Last year I noticed how everything was run by local charity groups who seemed to care about selling something truly good, not just typical open the bag & drop in the fryer type items. New this year were the funnel fries. It's basically funnel cake in a basic french-fry shape dusted with powdered sugar. It is as good and artery clogging as it sounds. (Of course I had to try it, funnel cake is a weakness of mine. Fried pat a choux with powdered sugar, what could be wrong with that?)

The next night we went to Siebkens, which is another restaurant located in the heart of Elkhart Lake. It's strong suit is the atmosphere, it's quiet, elegant and a bit of a welcome respite after two days of noise at the track. I think it's one of those places that tries a little too hard and thus misses the mark by a little, but overall my impression was good. I had pan-fried fish and wouldn't hesitate to suggest it to friends, especially for a good quiet dinner in the middle of all the festivities going on around.

After the crowds dwindled and the race fans took off with their toys and tools heading back home, we went back to Elkhart lake for lunch. The difference one day makes is amazing. Parking becomes easy, streets are quiet, it's a typical small town when the out-of-town visitors vanish. Lake Street Cafe was relatively quiet and served up good burgers and excellent fresh made potato chips (another of my guilty pleasures, and on vacation I tend to give into them all.)

This year we also stayed in a different hotel, the Grandstay Suites in Sheboygan. A friend who didn't get to make the trip chose the place and I must say he chose well! It's convenient to Road America, but in walking distance of several restaurants as well as Lake Michigan and a sizable park. The area is very pedestrian and bicyclist friendly, and lots of people were out taking advantage of the pleasantly warm summer weather. According to the local news, the native Wisconsin folks weren't finding the weather so pleasing, but rather "oppressively hot and humid." All I can think there is they need an invitation to certain southern towns during the same seasons. I'm sure as southerner I'd struggle to survive a single Wisconsin winter, so I won't berate them too much over their dislike of the 80 degree temps.

One night we went to Fountain Park Family Restaurant, just a short walk from our hotel. Usually places named "family restaurant" are not on my must-eat-there list, but I went along with our group and it was a good thing too. Everyone that ordered the broasted chicken loved it, and I had one of the best turkey melts I've had anywhere. It wasn't the typical formed turkey parts sliced extra-thin but rather real turkey. Topping of the meal with a piece of tasty red velvet cake truly was the icing on the cake.

While in the area, we made a day of touring around Kohler. We stopped in for lunch at The Horse & Plow, a pub located at the American Club. The history of the area and its presentation is fascinating, its worth walking through the area just for that. Then there's the food at Horse & Plow. It's a bit on the pricey side but to say it is worth it is a phenomenal understatement. All I had was soup and a sandwich, but what a cup of soup and sandwich it was! We started with two kinds of soup, and both were so good I couldn't pick a favorite. The sandwich arrived toasty warm on crisp Parmesan bread with just the right proportions of meat and cheese. No doubt about it, Horse & Plow will be on my "must do" list for the trip next year. For a little desert we also stopped in at Cravere. It's the only place I know of that displays their chocolates like fine jewelry and they're almost too pretty to eat. It didn't stop us from diving into a dose of chocolate bliss with a slice of chocolate layer cake. Just like the rest of Kohler, its not cheap but it's worth the price.

One last stop before heading home included Henning's Cheese Shop. We were a little short on time so we didn't get to take the factory tour, but the selection of cheeses there was nothing short of fantastic. The row of samples was an effective sales tool, I can't say I'd have otherwise bought a block of Mediteranian Sunset Cheese. (Every last bite of it was delicious.) After stopping there, we were really glad we brought the bigger cooler, because we loaded it full of cheeses galore!

This year we found new places and returned to some previous favorites. Either way, going to Elkhart Lake for the races is an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. It still gets some quizzical looks from friends when I tell them I'm going to Wisconsin to vintage car races, but until you experience the area, the food, the people, and of course the spectacular collection of cars, they just can't grasp the appeal. Get ready Wisconsin, I'll be back in 2011 for more of all the goodness the area offers.

Wisconsin Bound!

I have just returned from my second trip to Road America for the Kohler International Challenge and it was worth the 1700 mile trip including that still endlessly dull drive back and forth through some of the flattest areas of Illinois.

This year we would need to haul not only our luggage for the week, which isn't all that much, but also folding chairs and my parents luggage, and really needed comfortable on-the-road seating for four. So we started the trip with another short journey not far from home. Having found that the selection for renting land yachts is sorely lacking in our area, my husband and I made the choice to pick up a SUV in Memphis to take on our trip. In an effort to support local business and break up the monotony of another trip to Memphis, we opted to fly a local commuter flight one-way and drive the SUV back home. It turns out that was a great decision, as the flight on SeaPort Air's nine seat Pilatus PC-12 was comfortable and quick. The staff and crew were not just friendly, but truly helpful and made the experience something I wouldn't hesitate to repeat. If only all airlines could be run with such a relaxed demeanor I'd be willing to burn through my stockpile of frequent flyer miles a whole lot faster.

A couple of days later, we stopped at Collinsville, Illinois to meet up with friends and caravan northward. That evening we went to dinner at Sage just across the Mississippi River in St. Louis. Clearly a trendy hot-spot in the area, the food is a melting pot of contemporary American cuisine. The stuffed chicken breast was excellent, although the fifteen spice ribs could have used a bit more spice, maybe that missing sixteenth one would have been the magic touch. Being a hot-spot, the noise level was a bit much and left us all straining to hear each other. A little sound control could go a long way in improving the overall experience here; however I got the impression there was a bit of something to being seen here, not just dining and enjoying the meal and present company.

We spent the night at a ho-hum Doubletree Hotel in Collinsville. I had decided to try it since our usual Hampton Inn in the area was sold out and it was the other top ranked hotel in the area according to Trip Advisor. It definitely is a business travelers and convention / meeting place hotel. For a quick overnight stay it was ok but nothing exceptional.

The following day we set out for Wisconsin and stopped for lunch at Hearthrock Cafe. It was one of those odd internet finds that I kept coming back to, thinking it looked just too interesting to pass up. Inside an older downtown three-story building that now houses a proprietor of home furnishings, kitchens, flooring, landscaping and other such items. The menu was perfect for a light lunch and the store provided us with a good excuse to get out and stretch a bit.

Later that day we arrived at our destination, check into our hotel and headed to dinner at the Millhome Supper Club in Kiel, or rather somewhere in the middle of nowhere near Kiel. Sadly the food was disappointing. Our friends had a good recommendation for the place but it turned out to be mostly food-service entrees of the heat and eat variety. Adding to that was its preparation by a chef who clearly had been fired somewhere else for under-cooking food, thus everything was overcooked by 15 to 25 degrees as was evidenced by the rubbery shrimp and scallops and medium steaks that were brown all the way through. However the place was nearly empty so it wasn't crowded or noisy which made for a nice contrast to the previous night's deafening volume level.

This was a fun trip and more than my fingers can handle in one round. More coming soon...

Sensory Overload, Part 1

Sitting in my hotel room in Wisconsin and having never been to any sort of automotive racing other than a few times as a teen watching the Demolition Derby at the local county fair, I really can't say I knew what to expect.

The whole thing was an experience like no other. Just taking in the four miles of road course tucked into the Wisconsin countryside with wooded areas scattered about, the setting was peaceful. Out of nowhere, the roar of a 1970's era racer would arrive followed promptly by a view of the car and it's pavement-focused driver. For the car buff, the photographer or even just the outdoorsy type, it's a bit of nirvana. If you happen to be a bit of all three like me, it's a bit of sensory overload. What to see, do and absorb first?

I started off by doing the track touring. It's an opportunity for those like me who wish they had a third of the mental connection the seasoned track drivers do with their automobiles. Despite having an experienced friend who in another life must be a driving instructor in my passenger seat, the first couple of laps were a little unnerving. The next thing I know, it's time to exit the track as the allotted 50 minutes or so had already zipped past, almost as fast as the blur of Ferrari's that had roared by me two laps ago. For some reason, I didn't mind so much being passed.

The rest of the first day my husband and I spent exploring the track and trying to stay warm and dry. Who knew that Mother Nature would bring weather so cool that it was challenging 104-year record low temperatures? Thankfully, the group we were with had rented several golf carts to get around the paddocks and various vantage points. I can't begin to imagine how they went to this event for years and didn't have any small transportation like the golf carts. Somehow they can't seem to remember how they did it either, other than to say they were smacking themselves for not renting the carts all those years prior.

Over the next two days, the weather improved and we would spend time roaming the track, watching the Morgans, the Ford GTs and GT40s, the Ferraris, Porsches and so many other fascinating cars make lap after lap around the track. There simply wasn't a bad vantage point. Race photographers didn't gather in one media area, they moved about various places around the track as did I with my once "big" lens that seemed to shrink in the presence of the pros and their monstrous lenses.

That was the "Road" of Road America, and I could go on for days about the collection of cars. Things I'd only read about and seen in photos were there for me to admire, photograph and admire some more. Car lovers beware, this place will take you in and not let go.

I might have been taken in by the sights, sounds and even smells, I didn't forget the tastes too. Those are up next...

Cheese and Vintage Cars

My husband has always been a car nut, and unlike many other car guys, his enthusiasm hasn't been hampered by an anti-car wife. It's quite the opposite. Being married to him only encouraged my own interest in cars.

Being the car guy he is, my husband has been a faithful subscriber to Road & Track magazine for around 20 years or so. This means every time we've moved the collection of magazines has been migrated to its next home. Considering that every month the number expands, I don't relish the next move. Though I do think it might be a strong motivator for hiring a moving company.

For years we've read about the vintage races in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin at Road America. The Road & Track Concourse d'Elegance showing off all the classic Jaguar E-types, the old Astons, the Morgans... it sounds like a little slice of heaven on earth for the gas powered engine obsessed. After reading about this event for so long, this spring we finally connected with friends who've been going to the races for a number of years and they invited us along. How could we say no?

Thankfully we didn't say no and just a few weeks ago made the trip northward to Wisconsin. After a short overnight stay in Illinois on the way at a typical interstate-side "bland box" hotel we met up with our friends and headed toward the land of cheese and cars. On the way I couldn't decide which appealed more, the cars or the copious amounts of cheese I intended to consume. Whenever it came up conversation that we were traveling to Wisconsin for vacation, I was met with these puzzled looks almost always followed by "What's in Wisconsin?" After about the seventh time I had an answer ready to go. "Vintage car races, along with lots of cheese and cooler weather." That seemed to satisfy even the beach-bound crowd.

After seeing the size of Elkhart Lake, I found out why our group had chosen a hotel in nearby Sheboygan. Elkhart Lake, population 1021, has a limited number of hotels that are very much catered to the weekend race crowd that comes in a few times a year. They're limited in quantity and for the most part priced from slightly above average to prices that would cover the cost of an economy car for a family of four.

Our hotel was a Sleep Inn, and it's the first time I have stayed in one of that chain. The rooms were typical of a basic room, with furniture that could use a bit of updating. Overall though, they were pretty spacious and had a vast expanse of desk space so it was easy to drop off the stuff we'd collect over the trip and leave it for organizing and attempting to cram into the car at the last minute.

My first morning in the hotel, I fumbled into the bathroom, half-awake. I crinkled my nose and coughed at overpowering smell of cigarette smoke. I know my husband pretty well and I felt pretty safe assuming that he hadn't slipped into the bathroom for a quick few puffs (he definitely does not smoke.) The front desk attendant explained to me that the hotel has an air system that circulates the air throughout the entire hotel on a set cycle. It was the "entire hotel" part that posed the problem; ten rooms on the top floor were smoking rooms, and despite our room being on the bottom floor, it still permeated the bathroom as though an employee took their smoke break in there. Supposedly I should have been thankful that our room wasn't above the pool, the chlorine smell was considerably potent in the 2nd floor rooms. Either way, I think its pretty inexcusable with a modern hotel and should be on the hotel owner's priority list of problem areas to fix post haste. Beyond this faux paux, the hotel had an adequate continental breakfast and an extraordinarily friendly staff that rivaled southern hotels in hospitality with their sincere willingness to help.

Next stop we're off to the races and I'll elaborate on my attempts to "OC" or over-cheese at dinner every night.