Wisconsin

The thing about folks from Wisconsin is that when we have visitors, we welcome them with open arms because we're so excited that you're coming to check out our cool state. There's a reason why they call Milwaukee Brew City. We've got some deep blue collar roots in the craft of beer brewing. We've got some really great upstart craft breweries that are really blowing up here now. They're a definite must-see. If you want to grab a piece of history and get a little off the beaten track for some awesome, awesome food, there are some great places to go. Five O'Clock Club comes to mind right away for the hands down best steak you will ever eat in your whole life. Sobelman's for the biggest, baddest bloody mary. They put a whole fried chicken on top of their bloody mary there.

We have a couple of special Wisconsin only cocktails that you should try. A brandy old fashioned is a unique cocktail. I love brandy old fashioneds so much that it actually inspired my roller derby persona, Brandy Ol' Smashioned. See what I did there, so yes. My love for that cocktail goes real deep. I really feel like Milwaukee's crown jewel is the fact that we're the home to Harley Davidson Motorcycles. Not only do Wisconsinites love to drive their Harleys, we love to come to Milwaukee to celebrate them even more at the Harley Davidson Museum. Every weekend we have a different festival going on to celebrate all of the cultures and the diversity that we have here in Milwaukee. You name it, we've got it, and it's all happening down on the beautiful lakefront of Lake Michigan. I think it's the place in Milwaukee to both see and be seen. Madison, Wisconsin is a great city. The hub of everything is happening right here downtown on State Street.

One of the oldest theaters in Madison is the Orpheum. That's seen some of the world's best singer-songwriters come through. We also have the Overture Center, which is brand new, absolutely gorgeous. It's massive, and that has Broadway shows and musicals coming through. Wisconsin is America's dairy land, so of course we have a bunch of good dairy here. I recommend you head to Babcock Ice Cream. Blue Moon is my favorite flavor there, Mickies's Dairy Bar for things like milkshakes and of course, of course, you have to try cheese curds. You can get the fresh, squeaky ones at the farmer's markets and head over to the Old Fashioned for the fried variety as well. Madisonians love being in nature, so we often bring our art outdoors. We have concerts on the square, the capital square up there. We have opera in the park. We have jazz in the park. There's people dancing, and singing, and playing music.

If you have time, you have to check out American Players Theater, which is my absolute favorite thing. I usually start the night off with a picnic, a bottle of wine. Then you head up the hill to this beautiful outdoor amphitheater, and you watch a fantastic play. You can hear the owls hooting while you're watching. At the end of the night, you walk back down the hill with little twinkling lights to guide your way. It's absolutely magical. Wisconsin, in general, is a really beautiful place. It sits between two great lakes.

Then here in Door County we're surrounded by water on three sides. Our peninsula has 300 miles of shoreline. On the Western Coast, we've got tall bluffs. On the Eastern Coast, we've got some sandy beaches. Some are huge and very popular. Others will feel like you have the beach just to yourself. All of our lighthouses offer really majestic views, especially the ones that you can tour. The view from some of the catwalks that you can see up in the lantern rooms, absolutely breathtaking. How could we not talk about hiking? We've got some amazing hiking opportunities up here from smooth, flat terrain, to scaling a bluff.

The Eagle Trail is one of my personal favorites. It's in Peninsula State Park. It's just a gorgeous trail. You've got to give it a try. If you're visiting Door County, you have to get out to one of our orchards and pick something, tart cherries, apples, and also some of our grapes to experience the bounty of the county. Tart cherries in Door County, very popular, all sorts of great products, cherry wine, cherry pie, cherry desserts, and also, one of my favorites, the cherry pit spit competition. Lots of fun, and it gets people an opportunity to get rid of some of that hot air.

The Door County Fish Bowl is a meal that uses locally caught white fish, potatoes and onions, traditionally. It's cooked outdoors over a roaring wood fire, and the finish is one of my favorite parts. It's a huge boil over. They'll throw kerosene on the fire underneath the pot. It causes a huge ball of flames to shoot up in the air, boils all the soot and stuff off the top of the pot, so when they pull the food out, you've got a nice clean meal. It's really a neat local, traditional meal, and it's a tasty one to boot.