This story is part of our Summer Guide from the June Issue of Milwaukee Magazine. To read our full guide to summer fun, order your copy today!
WISCONSINITES ARE LUCKY: our state is home to tens of thousands of farms. And some offer the ultimate farm-to-table experience, serving up meals harvested or raised right there. Here are five of our favorites happening this summer.
1. Holy Hill Art Farm
JUNE 23 | HUBERTUS
“The farm is a magical place to celebrate the bounty of Wisconsin’s growing season much like our ancestors did,” says manager Kristine Jacklin, who dresses up the 165-year-old barn with vintage chairs and farm tables – and bouquets from their gardens on each table – for Meat & Potato Night. Prime Minister Restaurant & Catering culls local meats (beef tenderloin and chicken breasts) and vegetables and also serves Wisconsin wines and Fideler Farm’s fruit turnovers, paired with live acoustic music.
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2. Stone Bank Farm Market
MONTHLY BETWEEN APRIL & OCTOBER | STONE BANK
In addition to serving beef, pork and lamb pastured and raised on the 75-acre Lake Country farm, along with its vegetable crops, “we try to support farmers within 30 to 60 miles of our farm,” says manager Michelle Relford. That includes offerings from Turtle Creek Gardens, Gwenyn Hill Farm, Olden Organics Farm and Meadowlark Organics. Birch chef Kyle Knall, a James Beard Award semifinalist this year, does the cooking at these monthly dinners. “Through these experiences we are celebrating what the land has provided,” says Relford.
3. Hidden Acres Farm
AUG. 11-13, 18-20 AND 25-27 | SISTER BAY
Justin Carlisle, the chef and owner of Milwaukee’s Ardent, is serving up eight-course dinners at this farm. He’s making kombucha with Hidden Acres’ aronia berry patch – Wisconsin’s largest – and serving up squash, tomatoes and cucumbers grown on the farm. “We’ll hang out [in the garden] and talk about the property and the farm and how we connected and then move inside [to a modern barn] to eat,” Carlisle says. Before dinner, Hidden Acres co-owner Tom Rehberger encourages guests to “walk through the farm grounds, visit the gardens and buildings established by the Knutson family in the late 1890s.”
4. Campo di Bella
FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS YEAR-ROUND | MOUNT HOREB
“We bring a little bit of Italy to south-central Wisconsin,” says Mary Ann Bellazzini, who runs this 20-acre farm, vineyard, farm stay and restaurant with her husband, Marc, the chef for dinners paired with their wines. Friday’s three-course meals, and Saturday’s five-course options change every weekend to reflect seasonality – and what Marc learned cooking with his Italian grandmother – with dishes like lasagna marinara, braised lamb and chicken Provençal. Reservations by the prior Wednesday are required.
5. Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B
AUG. 6 | BROWNTOWN
Soil Sisters, a group celebrating Wisconsin’s female organic farmers, is hosting this dinner at Inn Serendipity in southwestern Wisconsin. On the menu: pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven, topped with Emmi Roth cheese and seasonal vegetables grown by Soil Sisters members. “2022 is the 10-year anniversary of the Soil Sisters weekend, the largest women-farmer-led event of its kind in the country,” says Lisa Kivirist, the inn’s co-owner and a co-founder of Soil Sisters, noting its goal of “stewarding our Wisconsin landscape with a bounty of on-farm workshops and culinary events showcasing local foods and flavors.”
