1. Thanksgiving Dinner with Mike McCarthy
CHRIS DROSNER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
This is a very “Green Bay is small” story, but my then-wife’s cousin is married to Mike McCarthy, former coach of the local football club. In 2013, shortly after I got married, Jessica and Mike invited the whole family to Thanksgiving dinner, and that included the newly minted member – a Green Bay native and lifelong fan of that local football club who was freaking out for weeks ahead of the holiday. The twist: The Packers were playing the early game that day, and they got demolished 40-10 by the Lions. I sometimes bring home a bad day at work, so I expected a grumpy coach. But Mike (I think we’re on a first-name basis now) walked through the door delighted to see his family, scooping up his youngest daughter in a big bear hug. We engaged in comfortable small talk across the table as I wondered if I was making sense through the voice in my head screaming, “YOU ARE EATING TURKEY AND STUFFING WITH THE COACH OF THE GREEN BAY PACKERS.” It was an evening I’ll never forget, and years later I always recused myself from “fire the coach” discussions with friends.
2. Road Trippin’ With Charlie Berens
ARCHER PARQUETTE, MANAGING EDITOR
This one’s easy. A couple years ago, I took a road trip to Lambeau Field with Charlie Berens, of “Manitowoc Minute” fame, and we stopped at Kwik Trip on the way. It was a Wisconsin moment so Wisconsin that my little Wisconsin heart almost couldn’t take it – if only I had been eight beers deep and/or wearing camo, I might have achieved true Wisconsin transcendence. But alas, I was working. I was interviewing Berens for this feature profile I wrote about him, and so in the midst of interrogating him and worrying about the story, I don’t think I appreciated the moment. Now, looking back, I can say that I have never been so Wisconsin before – and likely never will be again.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
3. A Packers Musical Followed by Cold Brews at a Dive
BRIANNA SCHUBERT, ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR
It seems the Packers must be the most Wisco thing around, because my answer has to do with them, too. My partner was in Dad’s Season Tickets at Sunset Playhouse earlier this year, and for those of you who haven’t heard of this great musical by a Wisconsin writer, it follows a family as they debate who gets the dad’s Packers tickets after his passing. On opening night, I saw the show with a few folks, and afterward, we grabbed a beer at the local dive bar. It was crazy in there, and we all stuffed into a small booth. It was simple, but some good old Wisconsin fun.
4. A First Encounter with Stinky Limburger
ANN CHRISTENSON, DINING EDITOR
It has to be the first time I ate Limburger cheese, perhaps the world’s smelliest cheese. Limburger originated in Belgium, in what is now the French-speaking province of Liege. German immigrants were the ones to bring the Limburger cheese-making tradition to Wisconsin, and today, there’s only one place in the whole country that makes it – Chalet Cheese Co-op in Monroe. I can only imagine what it smells like in there. The reason this soft ripened cheese stinks so bad is it’s smeared with a bacterium that helps the cheese ripen and develop flavor. A young Limburger doesn’t have the pronounced aroma of a well-aged one, which is seriously smelly. The traditional way to eat it is on rye bread with red onion and mustard. Talk about the potential for bad breath. I remember the stuff tasting far less noxious – pungent and earthy, but not unpleasant, though it’s not a cheese I’d want stinking up my refrigerator.
5. A 3 a.m. Christmas Cookout
BIANCA CABRAL, EDITORIAL DESIGNER
What comes to mind for a really Wisconsin experience was one Christmas, when we all stayed up very late. Most of my family is vegetarian – but the guys are 100% not. At nearly 3 a.m., they just randomly prepped an entire bowl of carne asada and ran outside to have a cookout. I witnessed a complete clash of cultures. I learned that it doesn’t matter how cold or how late it gets, they’ll still fire up that grill.
