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Wisconsin’s Cheese Capital
This Green County town of 10,000 people is often dubbed the Swiss Cheese Capital of the U.S., and the cheese-centric identity is not just a marketing pitch; it’s completely legit. There are more master cheesemakers here than anywhere else in the world.
Be sure to pack a cooler, as you will definitely want to bring some cheeses home. In fact, you might even want to bring camp chairs for a picnic in the countryside.
Start your morning at the Alp and Dell Cheese Store, where the A-frame roof and lacy-white curtains are a mini slice of the Swiss Alps. Owner Tony Zgraggen, who arrived in Wisconsin from Switzerland with his wife and co-owner Esther in the 1980s, might even yodel for you as you browse the cheeses.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Between Monday and Friday, at 10 a.m., the store hosts a tour of the adjacent Emmi Roth plant. (A viewing hall is open to the public at other times, although 9 a.m.-1 p.m. is best to see cheesemaking in action.)
This Swiss-owned creamery makes world-class cheeses, such as its Alpine-style aged Grand Cru and creamy Buttermilk Blue, in its copper vats. Another way to pack the cooler is at Swiss Colony’s outlet store, where the mail order company’s acclaimed cheeses (like cheddar, aged Swiss, gouda and blue cheese crumbles) are sold at deep discounts.
Lunchtime means a stop at Baumgartner Cheese Store and Tavern for a Baumgartner Burger, topped with Limburger cheese, or a sandwich consisting of just that very stinky (but also extremely palatable!) cheese. Only one place in the U.S. makes this cheese: the nearby Chalet Cheese Cooperative.
Baumgartner’s, a belly-up-to-the-bar-type tavern on the throwback town square, dates back to 1931. Sip a Spotted Cow, brewed just up Highway 69 in New Glarus, for a perfect pairing with the sandwich. If you’re now convinced that Limburger is the best food since sliced bread, score a wedge at Chalet’s factory store.
Walk off lunch at the National Historic Cheesemaking Center Museum. On its grounds is a restored factory that once made Swiss, brick and Limburger using milk from its 40-cow herd.
115 miles from Milwaukee to Monroe
Not to sound cheesy, but it’s really best to see more than what this part of Wisconsin can make from milk. With a handful of galleries, Monroe Arts Center shows rotating visual art exhibitions. On view through June 21 is “Matter and Spirit: Light and Energy by Karen Fitzgerald,” featuring tondo (circular) paintings by the artist, who grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm.
To pair with all that cheese, Monroe has two (quite different) breweries. The bigger Minhas Craft Brewery is the U.S.’s second-oldest brewery, dating to 1845. Eight-year-old Bullquarian Brewhouse is owned by musician Ethan Kister, whose beer innovation includes Cheeze Hayze, an IPA crafted from Swiss yeast.
