Last Saturday, we drove along the Mississippi Coast of central Wisconsin, stopping in several towns well-appointed for tourists including Alma, Nelson, Pepin and Stockholm. The last stop was most surprising since it’s a tiny town but totally decked out for visitors with a lots of interesting shops and restaurants including a topnotch art gallery/crafts shop, Abode, that has Santa Fe quality work and the Bogus Cafe, which has a nice outdoor patio for dining.
In tiny Pepin across from the harbor we ate at the aptly named Harbor View Cafe. Inside the cheerful old building, we found a pretty dining room lined with books stacked in high built-in shelves and a lovely The food was sophisticated and a wee pricey – and a tad heavy for a hot July afternoon, especially since the restaurant’s air-conditioning was on the blink. Terrific homemade bread, caesar salad and gazpacho would have been enough. But the entrees were huge, heavy and hot – I had sautéed chicken with garlic, chipotle sauce atop linguine; D. had a pork shank in a too-sweet sauce. Would have been fine fare on a winter’s night.
In Alma we stopped at Fire and Ice for iced coffee and chanced upon a remarkable two-story garden in the back of the shop’s old building, beautifully landscaped with topiary, statues of near-naked men. Turns out the place is owned by a guy who is fixing up several adjacent buildings – as shops and a hotel. He gave us a little tour of the hotel which has almost rococo decor. His motto “It’s not done until it’s overdone” and his slogan “French without the attitude.) The place is called the Hotel de ville. (oui, oui.) We also visited a nice craft shop next to the cafe run by an artist who donates part of the proceeds to charity.
In Nelson, we stopped at the creamery – mostly because we were drawn to the big old brick building. Inside they served ice cream (no samples though, which seemed stingy) and light sandwiches (yes, we should have eaten dinner here) and had a wine bar in the back. Cool space. Lots of people.
TakeBetsywithyou 