26 in 2026 -- Try at Least One New Coffee Shop -- The Daily Grind

 When I realized we were going to spend part of the morning in Dubuque, I started searching for a donut place so I could cross off Iowa on the list of states I had donuts in. It turns out that there aren't any true local donut places in Dubuque or least that I could find. I did stumble across the Daily Grind which coffee, donuts, and breakfast sandwiches. It was a logical choice.

The Daily Grind, LLC is located just west of downtown. If you weren't looking for it, you may miss it. They are open 5:30-1 daily. There is a small parking lot. It also some seating indoor and outdoor seating. 

They have donuts, pastries, pizza, and breakfast sandwiches. I wanted my donut so I ordered a donut but then I saw what I thought was a bacon and pepperjack cheese sandwich on a croissant. So I got both. There were a lot of good options. Stacy got a similar sandwich but on waffles instead. 

One of their fall drink specials was a chai latte with a cherry cold foam. Yes please. 

My drink was amazing. I loved cherry cold foam. It like made the drink.

Stacy said her drink was the perfect amount of sweetness.

To my slight dismay, my sandwich came with egg. This should not have shocked me because besides me who just has bacon and cheese on a breakfast sandwich. The egg was a real egg, not the folded kind from McDonald's so I could deal with the texture better. The sandwich was delicious. The pepperjack gave the sandwich just enough of a kick. The croissant was nice and flaky. Absolute perfection.

Stacy thought the waffles made her sandwich a bit too sweet.

I took my donut to go with plans on eating it later. It sat in Stacy's car the entire trip. I did finally eat like 2 days later. It was fine. Nothing special but it was also a 2 day old donut. Maybe fresh it would have been scrumptious. 

This place was so good we came back a second day. I highly recommend The Daily Grind if you are ever in Dubuque and need your coffee fix. 

5862. Go to the Grumpy Troll in Mt. Horeb

As we were driving to our Air BnB for girls weekend, I asked Stacy if she had any ideas for a dinner stop. She didn't. After a quick Google search to confirm hours and such, I said "I have a suggestion but you've probably been there before." I told her the Grumpy Troll in Mt. Horeb. She didn't even hesitate when she said "We're going to the Grumpy Troll."

The Grumpy Troll is a Brew Pub in Mount Horeb. It is right downtown so there's plenty of street parking if you don't mind walking a block or two. They open every day at 11 and closed between 7:30-8:30 depending on the day. 

One of the real reasons I picked it was because it was brew pub and I know Stacy enjoys her beer and they usually have good food. They have a good selection of their own beers plus other local beers. I am a shandy and a sour beer drinker. Recently I have to be in the mood for a sour. The Grumpy Troll had a create your own shandy -- pick a beer and then pick your mixer (lemonade, grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, or apple juice). I went with El Gnomo, which was a light refreshing summer beer, and of course lemonade. The other mixers just seemed weird to me in a beer. 

My shandy was very good. I like they give you options to make it your own. Not everyone likes a simple shandy and it gives you the opportunity to be creative. I had no trouble drinking the whole thing. Sometimes I get half way through a beer and had enough. 

Stacy said no matter what you ordered, you had to have the Grump Chips. I am one never to say no to homemade chips.  We both ended up with the same thing -- The Brisket Melt and Grump Chips. 

Grump Chips are homemade chips sprinkled with spiced parmesan served with a Gorgonzola mayo. They were amazing. I am not one for mayo, it is growing on me, but this stuff was really good. Even if you don't like mayo or Gorgonzola, it is worth dipping the chips in. 

Our Brisket Melts were equally delicious. The best part was it was served on sourdough. It was quite filling especially with a plate full of Grump Chips.

If you are ever in Mt. Horeb, chasing trolls or not, check out the Grumpy Troll for lunch or dinner. It is a perfect place to grab a bit to eat. Hopefully I get back down there so I can take the hubby. 

Donut Adventures: Voyageur Donuts

I made it one of my many life goals to have donuts in every state. I try to find local donut shops where ever we are visiting. We have several favorites that we try to visit when we are in the area. So when we decided to visit Duluth, I knew I had to try to find donuts in Duluth and I found Voyageur Donuts.

Voyageur Donuts is located downtown Duluth in the Canal Park area. It is slightly hard to find if you are not looking for it. We drove by it the first time. It is inside the DeWitt-Seitz building. It does have it's own parking lot. Voyageur Donuts is open 7-5 Sun, Mon, Tue, and Thu. 7-6 on Fridays and Saturdays. They are closed on Wednesdays. 

Voyageur Donuts is walk up shop. There is some outdoor seating. They offer donuts, coffee, and other beverages. They have classic, signature, and seasonal flavors which are all cake donut based. Each donut is $4. I thought it was a little pricy for the size of the donut. 

The whole reason we went here was there was a donut called "The Steve" -- a plain ass donut. Since we are friends with a Steve, we had to go and get a least one Steve. 

The hubby got The Steve. I went with the smore. 

The donuts were okay. The hubby said The Steve was greasy.. so it's now a Greasy Steve to us. My smore wasn't as greasy but still was slightly greasy. The flavor was good.

I also got a iced chai latte. It had a very strong tea flavor. I did not enjoy it. I like more of a mild tea flavor. 

We knocked donuts in Minnesota off the list. If we get back to Voyageur Donuts great but I would be open to finding other donut shops in the area if we are ever in Duluth. 

Dining Adventures -- Moofinfries

 One of the things that 101 Things You Should Do In the Upper Peninsula suggested was to have white fish. I am not a huge fish fan but having fresh white fish sounded appealing. We needed dinner for our second night in St. Ignace, so I figured fish was a good option. I don't remember if the book mentioned Moofinfries or if Google suggested it but based on the name alone, I was sold. 

Moofinfries is not quite a hole-in-the-wall restaurant just more like a roadside diner. Located on Hwy 2 in Naubinway, Moofinfries is opnen daily 11-7 during the summer months. 

It is not a large place but has enough empty tables when we were there. 

Moofinfries gets it's name because that's all they serve. Burgers (Moo), Fish (fin), and Fries. The burgers come grass fed beef cows on his brother's farm. If his brother doesn't have beef, there are no burgers. He gets his fish from one supplier and if he doesn't have fish that day, there is no fish. The fries are hand cut when you order them. It is a very simple operation. 

Obviously we came for the fish. We both ordered fish and fries. 

We each got 2 fillets of deep fried white fish and plenty of fries. The fish came with lemon and tartar sauce. I normally detest tartar sauce. However, the hubby was like try the tartar sauce. It was amazing. It is more of a creamy dill sauce than traditional tartar sauce. The owner said his wife makes it. I would pay money for that recipe. 

The fries were good too. They even have malt vinegar for the fries. 

We were too full from dinner to have the homemade ice cream they also sell. 

Next we said we wanted to try the burgers. 

If you are in the U.P., definitely try to make it to Moofinfries. It is worth every penny. 

26 in 2026: Visit a New Ice Cream Place -- Creekside Creamery

 A Facebook poll rated Creekside Creamery the best ice cream in Valley. It beat out Leon's and Frogg's.  I figured that was a good enough reason to try it. When the smoke was going to be a potential issue for the T-Rats game, I suggested getting drinks at the game and then celebrating National Ice Cream Day with some ice cream. She readily agreed and suggested Creekside Creamery. 

Creekside Creamery is just off downtown Hortonville on Nash Street. It is open 7:30-8 Tue-Sat and 11-8 on Sundays. They are currently closed on Mondays. There is small parking lot in the back. 

Creekside Creamery features natural ice cream and coffee meaning no artificial colors or flavors. They have unique flavors of ice cream as well as dairy free ice cream. You can sample all 24 flavors if you want before making a decision. The rotation keeps changing so you never know what they have.

Some of the unique flavors they had was Lemon White Chocolate Scone, Quinoa Sweet Cream, Lemon Poppyseed, Strawberry Rhubarb, Mojito and Rum. They had basic flavor as well such as Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, Birthday Cake, Orange Dreamsicle, Sweet Cream, and Chocolate. 

Heather and I had lemon white chocolate scone. The hubby went with Birthday Cake. Her hubby had Lemon Poppyseed. I almost went with chocolate peanut butter cup but realized I wanted to try new ice cream flavors this year. I also almost got the quinoa but opted with the lemon white chocolate scone. 

My sample was fantastic. I was excited to get a scoop of it. I found the actual scoop disappointing. It lack lemon flavor through out. There was one or two burst of lemon flavor other than that, I felt it didn't have much flavor. The hubby said his birthday cake tasted like sprinkles and no real cake flavor. I think since it's natural flavor, it's not going to stand out as much as artificial flavors.

Overall I was kind of disappointed. I would go back but I'm not racing out to Hortonville when I get an ice cream craving. 

If you want to avoid artificial flavors/colors or need dairy free ice cream, this is the place for you. I definitely would recommend trying it. It is a popular place and I hope they make it. I would also like to try their coffee drinks. 

26 in 2026: Visit a New Ice Cream Place -- Frankie's Ice Cream

I really wanted to get ice cream so I scheduled an ice cream date with Kristine. There were a couple of places in Port that I wanted to try. We picked Frankie's.

Frankie's Ice Cream is a seasonal ice cream stand in Port Washington that is ran out of an Airstream trailer. It is located on the corner of Pier and Franklin Streets downtown. They are open daily 11-9:30.

Frankie's serves Cedar Crest ice cream, Mini Donuts, and Jolly Good Soda. You can get a float with ice cream and Jolly Good. You can even get donut sundaes. Cedar Crest and Jolly Good are so a Southeast Wisconsin thing. 

I kept it simple just a scoop of Mint Mackinac Island Fudge in a waffle cone. It was $5.25 or so for my cone which I thought was reasonable. 

A dozen mini donuts were $7. I just don't get the fascination with mini donuts. Maybe it's that they are too sweet for me once you add all the toppings.

There is plenty of seating and if not the lake is only a few blocks away.

If you are ever in Port, grab an ice cream for Frankie's.

There's still a few ice cream places in Port that I need to try. I'm sure one day I'll get to them all. 

26 in 2026: Try a new food -- Hot Brown

 When we travel, we like to eat local especially for dinner. After a long day of traveling, we rarely want to think about where we are going to eat so I tend to scope out restaurants ahead of time. Sometimes I make an executive decision, other times I give the hubby options and let him pick. My go to resource for restaurants is Tripadvisor. That is where I found our dinner spot in Evansville, IN. I picked The Hornet's Nest Steakhouse which is more of pub and grill than a steak house.

The Hornet's Nest has a wide range of menu options. It has chicken, burgers, seafood, and steak. It also features a couple specialties, one of which was a Hot Brown. I think I vaguely heard the term before but never actually saw it on a menu before. It sounded good and the hubby and I both ordered it. We like to try local dishes, within reason, when we travel as well. 

A Hot Brown is a Louisville staple. I guess Evansville is close enough to Louisville that they can serve it. It is nothing fancy. Thick (or thin) sliced ham and turkey on Texas Toast topped with Mornay (cheese) sauce, bacon and tomato. It is broiled until bubbly and golden brown. I figured with bacon and cheese sauce you can't go wrong. We opted for no tomato.

It was delicious. It reminded me somewhat of a ponyshoe without the fries. The Mornay sauce was rich and creamy. It was easily cut with a fork. I doubt I could make the Mornay sauce at home otherwise I would totally make them for dinner. I am horrible at making cheese sauces. 

Next time you are in the Louisville area, you definitely should try a Hot Brown. If you are ever in Evansville, check out The Hornet's Nest. Everything that came out looked amazing. 

I wonder where our next trip will take us and what local foods we will get to. 

26 in 2026 -- Try a New Ice Cream Flavor -- Dubai Chocolate

I love finding new ice cream places and new ice cream flavors. Give me anything with lots of chocolate and I'm happy camper. As we were leaving Rise & Grind Gelato and Coffee Shop during Green Bay's Cafe Crawl, I noticed they had gelato. I obviously missed it in the name. I decided we needed to stop on the way back to the car for some gelato when we were done with the Cafe Crawl. 

Rise & Grind had about 6 flavors in gelato to pick from. I was debating between Dubai Chocolate and Watermelon. I decided watermelon was too much of a summer flavor to get on a cold February day so I went with Dubai Chocolate. I told Heather she could tell her kiddo that I was being trendy.

I was not impressed with the Dubai Chocolate. Okay so I'm not a huge pistachio fan.. that might be part of the problem. The crispy knafeh (shredded phyllo dough) added a weird stringy texture. It was not the usual smooth and creamy texture of that I am used to with gelato. I was more hard like ice cream. 

I did jump on the Dubai Chocolate Trend and I'm not going to be running out and getting more. I'll stick to my brownie pieces and caramel ribbons in the future. 

Definitely check out Rise & Grind for all your coffee and gelato needs the next time you are in Green Bay. 

It's only February. I'm sure I'll try more fun ice cream flavors in the next 10 months. Stay tuned to find out which flavor I try next. 

6155. Go to Inventor’s Brewpub in Port Washington

 The hubby and I were going to be down by my parents on Valentine's Day and we wanted to try some place new for dinner. However we didn't want a Valentine's Day menu or feel to it. That is not our thing. Little Bro suggested the Log Cabin Inn in Howards Grove but time got away from us and it was going to be later than we wanted to get there so we decided to stay in Port. My friend suggested Inventor's Brewpub in Port. We decided to check it out. 

Inventor's Brewpub is located downtown Port Washington across the street from the Marina. There is some parking in the lot to the south of the Marina or street parking. Do not park in the marina lot or you will get ticketed especially in summer. We couldn't figure out if we needed to feed the meters or not so we played it safe and parked on the street. Inventor's Brewpub is open 11-9 Sunday-Thursday and 11-10 on Fridays and Saturdays.

We got a table right away. They are several tables including a few longer beer hall tables to accommodate large groups. You could also sit at the bar. In summer there is also a patio to sit at and look out over the lake. 

The menu features burgers, wraps, Friday Fish, and a handful of main dishes. They also have poutine.  The brats are made locally and the rolls are Sheboygan hard rolls .The hubby went with a burger and I opted for Wisconsin Bratwurst Poutine. Since I wasn't in the mood for a beer, we opted for water. 

My poutine was very good. I forgot it said beer brat and was not expecting spiciness. Once I got used to that it was really good. It was a lot of food. The hubby said he might have got it if it wasn't beer cheese or came with chicken. He also said the fries were not sturdy enough for the cheese. I would totally get it it again.

The hubby said his burger was good. It looked good. I would probably get homemade chips with my burger though. 

We will definitely be back to Inventor's Brewpub. I told my friend it got 2 thumbs up. Next time I want to try their beer. 

If you are ever in Port Washington and want a quick bite to eat or a good beer, check out Inventor's Brewpub. 

26 in 2026 -- Try at Least One New Restaurant -- Bowl 91

 Heather and I decided to do dinner before Hamilton. When I asked for suggestions she said somewhere close to the PAC. Knowing her younger kiddo would be joining us, I gave her suggestions that he might like as well. She opted for Bowl 91.

Bowl 91 is an Asian Fusion restaurant on College Ave. It is open 11-8 Monday-Saturday. It is not a large place from what I could tell. You can also order carryout. 

I was stepping outside of my comfort zone on this one. I made sure before I suggested it, there were Amy friendly options on the menu. I figured worse case scenario I would have egg rolls and crab rangoons. 

Bowl 91 has a lot of Ramen. I had Ramen once and wasn't a huge fan. Instead of getting ramen or fried rice, I went with Loaded Chashu Fries and we split crab rangoons between the three of us.

The crab rangoons were amazing. The filling was creamy and not overly sweet. I would come back just for the crab rangoons. 10 out of 10 for the crab rangoons.

Loaded Chashu Fries were very good as well. Only I would go to a noodle place and order French Fries. Loaded Chashu Fries were French Fries topped with braised pork belly, shredded cheese, teriyaki sauce, and a spicy mayo I asked for the mayo on the side. I didn't even really use it. The teriyaki sauce was perfect for me. I love the Asian twist on poutine. It was comfort food in a Asian bowl. Absolutely delicious.

I would definitely go back. It might be a good option for cookie baking in the future. The hubby said he'd be willing to try it since I've raved about the crab rangoons.

If you haven't checked out Bowl 91 and like Asian, you definitely need to add it to your list for you next date night or friend date. 

Ice Cream Date at Toucan Food & Custard in Port Washington

 Whenever I go home or Kristine is up in my neck of the woods, we try to get together for a drinks or ice cream. Something quick and easy so we can catch up. It works perfectly in our busy schedules.

Since I was home after I biked the Old Plank Road Trail and Kristine was free, we decided to meet up for ice cream. She suggested Dairy Queen... I was like how about Toucan's? I never been and they have dole whip. She agreed. 

Toucan Food & Custard is in what I know as the old Donut Depot on Grand Ave. Over the years the building housed many different business and now is home to Toucan Food & Custard. Originally it started in West Bend and moved to Port a few years ago. I've been meaning to stop for some custard but usually the hubby wants to get home. They are open 11-9 Wed, Thu, Sun, and Mon and 11-10 on Fri and Sat. They are closed on Tuesdays. There is plenty of parking in back.

Toucan Food & Custard serves both food and custard as its name suggests. We just wanted ice cream. They have custard (chocolate, vanilla, Superman, and the flavor of the day) as well as Dole Whips. Their sundae and split menus are quite extensive. Their list of shake/malt flavors puts Kopps to shame. Mango Shake anyone? Nerds Concrete Mixer? 

After a lot of debating, I opted for the brownie sundae with chocolate custard. There were several good options. All the reason to go back right?

My sundae was perfect. It was the right size, came with a cherry, and was not too rich. It was no more expensive than any other sundae. Oh and it tasted delicious. 

Toucan Food & Custard was a perfect place to grab some ice cream and catch up. You can never go wrong with ice cream and good friends. If you haven't tried Toucan Food & Custard definitely check it out. The food looks good too. 

Eating Donuts in Mad Town

 One of the many things I want to do in each county in Wisconsin (and State) is have donuts. Not Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme but local donuts. Last year I noticed a bakery not far from our hotel but we opted for bagels instead. This year I gave the hubby the same choice bagels or donuts. He went with donuts from Greenbush Bakery.

Greenbush Bakery has two Madison locations, one on Regent Street and the other on High Crossing Blvd. Both locations are open 6 AM - 8 PM Mon-Sat and 6 AM to 1 PM on Sundays. There is street parking only for the Regent location. We got lucky and ended up parking right in front. 

We opted for 4 donuts. There were many verities to choose from. The hubby and I both got Bavarian cream. He got a sugar ring and I went with sprinkles. They all looked good so it was hard to choose. 

We actually sat outside to eat our donuts. It was a beautiful morning. Behind us we could watch them make donuts. 

Our Bavarian Cream donuts were scrumptious. Not too much filling and not overly sweet. It was light and airy as well. We saved our others for the next morning (and were still pretty good the following day). 

We definitely will be back the next time we are in Madison. They don't beat Munster donuts but they are sure good (and a bit closer). If you haven't tried donuts from Greenbush Bakery, you definitely should.

Dining Adventures 2025: The Chocolate Factory

 After Stacy and I were done exploring Cedarburg, we figured it was time for lunch Our pancake breakfast was a few hours ago so we decided we need something more than chocolate truffles to eat. I spied The Chocolate Factory across the street and said I've never been. That was an easy decision then.

The Chocolate Factory is an ice cream and sandwich shop that started by two guys in Cedarburg back in 1972. It now has several locations around the greater Milwaukee area. The one in Cedarburg is open daily 10:30-9 except for Sundays when it is open 11-8.

The subs are made fresh to order and have quite a few options to choice from. I went with the The Sicilian which is their version of the Italian Sub. I got a mini sandwich and chips. It was the perfect size.

No trip to the Chocolate Factory is complete without ice cream. Ice cream charged by the ounce. They had several good flavors to choose from. I went chocolate brownie fudge. I can't resist chocolate brownie ice cream. It was delicious. 

I will definitely be back with the hubby in tow. We've always mentioned going there and I just beat him to it.

If you are looking for a good sub shop that also has soup and ice cream, definitely check out The Chocolate Factory. 

25 in 2025 -- Try One New Pizza Place -- Tony Capony Pizza

 When our friends invited us up for St. Patrick's Dinner, they invited us up a day early and said we could have a pizza and pajama party. They also said their friends brought pizza from a new place so we will order from there. We are always up for good pizza.

Tony Capony has been serving up pizza for more than 20 years in Eau Claire. We just found out about them. They are open daily from 11-9. I surprised we've not heard of them before. 

We ordered 3 large pizzas. 

The Five Meat Combo Classic which was Pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, Beef Sausage, Italian Sausage, and Bacon

The Humble Pie Classic which was Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Onions, and Green Peppers -- no onions. 

Sausage and Pepperoni.

We wanted thin crust but ended up with hand tossed. 

The pizza was very good. We definitely would order again especially if we can get thin crust. On the Five Meat Combo it said bacon bits it was chunks of bacon. The 5 meat was definitely my favorite. The hubby favored the pepperoni and sausage. 

Tony Capony is definitely worth the price. I know this may be our new pizza place when we go to Eau Claire or at least on the south side. 

25 in 2025 -- Try at least one new beer, cider, or cocktail -- Drop Top Sundrop

Stacy invited me tag along with them when they went to Nutcracker at the Castle. Before hand we decided to meet for lunch at Mr. Brews Taphouse in Oshkosh. I knew there was one in Appleton but not aware of the one in Oshkosh. 

Mr. Brews features a multitude of beers on tap. Their paper menu is 2 pages. I wasn't sure what to get but I knew what I liked... sours and shandies. They had several of each. Stacy said to get a flight but I was driving. Then I spotted the perfect beer. Drop Top Sundrop. 

I swear they made Drop Top Sundrop just for me. It is a shandy made with Sundrop Soda. It is made by Stubborn Brothers Brewery in Shawano. According to Untappd website it is A Citrus Sour Radler made with two parts beer and one part local soda Sundrop.

It was the first beer that I truly love. It is not your ordinary Shandy. It does not taste like beer at all. Stacy took a sip and said it tasted like soda. I will definitely get this in the future. 

I did at visit Stubborn Bros Brewery in Shawano to the bucket list. I am curious what other beers they have. 

If you are not a beer drinker, this might be the beer for you. It is definitely on the milder side with very little beer taste. Check it out. 

5233. Have stuffed chicken wings from Mai’s Deli

 For over a year, we have been waiting to try stuffed chicken wings from Mai's Deli in Appleton. It makes it hard with the hubby's schedule but finally we had a Saturday night free and I said we were going to do it.

Mai Deli's is a Southeast Asian cafe near downtown. They serve stuffed chicken wings, pho, and Pad Thai among other favorites. They are open Monday-Saturday 10-8. They do have dine in and carryout. 

We weren't sure what we wanted so we opted to go there and order. Most people do carry out but do have a few tables for dine in. 

We knew wanted stuffed chicken wings but not sure what else. There were plenty of things on the menu the hubby won't even think about trying. I think if I was with Stacy I might have been a bit more adventurous. We stuck with stuffed chicken wings, chicken egg rolls, and crab rangoons. 

The wait for our food was about 10-15 minutes which wasn't bad for a Saturday night. We just sat and people watched. Now that we know what we like, we probably will just call and order next time.

The stuffed chicken wings were fabulous. It is egg roll filling in a jumbo chicken wing. We definitely will be getting them again.

I'm not a huge egg roll fan. These were good but I think the pork would be even better. The crab rangoons were delicious.

If you have not tried Mai's Deli yet, you definitely need to. We can't wait to go back. I told Stacy I found where we taking her for cookie baking next year.