After a day of sailing on Lake Michigan, catching a University of Wisconsin home game, running in the Mad City Marathon or touring the Wind Point Lighthouse, southern Wisconsin offers restaurants for meat lovers. Wisconsin culinary history is big on the state's immigrant history, which includes many Eastern European countries--so expect lots of sausages and beer.
Carnevor Steakhouse
Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin, located on Lake Michigan, and is home to more than a dozen colleges and museums, including the Black Holocaust Museum.
Located in the heart of downtown Milwaukee near Cathedral Square, Carnevor is "chic and contemporary," according to OpenTable.com. Carnevor, as the name suggests, specializes in steak and seafood and more than 400 wines. It is listed as one of OpenTable's Hot Spots and is one of the site's "Diner's Choice" winners. In 2006 Carnevor won "Best New Restaurant" from OnMilwaukee.com, the Shepherd Express and Dennis Ghetto's section from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Steaks are offered in a variety of sizes and cuts, from an 8-ounce filet mignon to a 20-ounce bone-in ribeye. Non-meat eaters are pretty much limited to soup or a salad.
724 N. Milwaukee St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 223-2200
carnevor.com
Reservations also available through OpenTable.com
The Old Fashioned
Madison is Wisconsin's state capital and home to the students of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In 2004 Men's Journal named Madison the Healthiest City in America, and in 2005 it was listed among Gregory A. Kompes' 50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live.
Rated "Favorite Overall Restaurant" in the 2008 Mad Diner Awards, The Old Fashioned was founded in 2005 to highlight great Wisconsin food from small, local Wisconsin producers.
The menu is numbered, so a "No. 32 sandwich" will get you "Sheboygan's grand champion Miesfeld Market double bratwurst with raw onions, pickles and brown mustard on a buttered Highway Bakery hard roll." A tribute to Wisconsin cheese spotlights four cheese plates, and the beer menu features 150 Wisconsin beers. The Old Fashioned also offers a brunch menu (again, by number) as well as nightly specials heavy on the meat and fish. Monday nights have specials on Jagermeister and Jameson shots, and margaritas are on special Tuesday nights--to go with Taco Tuesday.
23 N. Pinckney Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 310-4545
theoldfashioned.com
The Summit Restaurant & Cocktails
Racine is located right on the shore of Lake Michigan and carries the official nickname of "The Belle City of the Lakes." Just south of Milwaukee, Racine is also an hour and a half's drive north of Chicago.
The Summit offers contemporary American fare in a casual but elegant atmosphere. All the favorites are here: Maryland crab cakes, calamari, Cobb salad, burgers, lobster, steaks, veal and ribs.
Fridays at the Summit feature an "all you can eat" battered or breaded cod fish fry with an early bird special. The Sunday champagne brunch is served buffet style with carved meats, popcorn shrimp, chicken wings and a grand dessert table.
The Summit does on-site banquets as well as off-site catering. Visit their website for a dining-in coupon.
6825 Washington Ave.
Racine, WI 53406
(262) 886-9866
summitrestaurant.com
