What’s Cooking? Hearty, Homestyle Fare
I’m sighing as I make the trek back to New York after a lengthy vacation in Wisconsin and Oregon. Empanada Boy came home a few days before me because he had to work. I wanted to stay in Portland for my grandma, Trader Joanna’s, birthday. This is probably the last time I will be able to take advantage of a student’s long winter vacation, so I relished every minute of it. EB and I flew into Chicago and spent the night with Sous Chef, Slim McDinner and family in Evanston. The next morning, we hitched a ride up to Madison. As soon as we pulled up, we were shuttled into another car by Tofutti Cutie and Popover to make the four-hour trek up to EB’s family place in northern Wisconsin’s Eagle River. We had a lot of fun, despite the snowy, sub-zero weather. But we headed back to Madison earlier than expected to escape an oncoming blizzard. On the way home, we stopped for lunch at The Cookery.
The Cookery is a classic roadside café with lacy curtains, hearty food made from scratch and plenty of regulars. It’s actually located just down the road from Eagle River in the town of Sugar Camp. Snowmobilers park outside and head in for a sandwich or a homestyle plate of food. The Cookery was closed when we tried to go there on our last visit, so EB was excited to get me to try it this time. We stomped in wearing our winter boots and sat down at a round table. Popover ordered a grilled cheese sandwich from the regular menu, but EB and Tofutti Cutie were tempted by the special of the day: liver and onions with a side of rye bread. I wanted something warm and filling. Nothing seemed to better fit the bill than a bowl of house-made chili.
I didn’t try Popover’s grilled cheese sandwich, but it looked like a fairly basic assemblage, involving toasted white sandwich bread, yellow cheddar cheese and tomatoes. A pickle spear came on the side.
The liver platters were large and opulently draped with caramelized onions and sizeable pieces of liver. The meat was a little leathery, but it was flavorful and not too difficult to eat (unless, like me, you can only eat a few bites of this rich, pungent organ before the queasiness sets in). The rye bread was of the inferior variety— visually appealing but lacking in any distinctive rye flavor. Coleslaw on the side balanced out the richness of the meat.
The chili was delicious and hit the spot. The flavors could have been more complex, but they were balanced with just the right tomatoey sweetness and kick of spice. My only disappointment was that there wasn’t cornbread to go with it. I ordered a side of bread, but slices of wheat sandwich bread were apparently the best the kitchen could come up with.
For dessert we shared a dried cherry crumble with a scoop of ice cream. The topping was made with oatmeal and could have benefited from something to hold the clumps together more effectively and from more spices, including salt. The dried cherries were nice, though, and the dish was definitely homemade.
Simple, homemade fare is the specialty at The Cookery. And while this may not seem too exciting, it may well be the only restaurant in the area that doesn’t devote most of its menu to fried food. Not that there’s anything wrong with fried food, of course, but sometimes clean, basic flavors provide a welcome change.
The Cookery
6694 Hwy. 17 North
Sugar Camp, WI 54501
715.272.1616
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