Earl and I arrived home late yesterday afternoon. We are now in the process of unpacking, taking stock of all our souvenirs, sorting laundry, and wading through the accumulation of mail. Believe me, it’s almost knee deep.
But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention two things we did on the last day, both traditions and both revolving around food.
First, since we spent our last night on the road in New Glarus, WI we were only fifteen miles or so from Monroe, WI and Baumgartner’s. We’ve been going to Baumgartner’s for fifteen years or so, even since Earl convinced me we needed to visit Wisconsin’s bicycle trails and spend weekends exploring them.
What is Baumgartner’s, you ask? It’s just a tavern that’s been open since 1931; but it has the best liver sausage sandwiches on the planet. It has the best Limburger cheese too, although I’m merely parroting what the locals tell us. I have never tasted it myself. But I have tasted the liver sausage. On the softest rye bread with mustard on the side. If you like liver sausage, it is to die for.
If you don’t like liver sausage, you still need to visit Baumgartner’s. There are thousands of dollar bills stuck to the ceiling, and your server can put one of yours up there too. It’s quite an entertainment. Once every two years the bills are taken down and given to a local charity.
Baumgartner’s has other sandwiches besides liver sausage and othe cheeses besides Limburger. We bought both cheese curds and aged Swiss to take home. I believe Earl has already broken into the curds.
Moving toward Michigan . . . whenever we take a trip we have our final meal at the Mark III in our own area. This tradition started when we flew to more destinations than we do now. We’d land hungry at South Bend’s airport, get our car out of hock, and head for The Mark, since it was usually the only restaurant open that time of night. It’s a cross between a sports bar, a Mexican restaurant, and a hamburger joint. We’ve been going there for a dozen years and see no reason to change now, even though we arrived yesterday long before close.
Some traditions just need to be maintained.
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