There’s actually a reason why Wisconsin is known as the Land of Cheese and Dairy. With fun attractions such as Wisconsin Dairy State Cheese Company and Feltz’s Dairy Store, you can watch cheese being made and then take some fresh curds, wedges, or slices home. But, the state is also home to outstanding restaurants and other eateries.
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In Stevens Point, home to a University of Wisconsin campus, you’ll find almost any type of food you desire, from freshly-made pasta to tapas dishes. As I ate my way around the city of about 20,000 during a press trip to central Wisconsin — in the traditional homeland of the Native American Menomonie Nation — I appreciated the opportunity to enjoy delicious dishes wherever I dined. Here’s a look at some of the best eateries in Stevens Point and how I enjoyed them. (I tend to only eat at places that interest me.)
1. Ruby Colorful Coffees
Perhaps the best cup of coffee you’ll have in the Cheese State, Ruby Colorful Coffees brews an outstanding espresso, as well as flavored drinks. Consider the maple latte, a sweet blend of espresso with flavorful maple syrup. The downtown coffee shop, which opened in 2019, features a comfortable, open-seating concept, and is popular with just about everyone, from college students and business people to families stopping in for a breakfast of sausage, eggs, and toast.
Ruby is recognized annually as one of Wisconsin’s best roasters, creating flavorful blends with coffees from Ethiopia, Guatemala, and other international trade partners. Enjoy your coffee at Ruby’s, or take it to-go and explore the amazing historical and pop culture murals around downtown.
What To Order
I appreciated a grilled ham, egg, and cheese sandwich with my morning coffee. However, the menu is wide open for a full breakfast or pastries.
2. Main Grain Bakery
Making delicious pies and other sweets in her apartment while attending the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Sarah Jo More hosted parties, inviting fellow students to partake in her desserts. It just so happened that two of her neighbors were into making sourdough bread. The trio teamed up for a boatload of fun parties. After college, they decided to open their own bakery, and Main Grain Bakery was born, specializing in artisan sourdough bread.
In mid-2022, she and her husband, Michael, decided to add a restaurant next door to the bakery. Serving lunch, Main Grain Bakery is known for unique sandwiches, salads, and homestyle soups. Main Grain adds a bit of fun to its menu with sandwiches named using family and friends’ nicknames, such as Angel Dolly (using the nickname Michael’s mom gave to him as a child). I’m not suggesting Main Grain Bakery create a sandwich nicknamed Cowboy, but a certain former smalltown Nebraska kid-turned-writer might get a kick out of a sourdough sandwich featuring honey ham, roast beef, bread and butter pickles, a couple of tomato slices, mustard, and mayo. I’m just saying (wink, wink). During my visit, I knew I had to try the Angel Dolly with a cup of tomato bisque soup and a slice of sourdough bread on the side. It made for tasty dipping.
What To Order
Try the Angel Dolly, a sandwich served on rustic white sourdough bread featuring miso aioli, smoked turkey, sopressata (sliced pork), Italian salami, gruyere cheese, greens, peppers, jalapeños, white balsamic, and oregano. Sides available include salad or soup (consider the freshly-made tomato bisque).
3. Dosirak Korean Restaurant
A first-generation Korean immigrant, Dongjoon Choi attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and fell in love with the area. Today, he is the executive chef at Dosirak Korean Restaurant, which features a Korean and northern Asian menu. Enjoy dishes such as Dak-Gangjung — boneless Korean fried chicken with fried rice cakes and freshly chopped mild peppers. The chef’s special comes with a choice of sweet & spicy sauce or garlic butter soy sauce. The side is a pickled cubed white radish.
What To Order
Order the kimchi fried rice, which combines delicious Asian cabbage with fried rice. Along with fried or boiled mandoo (Korean dumpling), you’ll feel like you’ve traveled to Seoul or a rural Korean village.
4. Point After Bar And Grill
You don’t need to be a sports fan to enjoy dining at Point After Bar and Grill. Its menu showcases American fare including cheese curds, sandwiches, wraps, and burgers. You’ll also be tempted by daily specials, which can include fried perch and chips, loaded sweet potato fries, and a corned beef brisket burger. Point After loves to celebrate names with its monthly Name Calendar. If your name is on the calendar, you get 50 percent off your drink that day.
What To Order
The Triple B Burger, featuring slow-smoked brisket and bacon on top of a 1/3-pound burger with chipotle barbecue sauce and three onion rings, is perhaps the best on the menu.
5. Cozy Kitchen
A perfect spot to kick off your day, Cozy Kitchen offers a delicious breakfast at a comfy price. Known for its wheat cakes, Cozy Kitchen is a downtown Stevens Point classic as the oldest established restaurant in town. Featuring daily lunch and dinner specials, such as homestyle meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, and salmon patties, Cozy Kitchen’s meals may remind you of eating at Grandma’s. The downtown diner is located a short walk from the riverfront. Check out the mural on the side of the building that celebrates local history and culture.
What To Order
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Try Cozy Kitchen’s Lumberjack Snack with two eggs and hash browns topped with a sausage, pepper, and onion mixture.
Consider lunch at the diner and order the daily special, such as a meatloaf dinner. Go with mashed potatoes and gravy, as well as a side vegetable, and you’re set for a homestyle meal.
6. O’so Brewery
Open for 15 years, Plover’s O’so Brewery may be home to more than 24 styles of beer, but it’s quickly become known for its outstanding pizza. Open since April 2022, O’so Amore Kitchen has churned out more than 3,600 pizzas. Using beer instead of water, the brewery creates a unique award-winning dough.
The kitchen staff is innovative in making its giant pizzas, such as the Hot Billy pizza — a central Wisconsin twist on barbecue — with pulled pork, jalapeños, and red onion. You can also enjoy basic pizzas, such as cheese, sausage, and Supreme — featuring pepperoni, sausage, black olive, mushroom, green pepper, and red onion. The brewery, which also offers appetizers such as garlic cheese bread and soft pretzels, serves tasty sandwiches, with the Meatball Bomber being a favorite. It includes four meatballs served on a 7-inch hoagie with mozzarella cheese and marinara. It comes with a side of giardiniera.
What To Order
Using a base of Hidden Valley ranch for its 16-inch pulled chicken and bacon pizza, O’so Brewery has created a Wisconsin original.
7. Rock ‘N’ Roll Café
Take a trip to the 1950s, as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Cafe offers a musical journey to a simpler time. While poodle skirts and greased-up hair aren’t required, you may want to dress for the occasion, or just enjoy the ambiance at the ’50s-themed diner.
From American standards, such as three-egg omelets, eggs Benedict, and French toast, to Mexican dishes like huevos rancheros, start the day as your parents did. The diner is full of nostalgia, with album covers, 33s, and posters of rock-and-roll legends, such as Elvis, hanging on the wall.
With dishes such as liver and onions, as well as chopped steak, the cafe has a lot of local favorites. Open since 2014, the Rock ‘n’ Cafe is a fun, nostalgic culinary experience.
What To Order
The Wisconsin Berry Burger is a must, with pepper jack cheese, crispy bacon, and a “wild twist” of berries.
8. Father Fats Public House
At first glance, Father Fats Public House gives the impression it’s a small bar. But, the dozen or so seats are only an illusion. Step inside and you’ll find plenty of indoor seating, as well as on the patio. Once settled in, you’ll travel the world, with culinary excursions to the East Coast, deep South, Europe, and Asia.
With multiple options, you’ll be challenged with all the temptations when selecting dishes at this tapas restaurant. From chicken and waffles to caprese salad and fried green tomatoes, Father Fats takes care of you with mouth-watering small-plate dishes, including the succulent duck. While at Father Fats Public House, enjoy a handcrafted cocktail in the front bar.
What To Order
The Asian chicken wrap is an impressive dish, almost mouth-watering, and is definitely a great choice as one of the small plates you can order.
9. Muse At Sentry
You may think Muse at The Sentry is too upscale, with its classic paintings featuring works by Picasso and others. But, the restaurant at the Muse Theatre — part of the SentryWorld resort — features a casual, upscale menu, with wet- and dry-aged steaks at the higher end of its menu. But the hand-rolled pasta, burgers, and fish, such as the Wester Ross salmon, are also outstanding options. Consider starting your culinary experience with an appetizer featuring fresh lux eggs, with Chef Christopher Ault’s personal touch with deviled eggs. Cocktails such as a coconut pineapple martini add to the Muse experience.
What To Order
The crab cannelloni is an outstanding option. With fresh crab meat cooked inside hand-rolled pasta served in a cream sauce, it’s the perfect entrée.
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