Up in the Valley

Book a long weekend in the Fox Cities for fine food, beer, nature and art

by

I didn’t spend a lot of time drinking in the Fox Cities back in the day. From kindergarten through college, I called a handful of cities in the 920 home (though it was the 414 then), and I can’t think of more than two functional breweries off the top of my head. Northeastern Wisconsin beer was the stereotypical Wisconsin beer: Spotted Cow, or Miller. Maybe Leinenkugel. Saying it’s the same now wouldn’t be wrong, exactly, but there’s so much more.

Things, I am happy to say, have changed in the Paper Valley. With the modest investment of a weekend road trip, the intrepid beer traveler might consider getting to know the Fox River Valley a little better. Not only are the great outdoors there great indeed, the museums are enlightening and the beer scene is downright lively.

It’ll take just shy of two hours to drive from the heart of Madison to downtown Appleton, a city of about 75,000 that is the largest in a metro area of just over 235,000. Anyone who has made this trip more than once knows that the whole “Rosendale is a speed trap!” thing is more of a cliche than a truth these days, but it’s still a good idea to mind your speedometer through this midway point.

As you make your way north on 41, which was made an Interstate highway in 2015, you’ll notice that there are a lot of billboards. Don’t worry about it, it’s a northeastern Wisconsin thing. That, by the way, is the region of the state you’re in; I’ve had some colorful conversations with Madisonians about whether the Fox Cities are “up north” or not, or which compass direction best describes this region. It’s the northeast. It just is, don’t fight it.

Oshkosh marks the beginning of the broader metro area, and the Paine Art Center and Gardens is worth a stop there — not only is the Tudor revival mansion of lumber baron Nathan Paine filled with art, mostly acquired by the Paines, the museum presents exhibitions — classical and contemporary — throughout the year. The grounds are also a full-fledged botanical garden. This summer the special exhibit Maker & Muse: Women and Early Twentieth Century Art Jewelry runs June 22-Sept. 22.

But you’re not really in the Fox Cities until you get to Neenah (my hometown). Fun fact: Look down whenever you’re standing over a manhole cover in the United States, and there’s a real good chance it reads “Neenah Foundry Co.” That’s us, baby.

In downtown Neenah, visit your first brewery: Lion’s Tail Brewing Co., 116 S. Commercial St., which opened in 2015. The space is a charming renovation of the old Equitable Reserve Association building’s first floor, and the defunct insurance agency’s vault is available for seating in the taproom. Many know Lion’s Tail for its Juice Cloud hazy IPA, but I’ve recently become enamored of its wine barrel-aged Council Tree dark sour ale. House brews and guest taps are available in short and tall pours.

A couple miles down from Lion’s Tail, wander Riverside Park’s waterfront path, counting the sailboats anchored in the channel that leads to Lake Winnebago. While there, take in a play from the Riverside Players theater group, active in the park’s pavilion at 500 E. Wisconsin Ave. since 1955. Moon Over Buffalo plays June 26-30 and Clue:The Musical runs July 25-28 and July 31-Aug. 4, with evening shows.

Adjacent to the park sits the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass, home to a renowned and world-class paperweight collection, as well as numerous other permanent and rotating exhibits.

Proud as I may be of my Neenah heritage, Appleton is really where most of the action is in the 920. In the last few years, a quiet brewing scene has shifted into a new gear. Appleton Beer Factory, 603 W. College Ave., more or less kicked that off when it opened in 2013. This brewery also features a full kitchen and plenty of live music. The fun spills out onto College Avenue with the annual Mile of Music festival August 1-4. A mile-long stretch of downtown Appleton features 200 artists playing live music, free, over four days. The full lineup is online at mileofmusic.com/mile-7-lineup.

McFleshman’s Brewing Company, 115 S. State St., is a cozy spot with an English pub vibe and plenty of casked beers, a block off of College. The outdoor beer garden will be a boon to the neighborhood in good weather.

There’s also the generation of Appleton breweries that paved the way for these newbies. Stone Arch Brewpub, 1004 S. Olde Oneida St., opened in 2004, and operates in the venerable Between the Locks building, once home to the Walter Brewing Company and its Adler Brau lager. The Stone Arch kitchen is a creative outfit, willing to take chances on game meats and pairing menus.

The adjacent riverfront district known as The Flats is excellent for bird-watching, and there you can find Fratellos Riverfront Restaurant, 501 W. Water St. — a dining-centric outpost of the Fox River Brewing Company’s mini-empire. With additional brewpubs in Oshkosh and at Appleton’s Fox River Mall, Fox River Brewing has had craft beer in the Valley on lock since 1995.

If bird-watching is your jam, you’ll be hard-pressed to beat the views of nesting bald eagles soaring over nearby Kaukauna’s 1,000 Islands Environmental Center. The seven miles of trails that weave through the conservancy are a gem of northeastern Wisconsin.

Go a little farther around the northern tip of Lake Winnebago and you’ll find High Cliff State Park. I’ve spent many a weekend camping and hiking at High Cliff over the years. I’ve even golfed a few rounds at the park’s public course.

Back in Appleton, there are plenty of indoor refuges if the weather is typically Wisconsin Summer, also known as buggy and humid. Appleton was the childhood home of illusionist Harry Houdini, and The History Museum at the Castle (née the Houdini Museum) is literally a castle, albeit a small one. The Trout Museum of Art sits on Houdini Plaza. And history buffs should tour the Hearthstone Historic House Museum, a lovely Queen Anne mansion notable for being “the first house in the United States to be incandescently illuminated by a hydroelectric-powered Western Edison Electric Light Company dynamo power station and an Edison Electric System,” according to its website. It’s rare to find original residential electrification in place and operational. That’s right, you can learn about Edison and electricity without making a trip to Menlo Park.

In addition to all the brewpubs, Appleton’s restaurant scene is growing up, too. Apollon, 207 N. Appleton St., recently reopened after a fire next door, is an old-school white tablecloth Greek spot that can still deliver the goods,including the (intentionally) flaming cheese. Rye, 308 W. College Ave., serves the kind of seasonal, composed plates more common in Madison and Milwaukee. A late night slice and garlic knots at Sal’s, 411 W. College Ave., or Sunday morning breakfast at Mohnen’s Darboy Family Restaurant, W5669 County Road KK, though, are Fox Valley classics.

Northeastern Wisconsin is more than the Packers. Let the Fox Valley show you these old paper towns are still full of food, drink, and vitality.

High Cliff State Park

N7630 State Park Road, Sherwood; 920-989-1106; dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/highcliff/

Paine Art Center and Gardens

1410 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh; 920-235-6903; thepaine.org

Riverside Players

500 E. Wisconsin Ave., Neenah; 920-886-6060; ci.neenah.wi.us/departments/parks-recreation/riverside-players

Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass

165 N. Park Ave., Neenah; 920-751-4658; bmmglass.com

1000 Islands Environmental Center

1000 Beaulieu Ct., Kaukauna; 920-766-4733; http://1000islandsenvironmentalcenter.org

The History Museum at the Castle

330 E. College Ave., Appleton; 920-735-9370; myhistorymuseum.org

Trout Museum of Art

111 W. College Ave., Appleton; 920-733-4089; troutmuseum.org

Hearthstone Historic House Museum

625 W. Prospect Ave., Appleton; 920-730-8204; hearthstonemuseum.org