Wisconsin Archives - Lani Kingston

A day on a Wisconsin Maple Farm.

I met an awesome couple on my birthday – Dan and Larkin are Edward’s friends, and they are currently working on Larkin’s sisters Maple Farm. The invited us up to Westby for a day to play around on the farm, learn about maple syrup production and head out for a day of work tapping trees.

We started on the 2.5 hour drive from Madison super early this morning. On the way we saw some interesting things – there were lots of Amish families out and about, and we came across this wagon dropping some kids at home, and another group of kids playing around on a sled with a little pony. I was intrigued!
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The Underground Food Collective, a lunch meeting over shrimp & grits + Wisconsin Cheese.

Last day in Madison today – so I head over to Williamson st, or ‘Willy’ st as the locals call it, to check out some of the food businesses that supply all the top restaurants. I had tried a number of Underground Meats at Merchant last night, and a number of restaurants use Madison Sourdough as their house bread.

But first up was a stop into Fromagination on Capitol Square, a one-stop cheeseshop that stocks local cheeses, meats and food products, runs cheese classes and events, and stocks local beers, wines and spirits.
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Brisket sandwiches, sledding in the snow + pear cinnamon cocktails.

Packed up and checked out of my hotel today, as I was moving to the Hampton Inn by Hilton downtown. Once I’d moved out, I wandered the main street to all the little boutiques.

Stopped in for lunch at Roast Public House for BBQ brisket on a roll with slaw. Sourcing all their bread, meat and cheese locally, and everything of course is from scratch.
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Blueberry orange pancakes, mac ‘n’ cheese pizza + the finest farm-to-table dining.

Today was a full work day, and by a full work day I mean that the lovely folk at Visit Madison had organised a full day of meeting chefs, owners and eating at a number of Madison’s top dining locations.

I rugged up against the cold and started the walk downtown to Marigold Kitchen, where I met Kristy Schwinn and Dan Mack, respectively the chef de cuisine and director of operations. We discussed their passion for local produce, how lucky they are here in Madison to have such access to organic, local farms, and their seasonal menu.
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My 25th birthday in Wisconsin, cheese curds + an official birthday restaurant.

I arrived in Madison, Wisconsin last night from New York at close to midnight. I had been travelling all day and made it in to my fancy hotel thanks to Visit Madison, and made my way up to my gorgeous big suite. It was lovely to sink into my big bed after a day of travelling.

I woke up this morning and had to go to work. It was pretty tough. It was a brunch at Sardine, a gorgeous homey wooden venue on the shore of one of the lakes here in town.
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