Wisconsin's Delicious Detours

To quote one of my favorite ’80s movies, Planes, Trains and Automobiles: “There’s nothing on the interstate but interstate.” Food isn’t the focus of the film, but the haphazard journey of John Candy and Steve Martin through what some might call “drive-through towns” makes the line ring true.

Thinking back to road trips as a kid, we often stopped in small towns on our way to the bigger cities of my dreams. Many times, those stops provoked the discovery of the perfect bakery treat, a dive bar with scratch-made lunch specials or a quirky gas station that seared into my memory—often outshining the final destination.

From Madison, our state highways branch outward like veins across the palm of Wisconsin. A journey on these routes invites a slower kind of travel—one where stops in “drive-through towns” become part of the plan. Take 151 southwest to Blue Mounds, Mineral Point and Platteville. Head west on Highway 14 through Cross Plains and Mazomanie to Spring Green. Or, because it’s summer, go north—Highway 51 to 22 through Pardeeville, Montello and up to Waupaca.

While the options for exploration are endless, the following stops along these routes celebrate local ingredients—places that will leave you curious and hungry for more detours. After all, there may be “nothing on the interstate but interstate,” but the good stuff lives just off our state highways.

ROUTE 1 | HIGHWAY 151 SOUTHWEST FROM MADISON

The Hazelnut Cafe, Blue Mounds

What better way to spend a Friday evening than basking under the glow of hanging lights and climbing hop vines while you pick up freshly baked wood-fired pizzas from a mobile kitchen in the quaint, hillside village of Blue Mounds? Hazelnut Cafe owner, Matt Heindl, has deep roots in the Driftless region and has been serving pizzas seasonally from his pizza trailer since the cafe suffered a fire several years ago.

Committed to fresh, local ingredients, Heindl uses produce and herbs grown in his greenhouse right behind the cafe, cheese from Arena Cheese, and dough made with flour from Meadowlark Community Mill in Ridgeway.

With the rebuild of The Hazelnut Cafe almost complete, folks can look forward to many more signature baked goods to come. In the meantime, savor your piping hot pizza to-go while watching the sunset from nearby Brigham County Park or Blue Mound State Park.

Staple & Fancy, Mineral Point

Start your Saturday by picking up snacks for the car and dinner ingredients for later. Browsing the shelves at Staple & Fancy in Mineral Point is fun: shelves are stocked with products made close to home alongside hard-to-find specialty items. Owners Kassi and Brian Blanchette are no strangers to the Driftless, and Kassi is the creative force behind the store.

The space reflects her thoughtful touch. Colorful dried flowers pressed behind the glass of the store’s original doors now provide a backdrop for fresh flower bouquets and myriad interesting goods. Their commitment to local purveyors and sustainable foodways is clear throughout the shop. Vibrantly orange and simply packaged freeze-dried tomatoes caught my eye. Brian said that through a partnership with Mineral Point High School’s “Options in Education” program, students transform the store’s older produce into freeze-dried products that preserve the flavor of summer year-round. They’re also exploring ways to use the store’s citrus to make drink mixes.

Along with local cheeses, the refrigerated section offers meat from nearby farms, including Beauvine Enterprises in Dodgeville and lamb bratwurst from Laxey Creek Sheep Ranch in Mineral Point. Other staples include Good Life peanut butter from Minnesota and hot-and-ready rotisserie chickens.

This summer, order a sandwich from their back counter and grab some grocery goodies for the road.

The Black Smock Parlor and SpeakeasyFifty50, Platteville

Growing up in Platteville as a curious, artistically inclined kid, I was always searching for special spots that made a small town feel magical. Now at 40, I enjoy visiting my parents there. On a recent trip, my mom introduced me to Lisa McCoy-Haas’s Black Smock Parlor and SpeakeasyFifty50. Lisa and her husband Jeff have transformed a big old brick house into a cafe, coffee bar and cocktail lounge.

The ornately decorated space and friendly vibe reflects Lisa’s vibrant personality. While we browsed the menu, Lisa chatted with us about testing a northern Italian recipe and the challenge of sourcing the right flour—even in farm country. Lisa proudly notes that 85% of their ingredients are locally sourced—her favorite being the farm-fresh eggs.

I ordered the “Coven Club,” and my mom chose the croque monsieur. Both were huge and arrived on freshly baked focaccia with a hint of rosemary, alongside a crisp chopped salad dressed with a tart oregano vinaigrette.

Once you’ve had your afternoon nap to sleep off the croque monsieur, visit the cozy upstairs back bar, SpeakeasyFifty50, for an extensive cocktail list and welcoming motto, “Unity in Diversity.”

ROUTE 2 | HIGHWAY 14 WEST FROM MADISON

Crossroads Coffeehouse, Cross Plains

Stopping into the bright and sunny Crossroads Coffeehouse in Cross Plains reminds you that community is something you can feel right when you walk through the door. A vibrant wall mural greets customers and serves as a backdrop to the gathering space, which also showcases local art, goods and a clear commitment to nearby producers.

The coffeehouse is known for serving locally roasted coffee, but it also offers standout pastries—most notably their carrot cake and a gluten-free almond cake that was so perfectly dense and not-too-sweet that I found myself making delighted noises as I ate my to-go slice. Their iced matcha lattes hit the spot, too.

1855 Coffee House, Mazomanie

Mazomanie, where my mom grew up, always holds a few treasures. 1855 Coffee House, right downtown in the old bank, is one of them. Friendly staff handle the lunch rush with ease, as the ample seating fills up just before noon. Everything is made in house, and staff encourages folks to mix, match and make substitutions—a
rarity in many cafes. The wooden games on each table delighted my young son, and we settled into a sunny corner.

This lunch hit all the right notes. I devoured the turkey slaw sandwich, its tangy house-made slaw balancing the cool, crunchy cucumbers and deli turkey on toasted sourdough. And of course, no sandwich is complete without chips. While you wait for your food, you can even swing through the old bank vault to browse goods made by local artisans. Ingredients come from close by: Cress Spring Bakery in Blue Mounds, Telsaan Tea in Mount Horeb, and Prem Meats and BrewHaHa Roasters in Spring Green.

Reunion Family Barbecue, Spring Green

Having had breakfast treats and lunch—with plenty of coffee along the way—on this route, it’s time for dinner. Reunion Family Barbecue in Spring Green strikes a unique balance. It has a classy vibe, thanks to its setting in another historic, repurposed bank, but is paired with down-to-earth barbecue.

Owners Leah Spicer and Kyle Beach redesigned their concept for Reunion in 2025, making it more family-friendly and accessible to the community. The menu is inspired by Beach’s upbringing in North Carolina and features wood-smoked meats served with classic sides, pickles and cornbread. Their website also offers a casserole club every Sunday for pick-up or dine-in—so very southwestern Wisconsin of them.

ROUTE 3 | HIGHWAY 51 NORTH FROM MADISON TO HIGHWAY 22

The Crooked Branch Coffeehouse, Pardeeville

On this route, I meant only to pass through Pardeeville, but The Crooked Branch Coffeehouse caught my eye—and isn’t that the point here? Inside, the space feels comfortably lived in, and the shelves hold local honey and jam from nearby farms. They brew South Shore Bean Company coffee, which is ethically sourced and roasted weekly right in Pardeeville—a hyper-local touch that feels fitting.

The coffeehouse serves house-made breakfast sandwiches and quiches that the friendly counter staff happily offer to warm, and my sausage, egg and cheese on a tender, slightly sweet biscuit was the second breakfast I didn’t know I needed. The well-stocked pastry case called my name too—brimming with pastries and big cookies. Unable to resist a car snack, I grabbed a bacon and chive scone for the road. Dense yet moist and savory (my ideal scone texture), it made the miles north pass quickly.

Table 15 and HH Creations, Montello
Montello is a central Wisconsin crossroads of sorts. Table 15 on Main Street is a woman-owned, farm-to-table restaurant with an old schoolhouse vibe. It has a daily changing menu and a bookcase filled with locally made goods and the sign, “Good Things Come to Those Who Shop Local.”

Up the road, HH Creations, an in-home bakery, beckons with yard signs: “Sourdough!” and “Jam!” Owners Heidi and Steve Hancock use flour from local Amish farmers and line their front-room shelves with fresh bread, jam, cookies and the biggest scones I’ve ever seen. I buckled a loaf of sourdough and a pistachio-raspberry scone into my front seat and headed north again. Once home, the bread—toasted with butter— transported me to the dense “sheepherder’s bread” of my childhood.

Sulten Belly, Waupaca

Walking into Sulten Belly, owned by Amanda and Eric Vestergaard, is a breath of fresh air. For nine years, they’ve built a reputation for their commitment to using seasonal, local ingredients—reflected in the long list of purveyors chalked on the wall outside the kitchen. With Amanda at the counter and Eric in the kitchen, the restaurant buzzes at lunchtime on a weekday.

My smoked trout BLT salad, a choice Amanda endorsed, was a crisp burst of color and texture on a gray day, paired with curry carrot ginger soup. Eric shared that the trout comes from Rushing Waters in Palmyra, Wisconsin, which he cures and smokes himself, a two-week process that pays off in flavor.

The soups and specials change daily, and my aunt and uncle who joined me shared, “We’ve never had a bad meal here.” As we headed out, we said goodbye to their dog Gilbert who greets guests by the door to the outside patio area—the perfect spot to spend a summer afternoon and cap off a string of road trips to some very special spots.

These and so many more are out there to discover if you slow down and venture just off the highway.