With the heavy residue of industry still tattooed on its landscape, Milwaukee might not seem like a window into the future of American farming. But it is. Demand for food is growing with the swelling world population, while natural fish populations diminish and farmland disappears under the tread of development, making it necessary to adjust the way we grow our food. Milwaukee is the headquarters for several visionaries...

A historic East Side bar slowly loses its luster, and nearly its life, before the owners of a thriving bar across the street decide to invest a considerable amount of money, time and energy in resurrecting...

The cupcake, that humble single-serving dessert of bake sales and birthday parties, has passed the tipping point of culinary trend, and gained momentum as a full blown culinary epidemic. Many date...

It’s one of those ideas you kick yourself for not thinking of. While a dry martini is rarely served without an olive, or a gin and tonic without a lime, coffee liqueur- and cream-based cocktails are often left naked, without a single garnish to boost their character. Graphic designer Joe Hausch observed this vacancy within the world’s garnish caddies and came up with a simple but brilliant concept: the Cholive, featuring whole cream...

To our great fortune, we’re in the midst of a culinary renaissance motivated by our appreciation for Old World methods of food production and the fine-tuned flavors that result. All around us, artisans are joining up to hand-make mustards, spirits, pickles and chocolates the way others form artists’ collectives and bands...

Mars’ Cheese Castle is Wisconsin’s first line of defense against marauding barbarians with Illinois license plates. The state with which we share our southern border taketh our coin by demanding a toll to travel its road. But our way is cleverer. Protected by timber ramparts and turrets, Mars’ Cheese Castle sits between Milwaukee and Chicago...

Running a 105-year-old authentic German restaurant cannot be easy in this day and age, but the team behind Karl Ratzsch’s is making a stellar go of it. The restaurant opened in 1904 as Hermann’s Café, before being purchased by the owner’s stepdaughter and her husband, Karl Ratzsch...

Walking over the threshold of a locally owned bakery satisfies the soul in a way that a trip to the bakery department of a big-box grocery store cannot. Whatever the reason—perhaps it’s the concentrated aroma of baked goods that only a tiny bake shop can generate, or maybe it’s nostalgia for an earlier time when shoppers...

Donating your time, money and energy to a good cause is a delicious endeavor if you’re a member of Dining for Women (DFW), a nonprofit group that inspires individuals to make a positive global impact through collective giving. Dining for Women is a monthly dinner party where participants bring a dish to pass, and, using the money they would have spent...

There is finally a worthy vehicle for the outstanding farmstead, craft and artisan cheeses Wisconsin cheese-makers have introduced to the market during the last decade. They craft more than 2.4 billion pounds a year in more than 600 varieties, types and styles, accounting for over 25% of all domestic cheese. At the 2009 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest...