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Road Trip: Choose your own adventure in Sauk County

Lindsay Christians  —  8/28/2008 5:57 am

Sauk County may not be the first place that comes to mind when considering a fun summer road trip. But, as some friends and I discovered recently, there is enough to do in Sauk City, Baraboo and Spring Green that by evening we were already planning a return trip.

It's impossible to open a newspaper these days without running into our favorite topic to complain about: gas prices. So when looking for entertaining out-of-town activities, my husband Patrick and I pulled out the map and kept our sights close to home. Another couple, JoAnna and Matt, joined us for our adventure.

Our first stop on our trip out of town was Carr Valley Cheese, located in a strip mall off U.S. 12. This dairy-filled store is just one home for the wares of the most decorated cheesemaker in the country, Sid Cook, and we hungrily sampled the pieces out for tasting.

"That Billy Blue really kicked me in the mouth," JoAnna said, after tasting a four-month aged blue cheese made from goat milk. We checked out the extensive selection, eventually deciding on a trio of goat, cow and sheep's milk cheeses -- the Goat Milk Cheddar, Creama Kasa (a triple cream) and the Cave Aged Marisa, an award-winning sheep's milk cheese that was my personal favorite.

Winding our way past at least a half-dozen sweet corn stands, a few of them staffed by bored-looking pre-teens, we made our way to Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac. Ten percent of Wollersheim's wines are made from grapes grown on-site, and we tasted everything from Riesling to Port on their extensive list.

The new Wollersheim tasting room, the largest expansion since the winery was built in 1858, opened in June. It's roomy and bright, with lots of room for the wines and dozens of sideline items like pottery, wine racks, snacks and games of "Wineopoly."

JoAnna picked up a half-dozen bottles -- many of them sweet -- for out-of-town friends. For our picnic, though, we grabbed the 2006 Sangiovese ($12.75), a quaffable dry red with lots of dark fruit. It was tasty with the cheeses, garlic summer sausage, prosciutto, French bread and fruit we bought at the Sauk City Piggly Wiggly.

We laid out our spread on the north shore of Devil's Lake State Park, which is still recovering from early summer flooding. One trail which winds along the lake is still closed due to high water levels.

For our post-picnic hike, we picked the West Bluff Trail, a 1.5-mile hike with a steep entrance and beautiful views. Much of it is paved and has large rocks to help with footing, a bonus when you're a bit clumsy and not descended from mountain goats like Patrick is.

After the hike, we were craving some relaxation and a little caffeine, so we drove into Baraboo and visited the Coffee Bean Connection, co-owned by Rich Manthe and Steve Ramsey. The pair opened the coffee house at 123 Fourth St. in October 2006.

"June was way off, but since then we've been fine," Manthe said about the effects of the rain. "We can still pay the mortgage and that's the important thing, right?"

The Coffee Bean features more than 80 coffees and 40 teas, mostly loose leaf from Rishi Tea. Matt, JoAnna, Patrick and I sat out at the sidewalk tables and sipped our coffees before heading over to the Village Booksmith and Coffee House, 526 Oak St.

It's a friendly, well-organized used bookstore, where we picked up "The Feast of the Olive," a lovely cookbook from the early 1980s.

We then headed south, down the beautiful winding county roads (W, PF and C) for the better part of an hour toward Spring Green. Once there, we ended our road trip at

The Bank, a restaurant and wine bar. The menu changes weekly based on seasonal ingredients -- check each Thursday on their Web site, www.thebankrestaurantandwinebar.com, to see new dishes.

The Bank's wine list features hundreds of options, so we started with single glasses and then chose the 2005 Foxen Cuvee Jeanne Marie, Williamson-Dore vineyard ($54). It's a fine California Rhone blend, 60 percent grenache, 20 percent each syrah and mourvedre, full-bodied, well-balanced with great acidity and lots of fruit.

Chef James Jens began with some great successes. We unanimously loved the sugary sweet potato johnnycakes with sauteed mushrooms and wilted greens, the roasted corn, tomato and sausage chowder with crispy fried shoestring potatoes, and a tangy sweet 'n' sour mushroom soup.

A starter salad, featuring sour cream dill pasta made in-house, had a nice creamy-sharp dressing but the vegetables (carrot, onion, tomato, cucumber, squash and roasted garlic) were almost nonexistent. The entrees were, likewise, disappointing -- the flat-iron steak was extremely chewy, my broccoli rabe was undercooked, and the creamy sauce on the chicken was dull, with no nuance or spice.

A chocolate souffle cake to finish had me wishing for something much darker, though the dessert wine list offered nearly a dozen options to pair with it. Patrick and I chose a Muscat and a Port while JoAnna and Matt dug into the little cake.

Driving home, we calculated the mileage -- 135 miles round trip from our house on the east side. Tired and satisfied, it was clear that in nearby Sauk County, choose-your-own-adventures can make for a great day of travel, even close to home.

Lindsay Christians  —  8/28/2008 5:57 am