Oct 14 2025
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Returning To Green Lake, Wisconsin: 14 Years Of Friendship And Tradition

By Leila

a grass lawn with trees and a dock on the water

I recently had the joy of spending a couple of days with my good friend Denny in Green Lake, completing my annual pilgrimage for the 14th year in a row. Here’s a rundown of my time in beautiful Wisconsin.

Green Lake 2025 – Another Year, Another Wonderful Trip To Wisconsin

I drove up from Chicago in the evening, a roughly two-hour drive, arriving in time for Moscow Mules and sausage pizza from Lou Manalti’s.

a pizza in a tin pan

two food in a pan

a slice of pizza on a plate

We stayed up late talking, but I got a good rest after a long day.

There was no agenda the following morning. After some more fellowship, I ventured out to find coffee, thinking I would go to Mugs in Ripon, WI, where I go every year. But I found out that Mugs had recently been sold and was undergoing refurbishment. I missed the grand re-opening by one day…the coffee shop is now called Wisco Coffee Company.

a store front with pumpkins on the front

Seeking out other coffee, I saw there was an independent coffee shop in a small neighboring town called Brandon, with a population of just over 800.

a road with corn fields and houses

a sign in the woods

a street with cars parked on it

The coffee shop was called Wake Up Whitetail and had a hunting lodge theme…and excellent cortados. The ladies working the coffee bar were very kind (cortado was not on the menu, but they knew what it was and did a great job).

a flag on a building

a sign on a wall

a woman standing behind a counter in a coffee shop

a room with a tv and tables

a room with deer heads from the ceiling

a man sitting on a ledge with a gun and stuffed animals

a coffee cup with a heart in the foam

Back at Denny’s, I still had work to do, but took several breaks to go out on the water on his son Terry’s Sea-Doo, which is always so much fun to ride. The weather was perfect; 82ºF and the lake was perfectly smooth (not that I mind a bit of chop, when on the Sea-Doo).

a dock with boats on the water

a tree in a park

a grass field with trees and a dock on the water

a man in a life jacket on a dock

a boat on the water

a jet ski on a dock

 

I took it out again and again… perhaps once too often, as I’ll explain below.

a grass lawn with trees and dock on the water

a grass lawn with trees and a dock with boats in the water

a grass lawn with trees and dock on water

a group of trees by a body of water

Denny and I were in the mood for prime rib, which is generally offered at Supper Clubs on Saturdays and Sundays. But there is one Supper Club–Schamburg Supper Club–that has prime rib on Thursday. At 6:30 pm I called and asked if they still had prime rib. Yep.

(A Wisconsin Supper Club is a traditional dining establishment that combines the feel of a nice restaurant with the comfort of a social club, often located in a rural area. These restaurants are destinations in themselves, offering a full evening’s experience that includes a specific menu of classic American dishes like steaks and fish fries, the iconic relish tray, and classic cocktails, particularly the Old Fashioned.)

Well, I guess that extra round on the Sea-Doo came at a high price, becuase when we arrived and sat down, the waitress informed us she was out of prime rib. It took a bit of cajoling for the kitchen to find one last piece, which Denny had, and I ordered fish. I do love the relish trays and found the food both delicious and reasonable…my fish was so good it was almost a blessing in disguise, they ran out of prime rib).

a sign with a light on it

a road with trees and grass at night

a house with a car parked in front of it

a menu on a table

a plate of vegetables and dip

a plate of food on a table

a glass of drink with a cherry on top of a plate of food
A “sour” Wisconsin Old Fashioned (brandy instead of whisky)

a plate of salad with a sauce on it

a bowl of soup on a plate

a plate of food on a table

a fish on a tray
Grilled walleye

a receipt with writing on it

Back at home, our conversation continued while watching a pretty spectacular Rams vs. 49ers football game (and if you know me, you know I don’t generally give a you know about professional sports, but this was fun).

The following morning, I headed back to Chicago. On the way back, I stopped in Rosendale for coffee at a place called Village Grounds. The cortado here was the best I’ve had in the entire state…this is my new favorite place.

a sign outside of a building

a man standing behind a counter in a coffee shop

a coffee shop with a table and chairs

a group of people sitting at tables in a restaurant

a calendar on a wall

a cup of coffee and a vase with flowers on a table

I stopped for gasoline across the street ($2/gallon chaper than LA!) before continuing my journey, chuckling at the t-shirt selection (Rosendale is known as a speed trap, as the speed limit drops to

a gas station sign on the side of a road

a group of t-shirts on a shelf

a shelf with t-shirts on it

Regular readers may notice something was missing: Chicago-style hot dogs. On my way to O’Hare, I stopped at Portillo’s in Deerfield and had a couple of Chicago-style hot dogs. Yum, yum, yum.

a brick building with a sign on the side

a restaurant with tables and chairs

people in a fast food restaurant

a bag of hot dogs on a table

a hot dog with vegetables on a paper wrapper

a hot dog with pickles and tomatoes on a paper wrapper

For reasons that will become clear over time, there may be more time in this beautiful region of the country in the future, though I remain an unapologetic “city slicker” in terms of my preference for living. Still, this was another fabulous trip.

I’ve written about my annual Green Lake trips for many years:

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