A foodie fantasy, or how I felt on my fortieth

August 10 2009

Most of you know last Thursday as the day that Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites were brought down by DDoS attacks.  It was too easy to jump to the conclusion that both services had gone mad with commentary on my 40th birthday.  In the end it was a "good thing" -- I had vowed to have a mostly data-free long weekend celebrating the big four oh.

I'm not the type who needed a big blowout to celebrate the conclusion of forty years on this planet.  It wasn't possible, anyway, with Deborah at 30 weeks into the pregnancy -- no flights, no dim sum in Hong Kong, no tapas in Barcelona.  Earlier in the summer, we decided that a nice roadtrip would be a perfectly acceptable milestone, and easier on the budget with a free weekend night and some points.  About the same time, Bon Appetit magazine had an ad in it labeled "A foodie fantasy", which advertised a sort of "Wisconsin Great Cheese Trail" in the south and central sections of the state near Madison.  It sounded perfect, and the Sheraton Madison even happily accepts dogs (our b!tch was on the club level, no less) so we brought Payton along for the ride, too.

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We set out on Thursday morning and visited three cheese trail stops along the way -- Chalet Cheese dairy, Roth Käse, and the Swiss community of New Glarus.  On Friday, we visited Carr Valley cheeses in Mauston and Cedar Grove in Plain.  On Saturday, we bought cheese from vendors at the Dane County farmers market, including Blue Mont and a few select varieties from Fromagination.  We also took up tour tips for dining in Madison -- L'Etoile, a farm-to-table restaurant, printed special "Happy 40th Ed" menus; the Sheraton had a welcome treat in my room; we had lunch at the Old Fashioned; and had excellent southeast Asian/Laotian food at Lao Laan-Xang.  (Lest you think this trip was all about food -- I also brought my bike and did a whole bunch of riding on Madison's amazing trail system.  Williamson Bike shop saved my butt, too, when a tire ruptured -- turned it around in just a few hours).

Now, having grown up 30 miles south of Wisconsin, cheese has always been big in my food life -- but it was a trip to Italy three years ago where I discovered artisan cheese (a young Pecorino is still way high on my list) and started to explore more.  I had hoped visiting the dairies that produce these cheeses would be educational as well as tasty, but on that front, I was disappointed.  Even the cheesemongers who advertised site visits or tours really had nothing more than observation windows on big stainless steel vats of stuff.  I had hoped to learn more about cheese production, how different cheeses are made and flavored, see the aging process...yeah no.  It was a WHOLE LOT of driving with very little payback.  A little disappointed in that regard, especially since the rolling hills of Wisconsin offer little in the way of visual variety -- there are only so many cornfields and cow herds you can see in a lifetime.

Still, my 40th was memorable, and my wife really made it special -- starting with my gift, an introductory flight lesson at Palwaukee Airport (I've wanted to learn to fly for a long time), making arrangements with the hotel and restaurant for little surprises, and indulging my hunt for cheese.   In the end, it looks like I bought about a dozen different kinds of cheese -- and clearly could have bought 50 more.  What am I going to do with all of it?  I think, in the remaining weeks before the baby comes, it's time for a cheese party.  No (Kraft) singles, please.

A few pics here >

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Ed Brill | Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Travel  Add/View Comments [17]

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  1. 1  Tim Lorge http://www.groupwarenews.com | 8/10/2009 11:12:06 PM

    Mmmm ... CHEESE!! What a great way to spend your 40th! Happy Belated Birthday!

    My dad was from Port Washington, WI and whenever we went to Port or family came East, there were 2 things that always made the trip to Jersey: Summer Sausage and Cheese! There may be other places that make cheese but none like Wisconsin!

    That looks like a fantastic trip and is one I'll have to make.

  1. 2  Ian Randall  | 8/10/2009 11:36:18 PM

    I have to agree with Ed, Italy has some fantastic cheeses, however equally impressive are cheeses from France, UK, Belgium (which I actually liked more than the Dutch) and last but not least for variety and quality are the Tasmanian and New Zealand cheeses.

    But my favourite cheeses all happen to come from Italy.

    Must be a combination of the soil, wine (a must with all cheeses) and centuries of "slow-food" tradition.

  1. 3  Bilal Jaffery http://www.bilal.ca | 8/10/2009 11:52:30 PM

    Ed,

    Any post editing on the pics? They look amazing.

  1. 4  Jan Van Puyvelde  | 8/11/2009 2:52:34 AM

    How long before a composite picture of Ed and fellow cheese lover Wallace (owner of dog Gromit) shows up ? ;-)

  1. 5  John Lindsay http://www.florida-poolsidecottage.com | 8/11/2009 4:53:24 AM

    With your wife being pregnant I guess you'll have plenty of cheese for yourself. Our farm used to provide the milk for the world famous (in Scotland at least) Galloway cheese. :-)

    Enjoy the flying - it is without doubt one of the most rewarding things I ever did. It is challenging and relaxing at the same time, and the first time you fly solo - fantastic! It is now something like 27 years since my first Solo and while I couldn't tell you the date I could describe to you everything about that day. The weather, the nerves, the feeling of achievement. Thing is while the flight was only about 10 minutes long it would take me an hour to tell you everything about it! Good Luck.

  1. 6  Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 8/11/2009 6:38:13 AM

    You can't beat Menorcan cheese, although it's very expensive even purchased locally. Mind you, that's probably because the pound is worth a lot less than it used to be.

  1. 7  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 8/11/2009 7:19:01 AM

    @3 a little cleanup - mainly cropping and a bit of color enhancement on a couple. But for the most part, as-is shots. Thank you.

  1. 8  Daniel Lieber  | 8/11/2009 9:18:01 AM

    Sounds like it was a great birthday enjoying activities that you wanted to do. I'm sure you'll enjoy the flying -- I second John Lindsay's (@5) comments about your first solo flight. Becoming a private pilot was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream and made me much more cognizant of my surroundings and critical thinking in other environments. Learning at Palwaukee (or Waukegan, which might be closer to you) is beneficial as you will interact first-hand with controllers in busy airspace early on in your training. During visits to Westford and Littleton, Mass., if you look up, you'll notice many training flights as the local training area is overhead.

    Congrats again on enjoying a great birthday!

  1. 9  Lottie http://www.lotties-shenanigans.com | 8/11/2009 9:20:40 AM

    Happy belated birthday. Enjoy the flying, it's a thrill and a complete adrenaline rush being up there :o)

  1. 10  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 8/11/2009 9:48:22 AM

    @8 my wife signed me up for Palwaukee to start... you are right Waukegan is probably marginally closer, but it feels like Palwaukee is more part of the fabric of my life (I've never actually seen the Waukegan airfield, whereas I've been at Palwaukee a few times and drive by frequently). Either way, looking forward to the journey.

  1. 11  Sean Smith http://www.aviall.com | 8/11/2009 10:06:56 AM

    Happy Birthday Ed! Here's to many more years leading the charge of the Yellow!

  1. 12  Cheyney Rushing http://www.healthylittleones.com | 8/11/2009 12:14:36 PM

    Happy birthday Ed! They make some excellent beer in New Glarus, so stay local with your food pairings. Besides, cheese goes better beer than with wine because cows don't eat grapes. Well, maybe the cows in Italy do. ;-)

  1. 13  Rob Thomas  | 8/11/2009 5:00:08 PM

    Happy belated birthday! And yay, another budding pilot to add to the yellowpilotverse. ;) Your first solo absolutely will be a story you will share often; but also tell us how you feel after going through you first power-on stall. :)

  1. 14  Howard Greenberg http://www.tlcc.com | 8/11/2009 5:01:43 PM

    Ed, congratulations on the first flight!

    I have been flying for about 30 years and I am a CFI. So, if you have questions about flight training, where to go, etc. Let me know. I suggest you sign up for the free Flight Training magazine and a free AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assoc.) membership.

    https://flighttraining.aopa.org/apps/student/studentregister1.cfm?priority=SX09GA&WT.srch=1&kwmid=4706724&kmcid=3288973817&match_type=&gclid=CMna4qXNnJwCFRRlswodUHx7Qw

    Howard

  1. 15  Sjef Bosman  | 8/12/2009 7:05:22 AM

    Hi Ed, congrats! Here's an idea for a trip in 10 years' time:

    { Link }

    { Link }

    And if you ever need to be in the South of France, I can recommend a friend's "chambres d'hotes", he's completely cheese-crazy... { Link }

  1. 16  Gloria Flaherty  | 8/12/2009 9:31:33 AM

    Happy Birthday Ed!

  1. 17  Michael Lazar  | 8/15/2009 2:54:38 PM

    Please tell me that you stopped by the New Glarus Brewery!!! Oh, I was drinking Spotted Cow, Dancing Man, and Fat Squirrel all week. Brought some Cow home with me as well! I've been known to make the quick trip over the border just to get some, since it is only sold in Wisconsin.