Who has the best cheese curds in Milwaukee? A fun new Cheese Curd Pass is giving visitors and locals alike a chance to find out. If you’re not from Wisconsin, to most people living in this upper midwest state, cheese curds are just about as essential to life as water and oxygen. Nearly every restaurant or bar in Milwaukee offers cheese curds and some sort of dipping sauce to compliment the deep fried cheesy goodness.
While taste is subjective – I had the chance to try out several of the restaurants featured on the pass and loved them all!
It’s free to sign up for a pass and doesn’t require any apps to work. You simply sign up on Visit Milwaukee’s tourism website and a link is sent to your text messages. You simply open the text and click on the link each time you want to browse the pass or use one of the many coupons or discounts it provides.
So just how many cheese curds could I possibly eat in one visit to Milwaukee? The answer, not surprisingly, is too many for my own good. The first stop was at the Harley Davidson Museum and the Motor Bar & Restaurant. This motorcycle themed venue has a cool vibe and delicious cheese curds!
Many of the restaurants on the pass get their curds from Clock Shadow Creamery which cranks out over a thousand pounds of cheese curds each week. Those curds are sold fresh to customers or sent to places like Pizza Man – another restaurant I sampled while in town – to batter and deep fry.
And while some think it’s a myth, it’s indeed true that cheese curds squeak in your mouth if they’re fresh!
AJ Bombers in downtown Milwaukee had terrific cheese curds – they were slightly smaller with a basic batter. But their dipping sauce, with a bit of a kick, made the entree stand out.
Dairyland, located in the Third Street Market complex had incredible cheese curds as well. I couldn’t resist taking the entire plate back to my hotel room after filming a “taste test”.
And thankfully – the magic doesn’t take long to get to your table – a quick roll in the batter – a few minutes in the hot oil — and then those beloved cheese curds are delivered by basket. — Good luck eating just one, two, three, or 20.
