Gourmet products local specialties and wines Grands lacs américains

Do you dream of a good rich pastry or a crispy baguette? If you are caught up in a very French desire, Baker Miller will offer you everything you can dream of! Everything here is homemade. In addition to the bread you can buy at retail, you can have lunch, the cuisine is simple and made of sandwiches and salads. Don't miss cookies and sweet cakes, they're great. The particularity of the place is that Chef Dave makes his own flour at the back of the restaurant.

In general, Americans don't look for complexity in wine, which makes their taste in wine rather limited... or even questionable. Well, in the middle of Selby Avenue and its bars, you'll find an Ali Baba's cave run by irresistible lovers of good varietals. It's like being in Europe, with the best French, Italian and Spanish côteaux... Not forgetting continental wines from the USA, with Chile and Argentina also featuring prominently. You'll appreciate the attentiveness and advice of these sales staff... who have a great deal of experience in this field!

Like all Americans in big cities, Chicagoans have been going green in recent years, judging by the multiplication of farmers markets in the city. There are organic products sold by the farmers themselves, honey, soap, flowers, vegetables and fruit... The prices are not cheap, but the atmosphere is friendly. Farmers will even give you recipes to prepare small dishes from their products. From November to April, the market is held in the Peggy Notebaert Museum.

If you miss France, stop at La Fournette! This typically French family bakery offers all kinds of pastries, quiches and various breads, prepared by chef Pierre Zimmermann, 1996 world champion baker. There are also pancakes, salads and sandwiches that you can enjoy on the spot. Just like the artisan shops that surround it in the charming Old Town district, this bakery café provides quality products that delight regulars and visitors alike.

A very popular market among the inhabitants of the district, where you can find a wide variety of products, often local: fruits and vegetables, honey, flowers, farm products (eggs, milk, meat...), fresh juices or pastries. You can also eat on site thanks to the Mexican food truck, the salad bar or the pancake stand. In the fall, pumpkins of all sizes invade the market! Friendly atmosphere.

The French chef Vincent Colombet runs this bakery which sells all the sweets we know well: baguettes, croissants, chocolate breads... You can eat on the spot but the place is quickly crowded, it is better to opt for a delicious pancake - a speciality of the house - to eat while strolling. If you are lucky, you can also meet the food truck of the bakery that walks the streets of Chicago. It is better to visit the establishment's site to find out where the truck is going.

This well-known German sausage store in Milwaukee has been producing more than seventy varieties of sausages ("Wurst" in German) since 1880. Of course, you won't be able to take Usinger's sausages home with you to show your friends back home, but there's nothing to stop you from ordering a sausage or two to make in your hotel room if it has a kitchen. Otherwise, their liver pâté and beef sticks require no preparation!

If it's hot and you feel like ice cream, don't look any further. This independent ice-cream parlour (which has four other addresses in Madison) creates all sorts of colours, creamy as you like, reds, yellows, blues, brownie ice cream, fudge... They're so good they've won a dozen prizes! A great way to start or end a walk in the city centre. In addition, there is a small playground available for children.

Tracy Thompson, head pastry chef, has been running this chocolate shop with passion since 2006. It's the perfect place for a break in Mt Horeb. Chilli chocolate, almond chocolate, fruit chocolate, chocolate bars, cookies, muffins, hot chocolate, and a few salads and sandwiches for a light meal. The atmosphere in the chocolate factory, which also doubles as a café, is very friendly. If you're interested in the production process, you can visit the chocolate factory (a five-minute drive away) on the first Friday and Saturday of each month, at 10 a.m. and noon respectively.

Twenty minutes by car from New Glarus, in the town of Monroe, don't miss under any circumstances this cheese dairy run by Tony Zgraggren, a native of Switzerland and a hell of a character! You will immediately spot his beautiful moustache behind the counter. In addition to selling his cheese, he organizes guided tours of the cheese dairy, which is on site and where everything is made according to Swiss tradition. If you're lucky, he'll even give you a little Yodel demonstration!

The capital's covered market sells local and seasonal products of (very good) quality. The stands are run by hand-picked vendors. On the programme, both sweet and savoury products: fish shops, butcher's shops, spice stands, cheese shops, chocolate shops, pastry shops, sushi stands... Happiness for the eyes as well as for the taste buds. The big advantage is that many of these stalls prepare dishes and sandwiches that can be eaten at the counter of their stalls or upstairs with a view of the market.

Seasonal fruits and vegetables, candy, bagels and cookies are all homemade products that are available on the market. It is usually open at Thanksgiving time on Saturday morning. Namely that there is not only one address but several throughout the city, information to be taken from the site. Even when the beautiful season is coming to an end, the market continues every Saturday! It turns into a covered market and is held at the Lowertown Market at regular hours.

In 1979, El Burrito Mercado was just a tiny store. The immigrant community and the growing Latin and Mexican population have contributed to its development. It is now home to numerous stalls selling clothes, music and trinkets, all imported from South America. You'll find the spices and ingredients you need to prepare Latin American dishes. But you can also sample Latin or Mexican specialities in one of the market's restaurants. A must-see, if you have a little time.

For twenty-three years now, this shop has been feeding the inhabitants of the neighbourhood with its excellent ice creams and delicious cakes, and this is likely to continue for a long time to come as the place is still full! Here, everything is homemade, and that's probably the key to success. The choice is quite large: we always hesitate between sundays, brownies and banana split. No comparison with Italian ice creams, but still, you're always tempted by a scoop of ice cream sprinkled with hazelnuts and a chocolate coulis.

As you will have understood, it is the farmers who present and sell their produce directly. There are fresh fruits and vegetables, honey and cakes. There's even a stand that teaches you how to cook and eat organic. You will also find small wooden objects or wool products. Ideal for buying small souvenirs. The summer market is held here between May and October. For the rest of the year, a covered market takes over about two Saturdays a month. He's standing inside the Mill City Museum.

One step inside the store and you know where you are: in candy land! Your sense of smell is quickly aroused, and you'll be able to smell the chocolate and caramel - it has to be said, they're prepared in the back room! You'll also be spoilt for choice, with candies in every color: pink, blue, green... a veritable rainbow of sweets. You're bound to find what you're looking for among the licorice, lollipops and popcorn, as well as fudges and toffee apples... It's hard not to leave Candyland with your own little bag of sweets.

We chose this address for its wide selection of Italian and French cheeses (nearly three hundred different varieties). From the outside, Surdyk's looks like a supermarket. But this small cheese store occupies only a small space in the whole building, which is mainly dedicated to wine and various spirits. Beers, spirits... you can really find everything. Tastings are regularly proposed, which can help you in your choice. You can also buy fresh bread and some sandwiches.

We come to buy cheese, olive oil. The choice is wide: if you have some hesitation, ask them, they will know how to advise you. You can even enjoy a coffee and enjoy chocolates. But that is another story. Beware, this store is far from the center.

This big market has two vocations. First, you can find a lot of trinkets, soaps, candles, spices and clothes. Stroll through the small stalls. The atmosphere is very familiar. You can also eat there for little money. Secondly, it is an interesting social project, since the market welcomes newcomers regularly and allows them to test their business for several months, before investing in a real store. The place is quite remote and accessible only by bus. We will go only if we have time...