Tag Archives: Switzerland

New Glarus Bakery
534 First St
New Glarus, WI

After our hearty lunch at the New Glarus Hotel, we wandered around the town of New Glarus popping in and out of the Euro-themed gift stores (we wanted to go to the Chocolate and Cheese Haus, but it was closed). We came across the New Glarus bakery, where we though we might be able to get a bretzel, and perhaps some sweet treats. While they didn’t have bretzels, there were glass cases filled with unusual cookies at very cheap prices. We ended up sampling 4 varieties for a grand total of about a dollar:

• Spekulatius – These were square gingerbread cookies, which are relatives of the Belgian Speculoos. These were chewy with pieces of ginger and almond throughout.
• Sandbissen – Your basic shortbread cookie. Not bad. Not sweet enough for our tastes, though.
• Chocolate Blueberry Spritz – A classic chocolate sugar spritz cookie with a dried blueberry in the center. Nice, dark chocolate in a cute star shape (shaped by a cookie press).
• Pfeffernüsse – Covered in powdered sugar, and flavored with cloves, cinnamon and black pepper, these were the most unusual cookies of the bunch.

As you can see from this picture, there were plenty more varieties to try – making your own sampler won’t break the bank. We were impressed by the unusual cookie selection, and we will definitely be back.

New Glarus Hotel Restaurant
100 6th Avenue
New Glarus, WI

New Glarus, Wisconsin has the distinction of being “America’s Little Switzerland,” having preserved it’s Swiss heritage since its founding in the mid-1800s. Arriving in the town, you do get a hint (ok a lot) of kitsch. All of the buildings are alpine chalet-style. Even the RE/MAX and self-storage boast Swiss canton crests and half-timbers.

Rolling into the town at about 1 PM Wednesday, it was pretty much dead. Our first stop was the New Glarus Hotel, the biggest building in town, home of the New Glarus Hotel Restaurant, featuring polka music on the weekends and tons of old-school decor.

We had a very friendly dirndl-clad waitress, who could clearly tell we were not local. We were quickly presented with a huge menu of old-school Swiss food as we listened to some yodeling piped in on speakers (no lie). The menu consisted of tons of Schnitzels, Roestis, Raclette as well as some basic American sandwiches. L started out with a cup of Swiss Onion Soup, which seemed to be a cup of French Onion soup with an extra crust of melty Gruyere, but with chunks of bacon (unfortunately, since L doesn’t like bacon that much). For a main course, L had the Roesti, a traditional Swiss dish. A Rösti/Roesti is basically a huge, glorified hash brown, consisting of grated potatoes fried with with caramelized onions and a bit of Raclette as a filling. L ordered the plain Roesti, though there were meat and cheese varieties. Though M ate most of L’s soup, the Roesti was quickly gobbled up.

M had the Raclette entree, which was basically a plate of boiled potatoes with melted Raclette cheese garnished with capers, baby gherkins and onions. The dish was probably overpriced at $11 (it was only potatoes and cheese), but M loves cheese so he enjoyed it. We sopped up the extra cheese with garlic rolls from the breadbasket, which were really excellent.

This was our first foray into Swiss food, and as far as we can tell, it is like German food, but with cheese. We like cheese, so that was a plus. There are a handful of other restaurants in New Glarus, most boasting the same stick-to-your-ribs meat/cheese/potato fare. The New Glarus Hotel restaurant is a good place to start – we only wish we had been there on polka night.