ENTERTAINMENT

A Chicago Tribune travel writer ate his way through Appleton. We have some thoughts

Shane Nyman
Appleton Post-Crescent
Rye Restaurant & Lounge is one of several Appleton restaurants mentioned in a new piece published by the Chicago Tribune.

"How to eat your way through Appleton, a Wisconsin city full of sweet surprises" is the headline on a recently published travel piece by the Chicago Tribune. 

It's a solid piece that covers a lot of ground, mostly in Appleton with a little wandering over to Grand Chute. I urge you to check it out, even if you're a Fox Cities lifer. Perhaps there's a place mentioned you aren't too familiar with or haven't thought about in a while. Or maybe you're curious to see how an outsider views the food situation around town.

The writer hit a lot of bars, restaurants and shops, making an attempt to fill in fellow Illinois residents on life north of deep-dish pizza and relish-and-pickle-topped hot dogs, or whatever Cubs fans eat. 

Here are a few takeaways from the story, which was written by freelancer Michael Austin and published Monday morning:

Overall, Appleton comes off looking quite good. The writer clearly enjoyed himself making the rounds to watering holes, cheese and candy shops and eateries. The people apparently did right by him, too. He writes: "It is Wisconsin, though, so you're going to encounter that special brand of Badger-State friendliness that spans from downtown Milwaukee to the far reaches of the Northwoods."

Sorry, Racine. Guess your niceness can't be vouched for. 

Austin did refer to the Fox River Mall area as "a rather uncharming part of town." Compared to College Avenue, home to some of his other stops, it's hard to argue with his assessment. 

Too bad about that apple talk, though. I know the city has the word "apple" in it. I know he used it as a device to come back around to the tasty caramel apple from Vande Walle's Candies. But ... still. (And don't get me started on that "Caramelton" bit.)

The writer hit many of the spots I'd recommend. I don't know if somebody at the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau helped out or if Google's on its game, but it seems Austin had a solid guide. Among the spots he visited: SAP, Carmella's, Bowl 91, Cleo's, Fratellos Waterfront Restaurant and Stone Arch Brewpub.

Stone Arch gets a "be sure not to miss" shoutout, a nice nod for Appleton's oldest brewpub. Still, it's too bad other local beer-makers, including Appleton Beer Factory and McFleshman's Brewing Co., couldn't get some love. But I guess it says something that Appleton has so many places worth visiting.

He went far beyond the restaurants. Because of Wisconsin's reputation for all things cheese, Simon's Specialty Cheese gets a lot of digital ink. Vande Walle's gets a lot of attention and affection, too. 

There's still a whiff of big-city arrogance. In praising Rye Restaurant & Lounge, which is connected to the CopperLeaf Boutique Hotel & Spa downtown, there seems to be a bit of shock that such a positive experience could happen here of all places. "Good wines by the glass made the whole lingering affair even better — the most enjoyable meal I've had in a very long time. In Appleton." 

I know Appleton is not Chicago, but there are still some 75,000 people here and hundreds of places to eat. It's not that unbelievable one of them would be excellent, is it?

► One more time: How to eat your way through Appleton, a Wisconsin city full of sweet surprises

Contact Shane Nyman at 920-996-7223 or snyman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @shanenyman.