SPONSORED POST – There are a number of ways to get to Green Bay for a football game. You can fly to Chicago and make the three hour trek north. Or you can fly through Milwaukee and shave an hour off that drive. If you seriously hate to drive, you can connect in either Minneapolis or Chicago and take an Alaska Air partner airline to Green Bay (GRB). Regardless of which airport you choose, this is a trip you can’t miss.

Green Bay is unique. It seems like it belongs in a different time from the other cities in the league. You have no doubt heard of Lambeau Field, but you may not know that it was named for Earl Lambeau who was an employee of the Indian Packing Company that asked his employer for some money for his team. The company said yes, and now the team bears its name.
In addition to feeling like a different time, Green Bay is certainly a different size than its league brethren. The stadium holds 81,441 screaming cheeseheads – the city itself has just over 100,000 residents!

I have a friend who travelled there for a pre-season game and went out at night only to find it empty. “Where is everyone?” he asked the bartender who laughed and told him, “First weekend of hunting season. Everyone is in the woods!”

Yup. Green Bay is different.

It also has a different kind of local cuisine called the Wisconsin Fish Fry. It comes in various styles. You have a choice of what fish you want to use – options include smelt, walleye, cod, perch, bluegill or even catfish. You also have a litany of sides to choose from. Everything from potato pancakes to baked beans to cole slaw to potato salad are options. Some add rye bread or French fries.

Regardless of how you choose to make it, it’s an opportunity to crush some fried local fish with the best kids of fixins. Who could say no?

Unless you know someone who is inviting you over for fish fry, you can try it at Maricque’s Bar (1517 University Ave) or Highland Howie’s Pub and Grill (3605 Humboldt Road).

There are other options though. How about Rustique Pizza (13201 Velp Ave, Suamico, WI), which operates out of an old cathedral? They have brick-oven pizza that tastes like the recipe is as old as the building.

Or in nearby
Appleton, try Carmella’s (716 N. Casaloma Drive) for Italian food. Ignore the strip mall location get the ricotta raviolis but make sure you save room for a cannoli after dinner!

Stadium: Lambeau Field
Stadium Food: Cheese Curds at 1919
Seattle haunt: Uh….no.

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