Titletown Brewing and The Cannery

In anticipation of a trip to Green Bay I did some detective work to determine which eatery served up the curds that I most had to have during the visit.  All signs pointed to Titletown Brewing Company.  Its owners converted the structure of the former Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Depot, which was nearly 100 years old at the time, and in 1996 Titletown opened as the establishment it is today.  They serve five core brews that pay homage to the area’s history along with a multitude of seasonal options.  We arrived during the Saturday dinner rush and were told the wait would be nearly two hours, but the setback reinforced to me that we had come to the right place.  We put our name in at the host stand and planned our next move.

They used a convenient app that showed the number of parties ahead of us along with the approximate wait time so we opted to head across the parking lot to The Cannery Public Market for a drink and to kill time.  We took our seats at the bar and ordered our drinks.  They had a nice selection of carefully crafted old fashioneds and, to our amazement, champagne on tap.  After noticing a stream of enticing appetizers flowing from the kitchen to customers all around we couldn’t resist ordering a few for ourselves, including cheese curds.

These beauties were served in a tall oval-shaped bowl (the picture doesn’t convey the depth of this dish that contains a generous portion for $9.00) with a side of ranch.  Interestingly, the menu states that the batter is made using an Irish Red Ale from Titletown Brewing and the darker beer gives an irresistible glow to the curds.  The chunks of amber colored cheese are smaller than usual but it really worked for me as I ended up popping multiple into my month like I was Dr. Greg House and they were deep fried vicodin pills.  The body of the curds were non-uniform and the batter provided great texture – overall they looked incredible.  Shifting senses from appearance to taste, the cheddar announced itself with a rich flavor and its chewiness was in great contrast with the crispy coating.  They were moderately greasy but my friend put it best when she eloquently described them as “F*** ’n good”.  She’s not wrong, keep a few napkins at the ready and enjoy this delectable display of dairy decadence.

4.5 curds out of 5.0

 

As our time to dine approached we made our way back across the parking lot to take our seats at Titletown where we had a clear view of all the replica Green Bay Packer championship banners.  We ordered the cheese curds for $8.99 which were listed directly below a fun and uncommon menu item – a Wisconsin spin on Poutine (if you’re not familiar with this dish then give Canada a call).  Our curds were served on a rectangular plate with a special tomato sauce, not marinara, and topped with shredded parmesan.  The red, white and buff-beige colored batter came together well for an attractive look.  Their thin, greaseless coating had a slight flakiness and clung nicely to the white cheese it contained.  Despite my friend (yea, same one) describing them uncharitably as “bowling alley curds”, I found them to be very pleasant.  The Titletown cheese curds were amusingly amorphous and the cheese was great tasting with spectacular stringiness.

4.1 curds out of 5.0

 

 

Cheesy Fact of the Day:

Cheese was discovered accidentally nearly 10,000 years ago when milk was stored in a container lined with an animal’s stomach.  An enzyme within the stomach caused the milk to separate into curds and whey.

 

 

What’s O-Curd to Me:

In Green Bay, Wisconsin football is more than just a game, it’s a way of li…just kidding, I’m not here to force feed you the tired opening line from every sports movie ever made.  Cities all across America, and the world for that matter, have an assortment of unique pregame traditions and/or rollicking tailgating scenes, but this setting is particularly outstanding and very dear to my heart.  The people of “Titletown” adore the Packers and spending gameday in the foreground of Lambeau Field is an intoxicating experience.

Green Bay is by far the NFL’s smallest host city at around 105,000 permanent residents, but a study by AECOM found nearly 90% of patrons travel from outside of Brown County for any given game which suggests the city’s population on Packer Sundays swells to at least double its normal size.  As fans flood the Fox Valley area to join the festivities AECOM estimates they generate roughly $13.5 million for the community with each contest at Lambeau.  People come in droves from all different walks of life, and they come ready to party.

If mass gatherings were voted on by the Academy then the Oscar for “Best Celebration” would go to Mardi Gras for being an unrated, anything goes shebang.  Game day in Green Bay is the PG-13 version as music is playing from every direction, and people are signing and dancing while wearing bizarre outfits – although it’s actually possible there is more alcohol.  It is a sea of green, gold and blaze orange, the Packers unofficial third color; if the orange were swapped out for purple and someone handed you a Hurricane you might be convinced you were in New Orleans.  Oneida Street isn’t exactly Bourbon Street but the stadium area is loaded with bars, restaurants, the Tundra Tailgate Zone and an enormous new Titletown District that has activities for all ages.

Located on the east side of the stadium is the main parking lot which is where the real pros hang out.  Customized and Packerized vehicles are crammed into tight spaces hours before kickoff so elaborate tailgate tents can be set up and allow the grill masters to get to work.  If you aren’t there in time another option is to park a few blocks away, where folks in the neighborhood will allow you to park in their yards for $20, and then flag down one of the bikes pulling a rickshaw for a lift.  Once you’ve joined the fray in the parking lot you will find that most tailgators are more welcoming and generous than you could believe – handing out brats, cheese, beers, Jell-O shots and much more.  Just throw on a cheesehead, play a game of cornhole and enjoy the marching band as it snakes its way through the bustling parking lot.  Also, for good measure there are about 50,000 port-a-potties standing sentinel around the perimeter.

My most recent visit was just before the New Year for a meaningless Week 17 game but with the amount of enthusiasm and elation in the air you could have believed it was the Super Bowl.  Game day provides an opportunity for people to set aside their problems, forget about politics, or escape from whatever else troubles them and unite in excitement for the Packers while surrounded by friends.  I try to make it once a year and you should too – even if you aren’t a Packer fan or into football at all – because it’s simply a happy and extraordinary place.