- I had never heard of a supper club
because we don't have them
anywhere that I've ever lived.
And so she was telling me about,
[cracking up] "The supper club,
your first job was in a supper club."
- Erin Huggins: Yeah.
- Holly Richards: I was just like, "I'm sorry, what is that?
Like, it was a supper what? You mean a restaurant?" - Yeah, yeah.
- Holly: No, a supper club.
- Erin Huggins: It's these places
and they're kind of dark without windows.
And they're lowly lit.
And I was like, "There's things called relish dishes."
- Holly: Well, and none of that makes any sense.
But then, you come here and you're like,
"Oh, that's exactly what you described."
- Erin: Yeah. And if any of those things
were taken out of this context, it would be really weird.
- No, but it totally works, like, it all works.
Somehow, it is perfect.
And you come in and it's this fully-formed thing
that you get to be a part of, and it's really cool.
[electrical current building to fire up neon light]
["Focus Pocus" Glenn Crytzer's Savoy Seven ]
[1930s-style big band swing music]
[stir stick clinks]
[hot oil spatters]
- Rob Swearingen: The definition of supper club
sometimes does come up over the bar.
And they kind of poke their head through the front door
and wonder what a club is.
They think maybe you perhaps have to have a membership.
Of course, that's not true.
- Terese Allen: It's a unique kind of restaurant
and in its Wisconsin form, it's also very unique.
- Jim Draeger: Everyone has their own definition
of what a supper club is,
but there are certain key parts to any supper club experience.
Supper clubs
are rural places.
It's family-owned business.
- Terese Allen: It has a bar and a dining room.
That's a very specific part of supper clubs.
It's a dinner place,
not a lunch or breakfast place.
It's usually dinner-only,
usually located in either the "Main Street"-area of a town
or maybe near a lake,
some kind of nice setting like that.
- Tom Schmock: Tucked away somewhere
and you see the neon lights from far away.
- Larry Schmock: And you walk in the door, past the hostess,
put your name in, you head right for the bar
and order a Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet.
- They have simple menus that are very predictable.
It serves a relish dish before the meal.
People drink before and after dinner drinks there.
- Mark Andrea: A supper club is a good place to come and have
some ambiance and really good food.
- Marge Gogian: The supper club is
a nice place where you are dining.
Not just eating at a fast restaurant,
but dining with tablecloth and napkins,
and I believe in that.
- Anne Glowacki: The supper club traditionally
is a venue that has dining and entertainment,
whether it'd be dancing, live music.
- Terese Allen: It does have a family feel to it,
so whole families can go or adults can go
or friends can go together.
It's very much a place where regulars go.
- You don't go to a supper club,
quick wolf down some food, and go on somewhere else.
The supper club is somewhere where you linger
and you spend some time.
That's why the social dimension of supper clubs
is such an important attribute of defining what they are.
- Kirby Nelson: You go into a place that has
its own unique decor and personality.
You're going to see maybe a similar offering,
but yet done in that particular restaurant's version
of how they want it done.
You knew what to expect, but yet, it was unique to the owner.
And you could always, again, just expect great hospitality,
just leaving feeling that
you'd been welcomed, appreciated,
satiated,
and you're ready to go home and relax
with a smile in your face.
*
["When I Sleep Polka" by Gary's Ridgeland Dutchmen]
[concertina plays in fast 2/4 time]
- Jim Draeger: Wisconsin is an amazing state.
And I think one of the things that makes Wisconsin
a very distinctive place
is its distinctive geography.
One part of the state is quite different from another part.
You have the wooded Northern Wisconsin.
You have the Kettle Moraine on the east side of the state.
You have the sand flats in the middle of the state,
the Driftless area in the west,
and all of that affects the way people live.
You layer on top of that the various ethnic groups
that have lived in Wisconsin.
At the end of the 19th-century,
Wisconsin is the most ethnically diverse place in the country
and each one of those ethnic groups came,
settled in their own enclave,
brought their own cultures and their own traditions
and those traditions have slowly melded together
into what we consider to be Wisconsin culture today.
So the "beer, brats, and cheese" stereotype of Wisconsin life
is based on this melding
of all these different cultural traditions.
[polka]
The supper club is one of those.
The supper club's a very distinctive Wisconsin building.
People who grow up in Wisconsin
think supper clubs are everywhere
and they realize that once you past the borders,
you are no longer in supper club land.
It's a very distinctive Wisconsin thing.
It says a lot about the Wisconsin experience.
["Bottoms Up" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators ]
- While the supper club's
kind of a Midwestern phenomenon,
in Wisconsin, it just seems to have taken hold
and survived quite well.
If you Google "supper club" and you compare them state by state,
you'll just see that there's hundreds more in Wisconsin
with "supper club" in their name
and that doesn't even account for the ones
with just "club" in their name.
It's just kind of a crazy phenomenon.
[drum finale]
The supper club was invented by a Wisconsinite
except in Beverly Hills, California.
He created kind of the prime rib,
Yorkshire pudding menu and was really kind of credited
with the idea of pairing
fine dining with entertainment.
- Jim Draeger: He invented the doggie bag.
His theory was that people might be embarrassed
to be served too large of a portion of food,
although they may want more food than they're willing to admit.
So, he gave a doggie bag along.
In theory, you could bring that steak home to your dog
though most people ended up eating their whole steak.
[playful, energetic swing music]
Jim Draeger: Lawrence Frank's idea
spread out of California
and really took root in Wisconsin
in the time period just prior to World War II
and especially after World War II.
*
Jim Draeger: The term "supper club"
came to be associated with these restaurants
because they borrowed that term
from the 19th century term for
a private eating club
to convey that sense of elegance, sophistication,
that was important to establishing supper clubs
as being distinct from other kinds of eating places.
There were a number of reasons
why it caught on so well in Wisconsin.
["Trepak" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators ]
There was already a tradition in Wisconsin
going out into the countryside to drink.
- Brenda Bredahl: Wisconsin
didn't abide by Prohibition.
The federal agent that was here basically said,
"This was the 'Land of the Wets'
"and that people drank here freely
and without care," essentially.
Senator John Blaine of Wisconsin
introduced repeal in 1933.
The model had already sort of
been set up in Wisconsin vacation areas
and in sort of these log cabin, chicken shacks
and, kind of, roadhouses that were in Wisconsin.
- Jim Draeger: They located out in the country
to be outside of the eye of the law.
Many of those
roadhouses evolved to include dance halls.
After World War II,
dance hall craze got a lot less so
because people are buying phonographs
and their own records.
Television is coming in.
So, some of these roadhouses
converted their dance halls to dining halls
and they became supper clubs.
Before Prohibition,
bars were very "male" spaces.
Self-respecting women didn't go to taverns
because many taverns were brothels
or were associated with prostitutes.
When the tavern comes back
following the repeal of Prohibition,
women come to the tavern yet,
but women aren't really comfortable at taverns
and some taverns weren't comfortable
with having women clientele.
Some taverns banned women from the bars
even after Prohibition.
The first real democratic place for women was the supper club.
They become places that are okay for women to drink
because they're not really bars.
They're restaurants that have a bar attached to them.
And because of that women feel comfortable
in coming to a bar in a supper club.
So, supper clubs are really one of the first places
that are completely gender-neutral,
where it's just as common to see a woman sitting at the bar,
as it is to see a man sitting at the bar.
And it helped to break down some of the stereotypical attitudes
about women and drinking that existed before Prohibition.
*
- Another possible reason
that supper clubs really are so popular in the state
has to do with something called
"gemütlichkeit."
It's a term that's hard to describe in one word.
It means a variety of things:
it means good fellowship, good community
and good conversation,
kind of a congeniality all around the table,
all around the concepts of food and drink.
It's an aspect of German culture
and because we've had so much German immigration here
and there's so much German influence here,
that is probably the origin of it there.
It's really not so much about the drinking and the eating,
but those things are part of what is the community,
the aspect of coming together,
of enjoying each other's company
and sitting down,
even if you're all around the state at different supper clubs
and enjoying the same meal and the same time together.
["Mr. Rhythm" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators ]
- Judy Knuth: We came here,
and we were
almost bowled over
by the friendly attitude,
the embrace of customer service,
how they made us feel so comfortable.
And we have said, every time we eat dinner here, it's
"We're having dinner at our kitchen table,
but we don't have to clean it up."
We sit here and it's not unusual
for somebody on the other side to yell at us,
"How's the soup tonight?"
We don't know them at all,
but we let them know how the soup is tonight.
People feel comfortable.
People feel a sense of community.
You're not eating amongst a bunch of strangers.
- My name is Steve Krabbe
and that's my wife, Cheri,
and we own Krabbe's Kountry Klub
in Seymour, Wisconsin.
We bought our supper club in 1980.
I always wanted to be in business.
And there was a supper club in town that was for sale
and we were able to purchase that.
It was a good fit at the time and turned out to be a love
that we've got today yet, for it.
We really enjoy the supper club business
because it's not like a bar.
It's a family operation.
We're having people come to our dinner table
and enjoy a nice meal with us.
They're coming to our house.
That's the big thing and they're our friends.
Truly, in our kitchen,
it's like they come in our kitchen at our house.
They just walk in and say, "Hi, how are you doing?"
More people go through her kitchen
than the entrance, a lot of times,
because our customers are our friends
and they always want to say hello to her.
- Cheri Krabbe: A lot of times, I'm a little too busy,
but I try to make time to talk.
And they know all the waitresses,
so they'll talk to the waitresses
and then they'll kind of look at me and say,
"How are you doing tonight?"
"Really good, great, wonderful."
- Steve Krabbe: She'd be upset
if certain people don't poke their head in and say 'hello.'
People that like the supper club atmosphere
will drive a long way for it.
We do ourselves on our night off.
We're not afraid to drive an hour, hour and a half
if there's a place we heard was really neat.
I have customers from Fond du Lac
that still drive up here just for dinner.
They want to try a new place, even though it's old,
they want to try a new place that they heard about.
- Without the automobile, there
would not be a supper club.
The history of the two of them
are tied together.
Car culture was
a big part of supper clubs
because a supper club was a destination point
for people who were traveling by automobile.
The supper club was the culinary equivalent of the Sunday drive,
where you could go out for a ride in your car,
end up at a destination that was worth going to.
So, the journey was a part of the fun.
That's one of the reasons why
supper clubs were located in rural areas,
was to give people the experience of traveling.
Wisconsin had the largest amount
of paved rural roads in the country
because Wisconsin farmers
needed to get their milk out to market in any weather.
Because of this extensive network of paved roads,
Wisconsin was a great place for the supper club,
because it was easy to get out in the countryside
and almost any rural location
along a road
could be a place where
a supper club could flourish.
They understood that their clientele
were coming by automobile
so a lot of supper clubs
were designed to exploit that as well.
They use flamboyant exotic designs
that were meant
to be read from the road
at a high rate of speed
by people traveling by
on the highways of Wisconsin.
["Rose Room" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators ]
- Erin Huggins: My grandparents literally would travel hundreds of miles
to go to a supper club.
Like, they would make it an all-day event.
- Holly Richards: She drove me an hour and a half when I was starving
to go to a particular supper club.
- My mom did, yeah.
She was like, "We're going to this supper club."
- Like, we passed three or four supper clubs at least.
Each one, like, I was like getting closer to fainting
and she's like, "NO! We've got to go."
Like, I don't even remember
which on, but, yeah, it was good.
- So, I feel like I'm carrying on
my grandparents' tradition of going to supper clubs.
- You are.
- Because, I guess, it's something that our family does.
- Which you do.
- We appreciate the supper club.
["Ten Til Five" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators ]
- Jim Draeger: Every building is built of a time and a place
and it represents a certain moment in time.
People build the way they do
because it represents something that's important to them
and you can see that history in supper clubs, as well.
The first supper clubs
tended to be rather
tavern-like in their appearance
because they were growing out
of that roadhouse tradition.
But when people started building
specific buildings
as supper clubs
there were a couple of different themes
that they picked up on.
One of the themes was a very exotic appearance
that related to the adventure of travel,
and the adventure of eating out.
So, they would pick themes
that were popular in American culture and history.
In Northern Wisconsin,
you saw a lot of supper clubs that were rustic in design,
that used log construction,
that were picking up
on native American motifs
or folklore of the Northwoods.
There were supper clubs that had exotic flamboyant appearances
like The Pyramid Supper Club.
Supper clubs that looked like southern plantations
that were trying to pick up
on the southern hospitality.
There were supper clubs that were designed to look
consciously like people's houses
to give that impression
that the supper club
was your home away from home.
That it was
a family-oriented place,
that it embodied those simple domestic values
of that time period.
["Ten Til Five" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators ]
- Steve Krabbe: When you talk about the drinks
that are served in a supper club,
the Old Fashioned's by far the signature drink
of an old-fashioned supper club.
- Karl Van Roy: I used to make
Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet
in my sleep.
I'd be dreaming about them for years.
- Terese Allen: Old Fashioneds, they're a drink,
but it's a recipe.
It's not just
splash two things together,
it's actually a recipe
like food, like dishes.
And like these sort of iconic
or really important other food ways in the state,
there's a specific way that you make it.
There's a lot of variations from family to family.
There's variations from bar to bar,
from supper club to supper club.
- Mark Andrea: We start with an Old Fashioned glass
and put a little bit of simple syrup
that we make ourself
and angostura bitters.
[drip, drip]
And then, small piece of orange
and usually regular ones with charged water or seltzer.
Could be "sweet" with 7UP.
Some people have it with water: "sour".
We muddle the orange...
[squish, squish, squish]
...and the simple syrup and the bitters together
and you notice it kind of foams up.
Ice, two shots of brandy.
[slosh, slosh]
Top a little more charged water,
[splash, splash] seltzer water.
Usually, put two sticks in.
The idea with an Old Fashioned
is that you kind of stir
the simple syrup that's underneath it
to make it as sweet as you want it.
["The Grass Is Always Greener"/ "Payin' No Mind" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators ]
- Woman: I'll have an Old Fashioned.
- Jim Draeger: If Wisconsin were to have a state drink,
it would surely be the Old Fashioned.
The drink itself has very long roots.
The Old Fashioned
is among the first American cocktails.
It goes back to the 1700s.
Comes from a family of drinks
that were known as "bitter slings."
The Old Fashioned in the 19th century
was not a sweet drink and it wasn't a fruity drink.
The Brandy Old Fashioned that we drink today
was a consequence of the speakeasies.
During Prohibition,
people began drinking sweet cocktails
because the alcohol they were buying
was rotgut liquor and tasted awful.
So, by adding soda
to the liquor,
it made it sweeter and it made it more palatable.
So, the Old Fashioned becomes sweet drink
as a result of Prohibition
and they began putting soda,
maraschino cherry,
orange slices.
It became much more the drink that today
people consider to be Old Fashioneds.
- Debbie Landgraf: Only in Wisconsin do they know
what an Old Fashioned is.
- Tom Landgraf: And brandy.
If you go to another state,
you can be in Florida or something
and ask for a Brandy Manhattan or a Brandy Old Fashioned
and whoever is there
if they're of any age, they'll say,
"I bet you you're from Wisconsin,"
>> HI.
I'M JON MISKOWSKI, DIRECT TO
HAVE WISCONSIN WITION.
-- PUBLIC
TELEVISION.
WE'RE WATCHING "OLD-FASHIONED,"
"THE STORY OF THE WISCONSIN
SUPPER CLUB."
THIS WONDERFUL TRAVEL THROUGH
THE STATE CELEBRATING THIS
WONDERFUL TRADITION.
I LOVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND
THE FAMILY MEMORIES.
I THINK THEY SPARK THOSE
MEMORIES IN ALL OF US OF GETTING
OUT SOMEWHERE IN A CAR AND GOING
TO THESE WONDERFUL PLACES.
THE PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'D LIKE TO
INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT WISCONSIN
PUBLIC TELEVISION WITH YOUR
PLEDGE, WITH YOUR PHONE CALL TO
1-800-236-3636.
THIS IS VIEWER-SUPPORTED
TELEVISION.
AND WE HAVE THE GREATEST SUPPER
CLUB BOOK EVER.
WITH A GIFT OF $7 -- EXCUSE ME,
$8 A MONTH, WE HAVE WISCONSIN
SUPPER CLUB'S COOKBOOK, GREAT
DESTINATIONS, PLACES YOU'LL WANT
TO FIND IN WISCONSIN AND GREAT
RECIPES.
THIS IS A WONDERFUL TRADITION WE
HAVE IN CELEBRATING WISCONSIN.
IT WILL CONTINUE IN A FEW
MINUTES.
WE'D LOVE TO INVITE YOU TO CALL
1-800-236-3636 WITH YOUR PLEDGE.
>> IRCHTION THAT, JON.
-- THANKS,
JON.
WHEN YOU DO CALL, WE HAVE A
NUMBER OF GREAT THANK YOU GIFTS,
INCLUDING THE DVD OF THE FILM
YOU'RE WATCHING TONIGHT AT THE
$7 MONTHLY LEVEL.
WE'LL SEND YOU THE DVD YOU'RE
ENJOYING TONIGHT SO YOU CAN GO
AND EXPLORE YOU AN OF THE GREAT
SUPPER CLUBS THAT YOU'RE SEEING
TONIGHT.
AT THE $8 MONTHLY LEVEL WE'LL
SEND YOU THE BOOK.
IT'S THE WISCONSIN SUPPER CLUB
COOKBOOK.
IT'S A TRAVEL GUIDE TO MANY OF
THE WONDERFUL SUPPER CLUBS
ACROSS THE STATE AND AN
OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO TRY YOUR
OWN HAND AT DISHES THAT ARE
SPECIFIC TO THESE WONDERFUL
RESTAURANTS.
AT $12 A MONTH WE'LL SEND YOU
THE DVD OF THE FILM, THE BOOK
AND ANOTHER DVD OF ANOTHER
PROGRAM SUPPER CLUBS 101.
SO IF YOU'RE A SUPPER CLUB SUPER
FAN, YOU'RE GOING TO WANT TO
GIVE AT THAT LEVEL.
PLEDGE RIGHT NOW.
CALL IN YOUR SUPPORT,
1-800-236-3636.
>> I'M LINDA BERMAN, A VOLUNTEER
HERE AT WISCONSIN PUBLIC
TELEVISION.
AND I AM THRILLED WITH THIS
PROGRAM.
IT'S JUST, OH, WAIT, I WAS
THERE.
I'D LIKE TO GO THERE.
IT'S LIKE THIS IS WHAT I WANT.
EVEN THIS COOKBOOK A FANTASTIC.
WHEN YOU REALIZE THAT LUCK,
WISCONSIN WAS HOME TO YO-YO.
SO ARE THE RECIPES FOR THE
SUPPER CLUBS.
SO IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU
TO EXPLORE YOUR STATE AND ALSO
YOUR CULINARY IDEAS THROUGH THE
SUPPER CLUB FOOD.
NOW, WISCONSIN, SUPPER CLUBS,
BRANDY OLD-FASHIONS.
WE GOT IT.
THE WAY TO CONTINUE ENJOYING IT
TO GIVE US A CALL AND BECOME A
SUPPORTER OF WISCONSIN PUBLIC
TELEVISION AT 1-800-236-3636.
>> THANKS FOR YOUR PHONE CALL.
THANKS FOR YOUR PLEDGE.
WHY DON'T YOU JOIN WITH YOUR
PLEDGE TO 1-800-236-3636.
ONE OF THE COMMITMENTS THAT WE
HAVE IN WISCONSIN IS TO
WISCONSIN HISTORY.
AND I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO
HOLLY DE RUYTER.
HOLLY IS THE PRODUCER OF
"OLD-FASHIONED" WHICH WE'RE
ENJOYING TONIGHT AND THE NEWEST
MEMBER OF OUR HISTORY TEAM.
>> YES.
I'M REALLY HAPPY TO BE A NEW
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TELEVISION.
>> TELL US ABOUT THE INSPIRATION
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>> I'M FROM GREEN BAY.
I WENT TO SCHOOL IN CHICAGO.
I DIDN'T THINK MUCH WAS GOING TO
CHANGE.
WHEN I GOT DOWN THERE, NO ONE
WAS HAVING FISH FRIES.
CHICAGO IS KNOWN FOR ITS DINING
SCENE, BUT THERE WERE NO SUPPER
CLUBS.
SO I'D COME BACK HOME TO
WISCONSIN AND TELL MY FRIENDS
ABOUT THE PLACE WHERE THERE WAS
NO FISH FRIES AND NO BRANDY AND
MY WHEELS STARTED TO TURN.
SUPPER CLUBS ARE A BEAUTIFUL
VISUAL PLACE.
I THOUGHT THAT WOULD MAKE A
GREAT DOCUMENTARY.
ONCE I GOT ACCESS TO A CAR AND
SOME FRIENDS WITH SOME FREE TIME
AND EQUIPMENT, WE HIT THE ROAD
AND STARTED CAPTURING THE STORY.
>> IT'S A WONDERFUL SHOW.
IT WILL CONTINUE,
"OLD-FASHIONED: THE STORY OF
THE WISCONSIN SUPPER CLUB."
WHY DON'T YOU JOIN US WITH YOUR
PLEDGE SUPPORTING WISCONSIN
PROGRAMS ON WISCONSIN PUBLIC
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>> WHEN YOU DO CALL WE'LL SEND
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STARTING AT THE $7 MONTHLY LEVEL
WE'LL SEND YOU "OLD-FASHIONED,"
THE PROGRAM YOU'RE WATCHING
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LIKE, WAIT, WHAT WAS THAT?
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GET THAT DVD.
AT THE $8 LEVEL, WE'LL SEND YOU
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SO WON'T YOU CALL RIGHT NOW.
THESE GIFTS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE
ONLINE AT wpt.org.
*
- Terese Allen: Supper clubs have, across the state,
a somewhat limited and very special menu.
There are certain things
that you will find on every supper club menu,
even though there are variations.
They are very specific types of things
that constitute a supper club menu.
You usually will get a relish tray
to start off your meal with some bread.
Sometimes, you don't get the relish tray,
but typically, at supper clubs, what will come out
is either some kind of a cheese spread with crackers.
Sometimes, it'll be a whole lazy Susan of choices
like a noodle salad, and pickles,
radishes, carrots, olives, that sort of thing,
and again, the cheese spread.
If they don't serve a relish tray,
there's almost always a bread and butter
that comes out first.
Usually, choice of soup or salad,
a very simple salad with dressings.
Sometimes there is a salad bar,
which is really kind of a combination
of the relish tray and the salad course together.
There's always steaks on the menu,
usually prime rib.
There's fish of some kind.
Sometimes it's local choices
like a walleye or bluegill or perch.
There's shrimp or lobster, sometimes both.
Usually some kind of
oven-roasted or broasted chicken.
Sometimes there might be duck on the menu,
sometimes there might be pork chops,
sometimes even a ham slice or something,
but, typically, it's the steaks, ribs, fish and chicken.
You will get a choice of potato with the main course.
Could be baked, not so often mashed,
but hash browns, American fries,
and sometimes French fries, but there's always a choice.
To finish the meal,
though this is not an automatic part of the meal,
would be dessert.
And the dessert menu is very limited
and sometimes ice cream drinks.
Like a Grasshopper or Golden Cadillac,
or the Pink Squirrel made with ice cream and liquor.
And then, the drinks
are also sort of part of the supper club menu.
["Fumblin' Around" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators]
- Judy Knuth: I'm not supposed to tell this,
but I'm gonna.
I know for a fact that this supper club
does little favors
for its regular customers.
Like, one customer,
needs a heart-healthy diet.
All right, we're going to use
no-salt butter.
And they get to know their customers
and they're very willing to accommodate their needs
to keep them returning.
- Rob Swearingen: As much as we stay to tradition,
times have changed in terms of diets.
And so, you have to have some heart-healthy dining,
something for a vegetarian.
Gluten-free is an issue these days.
You have to roll with those changes.
["Rainy Days with You" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators]
- Terese Allen: Supper clubs will have specials, typically,
and Friday night, it's always the fish fry.
Saturday night, it's the prime rib,
and Sunday, sometimes it's like a chicken dinner.
Maybe ribs on Tuesday or Wednesday,
but always the fish fry on Friday nights.
- Cheri Krabbe: On a Friday night,
we serve quite a bit of fish.
- Steve Krabbe: A lot of my older customers,
it doesn't pay to show them anything else,
they have fish on Friday and that's it.
- Terese Allen: Typical fish fry menu
would be, usually, it's coleslaw for the salad version of it,
and then the deep-fried fish, and then some kind of potato.
There really is no state that I know of,
or have read of, or heard of,
where pretty much everybody knows and goes to fish fries.
And they go often, they go every Friday night.
- Rob Swearingen: This area is fish fry crazy.
It's clearly still our biggest night of the week.
It's not unusual in the summertime
to have people outside
actually having somewhat
of a tailgate party,
whether they're throwing a frisbee
or enjoying a cocktail
on the picnic table under the umbrella,
just waiting in line to get their table.
And sometimes waits can extend past an hour
and people are still content with that.
If you don't do a good Friday night fish fry business,
especially in this neck of the woods,
it's going be tough for you to survive.
- Terese Allen: Fish fry is so popular in the state
for a lot of reasons.
It isn't just an ethnic tradition.
It isn't just a Catholic tradition.
It isn't just a geographic tradition.
It's all of the above sort of thing.
First of all, Wisconsin geographically
is the perfect place for fish.
The state is, basically, surrounded
almost completely
by water.
The Great Lakes, the Mississippi River.
We have all kinds of
thousands and thousands
of rivers and lakes
within the state boundaries.
So, everybody knows water here
and everybody eats fish here,
and has, way back to the original pre-Wisconsinites,
the Indian tribes who lived here
and also to the Europeans who came
and to many of the other groups
that have been continuing to come,
right up into the contemporary times.
So, we have that geographic.
We have that cultural kind of connection,
but we are also a Catholic state.
Catholics, of course, until the early '60s
were not allowed to eat meat on Fridays.
And so, we were, have been
historically very used to eating fish on Fridays.
["Old Man Winter Blues" Glenn Crytzer's Savoy Seven ]
Then, there was this thing
called Prohibition that happened
and that really is what helped formulate the fish fry
into the tradition that we know it today.
Bar owners needed a way to bring customers in.
So, what they did is they knew
that there was this cheap abundant source of food, fish,
so they started to offer very cheap or free
lunches or meals of fish and they would fry it,
because that was a cheap way to cook it
and then they would serve it to customers to lure them in
and then also sell them
liquor under the table.
It did lure people in, it also lured whole families in,
partly because Friday typically was payday.
And so, these large-- many of them Catholic-- families
in Wisconsin,
had an inexpensive way to feed the whole family
on a day when they were feeling flush.
Fish fries, then, kind of developed
even after Prohibition into this tradition.
They took hold and people got used
to going out on Friday nights with their family.
It developed as an intergenerational kind of thing.
- I'm from Florida so I'd never really
done a fish fry or anything before I came up here.
And with us being from Florida, you'd think that,
we have fish fries all over the place.
There's absolutely nothing like this where we can go
and just have a family fish fry and everything.
If you want something,
you've got to go to the big chain restaurants.
- Growing up here in Wisconsin,
we always went for Friday fish fry.
Spending time with family
is the biggest reason why we come up here.
It's nice to be able to bring the kids along with us
and we can just sit and enjoy our time.
We can talk, laugh, have fun,
and still have delicious food.
["Old Man Winter Blues" / "Wallingford Wiggles" Glenn Crytzer's Savoy Seven]
- Cheri Krabbe: We here at the supper club
like to make as much as we can from scratch.
That's what's missing in the chain restaurants,
everything is prepackaged,
everything is brought in,
everything is weighed and measured.
I just always like cooking.
I don't like to clean up, but I like to cook. [laughs]
["Wallingford Wiggles" Glenn Crytzer's Savoy Seven]
- M. Gogian: My dad always said,
"Never, never stop using
"the best quality you can buy.
Don't ever buy mediocre stuff."
And we never did.
And I don't because I don't believe in that.
My help laugh at me.
They think I'm old-fashioned.
So be it.
I don't care. [laughs]
- Mike Obis: To me, everything
we make homemade is just better.
We know what we're putting in it.
We're not putting a bunch of preservatives in it.
We're making smaller batches.
We're using them up in a day or so
and then we make it again.
- Butch Lehman: It's a from scratch restaurant
and a lot of supper clubs are
and that's one of the things that sets them apart.
Everything is from scratch.
We make all our salad dressings.
All our soups are homemade.
We actually age and cut our own meat.
We use the best
quality produce that we can get.
Anything that comes in the door is top-shelf quality
and comes in its rawest material state.
- Rob Swearingen: In my case, many of the recipes came
with the building when I bought them.
So, the barbecue rib sauce, the Friday fish fry,
how we bake the raisin nut bread,
all those recipes were passed on--
right down to the potato salad--
were passed on to us.
And those are the things that you don't mess with.
You don't change something that works
and that's why people keep coming back and returning.
- Ray Olson: In the old days,
you used to have a good cook
that was with you for years and years and years,
and they did a good job.
I interviewed
hundreds of different cooks
when we were hiring for here
and they didn't know how
to make sauces, they didn't
know how to make a roux.
They just open a package
and that's how they're taught,
and I think that really takes a lot away from it.
- Denise Olson: Homemade food, there's something about it
that you can't get any way, shape, or form,
from something that's frozen and it's warmed up
or a package and you add liquid.
Everybody does it already at home now,
because we're run, run, run.
So, you throw something together.
You want something that's like,
"Wow, I can taste that rosemary, I can taste that garlic."
and it's like, "What is this?
Oh, onion powder, too, oh, fantastic,"
and cooking it nice and slow.
There is a warning:
If you have homemade food, it's really hard to go back.
Hopefully, some of the old-fashioned ones
want to stay with home-cooked food from scratch.
It's important to keep the tradition.
["Skinny Minnie" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators ]
- Steve Krabbe: When we buy our meats here,
it comes right from Green Bay.
And we always get the best we can get.
We never bicker on price.
Because of that, they know, and they take care of us.
And if I ever have a problem with any of my steaks,
they'll come out and bring us new items,
whatever we need to make us happy.
It's nice to buy local, they know us personally,
and they know what I expect,
and what I want for my customers.
So, we buy a lot of groceries right local.
And then some of the farmers' markets around here
we buy from them, too, just to keep it local.
- Cheri Krabbe: I have a girl that works for us.
She has extra tomatoes, so she brings them in.
I put them on the salad bar, and everybody loves them.
In fact, just had a lady on Facebook ask
what kind of tomatoes they were.
- Steve Krabbe: Can't beat fresh and in season.
We like to use them as much as we can.
["A Case of the Blues" Glenn Crytzer's Savoy Seven ]
- Kirby Nelson: I love supporting
independent locally-owned businesses
whether it be breweries,
restaurants, auto repair,
you name it.
The more locally you buy right now,
the stronger our nation's gonna be.
- What makes Ray Radigan's different,
maybe a lot of supper clubs different,
is everything's sourced locally.
They tell you where the asparagus came from.
They tell you
what farm the veal comes from.
They tell you what's fresh.
Today, there's so much discussion
about local sourcing and being natural foods.
This is the history of the supper club.
People are trying to be what they have been
and what they are.
- Henry Doane: We love supporting things
that are high quality and local.
There's actually a place
only a few blocks from here
that makes its own
rum, whiskey, and this wonderful honey liqueur.
It's actually a little cheaper
because they don't have to deal with the transportation costs.
- Tom Schmock: Of course, at the bar,
you have so many wonderful
Wisconsin beers
produced within
50 miles of Madison.
There's no reason to look much farther than Wisconsin
for some great beers.
["A Case of the Blues" Glenn Crytzer's Savoy Seven ]
- Steve Krabbe: Supper clubs are definitely a family business.
We have multi-generations from grandma upstairs,
to our children, and soon to be
their children, working in them.
It's the only way they can operate.
People come here to see us and our family.
Supper clubs won't operate properly
if the owners aren't present.
It's just tradition.
- Cheri Krabbe: It's kind of like going to your neighbor's house
and your neighbor's not there.
You don't want to go there.
- Steve Krabbe: You can't hire managers and things like that.
You can't afford it.
Our price structure is low.
We don't build in all this stuff like a chain restaurant would.
They know if I'm here, they see me,
they know Cheri is in the kitchen.
And it makes a big difference
on how they feel about the whole process.
- Cheri Krabbe: When he's not here, and I'm here,
I make sure I tell the bartenders,
"Tell them that I'm still here."
Then, it's okay.
- Some of the older people still feel as that,
"It's not going to be good
because the owners aren't there."
You still have that. - Right, exactly.
Otherwise, they think that
we're both out running around
having a good time. [laughs]
- Brenda Bredahl: Most of them
are around 50 years old.
They're probably going on
their second or third generation.
Keeps it in the family
and there's a little bit more flexibility
in that capital investment in starting a restaurant.
["A Case of the Blues" Glenn Crytzer's Savoy Seven ]
- Butch Lehman: We've always had our kids
busy and working here
as they've been growing up.
And our second son,
John Lehman, has come back after he graduated from UW-Madison.
Sometimes a lot of people wonder
why you'd come back to be in a business
where you work night and day.
He had some job opportunities,
but he chose to come back
and he's been here
about three years now
and is fitting in very well
and is enjoying it.
- Randy Daubner: This boy has
been in the restaurant with me
ever since he's been a baby.
And so is my other one.
Both of them are raised
in the restaurant business.
They were always in the kitchen,
always in the dining room,
in their cribs.
So we've always had them here at the restaurant.
And they've learned every step of the way with us.
- Tommy Daubner: I've always looked up to my dad.
And when I looked up to him, he was always cooking,
and then I always tried to learn what he did.
I just love doing it.
It came very easy to me.
- Randy Daubner: He was a baby when we owned the other restaurant.
He wouldn't be happy in the kitchen
unless he was on my shoulders.
So, I actually cooked with him
seven nights a week on my shoulders, in the kitchen.
That's where he wanted to be.
So, he was on the line with me
when he was even very little.
- Mark Obis: When you walk into
an owner-operated restaurant,
there's no replacement
for the owner not being there.
You just get a different feel,
a different energy.
It shows in their product,
the decor,
the way you're treated
all the way through.
And, chain restaurants can't duplicate that.
Most of the chain restaurants are not individually owned.
So, they go through their managers
and they may be there three, five, ten years,
but they haven't been there 51 years.
- Denise Olson: The customers loved it.
We would come out
and actually talk with everybody and especially Ray would come
because he did most of the cooking.
If we weren't swamped or anything,
he would come out and talk to each person at the table
and they really like that,
because it's like, where do you go
and that you have the owner / manager or cook
come out and actually talk with you?
And I think that's wonderful.
- Marge Gogian: My dad remembered everybody's name.
If you came here and you never came back again
until 50 years later,
he would know what you had on,
if you were married, everything about you.
He remembered all of his customers.
That's what they liked about him.
And that's what they like about supper clubs.
- Anne Glowacki: There's a lot of people that
I think sometimes they come in
because they enjoy the recognition.
There's someone that comes in and you recognize them
and they're kind of like, "Wow, you remember me?"
and it's like, "Yeah, I remember you.
"You were here a month ago having dinner.
"You sat at that table over there,
and you usually prefer to have a drink first."
I think they don't get that personal touch
when they go to franchises or other restaurants.
At least we try to make that our signature,
that personal touch.
- Don Levin: The relationship my family has
with the Radigan's family
goes back well before my birth.
When I started coming as a kid,
Michael was, is my age.
And we'd run around the restaurant together.
We grew up together.
And Michael's very much like his father was,
very friendly, very open, makes notice of what you like.
They remember.
- Butch Lehman: It's a great business to be in.
It's difficult, you work really hard,
but the rewards are just amazing.
And I'm not talking monetarily.
The satisfaction that you get from owning your own business
and being in a business like this,
it can't be matched.
Bye guys, thank you very much.
Happy birthday, take care.
- Guests: Bye. - Girl: That was good soup!
- Butch Lehman: Have a nice day at school tomorrow.
- Girl: We don't have school tomorrow.
- Butch Lehman: Why not?
- Other Girl: It's over. - It's over and I love the soup!
["Beaver Bump" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators]
- Steve Krabbe: My employees here are great.
The employees that I have,
and you'll see at most of these mom-and-pop supper clubs,
is what I call ours.
We're here.
We're the mom and the dad,
and all the rest of these are our children.
They come and even though some may be older than us, they come,
they worked here, their kids have worked here.
Now we're getting to where their grandkids
are starting to work here.
A lot of our employees come from
friends of good employees that we have.
So, we never advertise for any help and the help stays.
I would say the average person here, is here at least 12 years.
That's over the average,
so two of them, 26 years, two of them, 23 years.
That's unheard of.
In the chain restaurant business,
you're not going to see that.
But hometown supper clubs,
yes, you have loyal employees
that come back and stay with you for years and years.
*
- Karl Van Roy: To me,
it never was, "You're working for me."
You're working with me.
We used to have good times together.
We had parties together.
And that's what makes it good.
And that's what customers felt.
This is what supper club
and this is what camaraderie is about.
- Sean Shinkay: I've been very blessed here at the Stagecoach
in that I've kept the majority of the original
core service staff,
as when I've first bought the restaurant.
They love all the customers that come out here.
They're very, very good at what they do,
and I think they make a nice living.
It's very much a family atmosphere.
- Rosie Pierce: The reason I've been here
for so long is because
we have so many customers
that have been here longer than I have.
People come out here and even if they don't know anybody,
somebody at the bar will start talking to them
and you make friends.
It's just a really cozy type of a restaurant.
And so, people have come here forever and ever.
We've seen kids born and raised here.
- Mark Andrea: Supper club kind
of brings families together.
We have a lot of families that come out
from the time they're born until into high school.
Expose them to some different food besides fast food.
They kind of learn how to behave and have a good time,
but also enjoy a good dinner
and experience of the supper club type atmosphere.
- Larry Schmock: We're seeing third and fourth generations
that are coming in and they bring their families
and we'll have tables with three generations at the table.
Of course, when you grow up going to an establishment,
when you move away, you always come back,
and you go to that establishment
again and again and again.
So, a lot of our business
is just repeat customers and their descendants.
- Tom Schmock: They've instilled these supper club values
to their children and their grandchildren.
It's great to see that.
["You Don't Say" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators]
- Steve Krabbe: It's amazing how many customers come in
and don't know the person sitting next to them.
But my job as a bartender is to get people engaged,
so I'll go over and chat with them
about how their day is or how their kids are doing.
And you can see the person next to them
kind of perking up a little bit, and I'd say,
"Well, how are your kids?"
The next thing you know,
those two people are talking, and I can walk away
and go talk to somebody else.
And I can have the whole bar talking to each other.
It gets to where the next time they come in,
they'll see them across the bar
and they'll wave, "Hey, how have you been?
I haven't seen you for a week or two."
People really enjoy that.
They like the fact that they can meet new people.
And now when they come to our supper club
and they see those same people there
that they met two weeks ago, they'll go right over
and sit down by them and have a nice conversation.
- Brenda Bredahl: The supper club is akin to a church
in that it's kind of a community gathering place.
Whether or not you're eating or drinking,
it's a place where people meet.
It's a place for weddings.
It's really central to a lot of communities in Wisconsin,
and I think that's really why we have so many
and why it survived.
- Judy Knuth: There's a party room behind you
and they make that party room available at no charge
for any community organization
who needs a meeting spot.
I think that is fabulous
that they give up their space, free of charge,
for an organization to meet.
That's another part of community that they're giving.
- Marge Gogian: I think it's very important
to take care of your people in the community.
It's very important for the community.
They come back here because they like the individual restaurants,
and they like the people who run them.
And lot of times they like the people who serve them.
- Sean Shinkay: Since we are a small restaurant
and we know most of our customers really well,
we get really personable with them.
Especially toward the end of the night when you can tell a joke
and maybe share a cocktail with people.
That's part of running a supper club.
- Steve Krabbe: On a normal Friday night,
what's going to happen is that the door is going to open up,
and I've got three customers that always sit
in these three spots right here.
I can always count on those three to be here.
If they're not here,
we call and find out what's going on
or why somebody is sick
because they're just always here.
- Butch Lehman: I think it's just a wonderful thing
that people still have this opportunity
in a community like this to mesh and get together.
And those people, eventually customers become friends
and friends become family here.
And it's really a neat experience, I think.
- Karl Van Roy: That's, I guess, what the supper club part means.
That it can be a relaxing atmosphere
and be something where you can join together and be social.
And to me, that's what we need today,
is social.
-Karen Woltjen: We came up here
40 years ago
for a summer vacation
with our children,
and then, of course, found this place,
and just kind of found our second home.
- Rollie Woltjen: I mean, you don't eat in a restaurant
three or four nights every week unless it is a special place.
It has been one of the few constants in our life
other than our marriage.
The people and everybody there
are as important to me as the meal.
*
- Steve Krabbe: Everybody is so busy nowadays
that they don't take time to enjoy a meal
and enjoy the pre- and the post- of the meal.
They want to come in and have that nice meal,
but they may want to sit at a noisy bar
with three or five TVs going in the background.
But that's what they've been led to believe
is how you go out for a nice meal.
Yeah, we have one TV for a packer game
but that's all that's on.
We encourage them to come out and talk to each other
and maybe leave their phone at home
or whatever it might be or turn it off.
That type of relaxed dining is starting to be lost
in the shuffle of our fast-paced world.
They are starting to dwindle.
- Marge Gogian: Mom-and-pop operations, they're dying out.
- Henry Doane: In the last 10 or 20 years,
there's been a lot of decline.
I've seen a lot of closed supper clubs.
I've seen a lot of for sale supper clubs.
- Mike Obis: Now, there's a lot of chains.
They affect the business
because they take from our percent.
And they have a huge advertising budget nationwide.
And a lot of times people go where they're comfortable with
instead of where it's actually more comfortable.
- Karl Van Roy: There was a shift in how things went.
But I still believe if you do things right,
there's a good niche
for people that want to go out to dinner.
Sometimes you want to jive.
It's probably not the words that the young people use,
but there's other times you like to be relaxed
and be able to talk with each other.
So, I think there's room for places like this.
- Mark Andrea: I think as people get tired of some of the chain restaurants,
hopefully, we see a lot in the younger kids
coming back and realizing,
"This is kind of a nice place to eat
and their food's really good!"
- When we talk about going out to dinner together,
we talk about going to supper clubs.
We don't talk about chains.
And it's more about,
"Where can we sit and relax
"and have a drink
"and talk to each other
and see people that we might know?"
It's more about that.
So, I hope, I pray, that supper clubs stay around.
- Don Levin: I think they'll be here for always,
because Wisconsin is special.
A supper club is to Wisconsin
what a hotdog stand is to Chicago.
It's part of the environment, it's part of the world here.
I wouldn't know what to do if this place wasn't here.
The loss of the supper club, the loss of Ray Radigan's,
would be like losing a member of my family.
- Tom Schmock: If you're in a new town,
don't you want to go find out where the locals go?
Find out why a restaurant has been open for over 50 years?
There's got to be a reason for that.
- Steve Krabbe: Come out and enjoy
an old-fashioned supper club
and realize the quality of the food and the hospitality
that you don't get at chain restaurants.
["Deep Down in Caroline" Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators ]
- Terese Allen: The supper club is a place where we all gather
and we all basically are eating together.
We may be drinking together, too,
but it's about being together that's important.
We don't mind waiting in line at the supper club.
We don't mind waiting in line for the fish fry.
Because we're chatting with our neighbors.
We're going to a place where
we're going to know somebody.
We like to take that night to relax, be together,
and eat the same meal together.
And whether it's a fish fry on a Friday
or a prime rib on a Saturday,
we have that strong sense of community
and good fellowship around food.
*
>> HI.
I'M JON MISKOWSKI, DIRECT TO
HAVE WISCONSIN PUBLIC
TELEVISION.
WE'RE WATCHING "OLD-FASHIONED:
THE STORY OF THE WISCONSIN
SUPPER CLUB."
WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE OUR
SUPPER CLUB FOCUS IN A FEW
MINUTES, BUT RIGHT NOW WE WANT
TO INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT
WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION WITH
YOUR PLEDGE AT 1-800-236-3636.
THIS IS A CHALLENGE BREAK.
RIGHT?
IS THAT RIGHT?
THAT MEANS THAT CURRENT MEMBERS
HAVE MADE A SPECIAL GIFT TO
DOUBLE YOUR GIFT RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE HOPING FOR 40 CALLS IN
THESE FEW MINUTES WHILE WE'RE
TALKING TO YOU.
WE HAVE MORE SUPPER CLUB
CELEBRATION AHEAD.
BUT RIGHT NOW WITH A GIFT OF $7
A MONTH, WE HAVE THE PROGRAM
DVD, WHICH IS SUCH A GREAT
PROGRAM TO WATCH AND ENJOY AND
SHARE WITH FOLKS.
WE ALSO HAVE THIS WONDERFUL BOOK
THAT IS A GREAT TRAVEL LOG TO
GREAT SUPPER CLUBS IN WISCONSIN
WITH RECIPES.
BOTH OF THOSE ARE AVAILABLE WITH
A GIFT OF $12.
PLEASE JOIN US RIGHT NOW.
YOUR DOLLARS ARE DOUBLED WHEN
YOU CALL 1-800-236-3636.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO CALL
RIGHT NOW BECAUSE YOUR PLEDGE
AMOUNT IS DOUBLED THANKS TO THAT
CHALLENGE.
AND WHEN YOU DO, YOU ALSO GET
THOSE GREAT THANK YOU GIFTS.
STARTING AT THE $7 A MONTH
LEVEL, WE WILL SEND YOU THE DVD
OF THE PROGRAM YOU'RE ENJOYING
TONIGHT, "OLD-FASHIONED: THE
STORY OF THE WISCONSIN SUPPER
CLUB."
AT THE $8 LEVEL WE'LL SEND YOU
THE WISCONSIN SUPPER CLUB
COOKBOOK.
ALL OF THE THINGS THAT YOU LOVE
ABOUT WISCONSIN'S GREAT SUPPER
CLUBS IN THIS BOOK.
THAT'S AT THE $8 MONTHLY GIVING
LEVEL.
AND AT THE $12 MONTHLY GIVING
LEVEL, WE'LL SEND YOU THE DVD
THE PROGRAM YOU'RE WATCHING
TONIGHT, THE COOKBOOK AND
"SUPPER CLUBS 101", WHICH WE'RE
GOING TO SHOW YOU A LITTLE BIT
OF IN JUST A FEW MINUTES.
EACH ONE OF THOSE PLEDGES THAT
YOU'RE HEARING ON THE PHONE
RIGHT NOW IS DOUBLED THANKS TO
THIS CHALLENGE BREAK.
YOU CAN BE PART OF IT.
CALL 1-800-236-3636.
>> AND IT IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY
TO CALL BECAUSE, AGAIN, IT'S
BEING MATCHED WHEN YOUR PLEDGE
COMES IN.
IT WILL BE MATCHED BY A FUND
ALREADY SET.
SO IT'S DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR.
WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION
BENEFITS, YOU BENEFIT.
YOU BECOME THE SPOP S SPONSOR OE
QUALITY PROGRAMS.
YOU HEARD HOW THE CHEFS WERE
TALKING ABOUT THE QUALITIES OF
THEIR RECIPES.
THAT'S A GOOD RECIPE, PUTTING
YOU, WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION
TOGETHER, TO GET PROGRAMS LIKE
THIS.
I KNOW ERIC WAS TALKING AT THE
$8 A MONTH LEVEL YOU GET THE
WISCONSIN SUPPER CLUB COOKBOOK,
WHICH IS LIKE A TRAVEL LOG AS
WELL AS FOR RECIPES.
IT'S SO EASY BECAUSE MANY OF
THESE INGREDIENTS YOU HAVE IN
YOUR OWN HOME.
TOMORROW NIGHT I THINK I'M GOING
TO MAKE THE SUPPER CLUB FABULOUS
RECIPE FOR GLAZED SALMON ALONG
WITH THE MARINATED OLIVES FROM
THE CHIPPEWA INN IN HAYWARD.
WHAT WOULD A SUPPER CLUB BE
WITHOUT HAVING THEIR AMAZING
HASH-BROWNS, WHICH OF COURSE I'M
GOING TO SAY ARE FABULOUS FROM
TOBY'S.
WHERE DO YOU GET ALL THIS?
WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION.
THIS IS OUR THANK YOU GIFT TO
YOU.
BUT IT ALL BEGINS WITH YOUR
PLEDGE AT 1-800-236-3636.
>> THANKS FOR YOUR CALLS.
IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE PHONES
RINGING AND THE WONDERFUL
RESPONSE TO ANOTHER WONDERFUL
WISCONSIN PROGRAM.
I'M HERE WITH HOLLY DE RUYTER,
WHO'S THE PRODUCER.
AND I ASKED YOU IF I COULD ASK
YOU IF YOU COULD PICK A
FAVORITE.
YOU SAID PLEASE DON'T ASK ME TO
ASK THAT QUESTION.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
>> BUT YOU DISCOVERED LOTS OF
WONDERFUL PLACES.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
WE HAD SO MANY GREAT MOMENTS
WORKING ON THIS FILM.
I WENT HOME TO VISIT MY PARENTS
IN NORTHEAST WISCONSIN.
THEY'RE LIKE LET'S CHECK OUT
KRABBE'S.
IF IT'S A SUPPER CLUB, I WOULD
KNOW ABOUT IT.
I REALLY WAS WANTING TO GO TO A
SUPPER CLUB THAT NIGHT.
THEY DRAGGED ME THERE.
I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS A SUPPER
CLUB.
I WANTED TO GO TO A SUPPER CLUB.
WE GOT THERE, AMAZING SUPPER
CLUB.
YOU SEE IT FEATURED IN THE FILM.
WHEN YOU WALK IN, THAT FEELING
OF EVERYBODY IS THERE TOGETHER
AS A FAMILY SHARING A MEAL.
THAT WAS ONE OF MY GREAT EX
EXPERIENCES, NOT EXPECTING IT.
>> AS SOMEONE WHO HUNTS DOWN
SUPPER CLUBS IN GREAT PLACES IN
WISCONSIN, IT'S VERY WELCOMING
AS WELL.
GIVE US A CALL WITH YOUR PLEDGE,
1-800-236-3636.
>> WE'RE TRYING TO REACH 40
CALLS DURING THIS IMPORTANT
CHALLENGE BREAK.
WE'RE AT 16.
YOUR CALL CAN HELP US REACH THAT
GOAL AT 1-800-236-3636.
WHEN YOU DO CALL, NOT ONLY IS
YOUR GIFT DOUBLED, WE HAVE GREAT
THANK YOU GIFTS.
STARTING AT THE $7 MONTHLY
LEVEL, WE'LL SEND YOU THE
DEFENDANT OF THE FILM TONIGHT OR
A ONE-TIME GIFT OF $84.
AT $8 MONTHLY GIVING LEVEL WE'LL
SEND YOU THE SUPPER CLUB
COOKBOOK.
THAT'S AT THE $8 MOG GIVING -- Y
GIVING LEVEL.
$12 A MONTH WE'LL SEND YOU THE
COOKBOOK, THE DVD OF THE FILM
TONIGHT AND A DVD OF "SUPPER
CLUBS 101", ANOTHER PROGRAM.
BUT YOU NEED -- THE IMPORTANT
PART IS YOU CALL RIGHT NOW, HAVE
THAT PLEDGE DOUBLED ON THIS
CHALLENGE BREAK, 1-800-236-3636.
>> AND WE'RE AT 20 PLEDGES.
WE KNOW WE CAN GET OUR GOAL OF
40.
I JUST WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT
YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OF
BECOMING A SUSTAINER.
YOU CALL AND SAY I WANT TO DO A
SUSTAINER.
IT'S ONLY $8 A MONTH.
IT GETS TAKEN OUT OF YOUR
CHECKING ACCOUNT OR ON YOUR
CREDIT CARD.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT
IT.
YOU JUST GET TO ENJOY THE GIFTS
AND THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE ON
EVERY SINGLE DAY LETTING YOU
KNOW THAT YOU HAVE BECOME A
SPONSOR.
SO IF YOU DO CALL AT THE $8 A
MONTH LEVEL, AT THE TALLY HO
SUPPER CLUB IN HAYWARD, THEY
HAVE RECIPES THAT ARE AMAZING.
HOW ABOUT A FRESH STRAWBERRY
TORT FROM HOWARD'S GROVE?
JUST A FEW OF THESE AMAZING
SUPPER CLUBS.
WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION HAS
TAKEN YOU TO ENJOY THE BEST OF
BEST, THE BEST SUPPER CLUBS.
HERE WE ARE.
WE'RE ENJOYING THE RECIPES.
YOU'RE ENJOYING THE PROGRAM.
TO SHOW YOUR GRATITUDE, HOW
ABOUT BECOMING A SPONSOR AT
1-800-236-3636.
>> THANK YOU FOR YOUR CALLS.
I'M JON.
THIS IS HOLLY DE RUYTER,
THE PRODUCER OF THE PROGRAM.
ONE GREAT THING AS A VIEWER OF
PUBLIC TELEVISION, YOU GET TO
MEET ALL THESE INTERESTING
PEOPLE.
AND ONE OF THE INTERESTING
PEOPLE THAT WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT
IS THE WRITER OF THE BOOK.
>> YEAH.
MARY IS A WISCONSIN AUTHOR BASED
IN MADISON.
I MET MARY AFTER MY FILM CAME
OUT AND AFTER ALL THAT RESEARCH
AND TALKING TO EVERYBODY ABOUT
DIFFERENT SUPPER CLUBS AROUND
THE STATE, MARY'S BOOK HAD
SUPPER CLUBS I DIDN'T KNOW
EXISTED.
THERE'S MORE TO DISCOVER, WHICH
IS ALWAYS FUN, VISITING A NEW
SUPPER CLUB.
SHE DID A WONDERFUL JOB WITH
RESEARCH AND REALLY GETTING THE
STORIES OF THE SUPPER CLUBS
ALONG WITH A GREAT VARIETY OF
RECIPES.
SO I FIND THAT I'M TURNING TO
THIS BOOK NOT JUST FOR SUPPER
CLUBS, BUT FOR RECIPES.
>> ONE OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS
ABOUT THAT SHOW IS YOU SEE THAT
THESE ARE LOCAL WISCONSIN
FAMILIES RUNNING THESE
BUSINESSES.
I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT GOING TO
AN INN IN ST. CLOUD, WISCONSIN.
IT'S GREAT TO SUPPORT THAT.
SO SUPPORT PUBLIC TELEVISION,
GET THE BOOK, FIND THESE
WONDERFUL PLACES AND SUPPORT
THEM AS WELL.
1-800-236-3636 WITH YOUR PLEDGE.
>> THANKS, JON.
THAT'S RIGHT.
WE'RE HEARING FROM SO MANY OF
YOU RIGHT NOW.
THAT'S THE GREAT NEWS.
OUR VOLUNTEERS ARE SUPER BUSY.
WHAT THAT MEANS FOR YOU IF YOU
CALL -- AND STAY ON THE LINE,
BECAUSE YOUR PLEDGE WILL STILL
COUNT TOWARDS THIS CHALLENGE.
IT WILL STILL BE DOUBLED.
OUR VOLUNTEERS CAN'T WAIT TO
HEAR FROM YOU.
SO STAY ON THE LINE AT
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OR GO ONLINE TO wpt.org AND
CLICK TO SUPPORT THERE.
WHEN YOU DO, YOUR GIFT IS
DOUBLED AND WE'LL SEND YOU THE
GREAT THANK YOU GIFTS.
AT THE $7 MONTHLY LEVEL WE'LL
SEND YOU THE DVD OF THE PROGRAM
YOU'RE ENJOYING TONIGHT,
"OLD-FASHIONED: THE STORY OF
THE WISCONSIN SUPPER CLUB."
AT THE $8 LEVEL WE'LL SEND YOU
THAT WONDERFUL SUPPER CLUB
COOKBOOK.
AT THE $12 MONTHLY LEVEL, WE'LL
SEND YOU THE DVD OF TONIGHT'S
PROGRAM, THE SUPPER CLUB
COOKBOOK AND THE DVD OF SUPPER
CLUB 101, ANOTHER WONDERFUL
PROGRAM THAT YOU'RE GOING TO GET
A SAMPLE OF IN A COUPLE MINUTES.
CALL RIGHT NOW.
OUR VOLUNTEERS WANT TO HEAR FROM
YOU.
1-800-236-3636.
>> AND I WANT TO TEMPT YOU WITH
A RECIPE FOR GRILLED WALLEYE
WITH ROASTED SHRIMP.
ALONG WITH THAT, FROM THE
CHIPPEWA INN IN HAYWARD, HOW
ABOUT MARINATED OLIVES?
THESE RECIPES CAN BE YOUR DINNER
WHEN YOU CALL AND PLEDGE YOUR
SUPPORT.
AT EVERY LEVEL YOU'LL GET OUR
"AIRWAVES" MAGAZINE.
WE HAVE A SENIOR CITIZEN LEVEL
AT $20.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS YOU
PLEDGE AT A LEVEL THAT YOU FEEL
COMFORTABLE WITH.
OUR VOLUNTEERS ARE READY TO TALK
TO YOU.
THIS IS A MEMBERSHIP DRIVE.
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JOIN US OR RENEW.
SO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY RIGHT
NOW WHEN WE'RE ON THIS BREAK TO
GIVE US A CALL.
1-800-236-3636.
OR ONLINE AT wpt.org.
AND IT WILL COUNT TOWARDS THIS
CHALLENGE BREAK.
>> IT'S REALLY GREAT TO HEAR THE
PHONES RING.
WE'RE AT 33 TOWARDS OUR GOAL OF
40.
SO PLEASE JOIN US WITH YOUR
CALL.
DOLLARS ARE DOUBLED DURING THIS
BREAK WHEN YOU CALL
1-800-236-3636.
WE MENTIONED THAT THE DVD IS
AVAILABLE.
YOU TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF PEOPLE
WANTING TO WATCH IT AND SHARE IT
WITH PEOPLE.
SO IT'S A GREAT THING TO GET.
THERE'S A LITTLE EXTRA MORE ON
THE DVD THAN WE'RE SEEING
TONIGHT, INCLUDING A VERY
CHARMING CREDIT SCENE, LOTS OF
WONDERFUL LAUGHS AND GREAT
WISCONSIN HUMOR THERE.
AND THEN SOME OTHER THINGS ON
THE DVD AS WELL.
>> YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE YOU
WATCH THE CREDITS FOR SOME
REALLY CUTE THINGS THAT WE
REALLY LOVE THAT PEOPLE SAID WE
COULDN'T INCLUDE IN THE FILM, SO
WE THREW IT IN THE CREDITS AT
THE END.
>> AND THEN YOU MENTIONED ONE
CLASSIC SUPPER CLUB THAT'S NOT
IN BUSINESS ANYMORE.
>> WE HAD TO CUT OUT THE OPENER,
A QUOTE FROM THE TURKS UP IN
HAYWARD.
THAT'S NO LONGER WITH US.
BUT THAT QUOTE EMBODIES THE
>> A LITTLE MORE ON THE DVD THAN
YOU'RE WATCHING TONIGHT, SO IT'S
A GREAT REASON TO MAKE YOUR GIFT
OF $7 A MONTH.
GET THE DVD.
SUPPORT WISCONSIN PUBLIC
TELEVISION.
WATCH THIS WITH FRIENDS AND
FAMILY.
IT'S A GREAT CELEBRATION OF
WISCONSIN.
>> AND THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE
DURING THIS CHALLENGE BREAK TO
CALL IN AND HAVE YOUR PLEDGE
DOUBLED.
IF YOU'RE ON THE LINE WHEN WE GO
BACK FOR THE PROGRAM, YOUR GIFT
WILL STILL COUNT TOWARDS THAT
CHALLENGE.
SO CALL IN AND STAY ON THE LINE.
WHEN YOU DO, TELL OUR VOLUNTEERS
WHICH THANK YOU GIFT AND GIVING
LEVEL YOU'RE INTERESTED IN.
STARTING AT THE $7 LEVEL WE'LL
SEND YOU THAT DVD SO YOU CAN
ENJOY THE FULL PROGRAM YOU
ENJOYED TONIGHT.
AT $8 A MONTH, WE'LL SEND YOU
THE BOOK, THE WISCONSIN SUPPER
CLUB COOKBOOK.
AT THE $12 MONTHLY LEVEL WE'LL
SEND YOU THE DVD, THE COOKBOOK
THAT LINDA HAS BEEN TEMPTING YOU
WITH AND THE DVD OF "SUPPER
CLUBS 101" WHICH YOU'RE GOING TO
SEE A SAMPLE OF IN JUST A FEW
MINUTES HERE ON WISCONSIN PUBLIC
TELEVISION.
SO WON'T YOU CALL RIGHT NOW?
WE MADE IT PAST OUR GOAL, BUT
YOU CAN HELP US GO FURTHER.
SO CALL, STAY ON THE LINE, TALK
TO ONE OF OUR VOLUNTEERS, LET
THEM KNOW WHICH LEVEL YOU'RE
INTERESTED IN, WHICH THANK YOU
GIFT YOU WANT AND PLEDGE YOUR
SUPPORT.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING GREAT
LOCAL PROGRAMMING LIKE THIS.
[conversations in background]
>> I think that it's
just an experience
that is like no other.
>> Oh, I think it's awesome.
It's Midwest,
definitely Wisconsin.
You know, you go out of state
and-- I don't know-- you don't
find many Supper Clubs.
>> We moved out to Wisconsin
12 years ago,
and the Wisconsin supper clubs
were something that people
knew about in New England.
And it was something
we kind of sought out.
>> I always like to think "Wow!
You know, everybody in the state
is kind of sitting down with me
at the same table."
We are Wisconsinites.
We go to supper clubs.
>> They're a culinary tradition
in the upper-Midwest.
Hometown restaurants
that serve hearty helpings
and carry on Wisconsin heritage.
Spend enough time in Wisconsin's
300-plus supper clubs,
and you'll learn about
the state's history...
its culture...
and the cutting edge research
preparing its future.
>> There's a ton of science
behind what we eat,
especially at a supper club.
>> They're definitely
an experience.
[laughter]
A very unique experience.
*
[water bubbling and flowing]
>> For half a century,
the Hobnob restaurant has stood
near Lake Michigan between the
cities of Racine and Kenosha.
The original owner
designed the building itself
from a restaurant
that he saw in California.
It is kind of
off the beaten path.
Kind of remote with a beautiful
view and beautiful scenery.
>> It is an
independently-owned restaurant.
It's been around for 50 years.
A little over the top
in the style.
Somewhat retro,
a little Art Deco
here and there.
So that describes it.
That's a good word to call it.
*
>> Northwest, in the town
of Plover, is the Sky Club...
a family business
now run by brothers
Eric and Patrick Freund.
this is now it's 80th year,
but back in the '30s,
it was an old gas station.
>> It's been in our family
since 1961.
We're the third generation
to have it.
generations of customers.
So, not only our regular
customers, but also their kids,
their kids' kids.
I mean it just goes on.
>> Toast.
Cheers!
>> Oh God, it's like family!
There's still people
coming out here
that, when I was a kid,
thatsed to come out here.
>> Continuing north,
in the smaller community
of Minocqua, is the Red Steer,
a restaurant recently bought
by Brad and Alison Kusek.
for approximately 86 years.
>> It's been a supper club for
at least 50 years, if not more.
as a hunting shack.
So, it's pretty cool that
we get to tell that story
when customers come in.
>> The fireplace is
made of river stone.
There is a woman that came in
with her husband and her two
kids, and she had told me the
story of her grandfather
and three of his friends
had gone up to Superior
and hand-picked the river stone.
And they came back
and built the fireplace.
>> I would say at least once or
twice a week we get customers
that come in and say,
"I've been coming here
for 40 years, 30 years,
what have you.
Thank you so much
for taking over the place and
keeping the nostalgia going."
You know, they just love it.
*
>> Each place is unique...
but each is considered
a supper club.
Just what that means
depends on whom you ask.
>> Supper club, I believe,
is a family-run business
that's not a chain.
And you have unique family
recipes and unique regional
recipes to that area.
Obviously, it's not fast food.
You come here to relax.
You come here to visit with
your friends or your family.
>> But supper clubs mean
so much more than
just what is eaten there.
There's this sense of
specialness, togetherness.
Supper clubs are a place
where everybody's welcome.
Rich... poor...
young... old.
Everybody's welcome.
and you see a full bar,
a big bar in a supper club,
with a great bartender
behind the bar,
[liquid flows quickly from tap]
that's what supper clubs are,
I feel.
>> There are some traditional
things that go along with
most supper clubs:
several courses...
>> And that'll be a good start.
>> Nice comfortable atmosphere,
nothing rushed,
everything made from scratch.
Well, it's a club
that you can have supper in
but it's kind of like a
nice club that you can come in,
eat a nice meal,
there's live music
and it's just got
a very lively atmosphere.
rather than just going to get
something to eat.
It's a two-hour,
three-hour experience.
>> University of Wisconsin
folklorist Jim Leary
says the term "supper club"
was first used to describe
informal social groups.
before the Volstead Act of 1919
that barred drinking,
we know that there were actual
clubs where they would go
once a month or something,
they would go to
such and such place to eat.
things changed after that
all around food.
>> Food writer Terese Allen
says the term soon took on
a different meaning.
>> Supper clubs really started
showing up in the United States
as a name of
a dining establishment
sometime in the 1920s.
And they were sort of
destination places.
And then they really got popular
in the 1950s and '60s and
that's the time frame we tend
to think of supper clubs.
This was the time when supper
clubs were really a little bit
fancier, when it was not a place
to go just for the meal;
it was a place to go for a
whole evening of entertainment.
*
>> Those evenings of
entertainment often began
with a trip to the bar...
and a drink that's become
a supper club staple.
>> It's the
Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet.
>> The Old Fashioneds.
Yep.
It's a Wisconsin thing,
I believe.
>> Oh yeah, you got to have
an Old Fashioned here.
Yep, Brandy Old Fashioned Sweets
are very popular.
>> A large part of the
19-century immigration
to this state was from Europe,
especially Northern Europe.
And those countries have sort of
a sense of drinking spirits,
especially on the sweeter side,
and so they brought
that tradition here.
>> Voilà.
All done.
>> Lately, another drink
has been gaining ground
at the bar.
>> Draft beer
is definitely increasing,
especially with the boom
with all the crafts
and small brewers.
We actually have
four brewers in the county.
>> Supper clubs are seeing
and playing into
the local foods movement,
and the local foods movement
is about being proud
of what is grown and produced
and sold and made locally.
>> The number of beers
made in Wisconsin is growing...
and so are the opportunities
for budding brewers.
it's a growth industry,
and as you begin to see
all those new breweries show up,
whether it's brewpubs or
whether it's really people who
are going to be manufacturing
beer for packaging,
that requires staff.
of food science at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison.
>> One of the things that we're
trying to do is train brewers
to go out into that industry.
We get these students in
the brewing program as seniors.
And really, we're integrating
the entomology, the chemistry,
the microbiology and
the engineering principles
that they've learned as they
come through the program.
>> University researchers
are also providing key insights
to those working
in the beer industry.
They're even investigating
one of the key building blocks
of beer: yeast.
>> What we'd like to be able
to provide, of course,
is a yeast strain
to the industry that provides
new and unique flavors.
There is a strain that
we've isolated from Wisconsin
that is one of the two parents
of the lager strain.
And that strain
we've made beer with now
a couple of different times.
It's a different,
very unique flavor.
Kind of reminds you of a lambic
or something similar.
It's not quite like a lambic,
but it's more like a lambic than
would be a traditional lager,
and a very interesting beer.
[beer pouring into glass]
>> Back at the bar,
new brews are only
part of the picture.
And for supper club regulars,
the company they keep
is even more interesting
than the beers they drink.
>> It comes with the atmosphere
of a supper club.
It invites you just
to sit down and relax
and just have a cocktail
at your leisure.
>> You enjoy family time.
Enjoy the people you're around.
>> Don't be in a rush.
>> Yeah, don't be in a rush.
Just do it how it's done.
Just eat, I guess.
>> Make an evening of it. Yep.
[conversation in background]
>> It's the experience.
It's just come in and relax,
and have a good time.
Still to come...
>> Medium rare.
Medium rare.
>> Sizzling steaks and
flaky fish take center stage
in supper clubs.
But before the main course,
we'll take a look at
two Wisconsin traditions
that make eating your vegetables
oh-so easy.
*
>> After soaking in
the character of the place,
catching up
with a few old friends,
and enjoying a trip to the bar,
the meal can finally begin.
Supper clubs traditionally
follow a core menu of
a relish tray, salad bar
or other appetizers,
a hearty main course,
and a sweet dessert
if you still have room.
But they all share
one key ingredient...
*
>> If you're going to
come to a supper club
and you're going to have a
two- to three-hour experience,
I think the food
should be fresh.
>> We cook everything fresh
from raw, scratch
in a supper club.
>> We can't just pull something
out of the freezer quickly
and prepare it
or zap it in a microwave.
It's all made right here.
>> Majority of the foods
that we do bring in
are made here in Wisconsin.
>> We are a farming state
so we draw from all kinds
of different traditions
around food.
*
Lots of places still have
the quintessential relish tray.
Just some cut vegetables.
>> You've got root vegetables,
or hearty ones that will keep
like carrots, radishes,
and celery.
>> Not even a dip.
Just a little salt, you know,
to dip the vegetables in.
Very simple,
and really good to begin a meal.
vegetables that you see,
for example, the relish tray,
those have been an integral part
of Wisconsin's Ag industry
since the very beginning.
grew in Wisconsin, so did
the size of those relish trays.
But how do you show off
all of those veggies
and keep them fresh?
*
The Sky Club claims
they found the answer.
>> The first ever salad bar
was created, invented
here in Plover
at the Sky Club in 1950.
Louie and Evelyn Schnittger,
the previous owners, had asked
Russell Swanson from Swanson
Bars to manufacture something
that could keep their relish
trays and their vegetables cold
because they were spoiling.
He created this little
salad bar.
It's nothing like
the one we have right now.
It kept your carrots and your
relishes and your potato salads
and coleslaws cold in,
I guess, what you would call
an "ice bath."
So, that's one thing that
our family is extremely proud of
is being the first-ever
salad bar in the United States.
>> Today, the salad bar
is rooted in abundance
and can often resemble an
entire meal, in and of itself.
*
>> We have romaine lettuce,
regular chopped lettuce.
>> We've got
different pasta salads.
Giblet mold,
and that's an oldie.
>> Cheese spreads, carrots,
cauliflower, creamy cucumbers.
>> Shredded cheese, onions,
bacon bits.
>> Jell-O.
>> Only in Wisconsin
will you see Jell-O
on a salad bar.
[laughter]
>> Oh, yeah,
we've got beets, too.
Pickled beets.
>> We have the best
pickled beets around.
>> Lots of good stuff.
>> All of those things
have been mainstays and
you'll see those in abundance.
And a lot of that
is locally-produced material.
>> We've also seen this
big trend from farm-to-table.
We actually have our own garden
in the back.
We do grow
some of our vegetables here.
We'll be like
a little test market, too.
We've got some of the farmers
and distributors,
they're dropping off
new styles of potatoes.
And they'll say,
"Try these out".
And we'd be happy to do that.
We'll do something, and then,
we'll give our information
back to them.
>> Sharing field research
is at the heart
of the University of Wisconsin.
Horticulture Department Chair
Irwin Goldman
develops that research
into real-world applications.
>> We breed new cucumbers
for pickling.
We breed new carrots
for processing
and we also breed beets.
We're studying aspects
of those crops that relate to
something the consumer
can benefit from and, also,
the farmer can benefit from.
So, for the consumer side, we
might be interested in breeding
for flavor, or breeding for
color, or breeding for shape.
Something that people can
interact with directly.
In the case of the farmer,
we're interested in developing
something that has more yield
or disease resistance.
>> We can buy it fresh
from them.
And it's nice that we can bring
that experience to the customer.
>> There's a really nice
connection between
the supper club and
the Wisconsin Ag history.
[cows mooing]
>> A state whose Ag history
is no stranger to the dairy
industry and leads the nation
in cheese production.
John Lucey is Professor
of Food Science and Director
of the Center for Dairy Research
at the University of Wisconsin.
that we've done here
has led to improvements
in cheese flavor.
One of the actual cultures
that was discovered here and
used for cheese making is now
probably used in almost every
cheese plant across the U.S.
in new varieties of cheeses and
flavors, often making their way
into different appetizers
at supper clubs.
>> Dairy has been around
forever, but it's always
kind of reinventing itself
with slightly different flavors,
slightly different textures,
different diversities,
and that's what you see
in the supper clubs as it
slowly percolates into menus
and items that people have.
>> Steak carpaccio.
I make a bleu cheese mousse,
which is bleu cheese
and cream cheese mixed in.
It's got shallots and garlic.
I made a smoked Gouda
and Gorgonzola mousse.
little pots of cheese mixtures
and so forth.
It can be interesting
if they have wine
or strange stuff in them.
Well, it's good Wisconsin cheese
mixed up into a spreadable...
for crackers and stuff.
I'm not going to tell you
exactly how it's made
because it's, you know,
it's our, kind of, secret.
*
>> What's no secret
is the access supper clubs have
to fresh cheese.
>> Our cheese curds
are from a cheese factory
right down the road.
>> Since we are in Wisconsin
and we have so much
dairy products made here,
it doesn't have to
be shipped very far.
So, we have an advantage
in our supper clubs
being able to source
high quality, great tasting,
fresh products.
>> It's nice to make
everything on the menu homemade.
And to be able to have
the fresh ingredients,
it just makes it better.
>> Fresh, regional ingredients
make up the supper club menu,
but what's on the plate
for the main course
comes down to history and
which night you decide to dine.
*
>> While drinks, relishes,
bread and butter
may be supper club traditions,
it's the main course
that steals the show.
Each night has its own star,
and on Friday
the spotlight falls on fish.
>> Friday at a supper club
generally means fish fry.
one of my favorite customs,
or culinary customs,
if you will, in this state.
It's one of these unusual
situations where all kinds
of things have come together to
create the fish fry tradition.
If you look at this state,
geographically
you see water everywhere.
>> Wisconsin has
about 15,000 lakes.
We've got the Mississippi River.
We've got two Great Lakes
that we border on.
>> Our history
is really about fishing.
Then, of course,
we have a historically-large
Catholic population.
Catholics for many, many decades
did not eat meat on Fridays.
And then Prohibition
also had an effect.
*
the Friday night fish fry
began to really take off.
could no longer serve alcohol
during Prohibition,
they needed to get people
into the doors in some way.
So, they would offer free
or very cheap meals of fish
on a Friday or a Friday night.
And whole Catholic families
would come in.
So, then, of course,
by the time Prohibition ended,
we had kind of already gotten
used to eating these fish fries.
>> Typically, you would be
eating yellow perch, bluegill,
walleye, a lot of local fish
that people are familiar with.
But, when you go to your typical
fish fry these days, you're
probably going to be eating fish
from outside of Wisconsin.
>> Kathy Kline is an
Education Outreach Specialist
with the University of Wisconsin
Sea Grant Institute.
started to dwindle because of
problems like overfishing,
but also environmental problems
in the Great Lakes and
changes in the food web.
A lot of invasive species
moved in and they've changed,
basically, what's eating what.
is helping restore and maintain
the health of Lake Michigan
and the other Great Lakes.
>> The research that we're
supporting is looking at
what's going on in Lake Michigan
and Lake Superior
to our commercial fisheries.
Then, we're also supporting
research to find out
how to raise some of these
typical fish that
Wisconsin people like to eat.
A good example is yellow perch.
Yellow perch used to be
a very common fish
in Lake Michigan, especially.
So, we've been working on this
for several decades
and it's paying off.
We've been partnering with
Growing Power in Milwaukee.
They've been raising yellow
perch in aquaponics systems.
Aquaponics is fish and plants
living together
in a closed system.
Growing Power has been raising
yellow perch with their plants.
They sell their plants
to local restaurants.
They've also now been
selling their fish
to a local restaurant.
So, you can go now
to a restaurant in Milwaukee
on a Friday night and
eat yellow perch that was grown
right there in Milwaukee.
>> Fish may be
a Friday tradition,
but on Saturday nights
beef rules supreme.
>> Beef is king and
U.S. is king at beef.
or their prime rib.
That's what defines them.
the steak in a skillet.
>> Big steaks.
Our New York strips,
our bone-in rib eye.
Prime rib.
We have a phenomenal prime rib.
>> We brought back
a 20-ounce cut prime rib.
>> The Emperor Cut.
>> It's hard to go wrong.
It's hard to go wrong
with anything here.
>> Making the best steak
possible means starting with
the best meat possible.
>> If you don't have
a nice piece of meat, then
you're not getting a nice steak.
>> The higher quality,
obviously, more tender,
more flavor.
>> Marbling is very important.
More marble the better,
definitely, more flavor.
The white specs of fat
that's in the meat.
Fat is really, really important
for meat products because it
provides flavor and juiciness.
>> Jeff Sindelar is an associate
professor of animal science
at UW's Meat and Muscle Lab.
that's being conducted
at a very molecular level
to understand how to improve
the quality of meat products.
degrading of meat and trying to
extend its life, so that
we can utilize it the best
before it spoils and goes bad.
[hum of machinery,conveyer belt]
[grill sizzles]
If you order a piece of meat,
steak, or a sausage
there's a very high likelihood
that those products
are coming from Wisconsin.
There's some supper clubs
that will purchase never-frozen,
only fresh beef products.
>> We have marvelous steaks.
They're all trimmed and cut
in-house.
>> We're starting from
a big chunk of meat,
cutting it up, trimming it up,
and putting it on the grill.
Love it.
You get hands-on, you know.
>> When you go to a supper club
and you order a meat product,
you know first and foremost
that that product represents,
really, the fabric
of the state of Wisconsin.
>> At the University,
researching food and drink
is serious science.
>> The University of Wisconsin
has been involved in
helping people produce food
ever since the university began.
That's been a big part of what
the university is all about.
>> At supper clubs though,
food and drink are responsible
for something else...
not so serious,
but just as important:
bringing people together.
*
>> IT'S SUPPER CLUBS NIGHT ON
WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION.
I'M JON MISKOWSKI, DIRECTOR OF
WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION.
I'M HERE WITH HOLLY DE RUYTER.
I DO WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO
TO THE PHONE RIGHT NOW.
I'M GOING TO ASK HOLLY WHAT
SHE'S WORKING ON.
HOLLY'S PART OF OUR HISTORY UNIT
AT WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION.
BUT I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU WITH
A GIFT OF $12 TO CONSIDER THAT
GIFT AND WE HAVE THE PROGRAM
DVD, HOLLY'S "OLD-FASHIONED."
CONGRATULATIONS.
WHAT A WONDERFUL SHOW.
SUCH A GREAT RESPONSE TO THAT.
WE HAVE ANOTHER SHOW YOU'VE JUST
SEEN, "SUPPER CLUBS 101", AND
THIS WONDERFUL BOOK AVAILABLE
WITH YOUR GIFT RIGHT NOW.
WE WANT YOU TO SHARE WHAT YOU'RE
WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.
>> I'M WORKING ON A 60-MINUTE
PIECE A MIKE LECKRONE.
IT'S AN HONOR TO TELL HIS STORY.
>> THAT'S THE INVESTMENT YOU'RE
MAKING IN WISCONSIN PUBLIC
TELEVISION.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT WORK
WITH OUR GREAT FRIEND.
GIVE US A CALL WITH YOUR PLEDGE
TO 1-800-236-3636.
>> WHEN YOU DO CALL, YOU'LL GET
THESE GREAT THANK YOU GIFTS.
AT THE $7 LEVEL, WE'LL SEND YOU
THE DVD.
AT THE $8 LEVEL WE'LL SEND YOU
THE WISCONSIN SUPPER CLUB COOK
BOOK.
AT THE $12 MONTHLY LEVEL WE'LL
SEND YOU THE COOKBOOK, THE DVD
OF THE PROGRAM THAT YOU STARTED
WATCHING THIS EVENING AND THE
PROGRAM "SUPPER CLUBS 101" WHICH
YOU JUST SAMPLED RIGHT HERE
BEFORE WE CAME INTO THIS BREAK.
THAT'S AT THE $12.
EACH GIFT SUPPORTS THIS GREAT
LOCAL PROGRAMMING THAT YOU ENJOY
ALL YEAR LONG ON WISCONSIN
PUBLIC TELEVISION.
OUR VOLUNTEERS ARE WAITING FOR
YOUR CALL.
1-800-236-3636.
>> DURING THIS PROGRAM YOU GET
TO DISCOVER A LOT ABOUT
WISCONSIN YOU NEVER KNEW, NOT
ONLY DIFFERENT PLACES,
BUT YOU GET TO DISCOVER
DIFFERENT RECIPES.
HOW ABOUT THE HOBNOB IN RACINE?
A WONDERFUL SUPPER CLUB DINNER
OF ROASTED DUCKLING.
FROM THE WISCONSIN DELLS HOW
ABOUT A WHITE CHOCOLATE
CHEESECAKE?
YOURS FOR $8 A MONTH.
JUST ONE OF THE MANY BENEFITS OF
BECOMING A SPONSOR OF WISCONSIN
PUBLIC TELEVISION.
ANOTHER ONE IS OF COURSE
"AIRWAVES" MAGAZINE.
YOU GET THIS EVERY MONTH.
IT'S GOT A LITTLE SYNOPSIS OF
WHAT'S HAPPENING ON YOUR
AIRWAVES.
ANOTHER BENEFIT IS THE
MEMBERSHIP SURVEY, WHERE OUR
PROGRAM DIRECTOR WANTS TO FIND
OUT WHAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN.
THESE ARE ALL BENEFITS THAT YOU
GET AS A SPONSOR AND SUPPORTER.
I'M ASKING YOU TO JOIN US NOW.
YOU CAN DO IT EASILY AT
1-800-236-3636.
>> HI, SO WE'RE HERE WITH HOLLY.
CONGRATULATIONS ON
THIS REALLY GREAT SHOW!
I GUESS WE KNOW
IT'S BEEN AIRED IN CHICAGO.
AND I KNOW--
I BET THE SUPPER CLUBS LOVE THAT
TO REALLY DRAW PEOPLE
TO THESE WONDERFUL PLACES.
>> OH, YES,
WE HAD A GREAT RESPONSE.
PEOPLE LOVE THE WISCONSIN SUPPER
CLUB OUTSIDE OF WISCONSIN.
>> AND SO, WE WANT
TO TALK A LITTLE BIT--
WE'RE GOING TO WATCH OUR TIME;
WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME
HERE, WE HAVE 30 SECONDS LEFT--
SOME OF THE PROJECTS YOUR
COLLEAGUES IN THE HISTORY UNIT
ARE WORKING ON, INCLUDING--
>> SO WE GOT DAVID,
OUR VERY POPULAR
HOMETOWN STORIES.
HE'S WORKING
ON A SAUK PRAIRIE ONE.
>> MM-HMM.
>> AND THEN, MICK IS,
HE JUST AIRED OJIB-- SORRY,
CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THE.
THE OJIBWE STORY OF WOLF.
>> YEAH, THAT WAS A GREAT ONE!
>> WHICH WAS MA'IINGAN.
>> VERY POPULAR!
AND THEN, YOU HAD ONE
THAT YOU WANTED TO SHARE.
>> WELL, WE ARE WORKING ON
A BIOGRAPHY OF NANCY ZIEMAN,
AND WE HAVEN'T ACTUALLY
ANNOUNCED THAT.
>> I GUESS WE JUST DID.
>> OH, MY GOSH!
>> BUT A REALLY IMPORTANT STORY
FOR US AND A REALLY IMPORTANT
STORY FOR WISCONSIN.
THOSE ARE THE PROGRAMS
YOU SUPPORT WITH YOUR PLEDGE.
THANKS.
>> AND WHEN YOU CALL RIGHT NOW,
WE STILL GOT
THOSE THANK YOU GIFTS.
THEY'RE ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE
AT WPT.ORG.
SO LOG ON, CLICK TO SUPPORT,
OR CALL ONE OF OUR VOLUNTEERS
RIGHT NOW
WHO'S WAITING FOR YOUR CALL.
WHEN YOU DO, LET THEM KNOW
WHICH LEVEL YOU'RE INTERESTED
IN GIVING AT.
STARTING AT THE $7 LEVEL,
WE'LL SEND YOU THE DVD OF
THE PROGRAM YOU ENJOYED
AT THE BEGINNING OF TONIGHT'S
SUPPER CLUB BLOCK.
AT THE $8 LEVEL,
WE'LL SEND YOU THE
WISCONSIN SUPPER CLUB COOKBOOK,
A WONDERFUL BOOK THAT LINDA'S
BEEN SORT OF TANTALIZING US WITH
RECIPES ALL NIGHT LONG.
A WAY TO BRING A LITTLE BIT
OF THAT SUPPER CLUB MAGIC
INTO YOUR OWN KITCHEN
AT THE $8 MONTHLY LEVEL.
AND AT THE $12 A MONTH LEVEL,
WE'LL SEND YOU THE COOKBOOK,
WE'LL SEND YOU THE DVD OF OLD
FASHIONED: THE STORY OF THE
WISCONSIN SUPPER CLUB,
AND THE DVD OF SUPPER CLUBS 101,
WHICH YOU JUST WATCHED
A LITTLE BIT OF RIGHT NOW.
SO, PLEASE CALL.
THE NUMBER IS 1-800-236-3636.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYBODY
WHO'S CALLED TONIGHT.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR MEMBERS,
AND HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENING.