The North Loop Revisited

 Thursday, July 5, (sister) Dawn and I took a ride on Highway 26 along what I affectionately call the "North Loop." It's about an 80-mile round trip that takes us alongside Milton, Ft. Atkinson, Jefferson, Johnson Creek and, finally, Watertown, at which point we turn around and come back after several stops for provisions and/or just nosing around.

This was certainly a "provisions" run as we had exhausted our supply of several pork products, so a stop at the Jones Dairy Farm "Palace of Pork" retail store was a must. This place has changed quite a bit since the last time I wrote about it in this in November of 2013. They have expanded, more than doubling in size, adding a lunch counter and ice cream parlor, and a fairly large section of "freezer closets" with glass doors. 

All things pork

The ham ends which I wrote about earlier have doubled in price to $2.20/pound, but sometimes you can find them in the freezer section tagged at $1.20/pound for quick sale (at or near their "good until" date). I have taken to their fully cooked sausage patties which are large enough to fit the full diameter of an English muffin, which is nice because you can make a breakfast sandwich with egg and (optional) cheese, and get a nice morsel of sausage in every bite, versus the silver-dollar size patties available at supermarkets. I don't know why the supermarkets don't carry the larger patties, but it's one of the things that makes the trip to Jones a special one. They are $3.29 for a one-pound package of patties, which is a bargain when you consider you don't have to cook them, there's very little shrinkage, or grease to deal with, etc. I have also discovered, since the last blog entry, their thick-slice bacon. It's $6.99/pound, which is $2 less per pound than the Wright brand of thick bacon, which is also a favorite. What's more, you can buy the Jones bacon by the slice, rather than by weight. I cook three slices to a serving of the Jones bacon, so if I buy 12 slices, I have enough for four breakfasts. FYI, I don't recommend the thick bacon for BLT sandwiches. Use the thin bacon for that. But for sheer smoky, greasy ecstasy with your morning eggs or pancakes, this bacon is heavenly.

We also bought two of Jones' thick--cut boneless pork chops. These are some of the best chops I've ever eaten, and they are only $3.29/pound. The chops are about 8 oz. apiece. so Dawn and I can each enjoy a nice hunk of meat for less than $4 total. That is a certainly a bargain in my book. Done on a searing hot grill for four minutes a side (in increments of 2 minutes) they are tender and juicy, and I defy you to find a better piece of pork for the money.

We brought a small cooler and ice pack with us, so chops and sausage patties went inside, and off we went, after trying some of the bacon and brats they had put out for samples. BTW, at the lunch counter, one of the things they offer is a brat on a bun. Very good except for one thing ... they offer no sauerkraut. They have ketchup, mustard, and onions, but no kraut. What the hell? Somebody has to talk to them about this.

Next stop, right up the street from Jones, is the Fireside restaurant and dinner theater. This is a new wrinkle in this trip. Not many people know this, but the Fireside has a bakery counter where you can buy some of their delicious breads (and other bakery treats) that they make on premises and serve with their meals. They had four different specialty breads, and we bought a loaf each of cheddar and cinnamon/raisin at $4 each, total $8. Yes, a bit expensive, but a good value when you consider the quality. Always remember, there a difference between price and value.

So now we are on our way, pushing northward. We skip a usual stop at the Johnson Creek Outlet Mall this time because there is nothing we need there. Next stop is Berres Brothers Coffee Roasters on the outskirts of Watertown. This has become a favored lunch stop not only for us, but many Watertown folks as well, because the food is good, healthy, and reasonably priced. And you can get a great cup of coffee -- take your pick from several pump thermoses along a self-serve counter --- to go along with your lunch, and for sipping afterward. I like the espresso blend; the flavor is intense, but without being bitter of acidic. Dawn prefers the House Blend. We each get a panini, hers with chicken, mine with turkey. With coffee, each meal comes to $11. Again, you could get a sub at Subway (even toasted) for less, but here at Berres you get great coffee and more ambiance. The store also sells bulk coffee beans as well, so be sure to peruse their store because they offer many blends and flavors of coffee exclusively at their store. Teas, too.

Berres Bros. cafe

We are both hungry for a little something sweet and, unfortunately, the dessert selection here at Barres Bros. sucks. Which is kind of surprising given how well dessert and coffee go together. So instead, we hop into the Prius and head to downtown Watertown to Mullen's Dairy, which serves some of the best small-batch ice cream around. This is another new wrinkle to the "North Loop" trip, even though their dairy bar has been here over 100 years. It almost always crowded there, and today --- with heat and humidity -- is no exception. We each get a single-dip sugar cone (coffee/Heath Bar) and eat our cones in the car with AC on.

Inside Mullens

If you get to Watertown, but sure to get out of your car and walk around historic downtown. It's very quaint and much of it still thrives despite a Walmart Superstore on the edge of town. The Bismark also has one of the best prime rib sandwiches around ... it's a thick slab of prime rib, versus the shaved-and-stacked variety.

This ends our little journey for the day, so we head back to Janesville, with one pee stop at the outlet mall in Johnson Creek. I grill the pork chops for dinner, and have that with a vegetable medley and cheddar bread baked fresh that morning. Yum.

Cost per person:

pork chops/sausage: $4
bread: $4.00
lunch: $11.00
cone: $3.00
gas (86 miles at 50 mpg at $2.80/gallon) $2.41

total: $24.71

So as you can see, the road trips evolve a bit as businesses come and go, as priorities change, and so forth. The Johnson Creek Premium Outlets, which used to be one of the regular stops on the "The Loop" are now hit-and-miss because there just aren't that many bargains there any more. The merch is priced about the same (in some cases more) than you could buy it for at Target or Walmart or any other discount department store. It does, however, pay to visit Harry and David right after Christmas, and the Lindt store right after any major "chocolate" holiday, such as Easter, Valentines Day and, of course, Christmas. And, you always get a free chocolate truffle sample when you walk into the store.

Cheers!