Smoked Fish on Bagels….In Wisconsin?

Bagles ... In Wisconsin?

That’s right!  We are on Leg 7 of our tour of the US and we are in northern Wisconsin where the food is good and the people are friendly.  As we travel west to get to our first National Park we stopped in northern Wisconsin and are staying at an RV park on the Iron River.  I wondered why it was called the Iron River.  It runs into Lake Superior and was named by the Ojibwa Chippewa Indians who thought the reddish color of the water had medicinal value.  So what does this have to do with smoked fish and bagels you ask!  I’m getting there hang on!!

First of all the people here are so nice.  We stopped into the Iron River Chamber of Commerce Visitors center this morning.  The ladies in there were so nice.  They recommend so many different things to see and loaded us up with maps and brochures.  But when they spoke of a gas station that sold smoked fish and a coffee shop that sold freshly baked bagels, our New York pallets peaked with excitement!  On our drive to Port Wing we were to pass both places and we just had to stop.

Johnson’s Station is a gas station but so much more.  There is a refrigerated counter where they sell their own smoked fish.  As the owner said to us “my brother catches them, my father smokes them and I sell them”.  You can’t get more local than that.  Practically across the street was the Lake Wind Coffee shop.  This is where the bagels come in.  The owner, Devin, bakes fresh bagels every day!  And the coffee!  He roasts it on premises!  I can honestly say I haven’t had a better cup of coffee EVER!  And the bagels were fresh, authentic and delicious! 

So how about that?  Two New Yorkers came to Wisconsin and had the best smoked fish and bagels in a long time….. And a beautiful ride to Port Wing marina!