Our Favorite Eats in the Dells

     When my husband and I were first married, we always said we would never become that family who vacationed in the same spot year after year. But here we are, continually finding our way back to the Wisconsin Dells. In the past 3.5 years, we have been to the Dells 5 times. But in our defense, we have thrown in a couple trips to Iceland, Disney World, & Gatlinburg so we at least are branching out and trying other places...but if it came down to our favorite and easiest spot to go to, the Dells hits the top of the list.

     Since it has been a few years since I've last blogged about our trips, I thought I might take some time and update the blog about some of our adventures and things we like to do on our vacations. Starting with my favorite aspect of vacations.... the FOOD! Not having to cook or clean the kitchen is the best part of vacations, am I right?? Here are some of the places we have tried at the Dells:

MACS Mac & Cheese   
   
                             

       Eating at MACS each time we visit is a MUST in my family. After all, you are in the Cheese State. Their dishes are baked in mini cast iron skillets filled with gooey cheese goodness and an assortment of toppings for you to choose. My favorite is the cheeseburger skillet option which is mac&cheese topped with a hamburger & pickle. I also love the Philly Mac which sauteed green peppers, onions, and steak.

      My husband's favorite is called The Hangover Mac which toppings include; bacon, hot dog, pepper jack, mozzarella, hash browns, sauteed green peppers, onion, mushrooms, and sriracha.  It's a perfect option if you like small kick to your food. And if you're not a fan of mac&cheese, they also have grilled sandwich options.


Pizza Lab 
      
         If my family had to pick their absolute number one favorite restaurant in the Dells, it would hands down be the Dells Pizza Lab. We think about it all year long in anticipation to getting to eat there again the next time we visit. My family LOVES pizza so you can't go wrong with a create-your-own pizza place. 

     How I explain it, is it's basically like a "Subway" but for Pizza! 

    There are soooo many toppings to pick from, even different options of sauces and cheeses. You can get as wild as you like as far as meats and veggie toppings. One time I mentioned I wanted to try olives but just wanted to *try it but not waste half my pizza on it and she literally put a few olives on ONE SINGLE section/slice of my pizza to try. It was awesome!!! It's a perfect chance to try new things and spice up your pizza life. 

      Did I mention they throw it in a hot fired oven?!!! 

Making the crust cooked to perfection. 

I mean, PERFECTION!!! I'm already craving it again.

     Last, but certainly not least, they have a few drizzle sauce options to finish off your pizza or to use as dip. The butter-garlic sauce is a no-brainer. 

Buffalo Phil's 

Next up on places we like to eat,

it's Buffalo Phil's or what my kids call "The Train Place." 

My husband and I both agree, the food isn't anything to write home about. It's your average restaurant food but a bit pricey in our eyes. But it's our kid's favorite restaurant because??..

 A toy train delivers your food!! 

So fun, right? The kids get really excited when the train comes around with food or toys and it keeps them a bit entertained and happy which in turn makes me, the mother, happy too. 

As far as the food, it's fine. It's good just not stand-out amazing. We normally grab a pizza or eat the salad bar.  We learned this year, if you go at Christmas, their Special Christmas Buffet serves prime rib which was amazing. But if we didn't have kids with us, we would probably be skipping this restaurant to try something new.

Hot Dog Avenue 

On one of our recent trips, we went through the drive-thru of Hot Dog Avenue and were quite surprised how delicious our meals turned out. I have never been inside and have only tried a couple different hot dogs, but I am now a huge fan of the Chicago Dog and force my husband to take me to drive through to get one each time we are in the Dells.

 You can't get any better than that bun right there. So soft.

           

The Grateful Shed

We have such mixed reviews on the newest restaurant at the Wisconsin Dells called The Grateful Shed Truckyard. The atmosphere is unlike anything we have been to. You walk into this large building that looks like a garage and it's full of different vehicles and various food trucks to choose from. 

It's definitely one of the coolest restaurant we have ever been to. 

As you can see, even some of the vintage vans have booths inside for you to eat and the backs have the soda and condiment station. Again, it is such a neat and fun environment. 

   We were a little caught off guard by the price of food and the amount of food you get. I realize food trucks tend to cost a little more, which is fine, but I didn't expect to spend $50 and still feel like I needed to take my family to another fast food place to get more food to feel satisfied. So that was the only disappointing aspect of our lunch. It was pricey and you don't get a lot of food.

BUT, this was our first time so we are very open to trying it again and maybe trying something else off the menu. The grilled cheese & cheeseburger truck looked amazing so I think next time I will definitely be trying a cheeseburger.

We finished our meal by sharing a treat from the Sugar Stream. 

This is called a Frosty Pinata and this is the Watermelon flavor. The sour trolli worms paired so deliciously with the fruity slush and was a huge hit with the kids and myself.

MooseJaw

If you are in the mood for some pizza and want more of a slower sit-down style of restaurant other than Pizza Lab, then MooseJaw is a good option. It's a great family-friendly restaurant.

MooseJaw and Buffalo Phil's have the same owner so if you like Buffalo Phil's pizza you will like MooseJaw and vice-versa. Moosejaw is also a brewery and although I haven't tried any of their adult specialty drinks, their homemade rootbeer is quite good! 

Monks 

    It's been a couple years since we have eaten at Monks. The first year we went and we loved what we had. We actually ate there twice in one trip. But then the following year, they had changed their menu and what we loved was no longer on the menu. So in the smallest of any chances Monk's reads my review, please bring back your Philly Cheeseburger!! 

We haven't been back since, so maybe it's something we try again next time. It's your typical bar & grill burger place. I do like the kids meal options for toddlers who like Dino-nuggets. Plus, the kids meals are served on a Monks Frisbee which they can then take home and keep.

Five Guys & HuHot

Five Guys Burgers & Fries is a chain restaurant and although it isn't a unique option in the Dells, it is one of the best burgers you will ever have. So if you have a craving for a burger, Five Guys is the place to go whether you are in the Dells or just near any Five Guys restaurant in the U.S.

Same goes for HuHot Mongolian Grill. You can find HuHot in various locations probably near you, so it might not be something new you want to try in the Dells, but if you get a hankering for some stir-fry this is one of our favorite places to go.