Departments

Broasted chicken so good, it’s been served to Matthew McConaughey.

That’s right, the actor known for films such as “Dallas Buyers Club” and “Interstellar” recently attended the U.S. Venture Open golf fundraiser and ended the day with a family-style Broasted chicken dinner at Van Abel’s.

No wonder the restaurant received first place accolades for Best Fried/Broasted Chicken. Well before the added star power, Van Abel’s Broasted chicken has been a local favorite. In fact, the country style broasted chicken dinner has been a Van Abel’s mainstay since 1965. It is served daily, but is a Sunday tradition for many families when it’s available from 11 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.

The all-you-can-eat dinner is served family style with an assortment of homemade sides including chicken dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon sauce, corn, gravy, cranberries, bean salad, coleslaw, relishes, rolls and assorted bars for dessert.

“A lot of our recipes are homemade and ones that we have been using for decades,” says Co-owner and General Manager Chris Coenen.

Van Abel’s has a rich history beginning in 1848 when Martin Van Abel started a saloon and inn to serve as a resting point for the cattle drives towards Green Bay. The business remains family owned today.

“Our key to success for this business has been offering high quality products served by an amazing team,” Coenen says. –ACW

The local late night dining landscape consisted primarily of pizza, sub sandwiches and fast food, until Bowl Ninety-One in downtown Appleton decided to change that.

Open until 1 a.m. on Saturdays, Bowl Ninety-One is a favorite of nighttime revelers looking for an after-bar snack. The restaurant’s popular ramen is the standard late-night order, but the full menu is offered until close.

“We wanted to offer another late night option,” says owner Yee Lee Vue. “Late night is a popular time for ramen in big cities which are mostly open late for people to socialize and sober up.”

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and is closed on Sundays. It used to shut down from 2 to 5 p.m. during the week, but Vue says in order to better accommodate more customers, Bowl-Ninety One will now remain open throughout the afternoon.

Watch for the new fall menu featuring more noodle-based dishes. –ACW

“Their cheese curds are huge! Not the typical shape and they come with a delicious dipping sauce.” – Tina Pernsteiner, Hortonville 

Pastry chef Kari Mueller leads the bakery and dessert program at SAP and Carmella’s, both of which are owned by sisters Nicole and Kristen DeFranza. At SAP, which also received the Best Breakfast/Brunch nod, guests are greeted with a legendary bakery case filled to the brim with Mueller’s handiwork.

“Kari is so dedicated to being the best she can be. She’s an artist as well as a baker,” Nicole says.

Like any artist, Mueller invests time to perfecting her craft. She has spent the last five years fine-tuning her croissants and Nicole says she has finally achieved flaky, buttery perfection.

“She does plain and chocolate versions and we offer them daily on a first come, first served basis,” she says. “They are hard to make in general, but to make on a large scale is even more difficult.”

Nicole says both Grand Chute restaurants pride themselves on being food inclusive and allergen-friendly. Take Mueller’s latest cupcake creation for example. It’s a riff on a s’more with chocolate avocado cake topped with toasted meringue and graham crackers, but the whole thing is gluten free, nut free and dairy free. And still delicious.

“We try to make people happy through food,” Nicole says. “Sometimes it’s hard, but then you see how both of our restaurants mean something to people here and they bring families together. We are so grateful for that.” –ACW

Food & Dining