GREEN BAY, Wis. — Wisconsin is known as the Dairy State. So it’s no surprise cheese curds are a popular treat.

The tourism agency Discover Green Bay is looking to spotlight this Badger State snack with a mobile experience known as the “Cheese Curd Trail.”

What You Need To Know

  • The Cheese Curd Trail is a mobile passport. You’ll stop at a variety of participating restaurants that all have one thing in common: fresh, golden cheese curds

  • Cheese curds are small pieces of curdled milk, roughly the size of peanuts in the shell, with a mild and cheddar-like flavor

  • It takes 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of fresh cheese curds

  • Cheese curds squeak when the elastic protein strands in curds rub against the smooth enamel of teeth

If a Green Bay Packers game is on inside Stadium View Restaurant, assistant manager Kelsey Stevens said chances are a plate of cheese curds is close at hand.  

“It’s kind of a staple in Wisconsin, and we get a lot of people traveling from work and for game days and all sorts of different things. So, the number one thing is, everyone’s going to try the cheese curds,” Stevens said.  

Cheese curds are bite-sized deep-fried bites of gooey deliciousness. Stevens said in a week, they sell hundreds of this appetizer. She said finding the right curd is key.  

“We’ve gone through about 100 different kinds of cheese curd to try and find the one that we just thought was top-notch and I truly think we have found the best,” Stevens said.  

While cheese curds can be found on the menu of many Wisconsin restaurants, Stevens said not all curds are created the same.   

“There’s a lot of different kinds of cheese curds, there’s beer-battered, there’s all breaded, all sorts of things. So, it’s kind of unique to have every business have their own different kind of cheese curds,” Stevens said.  

Just like no two cheese curds are shaped the same, every restaurant has a unique cheese curd.

That’s why Discover Green Bay created the “Cheese Curd Trail.”

“It’s something that people associate with our region and our state, and we thought that this would be a great way to highlight it and to inspire people to visit,” Nick Meisner, vice president of marketing and communications with Discover Green Bay, said.  

By signing up for the “Cheese Curd Trail” mobile passport, you can decide which Green Bay area restaurants have the best cheese curds. 

At some of these restaurants, you can pick up a free order of cheese curds with the purchase of an entrée.

The “Cheese Curd Trail” is sticking around to welcome out-of-towners for the 2025 NFL Draft, too. Meisner said he hopes to add other Green Bay experiences.  

“Maybe a craft beer trail, maybe an art trail to highlight the art scene here in Green Bay. In Brown County, they get about 6.3 million visitors a year. So, hopefully, this encourages all those folks coming to the area to get out and explore the region,” Meisner said.

Here are the participating restaurants for the “Cheese Curd Trail:”

  • Stadium View
  • Studio 1212 Cafe & Wine Bar
  • Narrow Bridge
  • Plank Road
  • The Depot
  • Buzz Social
  • Culver’s Locations:
  • Suamico
  • Bellevue
  • De Pere
  • Green Bay
  • Cousins Subs
  • Ramada
  • East Mason

Related Stories