Point Made

This central Wisconsin city is a hotbed for makers of specialty and niche foods and bevs. Three to tap into:

Ruby Coffee

This bean shop, named after founder Jared Linzmeier’s grandmother, was new to me, but I’d read great things – lauded by both GQ and Food & Wine magazines. If coffee is your raison d’être, you need to stop at the friendly downtown cafe and pick up a pound of beans – sourced from small family farms in Africa and South America – to take home. This place also sticks to its Wisco roots with an unexpectedly robust food menu including a smashburger composed of local everything. $4-$14. 1410 Third St., 715-544-6139

Siren Shrub Co.

The old-timey, booze-free drink – made from apple cider vinegar, fruit juice and sugar – is the focus of this women-owned company. Siren sources local ingredients and makes them interesting, tasty (in flavors like tart cherry and basil) and adaptable – as mocktail mixers, in salad vinaigrettes and even in pizza sauce. sirenshrubs.com

Tapped

The family-run company taps trees in sustainably managed forests in northern Wisco, making high-end syrups infused with cinnamon, espresso, hibiscus, garlic and so on. They also make a syrup aged in whiskey barrels. Besides the obvious pancakes, use them in sauce and marinades, cocktails and baked goods. tappedmaplesyrup.com

Central Waters

There’s a cluster of good craft breweries around here – O’so in Plover, District 1 in Stevens Point and the 165-year-old dean, Stevens Point Brewery – but Amherst’s Central Waters is the must-stop. The lagers and hoppy beers are good, but you’re going for the big, dark, boozy elixirs like Black Gold. If this nearly 14% ABV stout aged in bourbon barrels for three years is available, don’t hesitate. 351 Allen St., Amherst