By Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host Published Oct 14, 2024 at 10:02 AM Photography: Lori Fredrich

’Tis Dining Month, the tastiest time of year! This means we’re dishing up fun and fascinating food content throughout October. Dig in, Milwaukee! OnMilwaukee Dining Month is served up by Potawatomi Casino Hotel

National Cheese Curd Day is coming up on Oct. 15, and there's no one more qualified than Lakefront Brewery, 1872 N. Commerce St. to pull out all the stops for the occasion.

After all, it's estimated that Lakefront churns out an average of one thousand pounds of crispy breaded Clock Shadow Creamery cheese curds every week.  They are also steadfast celebrators of Curdsday (most people call it Thursday), a weekly event during which they debut the craziest cheese curd flavors they can muster (and they've done it all, from maple bacon to blueberry cobbler).

On Tuesday, Oct. 15, Lakefront will open their doors beginning at 11 a.m. to feature their gold standard beer-battered curds with their classic garlic ranch as well as three favorite Thursday Curdsday flavors from the past year. 

  • Chicken Fried Cheese Curds:  Fresh cheddar cheese curds are battered, breaded then deep fried and seasoned with 11 secret spices. They are served with brown gravy for dipping.
  • General Tso: Fresh cheddar cheese curds are battered, breaded and deep fried. Then they are tossed in sweet and spicy sauce and topped with chili pepper flakes and chives.
  • Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: Fresh cheddar cheese curds are tossed in a sweet batter then breaded with chocolate chip cookie crumbles and deep fried. They're topped with cookie dough chunks and served with chocolate syrup.

All four options will be available in their standard portion size (feeds two to three). Order all three specialty flavors and you'll even get $3 off.

Lakefront’s (gluten-free) CurdWagon will also be out front from 5 to 7 p.m. dishing out gluten-free regular curds for those who can't indulge in traditional curds.

Give it your best pull

But that's not all. Lakefront's Cheese Curd Pull Competition is back!

Teams of two can sign up to compete in the contest.  Sign-up is free and available upon arrival for the next competition (occurring as early as 12 p.m. and as late as 7 p.m.,  based on demand).

During the competition, they will attempt to choose the "stretchiest" curd from the bunch, step up to the pull markers and test their pull against the competitors.

The team with the longest cheese curd string from each competition will receive two $15 Lakefront gift cards. All participants must be 21+ to compete unless accompanied by a parent.

Lori Fredrich Senior Food Writer, Dining Editor, Podcast Host

Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.

When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.