Driftless Depot

We stumbled across this place after looking for a place to eat. Being out of state we had a busy day ahead of us and luckily this place was open. It looked small and cozy and not busy at the time so it definitely called out our attention. It’s rare when you come across a memorable experience and Debbie, the owner of Driftless Depot made sure we had an experience to behold.
This establishment is half café and half organic shop. The left side of the establishment is all natural products, jars of food, seasonings, kitchenware, organic and healthy drinks, fridges with organic produce and items as well as their tasty looking gelato stand.
The other half is the intimate and cozy café with great views of the neighborhood. Their menu consists of utmost healthy food and the owners strongly are against pesticides and unaturally grown foods so that fact that we had a super healthy meal, was great. Plus we noticed after eating their food, we weren’t tired and sleepy (as with most meals I eat I always want to nap). I ordered the eggplant sandwich, which was beautufully presented on the plate and of course tasted amazing. I have only had eggplant one other time so this place turned me back onto eggplant again. Others in my party had other sandwiches and their amazing homemade quiche. They make their quiche there and also blew me away with how it looked and the flavor. The food didn’t take long to reach us and as for drinks they have a good array of teas, coffee and cold beverages in their fridges.
Overall, the atmosphere is intimate and very relaxing. I feel blessed we came across this place, it’s my ideal version of a café. Small, personal and extremely friendly. Debbie the owner, is an amazing person and she strongly believes in giving everyone that walks in her door a memorable time. If I am ever back in the area, I will surely be back to Driftless Depot. Thanks Debbie, you own one of Wisconsin’s and the midwests secrets.

The best place outside Madison for fresh, local, organic food. They simply have the best sandwiches I have ever had (and I have traveled the world). If you find yourself in Spring Green this is a must stop. Definitely try the cheeses.

My girlfriend and I were driving through Spring Green to check out House on The Rock and we were looking for a good place to grab a bite. We picked this place because it seemed veg & locavore friendly.
We came in and were greeted by Debbie, one of the proprietors. The menu was small, but she was absolutely willing to make whatever we wanted with the ingredients she had on hand. We ended up getting a couple sandwiches with coffee and they were absolutely great.
There is a whole shop full of locally-​sourced goods — It was really cool to see the amazing variety of goods produced in Wisconsin.
We were the only people in the place at that point and Debbie was extremely personable. We chatted for a good long time about this and that — She gave us some great suggestions about things to do around town.
My favorite part about the whole experience was seeing how passionate they are about what they do. It is really great to see. The whole experience was a great example of the hospitality and friendliness the town is known for.

Absolutely wonderful organic food prepared by a very friendly owner. The store is stocked full of various natural foods as well. Definitely worth checking out.

So, I’m torn, because Driftless’ food is good, though not necessarily exceptional, even for Spring Green (which actually has quite a few more food options than a «Culvers, museum restaurant, and some supper clubs», per another reviewer, to include often exceptional offerings from Arcadia, the General Store, or Freddy’s).
I don’t even want to know what another reviewer was referring to as «better people.» Egads. My review is a 3.5 (at best, due to charges).
80 $ for take-​away lunch for four (sandwiches and prepacked dessert bites, only; no drinks, no soups /​starters /​sides), at least given the printed receipt, seems a bit… well, excessive. I didn’t pick up the meal order myself, or I would have asked for clarification. Certainly, everything was well-​packaged and prepared, and we enjoyed.
Not saying it’s everyone’s experience, but just be aware for the potential for sticker surprise, even when you’re not selecting /​seeking out gluten-​free-​prepared-​by-​unicorns /​double secret probation/​secret snowflake /​etc., etc., type food.
Owner is a sweetheart… but structure /​planning/​scheduling is a little… unpredictable.

We stopped into Driftless Depot on our drive from Galena, IL to St. Paul yesterday. We had a greasy burgers and fries on the way down and wanted something fresher for the drive back. It was the perfect place to stop and stretch our legs. We wondered around the impressively practical yet exotic market, had a few delicious sandwiches, split the chipotle soup, and enjoyed their nice selection of natural sodas. For a town that only has a Culvers, museum restaurant, and some supper clubs, this is is a complete gem. We also talked to the owner Deb for quite some time and she was very friendly and took a great deal of pride in her work. We will be back.

We stopped after finding this place on Unilocal.We likely would not have noticed it as a lunch option otherwise. It was definitely a unique experience. We ordered sandwiches and were told to grab drinks or any additional items from the general store which had a selection of natural sodas and other odd and random items. The food was delicious and the staff was very friendly. I recommend it if you would like a laid-​back and casual experience. The egg salad sandwich was yummy. The ham sandwich was chock full of ham if you like that kind of thing.

Considerably over-​priced fare in a store with too much stuff. Had a ham sandwich with local cheddar. The owner apologized for the wait because she had to thaw out the ham (!). The cheese was grated, and disappeared, adding no flavor. Typical selection: gluten– free pasta for the 1% of the population with celiac disease (they really need it; the other 99% don’t need to pay for it). An OK place for you to spend a lot on stuff you don’t need.

Ummm, ummm, good. Tiny bistro-​type restaurant served a great Sunday brunch the other day. Delicious quiche, curried squash soup and orange juice with blood orange ice cube. My husband loved the artisan bread and the cook and waitress were friendly.

This joint keeps some odd hours. We stopped by to put together a picnic dinner for our visit to the American Players Theatre. This was around 6:20 on a Friday. The door noted that they close at 6, but they were definitely open. The menu board listing sandwiches and such stated“11−2″ only; it also described a 5−7pm Friday fish fry dinner. We were asked upon entering if we had dinner reservations and were informed that the kitchen was closed for the day for deli/​takeout items. So… other than lunch, you can only eat here with a dinner reservation? But then we saw salads coming out of the kitchen to the patio diners. So they can fry fish and make salads but not sandwiches? And they obviously don’t close at 6pm, neither for dining nor for groceries. I’m so confused. This is what happens when hippies open a business.
But the flip side is that the hippies are so nice and helpful! They definitely were in this case. Since we couldn’t get any of the delicious-​sounding sandwiches or salads, we made do with hummus, crackers, and cookies. It took us several minutes to make our selections, because despite the tiny size of the store, they have numerous choices in the chip, cracker, cookie, and bottled drink categories. And if you are gluten-​intolerant, this is the place for you. Somehow about 78% of their stock is gluten-​free. We’re talking all the flax seed crackers and oat flour cookies you can shake a stick at.
So, word of warning to APT patrons – do not rely on Driftless Depot for your picnic meal, if you are looking for sandwiches and the like. But if you just want gluten-​free snacks, go for it. Or if you are taking your picnic six hours before showtime.