Clockwise from left: Cucumber Salad, Maple Miso Roasted Cabbage, Mushroom Burger, Cheese Curds and Thai Green Curry With Veggies. Photos: Chris Emeott
It has been a whirlwind journey for Marlee Crave and Sarah Mittelstadt, the chef-owners of Fiddlehead Kitchen—and one they’ve been lucky enough to experience together.
Three years after launching Fiddlehead Kitchen in Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, the duo opened a restaurant of their own in downtown St. Croix Falls in August. There, they continue to embrace what has made them a beloved part of the area’s food scene: accessible, sustainable and tasty food made with local ingredients. “We’re only serving you things that we really love … and we are super excited for you to eat it too,” Crave says.
It’s a remarkable step in a journey that began years ago, when farming brought both women out to Polk County in 2017 (Mittelstadt) and 2020 (Crave). When their paths crossed while working at Farm Table Restaurant in Amery, Wisconsin, the connection was immediate. “I felt very at home with Sarah,” Crave says. “We’re kind of like sisters.”
Natural colors and textures are central to the design of Fiddlehead Kitchen’s new restaurant in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin.
Their shared passion for local food and sweet friendship set the foundations for a dynamic business partnership. After the closure of Farm Table in January 2023, they decided to start their own venture and moved into a small kitchen at The Barred Owl, a cocktail lounge and wine bar in Balsam Lake, that May.
Using the small kitchen to their advantage, the duo released a new menu every two weeks and pursued pop-ups across the Valley at farmers markets and private events. The approach caught on, and people made it a point to try every menu—inspired Indian and Italian fare, flavors of Portugal and a Thai takeover—each distinct yet quintessentially Fiddlehead. “The guiding principle is always what is locally and seasonally available,” Mittelstadt says.
Tracing Fiddlehead’s ingredients is simple, as meat and produce come almost exclusively from a collection of local farms, including Blackbrook Farm, Cosmic Wheel Creamery, First Acre Farm (owned by Crave’s husband, Andy Donovan), Northwood Mushrooms, Peterson Craft Meats and Whetstone Farm. “That whole added layer of what we serve being local, seasonal, from people that we know, even just contributes to adding more value to the dining experience,” Mittelstadt says.
The St. Croix Falls restaurant’s menu shares similarities with what customers have grown accustomed to enjoying from Fiddlehead—with greater consistency and table service. The winter menu is more rooted in worldwide cuisines, and abundant local produce will be the focus during the summer growing season. Still, the regular menu will shift based on ingredient availability. “You’ll want to look at the menu before you go because we probably will post something new every week or two,” Mittelstadt says.
Sarah Mittelstadt and Marlee Crave
With help from their community and a grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the duo purchased a century-old building on St. Croix Falls’ main street that had been shuttered for a decade. “We take a lot of pride in the fact that we are putting a lot of life and love back into [the building], and it’s … a really cool space to welcome people back into,” Mittelstadt says.
Calm and whimsy are defining characteristics of the restaurant, which seats 60 inside and 40 on the patio/pocket park. True to its name, Fiddlehead is painted in shades of green with kitschy tile accents. “We want it to be a very happy place,” Crave says. The team embraced the building’s historic character—keeping the tin ceiling and crown molding—and introduced a more midcentury modern feeling in the design and furnishings. Natural light and an abundance of plants were essential, and the addition of a window near the kitchen is a favorite element. “So that we can see light and not be vampires,” Crave says jokingly.
Theirs is the latest project in a St. Croix Falls revival. Home to Wisconsin’s oldest state park and a longtime destination for recreation, the city’s arts and culinary identity has bloomed in recent years. “I think it fits us really well,” Crave says. “The local food culture here is really growing, and … St. Croix Falls really feels like the anchor of this small but proud movement.”
The Cucumber Salad features locally grown cucumber swirled in a soy-chili dressing, served with sticky rice and topped with black sesame seeds.
“Sarah, I think, is an incredible chef … and Marlee is just a spectacular baker,” says Rhonda Couchigian, a St. Croix Falls resident and steward of 123 South Washington. “There’s an energy and playfulness between the two of them. I mean, they’re just really lovely women.”
Crave and Mittelstadt are looking to curate an environment that’s welcoming to all, whether you’re coming straight from work or celebrating an anniversary. “It is a shame that sometimes local chef-driven food can be classified in a way that feels inaccessible to people because I think it’s the complete opposite. It’s like, I picked this out of my garden. It is the humblest thing. I just don’t think that there should be a class or any barriers to eating it. It’s our food,” Crave says.
The Hibiscus Punch and Matcha Whisky Highball are highlights of the cocktail menu at Fiddlehead Kitchen, which also includes a curated selection of wine and beer.
Burger Night from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays kicks off Fiddlehead Kitchen’s week. From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner service. Reservations will be taken for the first dinner seating, followed by a first-come, first-served approach.
“We’re really excited to create a space that has a feeling of community and feels like you’re in our house … getting nourished and just really gaining something from the experience,” Mittelstadt says. “It’s our hearts on a plate.”
Fiddlehead Kitchen
Facebook: Fiddlehead Kitchen WI
