Snacks on a plane: Wisconsin treats for the mid-air munchies

For those hitting SXSW or Spring break this week using our nation’s now-sort-of-rickety air traffic infrastructure, the deteriorating state of in-flight food is a problem. These days fliers caught short by hunger on a plane are stuck with cardboard boxes filled with a leaden morass of caloric, not-very-nutritional food-like substances such as processed cheese dip and pretzels. And you have to pay for it! But The A.V. Club found a way to beat those awful odds by stuffing a carry-on bag with a superior pack of munchies, using Wisconsin-based snacks available right here in Madison.

Bread
A body could break a tooth on those crusty, dusty, finger bone-like things they serve on the plane. Opting for a hunk of a rustic sourdough baguette from local bread makers Madison Sourdough (916 Williamson St., 608-442-8009) instead will calm the stomach, jittery from altitude shifts and the creeping unease engendered by flying many thousands of feet above the ground in a metal tube.

Cheese and crackers
Plane neighbors will drool with envy when they see goodies from Madison cheese emporium Fromagination (12 S. Carroll St., 608-255-2430)—the Wisconsin Dunbarton cheddar cheese package includes a half pound of Dunbarton Blue, Wisconsin-made Potter’s Crackers, and a four-ounce jar of cranberry relish. It’s senseless to eat a shrink-wrapped processed cheese-blob when taking off from America’s Dairyland.

Beef sticks
There’s no meat in the cardboard box, but a protein-rich, eight-ounce package of beef sticks from Wenzel’s Farm, a Marshfield outfit in the summer sausage and dried-cow game, can be obtained at Stop-N-Go (2002 Winnebago St., 608-244-1644). When the stale and recycled air of the plane threatens to overwhelm, fight back with a burst of energy from these salty meat sticks.

Popcorn
Taking it to another level, pre-popped and flash-sealed De-lish-us popcorn from Waupaca, WI could make that in-flight viewing of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader more tolerable. Pick it up at Metcalfe’s Sentry (726 N Midvale Blvd., 608-238-7612), and once the movie fires up, crunch away; it’s almost like a movie theater, but the floor isn’t as sticky.