How to eat your way through Appleton, a Wisconsin city full of sweet surprises

APPLETON, Wis. - Don't expect apples to be jumping out at you in Appleton. I found one on a recent trip, and it was a doozy. But others like it might be gone by the time you get here. We'll circle back to my singular apple, but first consider that this city, hugging the Fox River, was named for someone named Appleton - not because it was once a town full of apples.

The village that was founded in the mid-1800s is a city of about 75,000 residents today, so also don't expect a small-town-Wisconsin experience if you head to the area for one last look at autumn leaves or a weekend getaway. It is Wisconsin, though, so you're going to encounter that