Soiree guests were welcomed into Bushwick’s Turk’s Inn with custom-branded SAVEUR Circle Club membership cards, a nod to vintage dining club cards that could earn the bearer prizes. The restaurant, which opened in 2019, immerses guests in full-on old-school Wisconsin vibes, with artifacts and decor transported from the original 1930s-era Turk’s Inn in Hayward, Wisconsin, and stays true to the spirit of its Midwest-meets-Middle East menu.

In the dining room, playful kitsch set a nostalgic mood: with wood paneling, paisley curtains, patterned upholstered booths, galleries of old portraits, and gold tassels dangled over the U-shaped bar.

A retro playlist heavy on disco classics filled the room while guests grazed at doily-adorned tables overflowing with cheesy bites: Wisconsin fried cheese curds sitting in a drizzle of homemade herb-flecked ranch, cubes of feta topped with honey and bee pollen, and in the corner booth, an Alpine-style cheese fondue station where guest could cozy up to dip toast points into Alpinage Artisan Cheese Mount Raclette and Roth Cheese Grand Cru (while taking cheese-pull videos, of course). A cheese table, featuring a four-tiered Wisconsin Cheese wheel cake, also drew in crowds as Shannon Bonilla, ACS Certified Cheese Professional and Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin cheese marketing manager, served slices of Schroeder Käse Triple Creme Brie, Roth Cheese Canela, Roelli Cheese Haus Dunbarton Blue, and Uplands Cheese Pleasant Ridge Reserve.

Officially kicking off the holiday season with an extra festive element, custom ice sculptures glimmering with the SAVEUR logo next to an extra-large wedge of Wisconsin Swiss cheese were a focal point (and photo opp for many). Copies of SAVEUR’s latest print issue were for sale—the scratch-and-sniff feature was much discussed throughout the cocktail party.  

Servers roamed with trays of hot finger foods, including bite-size triangles of aged cheddar grilled cheese to dip in steamy tomato soup shooters, hot honey eggplant with smoked Odyssey labneh, and mini lamb adana kebabs. Guests noshed at relish trays loaded with dips, including hummus and muhammara, olives, pickles, Turkish pide, and crunchy crudités. 

Of course, dessert was also cheese-centric, including an indulgent mascarpone chocolate fondue, mascarpone cheesecake topped with a spiced cherry compote, and cheddar-crusted apple pie.

To drink, guests sipped on coupes brimming with the retro rose-hued Midwestern classic, a Pink Squirrel (Tempus Fugit creme de noyaux, creme de cacao, and heavy cream, garnished with a cocktail cherry), and The Turk’s Inn take on the old-fashioned, made with brandy and chai, garnished with a wedge of Roth Cheese Canela. Souleil and Society De La Rassi wines were poured as well, and—to chase down all that cheese—Faccia Brutto’s Fernet Pianta as a minty Brooklyn-made digestif.

“I’m so excited to celebrate the new issue, and I’m realizing now I don’t know enough about Wisconsin Cheese,” said Danielle Davenport, owner of BEM Books & More, a Black cookbook store in nearby Bedford-Stuyvesant. “I’ve learned the story of The Turk’s Inn, and there’s so much more to learn about the Midwest.” 

In the great tradition of the Midwestern meat auction, the night wrapped with an on-theme cheese raffle, with winning numbers called out by SAVEUR’s editor-in-chief and CEO Kat Craddock and brand partnerships manager Toni-Ann Gardiner. A lucky few won full wheels of cheese to take home, and the grand prize was a stylish Anthropologie bar cart fully stocked with Wisconsin cheese, which went to SAVEUR contributor Mike Diago. (It also happened to be his birthday!)  

In the end, everyone won, thanks to a generously stocked gift bag, including an Imaginary Authors quince perfumed candle, a nip of Faccia Brutto fernet, a block of Carr Valley Cheese Gran Canaria, and Tempus Fugit brandied cherries in a SAVEUR Circle Club tote, the perfect souvenir of a memorable night.