KIEL – Living in Wisconsin, I've seen a lot of cheese. But I've never seen anything quite like Henning's in Kiel before.

Founded in 1914 by Otto Henning, Henning's Cheese, 20201 Point Creek Rd., in Kiel, is still a family affair, with Otto's grandkids Kay, Kerry and Kert and two great-grandkids, Mindy and Rebekah, still guiding the ship.

Stop in and you'll find a bright, friendly store and a mini museum of old cheesemaking gear. Windows let you see the cheesemaking in action and when we appeared in the window a group of women was extruding, cutting and brining string cheese.

The instant we were spotted, one of the women grabbed some samples and brought them out to us. That's the kind of place Henning's is.

Later, we got a tour from Kert Henning, who showed us some parts of the operations. He also told us about Henning's giant cheddar wheels. They've made them as large as 12,000 pounds.

But more common are 300-pound and 1,200-pound versions, some of which we saw in the aging room. Wheels this big are made for special orders only, of course, and Kert told us about the time a high-falutin' Texas grocery store called to ask how big a wheel they could get.

Cheesemaker Kerry Henning measured the factory's doors and decided on 12,000 pounds, reminding the Texans to take similar precautions. Texans, they assured him, do everything big. Make the wheel.

When it arrived... yup, too big for the doors. They had them removed. Too big for the door frame. They removed the front plate glass window. Too big to fit past the registers up front, so they had to remove two of those. Too big for the aisles. So, it had to sit right up there in the front of the store.

But that wasn't the last such order from the grocery. No siree. But this time, once the cheese wheel arrived, they built a new store around it.

Interesting fact: after it's made, cheddar is placed into a cooler to bring down its temperature. But it takes so long for the temperature of a huge wheel of cheese to come d…

Illinois' Cooper's Hawk Winery is opening a restaurant on the southeast side of Brookfield Square on June 27. The location is the sixth since the Countryville, Ill.-based winery opened its first restaurant in 2005, and will reportedly bring an estimated 125 jobs to the area.

The winery, founded by Chicago native Tim McEnery, produces more than 125,000 cases of wine annually, including pinor noir, pinot, gris, grenache blanc and dozens of other varietals. It also produces fruit wines.

The Brookfield restaurant is more that 10,000 square feet and seats about 250. There is also a patio and a "Napa-style" tasting room.

The menu, created by Chef Matt McMillin – who recently served as a judge on Bobby Flay's "Throwdown" and helped launch a number of restaurants as a partner in the Lettuce Entertain You group – includes starters like Mexican drunken shrimp ($12.99) and entrees like red wine and mustard short ribs ($20.99), soy ginger salmon ($19.99) and Dana's parmesan crusted chicken ($16.99).

"Our goal is to make it fun and easy for people to learn more about wine and food, try new flavors and expand their palates," said McEnery.

"We’ve brought together some of the best talents in winemaking and the culinary arts to create  inventive, flavorful food and wine pairings. At the same time, we want to be approachable and affordable."  

Wine plays a large role in the restaurant's design and concept, and bottles range from $17 to $39 a bottle and are also available by the glass. Cooper's Hawk also has a monthly wine club.

The restaurant and tasting room will serve lunch and dinner daily and will be open Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. until 9.

Reservations are recommended.

WMSE celebrates its 30th anniversary with another Radio Summer Camp, a five-day music festival that combines local and national acts, July 27-31, at a range of area venues. This has quickly become one of – if not the – most exciting annual rock and roll event in Milwaukee.

The Radio Summer Camp kicks off Wednesday, July 27 at Turner Hall Ballroom with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Tweak Bird and Milwaukee's own Call Me Lightning. On Thursday, July 28 The Rave hosts Montreal duo, The Handsome Furs, whose new Sub Pop record, "Sound Kapital," is a great modern synth pop.

Then on Friday and Saturday, a range of acts – including Richard Buckner, Daniel Martin Moore, Rafter, Blueprint, William Tyler, Dosh, Haley Bonar, A Lull, The Giving Tree Band, Carbon Leaf, French TV, Virtual Boy DEDE, Jaill, Heidi Spender and the Rare Birds, Juiceboxxx, The Pills, Wereworm, Vic & Gab, Group of the Altos, Conrad Plymouth and many more – perform as part of the festival in local clubs.

As it did last year, the event ends with an all-day Backyard BBQ at Cathedral Square Park on Sunday, July 31.

"The goal of this whole thing," says Ryan Schleicher, WMSE promotions director, "is to continue bringing greater visibility to what is happening, and what can happen, with Milwaukee's music scene. We're celebrating the music and we're celebrating the venues that make the music possible."

You can buy tickets at individual events or spring for a four-day pass. Complete details on ticket options and the festival line-up can be found on the WMSE website.

Get ready for a reunion of veteran Milwaukee rock and rollers during the first weekend of July. A host of familiar names will perform in settings that you might never have expected to hear again.

On Friday, July 1 The Hound Dog Band and The Ox get together for gigs at Summerfest in the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Stage & Pavilion.

The Hound Dog Band – Sam Friedman, Mark Saichek, Ed Sison, Brad Seip, Randy Monaghan, Fred Bliffert, Tony Brown and Bob Knetzger – plays at 6 p.m., and The Ox – Jon Paris, Bob Metzger, Brad Seip and Ed Sison – follows at 8 p.m.

The following night, head over to Shank Hall at 8 p.m. to see The Last Polka, starring The East Side All Stars. You may remember some of these legendary cats from their reunion gig last year at Shorewood High School. Admission is $20.

Dynamite Duck – with Jon Paris and James Solberg, Mark Lillis and Jeff Hilgert – will perform, along with guests Jim Liban and Junior Brantley. Also on hand and on stage will be Jerry Harrison, Bob Metzger, Fred Bliffert, Ed Sison, Brad Seip, Sam Friedman, Mark Saichek, Tony Brown, Randy Monaghan and Bob Knetzger.

Harrison, of course was a Modern Lover and a Talking Head. Paris went to New York, where he's played with the likes of Johnny Winter, Les Paul and Bo Diddley, Solberg worked with Luther Allison, Junior Brantley was a member of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Metzger toured with Leonard Cohen, and the show's host, Fritz Bluebottom (aka Kim Jorgenson) went into the movie business and was executive producer of the Oscar-winning "Out of Africa" and other pictures.

Take a walk down memory lane or get schooled in Milwaukee's rock and roll past...