Quirky in Madison

Next stop on our tour of college campuses: University of Wisconsin- Madison. Looking for some place to eat diner type food or offbeat breakfast/brunch/lunch and or a late lunch. Will be coming up from northwest of Chicago, but will be on the campus for a tour--so someplace near there...

On last year's campus tour trip, I reported on Husnu. Turkish is hardly that far out in left field in Chicago, but it's a nice little restaurant in a nice little city. Lots of other stuff on that same thread.

My son didn't end up going there, he started Loyola today. There's more good chow in 10 minute walking distance of that campus than in a 10-minute drive of my house, not to mention that the tuition includes a CTA pass, free bicycle use and free taxis within three miles.

Forget her then-- I'm going!!

Thanks for the Turkish recommendation-- perhaps a bit too left field for what we are looking for.... keep 'em coming!

Cant beat NOTO and it shouldn't be hard to find quirky in that town.

Check out the library campus on a weekday around lunch and you'll get plenty of food cart options from many of the popular spots around town.

Can't do no worse starting here. I'm always happy with Old Fashioned too, especially their brunch and beer selections.

I just ate at an unusual rodizio / churrascaria in Madison last week that serves lunch with a nice buffet (as is characteristic of this style of Brazilian steakhouse): Samba.

The unconventional aspects of it are that all the cooks and gauchos are corn-fed white college dudes and dudettes, which would normally warrant a big eyeroll, except that the menu and execution are quite imaginative, from jerk pork and soy beef to fruit-glazed duck breast, and whole roasted pineapples so vegetarians get some of the carving action. Traditionalists can enjoy the flank, picanha, and excellent chorizo and linguica (better than Fogo / Texas, I believe).

It's also much cheaper than prevailing Chicago rates - $20ish for lunch and brunch and $30ish for dinner.

Samba
240 West Gilman
Madison, WI

My daughter starts her freshman year at UW-Madison next week, so in the past year we've had ample opportunity to explore this gem of a foodie town. It ain't Chicago, but certainly the best in Wisconsin & IMO better than Milwaukee.

For a taste of the former hippie-ish 1960's Madison feel, I would check out the Sunroom Cafe, especially for breakfast. Close to campus, and good, healthy fare.

Sunroom Cafe
638 State St
Madison, WI 53703-1071
(608) 255-1555

If it is Saturday, pick up a picnic at the farmers market (among the best in the nation) and take it up to the free-access rooftop of Monona Terrace, with its beautiful lake and city views.

My senior to be is leaving for Madison tonight. Your daughter should have a great four years.

As for eating, if its breakfast/lunch, go to Mickies DairyBar, 1511 Monroe Street. It's right in the shadow of Camp Randall, it's packed, you'll wait, it's a dive, you won't believe how cheap it is or how big the portions are. It's 100% Madison atmosphere and you'll love it.

Good luck to your daugher,
Jonah

JoelF wrote:My son didn't end up going there, he started Loyola today. There's more good chow in 10 minute walking distance of that campus than in a 10-minute drive of my house, not to mention that the tuition includes a CTA pass, free bicycle use and free taxis within three miles.

Just a little note here from a recent grad...the free taxis within three miles of campus are part of the SafeRide program at night only where you get four free taxi rides a month if you need to get home to parts of campus that the bus or SafeWalk program won't reach. For example, I lived a couple of miles off campus and used it at 2 a.m. to get home when I didn't want to drive downtown at night. They won't use it to take you to the dorms, generally, since buses run there until 3 a.m. most nights. Still a fantastic program though.

To get back to the topic of food, yes, there's a lot of great places within close distance of campus. I loved Mickey's Dairy Bar (often discussed in the other Madison thread). Low prices, no frills, great coffeecake and potatoes (yanks). Greenbush Bar near the corner of Regent and Brooks St is located in the basement of the Italian Workmen's Club and has good thin crust pizza. The unrelated Greenbush Bakery is just a couple of blocks west on Regent and has amazing huge apple fritters (about a lb each) and all of their baked goods are kosher and preservative free. I used to do a 1-2 combo of dinner at Rocky Rococo's for pizza/salad bar and donuts for dessert back when I was dating my college boyfriend (no wonder we're both 20 lbs lighter now that we're out of college). On the corner of Regent and Park St (can you tell what neighborhood I used to live in?), there's a little Italian deli called Fraboni's. Their subs are good and they used to run Wednesday lunch specials of a sandwich, chips, and soda for $5 that was a pretty good deal. Located east of campus on Williamson St is Lazy Jane's Cafe that's a great brunch spot and has amaaaazing scones (their raspberry scones still make my mouth water just thinking about it). The Church Key Bar on University Ave near campus has good cheap burgers on their lunch specials (I think it was $5 when I was in school for the burger, fries, and possibly a drink...don't hold me to that though). Ian's Pizza is now available in Chicago over in Wrigleyville, but their original two shops are both near campus. They're famous for their mac and cheese pizza, but I always got the bbq chicken and pineapple or buffalo. Great bartime food...lines out the door at 2 a.m. Chicago has great food, but I do definitely miss Madison some days.

Big fan of the scones at Lazy Jane's Cafe on Willy Street. The Wife and I love Madison, and we make it a point to stop here on every trip.

Lazy Jane's Cafe
1358 Williamson St
Madison, WI 53703-3757
(608) 257-5263

pmcaleer wrote:Big fan of the scones at Lazy Jane's Cafe

Yep. It's between Lazy Jane's and
Upper Crust in Gainesville, FL
http://www.uppercrustproductions.com/Menu.html
for the best scones in the country,
IMO.

There is a carribean place that is great and a bit funky. It is located next door to the Madison Youth Hostel (around the corner from the capital). It is subterrainain-literally you must walk down stairs to gain entrance to the small 4 tables inside. There is a table or two outside. There is a large bar that serves a wonderful Pisco sour-made with brown sugar. We had a pork stew with plantains Yum! It has a palm tree with lights outside. I'll get the name and address later but it is a must go. It is open for bkfst and has good coffee.

This is the Cafe Costa Rica, indeed right around the corner from the Capitol:

Cafe Costa Rica
141 S. Butler St.
Madison, WI
256-9830
http://www.mangomancooks.com/