Recommend “things to eat and do” in Madison, WI

[rwsaunders]

Mrs. RW and I are going to make the most out of a board meeting/business trip to Chicago and head to Madison next Friday afternoon, with a scheduled tour of Taliesin on Saturday. Dining tips, coffee, etc. from the collective would be much appreciated and we will be staying downtown if that adds more direction to the request…thanks.

[rec head]

My recommendation was going to be go to Chicago.

[PaMtbRider]

Can't offer any dining tips but can say that you should really enjoy Taliesen. We were there in July and took the extended estate tour. Well worth it if you enjoy that sort of thing.

[robin3mj]

It’s been about a dozen years but we stayed at the Speckled Hen Inn outside of town. It’s a hobby farm and very quiet. The Madison Lakes room is more modern and located in a different part of the inn.

Can’t recall our dining choice back then. There’s a lot of decent pub grub on the square around the capital.

[echappist]

Mrs. RW and I are going to make the most out of a board meeting/business trip to Chicago and head to Madison next Friday afternoon, with a scheduled tour of Taliesin on Saturday. Dining tips, coffee, etc. from the collective would be much appreciated and we will be staying downtown if that adds more direction to the request…thanks.

Welcome!

I should preface the following by saying that while we (and in particular I) enjoy living in Madison (or more correctly, an immediate suburb thereof), it doesn't quite have the tourist draw of a proper city like Seattle, SF, DC, Philly, and Boston. But otoh, I would say I would much rather visit Madison than I would some other cities of importance (say the likes of Charlotte and cities in the Sun Belt,). Madison is a big college town that may not have as much to offer to someone who is well-traveled (read, yourself). I refer to it as a college town that punches above its weight (in contrast to Milwaukee, a small city that punches below its weight).

The one must-visit, of course, is the Taliesin, in particular for someone for whom architecture is directly vocation related. Unfortunately, even it is not in town. That said, its truly unique connection to a singularly brilliant individual makes it a special place to visit. In that vein, there are also Usonian houses scattered around town, but I don't think they rise to the level of "must visit". The Unitarian meeting house would be worth a visit, but it looks like the only available tour date next week is on Sunday the 13th. Still quite the place to visit, even if just walking outside.

The place to go for fine dining is L'Etoile. New American with a French influence. It was started by Odessa Piper, the same chef was profiled in a NYT article last year about cooking classes at the Taliesin. The establishment is now ran by another executive chef (one having won a James Beard Award) and has served as the training ground for many chefs at other well-regarded establishments in town (places that have won James Bear Awards). Unfortunately, being the large college town that it is, fully booked next Friday to Sunday.

Fairchild and Mint Mark would be the two others on the list (former has reservation openings for next weekend, and latter is walk-in only). We've been to the former (winner of a James Beard Award last year) and enjoyed our experience there. But I would perhaps recommend something a bit more out of left field. In the Driftless Region, there's an establishment called the Driftless Café, located in Viroqua, about 75 minutes from Taliesin and ~2 hours from Madison. Run by a head chef who is passionate about farm-to-table cooking and serves as the host of a PBS program about food culture in Wisc. It was too far to visit when we lived in MKE, but much more doable now that we are back in Madison. Come to think of it, we should probably book for a visit there.

The place for coffee, especially a cycling who drinks coffee, is Café Domestique on Williamson Street. It's right next to a Café that we really like called Batch Bakehouse.

If you have a bike or are planning to rent a bike, there's the Lake Monona Loop. About 10 miles in distance, what is nice about it is the uniqueness of such a path in the heart of a proper city. But to someone who has spent a lot of time in the only other city in the U.S. located on an isthmus, probably less of a draw.

Feel free to follow up with questions here or in a PM.

Meal at Fairchild. Risotto and monkfish.



Batch Bakehouse

[rwsaunders]

When in Madison...I listen to the locals like Jim (echappist). Awesome town and we had a great time navigating the wind, weather, coffee, eateries, buildings and landscape. Of course, we had to tour Mr. Wright's humble home in Spring Green and we will be back...thanks Jim!

[echappist]

Glad to know that you and yours had an enjoyable time.

[Mabouya]

It's been quite a while since I visited Taliesin, but I certainly don't remember any kitties out and about when I was there...

[vertical_doug]

Echappi,

Wow, Madison has suburbs? Who knew!

[rwsaunders]

It's been quite a while since I visited Taliesin, but I certainly don't remember any kitties out and about when I was there...

Even the cat’s tag was colored Cherokee Red.

Strange Taliesin visit story…during the tour, the guide discussed the fire/murder event that took place at the property and he mentioned that the murderer was one of the house staff who was from Barbados. A voice from the crowd loudly shouted “Alabama”. I had read that the man was from Haiti, emigrated to Alabama, then eventually Madison, but records really weren’t that accurate so who knows.

Anyway, this “voice from the crowd” proceeds to correct the guide whenever he felt the need to and eventually, the guide engaged him a conversation to keep him in control…very good move. When the guide asked about his profession, the individual let the group know that he has a podcast called The Farm, where he presents the topics of “culture, parapolitics and high strangeness in all its many forms.” He was visiting Taliesin for the 5th time, as he hopes to present a series about the conspiracy to murder FLW and his family because FLW’s design theory, elements and applications were threatening classic architecture. That side conversation was worth the price of the tour.

https://shows.acast.com/exclusive-subscribers-shows

[echappist]

Echappi,

Wow, Madison has suburbs? Who knew!

They aren't large city suburbs, but the city itself will surpass 300k in population soon. I know, that's basically the population of Southwark or Hackney, spread out over an area about 10x as large, but city with a few suburbs nonetheless.

I personally don't consider most American cities to be real cities. Yes, some of these (such as Durham or Raleigh) might even have direct transoceanic flights, but I've always believed that a proper city needs properly sufficient public transportation, which is sorely lacking in most American cities and somewhat lacking even in real American cities.

[bigbill]

I need to make a pilgrimage there. As a historian, most of the big names in historiography, or study of the writing of history, were from UW-Madison.

[vertical_doug]

They aren't large city suburbs, but the city itself will surpass 300k in population soon. I know, that's basically the population of Southwark or Hackney, spread out over an area about 10x as large, but city with a few suburbs nonetheless.

I personally don't consider most American cities to be real cities. Yes, some of these (such as Durham or Raleigh) might even have direct transoceanic flights, but I've always believed that a proper city needs properly sufficient public transportation, which is sorely lacking in most American cities and somewhat lacking even in real American cities.

And all this time I thought it was a town I passed through on the interstate on my way from Minneapolis to Chicago to see my gf in college.

[echappist]

And all this time I thought it was a town I passed through on the interstate on my way from Minneapolis to Chicago to see my gf in college.

IIRC, you were in undergraduate in the 80's? If so, Madison back then probably not much more than than a big town, with a population of ~170k.

In some ways, it's still somewhat provincial. No restaurant here serves paella; no real Japanese food (other than ramen) until one gets to either MSP or CHI; and no Italian place serving osso buco. The supposedly most authentic Italian place at least had bronzino back in 2019, but that's no longer on the menu. Most places close by 10 PM (if not 9 PM).

Overall, my wife and I consider the lack of fancier amenities to be ultra first world problems, and we like it for other things offered (extensive bike trails being one of them).

[vertical_doug]

Japanese food is overrated.

Says the man that had Chestnut Rice, Miso and a pork dish tonight.

[echappist]

Japanese food is overrated.

Says the man that had Chestnut Rice, Miso and a pork dish tonight.

Did you know there's a proper* Kaiseki place in your old haunts? I don't think there even is one in Chicago, but MSP has one. We are actually thinking of making a drive over, given that my wife isn't allowed enough time off to make a trip over to Japan (we'll have to act upon your trip suggestions a few years in the future).

*Proper as in opened by a chef who received accolades from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. Doubtful if he can source everything needed.