I’ve been to a Laotian restaurant and had a kickass papaya salad.
Saw a free concert at the lake.
Was shuttled around by an openly communist union taxi organization (and it was the best fucking cab company I have ever dealt with, ever, I might add).
Chilled for a good while with with a bunch of random long hairs playing instruments.
Got into an argument with hippies who told me I lacked perspective and that Obama was wildly more progressive than he got credit for and that yes, Russ Feingold shit the bed on financial reform but that he was still a good guy and worth my support.
I kind of like this place. But then again, I’m easy going. It’s you fuckers who are the problem.
MNPundit
I doubt you’d be very easy going if Tunch seemed the tinniest bit ill. It’s all what pushes your buttons not who you are.
Ross
Ah, yes. I went to college there and loved it. Did you happen to see any of the state street celebrities? I think Scanner Dan should still be making the rounds… pudgy guy with a dirty wifebeater, a wild beard, and usually a pipe.
asiangrrlMN
Dude. You’re in Madison? I so could have offered to not drive up and buy you a beer had I known! And, pardon me for laughing, but you are about as easygoing as I am (which is to say, not a whole hell of a lot).
Moonbatting Average
I visited there as a grad student candidate, and what I noticed was the complete lack of Starbuck’s coffee establishments. The story from the locals was that there was one located near the capitol (or UW?), and that Starbuck’s had tried to open another but the Madisonites had refused to patronize it. Cool town.
JDC
Hot Tip: Go to the Memorial Union for beer. Ask the kid behind the bar at the Rathskeller for a “day pass” and you can then buy beer. Go outside, drink beer, and watch young people.
Yutsano
@Moonbatting Average: Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Caribou Coffee the preferred brew up that way? I had that for the first time when I was in Atlanta, it wasn’t bad stuff. Or has Tim Horton’s finally leaked over the border? Mmmm…Timbits! (RedKitten will feel me there!)
MikeJ
Anybody far enough from lights to attempt seeing aurorae tonight? I tried last night, no luck, but according to the news nobody else in the area saw them either.
I wouldn’t mind driving way out to avoid the lights if there was a better chance of seeing them but an hour out, an hour back and winding up with nothing would suck. Especially when I’ve got stuff to do tomorrow.
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: Yes. Caribou Coffee is a localish chain (local being Midwest and East, apparently, according to teh Googley) that is quite good. That’s where I had the broccoli and white cheddar scone once (once being the, sadly, operative word), and my life hasn’t been the same since.
@MikeJ: That’s tonight? Aw, damn. I may mosey out back and see what I can see.
Karen
Not sure if this was posted already and if so, I’m sorry but…
Kagan will be confirmed by the Senate.
I know a lot of people are mad because she’s not liberal enough but in this political climate, I doubt anyone more liberal would have survived to confirmation.
Warren Terra
By coincidence, just left Madison today. Great bookstores, fair with diverse food carts just off campus (of about ten, one was Ethiopian, one Indonesian, one Costa Rican) – but there is a Starbucks.
NobodySpecial
Cole goes on vacation and leaves us stuck with the Libertarian and claims WE’RE the problem.
Yutsano
@Karen: She’s a Jewish
lesbyterianunmarried woman who has a solid legal background. What’s not to love? Plus I can’t wait until she sinks her teeth into the Prop 8 case. The sparks during oral arguments will be classic popcorn moments.Batocchio
All those stories about Tunch’s misanthropy? Just Cole’s projection.
Madison rocks, btw. A killer second-hand book store or two, and the lake is wonderful. Get some Babcock ice cream while you’re there.
http://www.babcockhalldairystore.wisc.edu/VisitUs.htm
General Stuck
Can’t believe I’m not sawing logs. Have an irritated nerve or something in my left foot and about every 30 seconds a jolt of pain that feels like somebody drove a nail through it. Sleep is unpossible but have a cold pack on it now that seems to be easing it some.
And yes, real hippies love Obama and think he is progressive enough, whatever that term means to people.
Yutsano
@General Stuck: It drives me absolutely meschugnah when they talk about Obama’s approval rating…WITHOUT BREAKING IT DOWN BY REGION. If you cut out the South he’s running somewhere in the high 50’s to low 60’s hitting as high as 75% in some states. But oh no they just throw up the national number and therefore the whole country thinks he is teh suxxors. Drives me up the freaking wall.
Mark S.
@Yutsano:
What’s weird is how little attention this confirmation has gotten. I had practically forgotten about it until a couple days ago when I saw a headline about it. Glenn Greenwald is even too bored to write about it (I don’t know about LGM’s resident idiot Paul Campos).
Even the Republicans didn’t seem to care. They can’t wait to get home for their summer break. Those three day weeks at the Capitol are killing them.
asiangrrlMN
@MikeJ: Well, I went outside. No lights–unnatural or otherwise. However, a beautifully chilly night with a sliver moon and bright stars did make for a peaceful viewing.
@General Stuck: Sorry to hear, GS. Is Charlie keeping you company?
@Karen: Liberal enough. I am beginning to loathe that phrase. I am with Yutsy. It will be interesting to watch.
ADM
John +?
Yutsano
@Mark S.: Five Republicans have already said yes, so this whole poutrage from the remaining republicans is just fundraising tooling at this point. And that’s the real reason they want to get home: can’t exactly keep your job in the Senate these days without greasing the wheels some.
@General Stuck: And I’m not sweating his independent rating since we all think that saying you’re independent is just saying you’re a Republican who’s running from the name. And even there he’s in the high 40’s. He says he doesn’t watch that shit anyway. I’m thinking I’ll start ignoring it myself.
General Stuck
@Yutsano: Yeah, that’s bad, especially where he got something in the order of 10 to 15 percent of the white vote in the south. His rating nationally amongst self describe liberal dems has been and remains very high.
General Stuck
@asiangrrlMN:
Yea, but I think I’m keeping him from his beauty sleep, but he is very loyal and doesn’t mind:)
asiangrrlMN
@General Stuck: Aw, poor baby. He doesn’t need it, though, as he is just naturally gorgeous. Glad that he’s keeping you company.
@ADM: His calculator doesn’t go into the billions, either.
@Yutsano: I don’t pay any attention to popularity ratings. I think it’s remnant resentment from my high school experience. Night, hon. May you have sweet dreams or none at all.
Yutsano
Okay my anti-virus is running. That’s usually my cue to hit the hay. Night y’all.
MikeJ
@asiangrrlMN: If you’ve got a good viewing spot, go out next week. The 12th is the Perseid meteor shower. Generally the best of the year.
asiangrrlMN
@MikeJ: Ooooh! Cool. I will give it a whirl. Thanks for the heads up!
asiangrrlMN
Awright. I’m outie. GS, hope your leg feels better stat! Night/morning, all.
TrishB
But the real question remains. Will you have some boxed wine with Althouse? It would be irresponsible not to speculate.
Murc
Wow. Longhair as a descriptive term. Way to keep that one alive, dude. I’m thirty and I keep having to explain it to contemporaries, and my mother has told me more than once ‘that was already going out of style when I was MUCH younger than you. We just said hippie. It’s a lot easier to sneer while saying that, you know.’
MikeJ
@Murc: And before the hippies, longhairs were snooty classicists. Try using it in that context.
PeakVT
Random early-morning oddness: Cockatiels singing the Imperial March.
Jude
You fucker. I walked past the concert last night, and it made me wish I had a yuppie-seeking missile.
Kristine
I love Madison. If you’re there on Saturday, there’s a Farmers Market located down at the Capitol. Homegrown everything, which you may not need, but also cheeses and honey, homemade jams and baked goods.
Ice cream, made by the school. Down at the Union? I forgot, but there’s an ice cream parlor and the ice cream is made at the school.
I don’t bother with the coffee chains up there. The local shops are good enough.
Had to skip my annual trip to Wiscon this year. I miss my Madison fix.
Kristine
As for the cabs, the story used to be that all Madison cabbies were UW PhD candidates, so the conversations could get interesting.
numbskull
Sure, it’s all beer and skittles now, in frickin’ August, but just wait until November…
p.a.
OMG. The Popular People’s Front is recruiting John! SPLITTER!!!!!!!
stuckinred
And when you have time read They Marched Into Sunlight and then watch the PBS doc Two Days in October . A great look at Madison and the Black Lions of the 28th Infantry.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/twodays/index.html
jb
Be sure to drink something from the Capital Brewery while you’re here. And go inside the State Capitol building, if only to use the restrooms. You can do that here. There are no metal detectors or barbed wire to keep the unauthorized out. We can just walk in, like, you know, citizens.
stuckinred
@jb: Ah to go back to seeing the Dead at Camp Randall Field House. March 71 if memory serves!
Onkel Fritze
Just went to the Google (in German) went to Google Maps and put in ‘Madison’ – I got Madison, Wisconsin and Madison in the ‘Alabama territory’. Some kind of a downgrade there?
Mary
Madison is probably my favorite place in the world. Do yourself a favor – go to the farmer’s market on Saturday and gorge yourself on fresh cheese curds. So good (and squeaky)!
Karen
My apartment is too hot to sleep but Ifor the people in MD like me: Madame Defarge…er…Sarah Palin has endorsed a different man for Governor than the Republican Robert Erlich (who was a shittier Governor than Parris Glendenning and that’s incredible).With Governor IO’ Malley running for a second term, is it possible the two conservatives will cancel each other out? Time will tell.
Starfish
@MikeJ: These tools may help you in finding a good location. You want the place to be both clear and dark. I think there are separate tools for each of those things. Also too. I think North Korea should have sky watchers as tourists.
RedKitten
@Mary: Mmm…squeaky curds. I remember when the fast-food joints were trying their hand at poutine, and they were using just plain old shredded mozzarella instead of proper curds. It was to laugh.
Starfish
@Karen: I feel absolutely no excitement about Maryland elections. In a time where a lot of people are unhappy with the state of politics, we have our current governor running against our former governor. And Senator Does-Not-Use-Computers is running virtually uncontested. I know how the people who have lived here for years and years love her because of something she did in the 1980s, but …
Allison W.
Is this snark? you were arguing with people to the left of you who claimed Obama is a progressive? people to the left of you were saying this?
debbie
@ Yutsano:
Where could I find such a regional breakdown? I’m sick of being beaten down with Rasmussen by my fascist family.
debbie
@ Yutsano:
Where could I find such a regional breakdown? I’m sick of being beaten down with Rasmussen by my Republican family.
Gary
@Onkel Fritze: Die Volksrepublik Madison ist in Wisconsin.
jacy
Easy going? I thought you fancied yourself more along the continuum of irascible to crumudgeonly. Somewhat like Walter Brennan without the limp. And naked. With a mop.
wilfred
I’ll bite – How?
salacious crumb
all i wanna know is, has Tunch kicked the caretaker’s ass yet?
Lettuce
Interesting…
Here in Milwaukee we think the opposite: Obama is as right wing as we’ll deal with and anymore we’d have to vote against him, and Feingold ISN’T getting our votes in the primary, or the election, because he shit in the bed on jobs as well.
t jasper parnell
While your in Madison, go to the Osteria Papavero on Wilson. Fantastic food; they cure their own meats. And Mickey’s Dairy Bar on Monroe for breakfast world’s 2nd greatest dive. Go to Machinery Row or The Yellow Jersey, rent a bike amble around the Cap City Trail and then take the elevator up the Monona Terrace go to the top drink beer look at lake, return bike go to the Union drink beer look at lake.
Montysano
When my gay-married sister,her spouse, and their mixed-race adopted daughter come to visit us in Alabama, the local goobers stare at them like they’re circus freaks. When I walk around with them on their home turf in Madison, they don’t even turn a head.
Great town. Taliesin is nearby. The student union is a stone classic. Live it up, boss.
mistersnrub
Cole – was the Laotian place Vientiane? Their food is nuclear-level spicy! I graduated in from Madison in ’07…my recs: Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry for great burgers and fried cheese curds, Essenhaus for glass boots full of beer, and Jin’s Chicken for a late night drunken food fix. Drinking at the Union Terrace is also a great way to spend a day.
TR
All the janitors in town are union, too. That was a bit of a surprise for me, getting a college job cleaning toilets in Tenney Plaza and a union card all in one go. If you’re there in about a week, the great Madison summer migration takes place; somehow nearly all of the leases downtown end on the same day (Aug 14 or 15). There is a 1-2 day span where nearly everyone is effectively homeless while apartments get fumigated and Febreezed or whatever the slumlords do. Anything too heavy or undesirable to carry is left curbside; my folks scored some gorgeous mahogany headboards just laying by the road, and I didn’t buy furniture my entire time there.
Also, Lazy Janes on Williamson St., and keep following that to the Barrymore Theater, they always have something unexpected playing. Not sure if Radical Rye (and their acme of sandwichmaking) has been reincarnated yet (casualty of the civic center expansion; that giant plate glass boat-looking thing at State and Dayton) or I’d recommend it too.
Ash Can
Madison is great. I second the Capital Brewery recommendation. They’re right outside of town in Middleton and have tours, but their wares are plentiful around Madison. Also second the Essen Haus recommendation — beer aplenty, as well as good German fare the last time I was there (which was some years ago, granted). Enjoy the isthmus, and bon appetit.
Sue
I had to delurk. Welcome to Madison, John! The mosquitoes aren’t always this bad.
And you had Laotian? Did you go to Lao Laan Xang on Willy St? That’s some of the best food in town, and since it’s four blocks from my house I’ve had just about everything on the menu. Or were you at Vientiane Palace near State St, where the food is awesome and the service is wonderfully surly? Or one of the other places that serves Laotian?
For coffee, Madison tends to have local chains or independent shops. There’s a fair trade coffee roasting co-op (Just Coffee) that supplies a lot of places. There is a Starbucks near campus, and one or two other outlets in town (one closed about a year ago). Caribou Coffee has tried to set up in a few places, but they always seem to go to strip malls in the suburbs where they don’t last long.
Skip the Saturday Farmer’s Market unless you can get there before 9. Otherwise it’s just a slow-moving mass of people (all going in the same direction!), most of them tourists. If you go at 7 you can actually move at your own pace, see what’s there, talk to the vendors, etc.
If you’re missing dog action, you’re welcome to hang out with us for the regular dog playtime in the park.
Pontious Pilates
While in Madison You GOTTA go to this restaurant. IT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND.
http://www.theoldfashioned.com/
Its right on the square.
daveNYC
Have a pasty while you’re there, and if you can, pick up some frozen ones to take home with you.
deminoz
Hi
This is completely OT but i wanted to mention due to John Cole’s interest in gardening and having never seen (or perhaps noticed) mention of it before….there is a wonderful PBS series (we are just getting it in Aust) called “The Botany of Desire”……I would recommend it just to get some understanding of human/plant interaction. If i missed the boat and this has already been discussed in detail…..oops.
N M
Former Madisonian my self. Undergrad, student newspaper, card carrying PRM citizen/laborer. JC, go to Nam’s Noodle down on Regent Street and get Nam’s Fried Rice. My fav.
Here is the definitive article on Madison:
http://wikiality.wikia.com/Madison
Also make sure you hit up the Weary Traveler down on Willy Street (longhair central, that street). Good food, good drinks, good times.
Enjoy!
jb
@NM: On Willy Street and in the surrounding neighborhood, it’s still 1967.
@Pontious Pilates: Absolutely second the notion about the Old Fashioned. The macaroni and cheese with fried bologna is awesome, and I’ll fight anybody who says otherwise.
dougie smooth
Please stop advertising Madison. Get your own Galt’s Gulch. Nothing to see here, move along.
Bob in Sheboygan
One other place to visit in Madison- Brasserie V on Monroe St, just west of Trader Joe’s. They have about a dozen great, mostly Belgian, beers on tap and dozens more by the bottle. Also great food and friendly bartenders. They will let you sample everything on tap.
Ash Can
And looking at the Old Fashioned link that Pontious Pilates supplied (and that place alone looks like it’s worth a day trip up from Chicago) reminds me — John, besides Capital beers, you have easy access to New Glarus and Gray’s beers there, as well as the superb Sprecher beers and soda pops. (Yes, soda pops — don’t overlook those, especially the Ravin’ Red.) There are numerous other Wisconsin microbrews available in Madison as well. Do taste tests, and keep an eye out for bars that serve samplers. Maybe you’ll find a few that you’ll like so much and miss so much once you get back to WVa that they’ll keep you coming back to Cheese Heaven for beer pilgrimages.
Also, if you can find real Door County cherries at the farmer’s market, dig in. They’re tart, flavorful, and very, very juicy.
John Cole
@Sue: Yes. That is where I had the laotian. I loved the papaya salad.
Ash Can
OK, one more post and then I promise I’ll shut up (I’m sorry, I just love Wisconsin). For a plentiful, satisfying traditional comfort-food meal (the steaks-and-chops kind of thing), ask around among the locals for the best supper club. And if you’re still anywhere in Wisconsin tomorrow (Friday) ask around for where you can find the best fish fry. You should find one that features lake perch (NOT ocean perch). Ignore the fact that it’s a little pricier than the other fish on the menu and dig in.
caune
Lol, this post should be “Where in the world is John Cole?” …..watch your back. I predict people coming out of the woodwork to buy you beers, LOL
SIA
I was there for 4-5 days for work once, and I fell in love with Madison. After coming from the gnarly south, it all just seemed so clean.
Best used book store i’ve ever found was there. Come to think of it, I think it was Milwaukee that also had a good used book store in the airport. And the drive b/t Madison and Milwaukee was a lovely dream. Farm, house, barn, silo, clean emptiness. Farm, house, barn, silo, clean emptiness. Keep repeating.
Safe travels. Cardinal grand cross today and tomorrow.
brendancalling
fun times in Madison with my in-laws this past thanskgiving.
see if you can scare up any bluegrass or old time music, it’s out there.
Menzies
Ah, Wisconsin! I was in Milwaukee until a few days ago. Really does seem like a “great progressive state.”
debbie
@ Yutsano:
For some reason, asking you about this put me in moderation:
Where could I get such a breakdown? My conservative family is always slapping me with Rassmussen.
Smudgemo
Sure, it’s beautiful now. Visit January through March and then let’s talk. And be sure to grab some frozen custard and a bag of cheese curds before you leave (but eat the curds before you throw them in the fridge.)
minachica
@Ash Can: I recommend the Esquire Club on Sherman Ave for great lake perch. Mmm, might have to talk the husband into taking me there tomorrow.
tara
Madison is a great place to live. I’ll be a little sad when I leave next year.
I third the Old Fashioned recommendation. And if you go, you really should get their fried cheese curds. Best ones anywhere. They are fantastic. And they serve tons of WI microbrews on tap.
If you are in the mood for a late-night snack I recommend Greenbush bakery on Regent St, which is open making donuts until midnight during the week and later on weekends. And if you can easily get a little off of the state st area, you should get frozen custard at Michael’s. yum.
The Memorial Union terrace is great for hanging out with a beer and people watching if you’ve got some time.
Naja
For mac and cheese with bologna, I’d recommend Mickey’s Tavern on Willy. Nurm . . .
tara
oh and yes, many of the cab drivers, especially at Union cab are former PhD students. I’ve had several friends in grad school who got burned out and took time off to be a cab driver here in town before returning to complete their degrees. Its common enough that on my former dept’s leave of absence form, one of the choices listed for what your plans are is “cab driver”.
Erin
@Pontious Pilates:
YES. I was hoping there would be a comment in here about the Old Fashioned. All Wisconsin food and beer – killer mac n cheese and they infuse their own vodka, brandy, etc. I believe their one “import” is Bud light.
And seconding jb, drink some Capitol while you’re here.
JohnR
Damn straight. And proud of it.
Michael
Had some ups and downs during my decade in Madison, but on the whole it was positive.
Hung out at Amy’s Cafe, which for a while had the nickname “The United Nations” because of all the international people who made it their hangout. On occasion, I’d play pool at the Black Bear, and, before it closed, stopped a few times at the old 602 Club.
Also liked The Little Village Cafe on King St., as well as the Great Dane brew pub, which was just up the way from Union Transfer & Storage, where $100 a month got you a “studio” in the 1990s.
Actually was a Union Cab driver for a brief spell (working on merely an undergraduate degree, which I got in 1998.)
But…winter. Good lord…and no way could I ever deal with it again. I complain when the temperature goes below 50 down here (Loosiana.)
And…cheers to you, Cosmo di…we miss you.
mrmike
This many Mad-town beer posts and no mention of the Ale Asylum?
For shame.
And if you’re into a short road trip, Tyranena over in Lake Mills has some very tasty brews on tab and live music Fri and Sat in the beer garden.
Dead Ernest
There is a lyrical beautiful quality to those unlikely two words next to one another.
Michael E Sullivan
I was just in Madison a few weeks ago. One of my best friends (along with cutest god-daughter) lives a few blocks from the smaller lake on the east side. They took us to a vietnamese place there that utterly kicked ass: Saigon Noodle.
I liked Madison a lot, it was the first time I’d visited. My only significant conversation with local strangers was with a bunch of chess geeks in the student union when I went in to watch a game while others were buying ice cream after we swam in the lake (a bit full of algae, but it was bloody hot).
I did love the grocery store over where we were staying, which I hit up to make brunch on saturday. Woodman’s, it was called. All pinko, employee owned. It was gigantic, all kinds of ridiculous crap in their. Imagine a Meier, except with the ambiance of something between BJs, an old time grocer or a DFH foodie store like TJs (way too disheveled and downscale for a whole foods comp). I looked them up on the net, and there were people who absolultely loved them, and then a few people who panned the place “there were boxes on the floor everywhere”. “Often out of stock.” heh.
Paul
I lived in Madison late eighties/early nineties, I loved that town. Just beautiful and laid back. I haven’t been back but I get really nostalgic for it from time to time.
At the time, the best coffee/coffee shop was the Steep & Brew on State Street. They were a local institution, I’m sure they are still there.
My favorite local brews were from New Glarus Brewery, sadly you can’t get them outside of Wisconsin. There were some nice dive bars hidden around the Capitol Square, too.
Ovens of Brittany had good food at a fair price for a splurging college student. And Myles Teddywedgers! Best pasties on the planet and dirt cheap.
Badger Cab! Badger Cab!
narvalking
I live and work near Madison. Welcome – if you ate at Vientiane Palace good for you. I had something so spicy from there it hurt for almost two days.
Mike D.
@Paul: Late eighties/early nineties? You seriously would barely recognize the place. Not in an all-bad way, but it’s changed…