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I'll be in madison wisconsin for a week for work and was wondering if anyone could kindly recommend any unique cheap eats around town, anything in the 5-15$ range that you consider must try. I assume there are a few since it's a college town. Thanks in advance to any replies.

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I'm not picky, I just have more tastebuds than you... ; )

There are a few threads on here about Madison that have info. This one probably has the most information in it:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... ht=madison

I really recommend trying out Marigold Kitchen (see the last post).

If you are venturing away from down town and like Mexican food, I'd recommend Antojitos el Toril. I haven't written a review about it yet, but it's outstanding.

Antojitos el Toril
515 Cottage Grove Rd.
Madison,
608-358-7718


Another good website for searching for places to eat in the Madison area is the Eats section of www.thedailypage.com you can even search by location.

State St. connects Capitol Square with the University of Wisconsin and is pedestrian only. What I would generally recommend (as I always do) is to find a parking spot near the Capitol Square (there are a number of parking structures) and taking a good leisurely walk down State St. You will find a good number of local independent restaurants and a good variety.

great frozen custard at michael's

http://www.ilovemichaels.com/

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i used to milk cows

Thanks to (I think), brandon_w's suggestion, I had an excellent breakfast a month or so ago at Mickie's Dairy Bar.



This is a place with plenty of charm and, from what I understand, is something of a local institution.

Look Inside Mickie's


Food is homemade and cooked to order. The pancakes are manhole cover sized and are not to be missed. I understand they are also famous for their milkshakes. Below is an order or corned beef hash and eggs with a short stack on the side.

Breakfast at Mickie's


Needless to say, the portions are huge. When the waitress brought my food, a few people sitting near me were chuckling under their breath at the size of my order. One guy said, "You've obviously never eaten here before." I was only able to finish around half of my order...and I was hungry. This place is a classic. If you're around for breakfast or lunch, don't miss it.

Mickie's Dairy Bar
1511 Monroe Street
Madison, WI
(608) 256-3811

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

I'll second SteveZ's Mickie's Dairy Bar rec (as I have earlier in one of
the Madison threads too). Ive never tried the corned beef as he
did, cant usually get past the "scrambler", which is very good
and *huge*. Their sausage and bacon sides are exceptional as
well (as is the "coffee cake" or whatever they make every
day).

When in Madison, I personally never miss Mickie's (usually have
only been in Madison for about 2 or 3 meals at a time).

For a second meal, I often stick with a place that happens to be
only 2 or 3 doors down from Mickie's.. New Orleans Carry Out.
One of *the* best Cajun-style places anywhere (and Ive been
to most of them in Chicago). Very reasonably priced too, would
fit into your range. And very very good.

Michael's has decent custard, better than anything in Chicago..
but not as good, IMHO, as Kopp's in Milwaukee. Thus if youre
making Milwaukee too, you can pick Kopp's over Michael's
If thats the case, then just have ice-cream - the University's
own ice-cream, available at the Memorial Union (can be eaten
at the wonderful terrace that overlooks the lake). Since youre
there a week.. I'd do 4 Michael's and 3 UW icecreams (or
vice versa

Beyond that.. as has been pointed out, Marigold's is very good
(have eaten there only once however). And the L'Etoile's french
bakery (only L'Etoile I tried, a quickpickup) was good too. Another
thing very much worth trying is the "Pasty", available near the
Capitol. Places like Himal-Chuli have been strongly recommended
to me by Madison residents, but Ive never personally been.

Oh, and if you happen to ever be on the road from Madison
towards Milwaukee (ie on the 94), very very strongly recommend
you make a little detour off the highway and hit Todd's in
Oconomoc - one of the best burgers *anywhere*. Heck, I
personally would even make the trek from Madison if I was there
for a week.. but YMMV on that sort of burger-fanatacism

c8w

Make a trek to Babcock Hall. There is were the ice cream is made. They have a store there and have more flavors then u would find at Memorial Union. That is unless they changed things in the last 15 years since I've been there.

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http://www.wienerandstillchampion.com/


How fast can you eat a 3lb burger?

I believe that Babcock does still have ice cream that they make there. I'm pretty sure the ice cream at the memorial Union is Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, which I realy like, and is made here in Wisconsin.

I do love Michaels too, their Pumpkin Shakes that they had last fall were amazing.

Mickie's and New Orleans Take out are both really great places to get food. I love N.O. Take Out, I haven't had any thing from there that I did not like.

There are so many places to eat downtown that it is kind of crazy. I haven't been to probably 1/10th of them. I really like the Old Fashioned which is on Pinckney on the Square. It's classic "Wisconsin" food. The fried cheese curds are the best I have ever had, the house burger with an egg on it is fantastic as well.

http://www.theoldfashioned.com/

There are a good number of ethnic food (thai, greek, etc) restaurants on Regent street right near Mickies too.

Babcock Hall does make its own ice cream. I work in the building so I'm 100% sure on that one (tasted it directly out of the freezer, have been in the hardening room, etc). I'm 99% sure Memorial Union still carries Babcock ice cream, not Chocolate Shoppe (I didn't look specifically when I was there yesterday, but had some about a month ago).

I also like Fraboni's at the corner of Regent and Park Street for their sandwiches and deli salads. I like Glass Nickel for pizza (especially the Feta-licious and the Ranch) or Ian's for their $3 slices with crazy topping combinations (I like my pizza unconventional sometimes).

Fraboni's
822 Regent St

Glass Nickel
2916 Atwood Avenue

Ian's Pizza
319 N Frances St

You are probably right about the Memorial Union. I'm not sure why I got confused.

Glass Nickel is great, so is The Roman Candle on Willy Street. I haven't had Ian's before, but I have heard about their mac and cheese pizza.

Do people typically share or do they just get side orders?

As I have mentioned elsewhere on this board, NOTO is a cant miss in Madison and it would fall under the "cheap eats" section. Madison is actually flooded with good grub at a better price due to the fact it is a college town. Start by looking at my previous post, but do know that New Orleans Takeout is unlike anything you will find in Chicago, matter of fact you'd have to go to Louisiana to find cajun food this good.

http://www.eatmobettah.com/

Yes and yes. And I'll add the the typical clientèle is (are) college age frat boys with bottomless stomachs.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Treat yourself to something good after a long day and head to the Capital Brewery and order the scotch-beer and a reuben.

The cafe attached to L'Etoile is now called Cafe Soleil, but it's still scrumptious. I actually drive there from Chicago just for the almond croissants (ok, the Farmer's Market is well worth it too...).

Recommended: almond, apple & smoked salmon croissants; cinnamon pinwheels (actually, anything made with their brioche dough!); sandwiches (haven't had them all, but everything I've had has been GREAT) -- and on a recent visit had a batch of Italian wedding soup that was really flavorful and healthy to boot!

If you're there over the weekend, don't miss the Farmer's Market. It's moved indoors for the winter, but it's still going, and their breakfasts are a great value. For more information, check out www.madfarmmkt.org .

I'll add another recommendation for the custard at Michael's. I also liked the beer at Capital Brewery in Middleton and at Great Dane Brewpub downtown at 123 E Doty Street.

For dinner I liked Lao Laan Xang at 1146 Williamson St. The food is Lao Thai, and some of the dishes are different from what you see at the good Thai places in Chicago. I especially liked the squash curry. Good papaya salad too. And they have good beer available--New Glarus and Bell's.

A Culinary History Enthusiasts of Wisconsin friend just advised:

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Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways, Road Food 2012: Podcast

I had a surprisingly good meal at a place with the unlikely name of Noodle Express.

During the week, apparently, they are routine Chinese/Vietnamese-Thai-American, but on Saturdays they do an excellent buffet of fairly authentic Cantonese fare including dim sum.

Noodle Express
2817 E. Washington Ave., Madison, WI 53704
608.216.9238
http://bestnoodleexpress.com

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LAZ
Dining Chicago
Index to LTHForum Recipes, 2004-2008

Noodle Express is gone. Looks as if a Vietnamese spot is opening there soon.

Had a pleasant lunch at Dumpling Haus, a bao and noodles specialist in the Hilldale Shopping Center. We shared the house jiao zi, half moon dumplings, with pork and green onion filling; some nice peanut noodles; a couple of kinds of bao; and refreshing, iced honeydew melon green tea.

Dumpling Haus
Hilldale Shopping Center
702 N. Midvale Road
Madison, WI 53705
(608) 661-4287

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LAZ
Dining Chicago
Index to LTHForum Recipes, 2004-2008