This summer, our vacation was of the driving sort. First stop (on Thursday) was Madison, Wisconsin. We had a great time, and if you’re planning on visiting, or just want to click along online, here are my recommendations:
- Atticus Such a cool shop with a nice edited selection, right across from the capitol (and I think the website is nifty as well). I spotted Sea Bags, kai and malin + goetz apothecary, pretty/delicate/simple jewelry, plus a nice denim selection. One thing I noticed and loved is that they ripped out the same ysl dress for their inspiration board that I had …. yes, it’s $4150, but it’s inspiring ….
- Fromagination I’d read the New York Times story about Fromagination, and luckily, spotted the shop as we were looking for a parking spot, because it was not on my radar. I’m so glad we visited. Every cheese you could think of (with ultra-helpful staff who offered tastes) as well as wine, beer, sandwiches, and gorgeous gourmet offerings. I picked up a couple of fliers that will help me with cheese/beer and cheese/fruit pairings. (see the rundown online) We ended up purchasing some Wisconsin chevre, as well as some gouda, and truth be told, a couple of libations. My husband loves cheese, and I suspect Fromagination will be a go-to site for holiday gifts.
- Sucre Of course, we had to have lunch while there. And Sucre was perfect: opened this year by Punky Egan, the space was minimal chic, with an orange/white palette. My roasted vegetable sandwich and iced tea was the perfect sized lunch, and my son loved his egg salad, but the real star of the meal was the noir de chocolate dessert: dark chocolate + chocolate cremeux + ganache glaze. Oh yeah, it was good.
We also walked up and down State Street (parts under construction and you can tell they’re trying to finish before the students return) and wandered through the UW campus a bit. The lake was windy but beautiful, and there was a patio off the student union where you could grab a table, look over the lake and enjoy a plastic pitcher of beer. It is Wisconsin, after all. I had to cut short our bookstore shopping because I was starting to want all sorts of things, with that voice saying “maybe you could use a new pen/notebook/new and improved post-it stickies.” School supplies have that power over me. My husband would like you to know that we got over to the football stadium as well. Our son got to peek through the gates and spy the Badgers at practice.
All in all, a nice day. More tomorrow on part two of our travels.
2 Comments
If you were near the stadium you were very close to the Monroe Street neighborhood which boasts many cute/creative/interesting independant shops and eateries.
That patio of which you write is indeed a favorite place … it’s called the Union Terrace. Remember the chairs? They’re called Terrace Chairs, because that’s the only place in the world you can find them.
Glad you stopped by, and thanks for writing!