I could use some restaurant suggestions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Wisconsin
1

<p>Well, my wife and I are taking our son to SOAR this weekend. He will be busy doing his stuff while she and I will be entertaining ourselves. </p>

<p>So, where should we eat Saturday and Sunday nights? The last time we were there, we ate at the Tornado Room. The steaks were good and the ambiance was genuine, so we had a good time. I am not interested in the franchise places, like Capitol Grill or Morton's. We can find places like that in any American city. </p>

<p>We like all cuisines, so please feel free to suggest anything. We come from South Florida, so I am not really interested in Latin or Sushi.....we get plenty of that home. Tell where the locals eat lunch and dinner. I want to get the real feel of Madison and Wisconsin.</p>

<p>We plan to drive to Chicago Monday, so if you have any suggestions for dinner in Chicago, let me know.</p>

2

<p>Fish Fry Friday night at Quivey’s Grove. You can eat inside or out if you want. You need a car to get there.
Closer would be Fish Fry at the Avenue Bar on E Washington. Short cab ride or long walk from downtown.</p>

3

<p>The Old Fashioned (American, lots of good beers) is really good and is right on the capitol square; it was pretty busy when I went and we had to wait awhile to be seated, but that was during graduation weekend and it was worth the wait because the food was awesome. Harvest, which is right next door to the Old Fashioned is also good from what I heard, but they have a limited menu. Dotty’s Dumpling’s Dowry and the Nitty Gritty are also good burger-type places. </p>

<p>Not to sure about Chicago. Went to Wildfire a couple times and its quite good but expensive. Also went to Gino’s pizza but it wasn’t very good.</p>

4

<p>Thank you. We arrive Saturday afternoon, so we will miss the Friday Fish Fry at Quivey’s Grove.</p>

5

<p>I 2nd the Old Fashioned and would add the Great Dane brew pub on E. Wilson. A couple of Vassar grads. Great fries and beers. Also Essen House on Wilson if you want to go in deep.</p>

<p>Next door to the Old Fashioned is Letoile - think Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Local food. </p>

<p>[L’Etoile</a> Restaurant :: Home](<a href=“http://www.letoile-restaurant.com/]L’Etoile”>http://www.letoile-restaurant.com/)</p>

<p>Of course, no visit is complete without ice cream on the union terrace. </p>

<p>In Chgo- Lord, anything you want. I’ve spent a lot of time in S. Florida and know there isn’t a lot of Mexican. Chicago has more Spanish speaking residents than S. Fran. has people! nearly all from Mexico. Plus one must have an Italian beef sandwich if in Chgo. Get ready for gaining some weight. Go to Mr. Beef or Al’s Beef for and Italian beef.</p>

<p>Have fun!</p>

6

<p>Harvest near the Old Fashioned is also very good and much quieter. L’Etoile is top notch. I went to the OF and had to leave–the noise was way too much and the menu very limited IMHO. I was hoping for good comfort foods and it was just sandwiches and chaos. But others seem to like it. Quivey’s still offers old time Wisconsin foods in a classic old farmhouse. </p>

<p>[Quivey’s</a> Grove, Madison Wisconsin Restaurant](<a href=“http://www.quiveysgrove.com/]Quivey’s”>http://www.quiveysgrove.com/)</p>

7

<p>You absolutely must do The Old Fashioned for lunch if you haven’t ever been there. It’s where I take ALL of my out-of-town guests who haven’t been to wisconsin or are not accustomed to Wisconsin fare. </p>

<p>Also, the beers have to be from Wisconsin or they don’t sell them. AWESOME place for lunch, but nicer places for a dinner if you’re looking. I love Jonny Delmonico’s, but check out [Madison</a> Originals - Promoting Independent Restaurants in Madison, WI](<a href=“http://www.madisonoriginals.com/]Madison”>http://www.madisonoriginals.com/) for some great local options. I enjoy L’Etoile, and WI has a rich French history that’s preserved through their incredibly authentic French cuisine using only locally-produced ingredients where possible.</p>

<p>EDIT: WOW, I hadn’t even read Stooge’s post when I replied. Hahaha. Also, I really enjoy outdoor dining at Fresco, above the Overture Center on State Street. They make a mean gin martini, exactly to my liking.</p>

8

<p>If you truly want something out of your usual meat-and-potatoes menu and also in the campus area there are many walk in places on State St. Husnus for Turkish, Italian also listed in the Isthmus Annual Manual, at 547 State. An Afghan one, Kabul, listed as middle eastern in the Manual, my son wants us to go to is next door at 541 State. An excellent Indian restaurant, Maharani, with a buffet lunch in a new building is at the corner of Broom and W Washington- 380 W Wash. Cloth napkins I know at Husnus and Maharani. Broom is closed- major road reconstruction. There are city parking ramps close to each of these.</p>

<p>For ice cream Babcock is the one- served at a the Memorial Union. Babcock Hall is on the west end of campus with limited college building style hours. Res Halls food is good if you are staying there and get the breakfast. The Parent Program is worthwhile, many meals come with it, our year we had a better lunch than the students. Hang out at the Union terrace a bit- the food is not great, though.</p>

<p>Spend some of your free time at the DoIT computer tech center in the Computer Science building- on Dayton between N Charter and N Orchard, entrance close to Charter (which runs from Observatory Dr between Liz Waters Dorm and Social Science south). Definitely check the UW site for road construction closures- some inconvenient ones currently. University Bookstore, across from the Memorial Library on State St, is worth some time- textbooks are in the basement. Free alternative newspapers around, including the Onion.</p>

<p>For a pleasant drive go south of campus and through the arboratum, an entrance near the Vilas Park Zoo on Lake Wingra, or walk the Lakeshore path anywhere beginning at the Union out towards Picnic Point- you can also park near the entrance to Picnic Point and walk the peninsula to its end.</p>

<p>To see both large lakes and learn about Wisconsin you can tour the Capitol building on the square. Like many cities, downtown shopping has long disappeared- State St near campus has many small shops, some reminiscent of a generation ago. Other bookstores also there. The State Historical Society museum is adjacent to campus on State and there are other museums to browse in the downtown/campus area. The Chemistry building has a hanging glass sculputure, new since my day.</p>

<p>Use the internet to scout out details- the UW web site will give links to many area places.</p>

<p>Chicago- have you been there before? In Wisconsin drivers probably won’t get ticketed on the highway going within 10 miles of the posted speed limit- but go over that and you’re at risk. In the Chicago area go with the flow. There are express lanes on the east/west expressway- inbound in the morning and outbound in the afternoon/evening, time it right and you can catch them. Navy Pier is a nice place to hang out if you want some time on the watterfront. No lack of things to do in Chicago. PM me for any added info. We’re into more casual dining, no help with fancy places. Michigan Ave is fun to walk, many tourists and no dress code- be comfortable.</p>

9

<p>Thank you very much. All of your suggestions are appreciated. I can see that food will not be a problem. </p>

<p>We will participate in the parent’s program but we have opted to stay at a nearby hotel. I think that my wife wants to visit the DoIT store. My son’s high school graduation gift will be a laptop. I think that he prefers Apple.</p>

10

<p>The Old Fashion and the Great Dane downtown will both be very noisy. Saturday night we ate at Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry on Frances. Very odd name. Good bar food. If you want hamburgers, beef or otherwise, it is excellent and reasonably priced. See the reviews, some not so great, here: [Dotty</a> Dumpling’s Dowry - Madison, WI](<a href=“http://www.yelp.com/biz/dotty-dumplings-dowry-madison]Dotty”>http://www.yelp.com/biz/dotty-dumplings-dowry-madison).</p>

<p>I’m not a cheese curd guy so we had an order of fried mac and cheese. Unbelievably good as was my turkey burger. Great room with a nice looking bar.</p>

11

<p>All parents of incoming UW students- check out the DoIT info, many suggestions for choosing computers and software. Keep in mind free and reduced price software available to students when thinking security et al.</p>

12

<p>SOAR was a very pleasing experience. We did not have much free time. The only place we were able to visit was the Old Fashion. My wife and I enjoyed it.</p>

13

<p>Thought that would happen with the time- you basically have to add days to the trip or sneak out of a session to do other things besides the SOAR program. They take into consideration that people need to eat as well as attend lectures/discussions and won’t know where to go- meals are a part of it.</p>