Madison Roll Call

Madison is the only B1G trip I can theoretically make apart from Minneapolis, but the distance is great enough that it's a real strain, and the only time I would be able to attend a game is noon, since I have to return home the same day. I think there's almost zero chance of Michigan-Wisconsin occupying that slot, so I haven't even bothered to consider the trip an option. A pity, I'd love to make the trip.

Get ready to get drunk. Night before the game, or after the game, you can go barhoppong down main street and hit like 10-15 bars in a row. My night of greatest debauchery at UM was the weekend we went to Madison for the game. Srsly.

I don't get it--you won't roll on shabbos but you will go to a Michigan game? We might need a ruling on this from any MGoChosen.

I'll be there. First time to Madison so I can't offer any insight but I'm pretty excited!

Madison has an amazing gameday experience. I lived there for 2 years right after graduating from Ann Arbor and it really helped dealing with my gameday withdrawals. Best bars to hit up if you still have your party bone:

 

• Chasers (order 2 shnorkels for you and your MgoWife)
• Wandos (grab a fish bowl)
• Brats

 

For dinner if you can snag a table at Old Fashioned you won't regret it. Make sure to load up on the cheese curds. 

 

See ya there!

I've been to games there about a half-dozen times over the decades. It's my favorite place to watch a football game outside of Ann Arbor. I can't add anything to the great tips given by others. Anything around the State St. area on a football weekend is a winner.

Enjoy your trip!

I have been offered tickets, trying to get out of a wedding first

I'm looking forward to the short trip west!

My wife and I are going. Went to Madison twice last year (wife did IM Wisconsin), and loved it, great town. I asked if she wanted to go for the game and it was an immediate "yes", which has never happened before for an away game.

We're staying downtown near the Capitol. Hopefully the weather's decent so we can bike around town. Great suggestions in here for places to go; we'll have to check some new (to us) places out.

I'm planning on going too. Looking forward to it.

Son (Wisconsin '96), grandson, and 'ol grandpa will attend the game. Smoky's is a great postgame place and IMHO the best, chewy steak in town. Traditionally Smoky's has eschewed reservations but I've heard they now accept them. If you walk in after the game, prepare yourself for a looong wait. But it'll be worth it --- great food, great atmosphere, especially if M wins, which Angelique predicts, and is she ever wrong? Go Blue! 

the Terrace is great and a must see (at least in summer).

Capitol square is great.  Go to the Farmer's market on Sunday if it is still going.  (Probably won't be.)  Cool bars there too.

Fun German bar where you can drink a Boot (boot shaped glass).  I think it is called Das Essen House. 

There are also supper clubs around town where you can get an Old Fashioned and a proper Wisconsin meal.

 

Williamson Street on the east side has a number of good dining options, and it's a cool neighborhood.  Highlights include a couple mentioned above, pig in a fur coat and Madison Sourdough.  With respect to Madison Sourdough, it has more than just bread.  Their French pastries are outstanding, and their breakfast and lunch options are also first-rate.  As far as bread and pastries go, I'd put Madison Sourdough significantly ahead of Zingerman's Bakehouse.  Also on Willy Street is Umami, which does Asian fusion, especially dumplings.  It's also a good brunch option:  try the dumplings filled with scrambled eggs.

As for other spots, Jac's Taphouse on Monroe Street (a little west of the stadium) is very good. So is Cafe Hollander, which is further west, in Hilldale Mall.  It specializes in Beligian food, so lots of frites (not to mention cheese curds).  The Kulminator grilled cheese sandwich there is noteworthy.  Also in that mall is a cool theatre, the AMC 6, which serves drinks and real food, which you can eat in the theatre.  (I went there a couple of years ago, when it was a Sundance theatre, but I think it's mostly the same.)

On Regent Street, near Park Ave., there is OSS (next door to the Greenbush Bar), which makes their own sausages and offers a variety of traditional and non-traditional sausage sandwiches, not to mention cheese curds and lots of craft beer.  Closer to the stadium on Regent is Indie Coffee, which is a good compliment to Greenbush Bakery, which is just down the street.

Many have mentioned the Old Fashioned, which is worth a visit.  But be prepared to wait for about an hour and half on Friday or Saturday night.  They will text you when your table is ready, so you can walk around Capitol Square and State Street while you wait.

Regent Street bars morph into a sea of beer gardens on game day.   Overpriced beer and lots of flesh packed into tight spaces, but a sight to behold.   For that matter, Regent Street is largely impassable in the 1-2 hours before kickoff, so alter your driving routes accordingly if you're arriving late to the game.   It's a very different environment than Ann Arbor due to the nearby restaurants and bars.

Parking is atrocious, as others have indicated.  Be careful parking in the nearby neighborhoods.  Most streets within a healthy radius of the stadium have game day parking restrictions.   You can locate some neighborhoods outside the parking restriction zone, but within a 10-15 minute walk down the SW bike path.  Just use google maps or your favorite vehicle map utility and park somewhere west of Commonwealth (just off Monroe St) - it's an easy walk to the stadium along the bike path.    Don't arrive too late, though, as these streets will fill up.  There's a plethora of game day parking on nearby yards, but arrive early to grab a spot.   And egress at these nearby yards sucks, so be prepared for some after game beer and food to wait out the traffic.

Probably won't make it, but there is a sliver of possibility!

So doesn't seem like there is a central field to tailgate being downtown so is taking an uber to the bars beforehand is the way to go?