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October 10, 2003
Madison, Wis.
By BONNIE TSUI
ON an isthmus sandwiched by Lakes Mendota and Monona, Madison, the capital of
Wisconsin, is a progressive university town noted for the good life: sailing,
paddling and windsurfing in the summer; cross-country skiing, hiking and
ice-skating in the winter (which can be so cold, in fact, that bundled-up
Madisonians take on a unisex look); good old Midwestern values all year-round.
In 1948, Life magazine featured Madison as its pick for the best place to
live in America; thankfully, not much has changed. It's the kind of place
where you will find well-maintained (and well-used) bike paths, an abundance
of locally grown organic food at the weekend farmers' market and
bed-and-breakfasts
with ecological and historical awareness. But don't let Madison's
fresh-scrubbed
face fool you — its radical 1960's past may have mellowed into more of a
fervor for football, but it is all balanced with a sophisticated cultural
life comparable to that of a much larger city. Frank Lloyd Wright buildings
dot the landscape, and thriving theater and arts communities can be found
on and off campus, along with a competitive culinary scene and a diverse
population that includes punk-rock students and die-hard conservatives. What
could be finer?
Friday
5 p.m.
1) A Campus Tour
The pedestrian-only State Street runs
from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus to the Capitol, connecting
the academic center to the seat of government. Strolling the avenue is an
ideal way to get the lay of the land and an idea of how eclectic this town
really is: you will see the progression of businesses from crunchy coffee
bars, record shops and thrift stores to upscale bars, restaurants and brew
pubs. The bars get busy on football weekends. And the campus stadium is filled
with fans who come back weekend after weekend to cheer the Badgers. Start
your journey off right with some of the richest ice cream you will ever have
— made by the university's dairy students from the agriculture
school — at
the Memorial Union (800 Langdon Street, 608-265-3000). A Friday evening on
the union's terrace, complete with live music, bratwurst and $3 beers, can't
be beat.
8 p.m.
2) Microbrews and Pub Food
Beer is a serious business in
Madison (after all, it is just 80 or so miles from Milwaukee). End up at
the Capitol end of State Street for dinner at the Great Dane brewery (123
East Doty Street, 608-284-0000). Try one of the whimsically named beers on
tap, like Crop Circle Wheat, an unfiltered beer with a bit of bite and served
with a lemon slice, or one of the specials of the day, like the hoppy and
tangy Texas Speedbump IPA. Or taste them all with the best deal of the night:
four-ounce samplers of whatever brew you like for 75 cents each. The restaurant
serves a wide selection of more-than-pub food: Caribbean jerk-spiced tofu
wraps ($6.95), fried calamari with banana peppers ($6.95) and bratwurst and
mashed potatoes ($7.25). And if you decide you would like to take some beer
to go, you can: half-gallon containers of house brews are $8, plus a
$3 container
fee.
Saturday
9 a.m.
3) Circumnavigate the Lake
Rent a set of wheels from Machinery
Row Bicycles (601 Williamson Street, 608-442-5974; bikes are $20 a day, in-line
skates, $10, helmets and locks included) and take a spin around picturesque
Lake Monona on a 13-mile paved bike loop. The path winds past sandy beaches,
ducks sitting on grassy banks and fishermen casting off the docks. Afterward,
walk along the waterfront to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Monona Terrace
Community and Convention Center (1 John Nolen Drive, 608-261-4000), a
five-level
swish of curved glass and archways with a cafe, a rooftop terrace and
a memorial
to the singer Otis Redding, who died in a plane crash on Lake Monona in 1967.
11 a.m.
4) Get It While It's Fresh
Every Saturday until Nov. 8,
the Dane County Farmers' Market brings more than 300 vendors and their seasonal
wares to Capitol Square (608-455-1999; open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.). It's the place
to graze on a full-color spectrum of just-picked homegrown produce: sweet
corn, apples, beets, plums, broccoli and Swiss chard. In the
bustling, energetic
milieu of the urban happily meeting the rural, you can also find scones and
muffins, Wisconsin cheese, goat-milk yogurt and fresh-bottled pesto, jams
and honey.
1 p.m.
5) Artful Things
If you're not the type to join legions
of Badger fans for the Saturday football game, spend the afternoon touring
Frank Lloyd Wright's 600-acre estate, above, he named Taliesin (a Welsh term
meaning "shining brow"), a National Historic Landmark about 45 minutes west
of Madison in Spring Green (Highways 23 and C, 608-588-7900; call for tour
prices and times). Though Wright designed several buildings in Madison itself,
including the sharply angled limestone, copper and glass Unitarian Meeting
House on University Bay Drive, he left his college town to make a home.
8 p.m.
6) Organic Living
Madison is said to have more restaurants
per capita than any American city, and its dinner choices don't disappoint.
Most of the finer establishments are on Capitol Square, including Harvest
(21 North Pinckney Street, 608-255-6075), where the French and
American seasonal
menu uses locally grown, organic produce. The best way to dine is with the
chef's nightly tasting menu; recent specials included seared wild striped
bass ($25). Next door is L'Etoile (25 North Pinckney Street, 608-251-0500),
whose similar natural-food ethic has won several awards for its chef and
owner Odessa Piper. The restaurant also operates a street-level bakery and
market cafe that sells artisanal breads, sandwiches, pastries and coffee.
For seafood lovers, the Blue Marlin (101 North Hamilton Street, 608-255-2255)
serves a fresh, catch-of-the-day menu in an intimate 1850's building; recent
dishes included broiled blue marlin with pesto ($21.95) and grilled wild
king salmon with cucumber dill relish ($20.95).
10:30 p.m.
7) A Little Night Music
More often than not, the seen-and-be-seen
crowd in Madison can be found seated at the long, curved bar at Restaurant
Magnus (120 East Wilson Street, 608-258-8787). The nightspot's extensive
tapas menu, well-chosen wine list and live weekend performances (mostly jazz
and South American music) keep the front lounge, bar and vaulted-ceiling
dining room packed. The drinks set often becomes a dance set after 10 p.m.
Sunday
10 a.m.
8) Greener Pastures
Take a leisurely walk or join a pack
of runners through the University of Wisconsin's 1,260-acre arboretum (1207
Seminole Highway, 608-263-7888), an "outdoor ecological laboratory" with
habitats native to the Midwest. There is a six-mile paved loop and miles
of hiking and cross-country skiing trails. Water babies can rent kayaks or
canoes in Wingra Park, on Lake Wingra.
12:30 p.m.
9) Food and Thought
Chances are you will have eaten
your fill at your bed-and-breakfast, but if you have a little room left head
to Sophia's Bakery & Cafe (831 East Johnson Street, 608-259-1506) for
coffee and fresh pastries: bear claws ($2), cinnamon buns ($2) and croissants
($1.50 to $2.25 each). You can spend the afternoon browsing at Canterbury
Booksellers (315 West Gorham Street, 608-258-9911), a Madison institution
that works with the writing faculty at the university to bring in writers,
like Tim O'Brien, for readings.
Travel Information
Madison has its own airport, Dane County Regional, about five miles from
downtown (a taxi costs about $12). Continental offers nonstop flights to
Madison from Newark International Airport, and many airlines offer direct
service from La Guardia Airport. General Mitchell International Airport in
Milwaukee is an hour and a half from Madison.
Bed-and-breakfasts offer the most charming lodging in town, and there
are plenty of choices. The Arbor House (3402 Monroe Street, 608-238-2981;
$95 to $220), a luxurious yet refreshingly eco-conscious inn, has hearty
breakfasts, Internet access and mountain bikes to use. At the meticulously
restored Mansion Hill Inn (424 North Pinckney Street, 800-798-9070; $170
to $280), an 1857 German Romanesque Revival home, you can revisit the past
in each of the 11 sumptuously decorated suites. For a more standard high-rise
experience, the 240-room Hilton Madison Monona Terrace (9 East Wilson Street,
608-255-5100; from $125), is by the Capitol and overlooks Lake Monona.
Published October 10, 2003 by The New York Times
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