Top Tens, 2nd Edition

The Top Ten Best Things About Living in . . . Madison, WI

10.) Culver's Wisconsin is the land of Culver's and Madison is no exception. They have many locations there, some better than others. (Eastowne Culver's = Highly recommended, Beltline Culver's = Not). The bottom line, however, is that a butterburger and some frozen custard is a beautiful thing. And the best part of many different Culver's in one place is that on any given day, one of them is bound to have a flavor-of-the-day that you'll enjoy.

9.) State Street & Capitol Square I'm pretty sure the stretch from Memorial Library at UW on one end to the Capitol Building on the other could accommodate pretty much any craving a person might have. There is the super fancy (Harvest), the super cheap (Taco Bell), a million different ethnic places (Russian dumplings, Nepalese, Afghani, etc.), a million coffee shops (from Starbucks to Esspresso Royale), and of course the institution that is State Street Brats. Not to mention the fact that there are a million stores from pricey, to cheap, to hippie, to kitschy. So if you're hungry or want to buy something, you know where to go. Only, try to go in summer, because it's cold in the winter :)

8.) Navigation The first thing I ever appreciated about Madison was the ease of navigation that it offers. Not to say that I never got lost, because I did, quite a bit in fact. What I'm saying is that you only have to know a minimal number of roads in order to be able to successfully negotiate your way through the main parts of town. Start with Washington, that's the most important one. Add in the Beltline and University, and you're in pretty damn good shape. Thank you, Madison, for being so user friendly!

7.) Fish Fry What is more delicious than fried fish? Not much, especially if that fish happens to be walleye. I'm pretty sure that every single person in the Badger State goes to a fish fry every single Friday. Or at least that's what it seems like. Depending on where you're going, you might need to make a reservation. But once you're there, it's all worth while. Delicious fried fish, some cole slaw, and beer. It doesn't get any better than that. A couple to try: the Avenue Bar and Wando's. By the way, every Tuesday night Wando's supplies those drinking there with free bacon. How cool is that?

6.) College Sports Madison is a serious college sports town. It is THE college sports town. They take football, basketball, and hockey very seriously. Hell, they have a bigger student section with more spirit at their volleyball games than most schools do at their men's basketball games. Anyone who has ever laid eyes on Camp Randall Stadium knows that these people mean business. At at the end of any University of Wisconsin athletic event that you attend, you will hear the "time-honored tradition of the singing of the varsity." U-Raw-Raw Wisc-on-sin.

5.) Ice Cream One of the main benefits of moving to America's Dairyland is the ice cream. It is superb and there is plenty of it to be had in Madison. UW's Babcock Hall ice cream is damn good, but my favorite by far is the Chocolate Shoppe on State Street. Oh so delicious. Of course, if you want frozen custard there's always Culver's (see #10) or Michael's Frozen Custard. Madison is a great place for frozen goodness.

4.) Bikes The Trek factory is located just minutes away in Waterloo, WI. There are two Trek stores in Madison, not to mention about a million other bike shops. I ought to know, because when Pete would visit me there I think we averaged about three per weekend (Machinery Row was the closest, so we went there the most). There are lots of people who love to ride there, not to mention lots of bike trails. The Capitol City Bike Trail was a favorite of mine, but the ride out to Picnic Point and the trails around Lake Monona were great, too. Basically, if you're like Pete and love to ride, Madison is a great place to be.

3.) Lakes Most notably Lake Mendota (the one UW is located on) and Lake Monona (the one south of Lake Mendota) feature prominently in Madison. I can't count how many days I spent walking the Fredo along the shores of one of the lakes, enjoying the smell of lake on the wind. Well, that was when it was warm. In the winter I walked along freezing my ass off because there is nothing colder than the wind off of a frozen lake. Whatever the season or the temperature, lakes make things prettier. Yay for lakes.

2.) Beer It's Wisconsin, so of course the beer is good. When I first moved into town, the local brewery I discovered was Capitol Brewing. I enjoyed their Oktoberfest and a selection of their other offerings at Taste of Madison Labor Day Weekend. I didn't take me long, however, to discover some far superior local offerings. Don't get me wrong, the Capitol stuff is good, but it doesn't hold up to the other brews I found. First, I happened upon the Great Dane Brew Pup by the capitol. The have yummy food (I heartily recommend the brats and mash) and good beer ( I recommend the Crop Circle and the Devil's Lake Red Porter). The holy grail of Wisconsin beer, in my humble opinion, is not to be found in Madison, but in New Glarus. That's right, New Glarus Brewing offers some of the best beer this girl has ever enjoyed. How can anyone who drinks beer not enjoy Spotted Cow? I have no idea. Fat Squirrel, Road Sludge, Hop Hearty, Raspberry Tart, Yokel, and on, and on. I have yet to taste a beer they make that I don't like. And the town is a super cute little Swiss town with a sweet bakery. Good stuff.

1.) Hockey I will always remember Wisconsin as the state where I learned to love hockey. While I was there, both the men's and women's hockey teams at UW won national championships. On Wisconsin! I spent some awesome time at the Kohl Center and lots of good time on the couch learning to love an amazing sport. As an big fan of basketball, baseball, and football, I can honestly say that there is nothing finer than a good hockey game, and I have Madison to thank for that. The fans in Madison are great, and it is without hesitation that I can say that hockey was my favorite thing about my time in Madison. Thanks to Pete for patiently answering all of my amateurish questions ("What's the five hole?"), a process that still continues.