Madison's best kept secret is a bar.

I must start by saying that is my 100th blog post! Hot damn.

When I was little, two friends and I had a secret club. We held meetings in a shed, took notes, tracked our money, and didn't tell anyone about it.

I think I've found adulthood's answer to the secret club: an under-the-radar bar in a quasi industrial wasteland in Madison. Meet the Old Sugar Distillery: a nondescript bar a few blocks from downtown. Signage is small, hours are limited (Thursday-Saturday), and the surroundings are fellow nondescript buildings. Offices? Factories? Haven't figured it out yet, but that place where a lot of buses park is within sight. The bar itself can be tough to spot, but it's worth discovering.

It's a small local business at its finest. All of the Old Sugar Distillery's liquors are made in-house and aged in Minnesota oak barrels, which line the bar like low-key wallpaper:

Booze barrels!

The atmosphere is friendly and the drinks are top notch. My favorite is the Honey Cap: muddled lime, honey, lime juice, soda water, and the in-house honey liqueur.

My honey cap: perfection!

It's everything I want in a bar, really: a delicious drink menu, locally made snacks, and a mellow place to have a good conversation. The 3-day-a-week exclusivity just makes it more special. It's my secret club, and I like it that way.

Madison, WI: home of the $1 mimosa.

There: I've come up with a spot-on city slogan.

After living in Madison for 3.5 years, I can vouch that it's definitely a foodie city. And with food, there will always be drinks. I recently discovered Capital Tap Haus, and I must say I'm impressed. Not sure how I missed it, honestly. Located right at the top of State St., this pub offers an impressive variety of local brews and great food to go with it (I'm a sucker for any salad with gorgonzola). 

We were just going in for lunch, but I was immediately enthralled by the chalkboard noting the brunch drink specials: $6 bloody mary, $3 amber, $1 mimosa. Mimosa for a buck!

Nothing says Sunday bliss like a cheap drink.

Capital Tap Haus, you'll be seeing more of me on Sundays.

Eat your veggies: early Fall at the Dane County Farmers' Market.

Hey Madison, it's been a while. I left the country for 2 weeks on an amazing multi-continental adventure (a week in Barcelona, then a week in Israel). The jet lag was rough, and getting back to reality has been harder than I expected. But what better way for me to get back in my groove than to eat some veggies? In Wisconsin, this time of year is all about veggies, veggies, veggies. For me, that means Dane Country Farmers' Market trips and some pretty awesome boxes from my Harmony Valley Farm CSA.

My haul from the market was pretty typical: green onions, napa cabbage, and some gouda from Farmer John's Cheese (Yup, that's the guy whose cow I milked. He told me that she's pregnant. Mazel tov, Faith!). After my shopping, what I discovered downtown that was a fun surprise: a local food fest, including an enormous, stilt-walking corn:

Just hanging at the Wisconsin State Capitol with my new corn friend (and HER corn friend… look at the tiny one in her hand).

I also checked in with the Willy Street Co-Op booth, where I found myself in a bit of a pickle.

I never thought I'd get to say THIS phrase on by blog twice in one year, but…
#pickleselfie.

Once I had my mandatory ridiculous photos taken care of, it was time to head home and pick up the CSA. The most surprising thing in the box was this hairy, curly, finger-like root vegetable:

And the award for ugliest vegetable goes to… celeriac!

My to-do list for the week: figure out how the hell to cook it. I'm thinking soup.

Eat your veggies, folks!

Farmers' Market trip: summer salad edition.

Realizing that we hadn't gone to the Dane County Farmers' Market in quite a long time, my friend Tonya and I ventured out for some Saturday morning shopping. Despite the chilly wind, the market was packed, and I left with an awesome haul:

Broccoli, lettuce, mini cukes, a beefsteak tomato, and sweet cherries.
Yum! Time for summer salad.

Then, off to brunch at Mickey's Tavern. A delicious morning!

As the world turns: my visit to The Soap Opera.

A fact about myself that I have probably never shared on this blog: I. love. baths. I went to summer camp in New Hampshire for nine years, and as much as I adored the experience, it was always a tough transition to go from a daily bath to a daily shower (in a shower house full of screaming girls, nonetheless!). On the last day of camp, as sad as I was to leave, it was always comforting to know I was heading to my cousin Lisa's house for a nice hot bath.

I still opt for bath over shower, and along with this comes a love of bath salts and soaps. How it took me over a year and a half in Madison to wind up at The Soap Opera on State Street, I will never know.

My friend Kim was in town this weekend so I decided to take her shopping on State Street. Right near the Wisconsin State Capitol, State Street is full of eclectic local shops and restaurants (like Anthology and Himal Chuli), then peppered with a few chains like Gap, American Apparel, and Potbelly. The whole neighborhood is a bit of a potpourri. At first it struck me as oxymoronic for Bop to be next door to Quaker Steak & Lube, but what can I say? State Street just works, and The Soap Opera seems to fit right in, especially with products like this:

Cat and yarn glycerin soap. Too cute, right?

The Soap Opera sells a mix of local and non-local bath products and accessories. From soap and salts to eye masks and rubber duckies, they've got everything covered.

A stack of glycerin soaps in a variety of motifs (highlights include Star of David, Breast Cancer Awareness, Democrat Donkey, and Republican Elephant).

A wall of soaps and lotions. So many choices!

As much as I love soaps, my weak sense of smell makes it difficult to enjoy most of them. Susanne helped me find the perfect locally made soap that I could actually smell: 100% vegetable-based glycerin soap made from gently exfoliating almond meal. I'm very excited to try out my purchase!

Thanks for the free samples, Susanne!

For more information on The Soap Opera, check them out at 319 State Street or visit their site here.

One year in Madison: time for cows!

It's hard to believe that I've lived in Madison for a little over a year. I have a great job, fabulous friends, and I just bought a beautiful condo in the Atwood neighborhood.

When I was new to Madison last year, I wrote my third-ever blog post about Cows On The Concourse, which gave me the opportunity to mingle with cows downtown.

This year, I returned to the event (now in its 33rd year) with my friend, Kat. We petted a fuzzy baby calf and then I got my picture taken with Apple Cider, the Milking Shorthorn:

Apple Cider and her farmer friend were happy to pose for the photo.

Once we had our daily dose of cows, Kat and I went to Mirch Masala for a delicious Indian buffet. When I went to college in Cincinnati, I lived on a street with three Indian restaurants. Since then, it's been my favorite food, and Mirch Masala lived up to the hype.

My dairy dessert: rice pudding and a milk ball.

While downtown, I picked up some organic strawberries at the Farmers' Market:

Look at those beauties!

What can I say? My first year in Wisconsin has been exciting, educational, and memorable. Here's to many more!

In Wisconsin, we drink beer from Das Boot!

I'm not much of a beer drinker. The same cannot be said for most Wisconsinites. At most social gatherings in Madison, I tend to be the only guest who chooses wine over beer. What can I say? I prefer something fruity.

When my coworker Tonya (a Wisconsin native and avid beer fan) returned from traveling internationally, she decided to celebrate her return at one of her favorite downtown Madison bars, the Essen Haus, on May 5th. Tonya guaranteed that the evening would contain blog-worthy material, and as usual, she spoke the truth.

My friend Elysha and I began the evening at her house in true Cinco de Mayo fashion: she made enchiladas and I brought skinny margaritas. Once we were full (and in my case, tipsy), we headed over to the Essen Haus for a true Wisconsin-style celebration.

A sample of Essen Haus decor.

A live polka band provided the mood music while I ordered some bar munchies and we settled down at a table with Tonya and our three new friends. And then, it happened: Das Boot arrived. Das Boot is a large glass boot filled with beer that is shared around a table while adhering to six traditions set by the bar:

1. Das Boot must not touch or be set down on the table.
2. Das Boot must be consumed with the toe pointed out or up.
3. Das Boot must be passed around the table and shared with all.
4. Das Boot must be flicked once one decides to pass it to the next person.
5. The last person to drink from Das Boot before the person who finishes it has to buy the next one.
6. Once Das Boot is down to a level where someone will injest the remaining beer during one's turn, other people at the table must initiate ceremonial table pounding for encouragement. Other patrons at the Essen Haus will also pound on their tables in solidarity.

Elysha proudly models the full Das Boot with our new friend, Rob.

Drinking Das Boot!

Regardless of my fondness of beer, I was required to participate according to tradition #3.

Tonya made sure that I understood all the rules before I was entrusted with Das Boot.

Holding the boot for the first time, and very excited about it!

While others opted to chug Das Boot, I was more of a sipper. I played by the rules and was an avid boot flicker and table pounder.

I've lived in Wisconsin for a tad under a year. I never could have predicted in May 2011 that in a year I'd be spending Cinco de Mayo at a bar in Wisconsin listening to polka music while drinking beer out of a glass boot. But that's the thing about Madison (and my life in general): there's never a dull moment.

Wine night on the square.

I'm not much of a drinker, but I don't pass up an opportunity for a nice glass of wine and some girl talk. It had been too long since our last hangout, so I proposed that Rebecca and I go out for some wine. She suggested Barriques on the square, which turned out to be the perfect place for wine and treats.

I walked across the square in the 30 degree weather, which really isn't that bad when moving quickly (when standing still, it's dreadful). Rebecca and I ordered wine and treats and hung out upstairs.

The place was quite crowded and they ran out of wine glasses, so Rebecca was given a Stella glass instead. Classy.

I enjoyed a fruity white wine and some lemon poppyseed cake, while Rebecca opted for an adventurous red wine and a pumpkin chocolate truffle. For those who haven't caught on yet: I drink like a prissy girl and Rebecca drinks like a film noir starlet. What else is new?

This was an ideal place to chill out: open late, affordable food and beverages, and judging by the abundance of laptop users, they seem to offer free Internet. Cheers!

Team trivia: Madison style.

Anxious to test our random knowledge of seemingly useless information, my knitting friends and I went to The Brass Ring for team trivia today. Our team name: Purls of Wisdom (get it?).

My friend Kat ordered an Ale Asylum Contorter Porter (a beer made right here in Madison):

Would you care for a side of yarn with that beer?

I have noticed that people in Madison place a high value on the local production of food and beverages. It's unusual for me to live in a city with so many locally made products, and I must say that I applaud this effort.

As luck would have it, a Madonna question came up at team trivia. To say the least, I am a diehard Madonna fan. I have seen her three times in concert, I have every song she's ever released in my iTunes library, my brain is filled with useless Madonna facts, and in 20 years of competitive figure skating, I have performed to her songs more than any other artist. The question was: What number one song by Madonna was written by Babyface? The correct answer: "Take A Bow".

Needless to say, I was thrilled that my Madonna knowledge got us 6 points!
PS: Look at me successfully knitting cables for the first time!

When everyone in the bar correctly answered a question, free "flapjack" shots were distributed (orange juice, whiskey, and butterscotch schnapps):

Because I had to drive to the rink after trivia, I opted out on drinking.
Kat and Bronwen look oh so happy about their shots!

Kat's response to the shot: "That really does taste like Sunday breakfast."

Purls of Wisdom placed in the middle of the pack out of 15 teams. Not bad for a trio playing against large groups! 

Good friends, knitting, trivia, & locally made products: a lovely weekend in Madison, indeed!

Saturday at the farmers' market: how 'bout them apples?

With the winter weather approaching, the Dane County Farmers' Market has relocated indoors to Monona Terrace. Designed by Madison native, Frank Lloyd Wright, Monona Terrace is the perfect alternative to the outdoor market, offering a great view of (you guessed it) Lake Monona.

I wandered around the indoor market, where I discovered Romanesco broccoli:

Picture perfect, isn't it?

I continued browsing and decided to pick up a few goodies:

My loot from the market: cherry jalapeño jelly and two large empire apples.

My friend Kat and I met up at the market and decided to go to Marigold Kitchen for brunch. I was craving an omelette, so this was the perfect place to go. Luckily, we beat the crowd and found a table.

My veggie & cheese omelette with toast, salad, and sweet potatoes.

The pumpkin cake was calling Kat's name:

Cream cheese frosting!

Farmers' market + brunch = perfect Saturday.

Chocolate chip cookie dough egg roll? Yes, at Taste of Madison!

This Labor Day weekend, I've been enjoying a 3-day stay-cation. After a hectic week, I needed the relaxation. I have been thoroughly enjoying a weekend of chilling in my apartment while knitting, watching Desperate Housewives, and spending time with my cats. As much as I have been loving my stay-cation, I decided it was worth leaving my apartment to check out Taste of Madison and try some of Madison's best food offerings. It sounded too delicious too resist, and a girl's gotta eat.

My friend Kat and I ventured over to Capitol Square on Sunday and browsed the booths, which offered a wide variety of foods at reasonable prices.

Our first stop was Bandung Indonesian Cuisine, where I had "perkedel jagung" (corn fritter with yellow rice):

Quite tasty!

Next stop was Sa Bai Thong for tofu curry:

Delicious!

And then it was time for dessert. My coworkers told me about a local restaurant called Bluephies, known for their chocolate chip cookie dough egg rolls. My first reaction to this concept was, "Huh?" However, after looking at this unusual dessert, I decided it was worth a try. I definitely made the right decision:

Before...

After!

It's amazing how unusual combinations of food can really click, and this one just worked. It was scrumptious.

Before we left the square, Kat bought a yummy root beer float from Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, and I thought it was quite worthy of a photograph:

The perfect treat to end the day!

If anyone asks me how I spent the holiday weekend, I will tell them all about my wonderful stay-cation, topped off with some tasty treats.

The closest I'll ever get to biking in Madison.

As I have mentioned previously, Madison is extremely biker-friendly. This can be quite terrifying when I'm driving at night and a darkly clothed biker with no lights or reflectors skims by the side of my car. I suppose I will get used to this some day.

After work today, I went to Capital Fitness to do some cardio. While reading Tina Fey's Bossypants and pedaling on a standard recumbent bike, I was distracted by the bike next to me. It was an Expresso interactive bike, which combines exercise, video games, and, oh yeah, dragon slaying.


After doing 20 minutes of cardio, I decided that I wanted to learn more about the mysterious Expresso, so I asked an employee at the front desk to give me a brief tutorial. She explained that while riding the bike, I could participate in a video game by shifting gears and steering with the hand controls. I figured I should try it out, so I hopped onto the bike.

This is the bike I rode. Expresso also makes upright bikes with similar functions.

Then, I learned that not only does the Expresso bike simulate outdoor biking scenarios and races, it also has a video game where I could collect coins and chase dragons in a sandy mythical pagoda land while biking. Burning calories while chasing dragons in an air conditioned environment on a Tuesday evening? Yes please.

All the dragons are creepy and eel-like, so catching them is quite fulfilling.

An interesting feature on this exercise bike is that it provides random background music. I was so glad I plugged by headphones in, because "Angel of the Morning" was the perfect soundtrack for dragon chasing. Really.

After chasing some dragons, I opted to try out one of the bike's more traditional features and try pedaling around a track. I played around with the steering and gear shifting functions and I found myself pedaling much faster than usual so that I could get a good time. I discovered that gears 9, 10, and 11 were the most useful for my trek.

Here is a sample of what the user sees while biking on the Expresso.

I slayed a few dragons and then biked a mile with back support in a faux outdoor setting while surrounded by air conditioning. And I didn't even get helmet hair. That's my kind of biking!

Maxwell Street Days: sidewalk sale extravaganza.

After a hot tip from Tonya at work, I opted to spend the afternoon on State Street at the annual Maxwell Street Days sidewalk sale. All weekend, the State Street stores have major sales: it's total fun, but total chaos.

I was joined by my friend/coworker, Rebecca, who had already visited part of the sale yesterday. While we enjoyed browsing the sales, we both found ourselves particularly overwhelmed by the large crowd and noisy DJ at Urban Outfitters, so we sought refuge in a quiet used bookstore and then people-watched on the curb while enjoying some refreshing treats at Red Mango.

In the words of my design professor from freshman year, I "showed good use of restraint" and actually didn't buy anything at this enormous sale. I truthfully don't need any clothes right now, and I'd rather save up for home decor.

This was yet another day when I was grateful to live downtown and be walking distance from all the excitement.

Art fairs on (and off) the square.

At knitting group, I found out that the annual Art Fair On The Square was happening downtown. While I'm not much of an art buff, it sounded like a fun (and free) opportunity to check out a wide variety of art.

I ventured out to the square and enjoyed browsing the entire fair.

John Petrey is an artist who focuses on themed dress sculptures made from a variety of materials. Here are two of my favorite pieces from his display:

Playing card-themed dress sculpture.

Dress sculpture made from 1960's shoe tags.

An artist with a lot of visitors at the fair was Michael Gard. Michael makes wire sculptures, focusing on human forms. Here are some of my favorite pieces from his display:

When I told my coworker Erika that I was going to the fair, she recommended that I also visit Art Fair Off The Square, located right off Capitol Square. Art Fair Off The Square focuses specifically on local artists. I explored this fair as well, which featured a stilt walker, food vendors, and many artists.

My favorite display at this part of the fair was Jim Sauer's sculpture exhibit, which featured funky anthropomorphic animals:

A frog on a laptop, of course!

Mama and baby kangaroos playing a tuba!

Days like this reassure me that I was right to live downtown. I wanted to be near the action and excitement. Today, the fun was 2 blocks from home. 

My not-so-average morning drive.

Around 9:00am this morning, and I was driving to work while listening to the new Lady GaGa album (excellent wake-up music for me since I am NOT a morning person). It was a typical morning until I noticed that I was behind a large white trailer. As I looked closer, I noticed big black and white noses poking out of the trailer, along with a cow staring at me. There was a trailer full of cows driving downtown on a Wednesday morning. I managed to snap a picture while sitting at a red light:

Look closely: a cow is poking her nose out to get a whiff of the summer air.

I counted four cows in the trailer and they seemed quite content with driving around downtown. I'm hoping that they were on their way to a nice milking, rather than a slaughterhouse. This was quite an interesting start to my morning. I hope the cows enjoyed the ride.

Anthology on State Street: a crafty girl's dream.

I have a personal rule of thumb that tends to be quite accurate: any street with an American Apparel store is in a cool neighborhood. Yes, I know, this sounds quite generalized. Here is my reasoning: I really like American Apparel (despite the fact that they've been investigated for multiple scandals, but that's a whole other can of worms). American Apparel puts their stores in cool neighborhoods where the legging-clad hipsters can go find them. Simple as that.

When I went apartment hunting in Madison, I observed that the only local American Apparel store was on State Street. In accordance with my rule of thumb, I decided that State Street must be a cool place. I was right.

State Street is youthful and artsy, equally populated by chains and local businesses who seem to get along quite nicely with each other. My favorite discovery on State Street thus far has been a store called Anthology. I can't get enough of this place. If Etsy had a storefront, it would look like Anthology. They sell handmade gifts and goodies on consignment from local crafty folks, and there's even a craft table right in the store where anyone can sit down and get creative. I want to buy everything in this store.

In an attempt to show some restraint and not go broke in my first month of adulthood, I only spent $8 on my first trip to Anthology. I bought 8 yards of beautiful hand-dyed ribbon for $1/yard (score!). I brought it home and crocheted a wrap bracelet in a mere 10 minutes. As a craft enthusiast, it was quite an exciting day for me. Here is the result:

Beautiful, vibrant colors. Also, it's rainbow-colored yet it doesn't remind me of a bag of Skittles. Win.

Obviously, I knew that my love affair with this store would continue. After browsing the farmers' market yesterday, I returned to Anthology and spent time searching through a glass vase filled with cards of scrap yarn, ribbon, and string for $6 each. I chose a card with a blend of brown, purple, and green tones-- the colors just looked so rich, and I've been trying to integrate more green and purple into my wardrobe:

Gorgeous yarn, ribbon, and string for $6: I'm a very happy girl.

In another 10 minute crochet experiment, I tied the scraps from the card together and crocheted them into a bracelet. I'm loving how the textures nicely mixed together:

I suppose I have given in to the wrap bracelet trend, huh?

I'm usually a knitter (not a crocheter), so this new interest has surprised me a bit. I predict that I will continue making these, and I think they could make great gifts for friends.

Goal: sell my hand-knit cupcake hats at Anthology. I believe they'd fit right in, and I'd love to be a part of this wonderful store.

My first weekend away from the farmers' market.

As I have already mentioned, the Dane County Farmers' Market has become one of my favorite places. I have spent the past two Saturdays having a blast exploring the products offered from a variety of local vendors.

This weekend, I'm going to Columbus, Ohio for my friend's wedding, so I'll be MIA at the market. I figured this would be a good opportunity to showcase some interesting market-related photos that I have taken thus far.

One of the many cheese smorgasbords available at the market.

One of the most fascinating and moo-worthy people that I have met in Wisconsin is Larry the Gourd Guy. The name pretty much says it all. The man loves his gourds, and he's a really nice guy.

Larry was very happy to show off his many gourds!

I find it quite fun to come home from the market with great loot from local vendors.

Sugar-free apple butter, raspberry jalapeno pepper jelly, bread n' butter pickles, & pumpkin tortelloni

I have been hoping to score some homespun yarn at the market, which I haven't found yet but I did find some at Anthology on State Street.

I expect to have some major catching-up to do at the market when I'm back next weekend!

I refuse to buy a bike.

For those who are reading this who may be uninformed on this topic, Madison, Wisconsin LOVES bikes. They just love the bikes. They're freakin' everywhere. The city is FULL of bike shops. I swear there are more bike shops than grocery stores-- what's up with that?

People in Madison ride their bikes pretty much everywhere, and the bikers and pedestrians totally rule the downtown area. They pedal and walk whenever they want. They don't seem to give a shit about what a traffic sign may say. Anyone using any form of transportation other than a car seems to have the ultimate say in what's going on with the traffic. Car drivers like me are totally in the backseat when it comes to the downtown roads. We have no say. It's not our turf.

But here's the problem: I refuse to buy a bike. I have not ridden a bike since elementary school and I just have no interest in ever doing so again. I enjoy being comfortable in my Volvo. I really do. Also, I have a bad back and hunching over on a bike is no good. I have been a competitive figure skater for 20 years and I have truly sacrificed my body to the sport (yup, you got it, doing unnatural things to your body with the constant risk of falling on ice is in fact detrimental later in life). I truly love skating and I am willing to deal with the pain. It's a blood sport, but it's worth it. BUT... the last thing I need in my life is a bike. I'd wreck my back even more than it's already been wrecked, plus I'd be risking falling over on the pavement (trust me, I fall quite often, and it would definitely happen). I am particularly good at tripping over absolutely nothing. Imagine me on a bike... it's doomed to be dangerous.

I truly wish I had a dollar for every person who has suggested that I buy a bike. I'd be quite wealthy. And for the record, I would definitely invest that money in figure skating, not biking.

Got Milk? My visit to the 32nd annual "Cows on the Concourse."

I have lived in Wisconsin for eight days and I have already developed a love for the Dane County Farmers' Market. Through their website, I learned about the 32nd annual Cows on the Concourse. I should preface this post by saying that I love barnyard animals. When I was 16, I spent two months of summer camp in New Hampshire taking care of three goats whom I grew quite fond of, which fostered a love of any living thing with hoofs and horns.

Back to the cows. As a new resident in downtown Madison, I have already become quite fond of walking around Capitol Square and exploring the weekly farmers' market and local shops. I was quite shocked to discover that every June, local cows and dairy farmers come hang out downtown to meet and greet people. The cows hang out downtown. How fabulous is that concept?


I picked up my map of downtown and made my way over to Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. I knew I was in the right place when I was greeted by this:

I followed the sign and made my way over to the Purple Cow Gift Shop, the official shop of the World Dairy Expo. I then found myself bombarded by an abundance of adorable stuffed cows:

This is my kind of street festival. Who doesn't love a good smiling milk carton and the opportunity to mimic milking a cow every once and awhile?

I then arrived at my final destination: THE COWS! I arrived at a tent filled with cows and very friendly local farmers, where I got to meet and greet local cattle.

Holstein cow

Jersey cow

After telling one of the farmers about my blog, I was invited into the makeshift barn area to get my picture taken with Bucky. She's a 1400-pound Holstein cow who enjoys being petted and didn't mind socializing with me:

The dairy farmers were incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. They taught me all sorts of fun facts about cows, my favorite being that the average cow drinks a bathtub full of water a day!

Special thanks to today's friendly farmers who were so welcoming to me.