If you’re not planning on coming to Grand Prix Madison, you should change your mind. This is a town to be in, most definitely.
Anyone that knows me knows that I am in love with the town that I live in. Over the years, I’ve helped convince many wonderful people to move to Madison, and even though they don’t necessarily stay, Madison remains a Mecca for almost anyone that has ever visited. My good friend Mr. Richie Frangiosa once joked with me that I was such a booster for this lovely city that the tourism department should pay me. I’m still working on that one, Richie… still working on that one.
Madison is definitely my favorite city in the entire country, and despite all of my travels, it remains one of my favorite cities in the entire world. Madison is the birthplace of The Onion (theonion.com), the most intense Halloween celebration in the country (100,000 people partying on a stretch of six blocks), home to Butch Vig of the band Garbage (he can be seen about town most weekends), and it’s the only city in the world built on an isthmus. When I briefly moved to New York City back in 1999, it was a hard, hard call, and I was happy to come home.
I’m not the only one that thinks that Madison is the bee’s knees. Check out some of these accolades:
Best Place to Live in America — Money Magazine
Best College Sports Town — Sports Illustrated
#2 Best Small City to Live In — Men’s Journal
#2 Party School in the Nation — Playboy
#5 Campus Town That Rocks — Rolling Stone
So, I’m not alone in my love.
An Overview
Madison proper sits at a healthy 200,000 people, with the metro hitting 500,000, including 50,000 university students. The city is young, fun, and smart. The week of GP most of the students are just getting back from Spring Break, so it may be a bit partied out, but it is still a great place to find fun out and about.
The first thing to think about for anyone that is flying into Dane County Regional Airport, located on the Northeast side of town, and the hotel is located on the far west side of town (see the red dots on the map). Cab fare will probably run between $30-40 dollars from the airport to the hotel. More to the point, the Grand Prix is far, far, far away from where all of the wonderfully fun things happen in Madison: down on the isthmus (in the red circle). Expect a $20+ fare from the hotel to downtown. For those of you who like going out and about, thinking about renting a car might just be well worth it. Sadly, the area near the convention center sports almost none of the best things about Madison that will give you a sense of it. If you are so inclined, I would highly recommend trying out a hotel in the 53703 area code if you want to be within striking distance of everything that is going on downtown.
Nightlife
What is fun to do while you’re in town? First, my picks for the extended week of Wednesday the 22nd to Monday the 27th.
Wednesday:
– George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic at the Orpheum Theatre on State Street. $33, all ages. Obviously, this will be amazing.
Thursday:
– Mad Cabaret at the Slipper Club on Main Street. $6, 21-plus. A fun and raunchy variety show (check out the photos at their website!).
– Screamin’ Cyn Cyn and the Pons, opening with Digibot for Peelander-Z at the High Noon Saloon near the Capital. $6, 21-plus. Screamin’ Cyn Cyn and the Pons may not be the headliners for this event, but this band has got to be one of my favorites in town. Check out their MySpace page to get a sense of them.
Friday:
– Madisonfest at Club 770 on the UW Campus. Free, all ages. Eighteen bands, with Rainer Maria headlining. 5 p.m.-1 a.m.
Saturday:
– Madisonfest at Club 770 on the UW Campus. Free, all ages. Eighteen Bands, with Rainer Maria headlining. 4:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.
– Slutfest Fashion Show Fundraiser at the Slipper Club on Main Street. $5, 21-plus. A fashion show modeled by the women of Cherry Pop Burlesque and the Mad Rollin’ Dolls, Madison’s roller derby team. Prizes given out to the best-dressed attendant, and a raffle for tattoos, sex toys, punk and metal music, and much more! Should be a complete blast.
Monday:
– Clyde Stubblefield at the King Club on King Street. $5, 21-plus. If you stick around until Monday, be sure to check out the talented drummer for the one and only James Brown.
Dancing and other Music
Into dancing or live music? Here are a few options:
– The Cardinal Bar, Wilson Street, 21-plus. Live House on Wednesday, Latin music on Thursday, Retro 80s/90s on Friday, current club music on Saturday, and live jazz on Sunday.
– The King Club, King Street, 21-plus. Want some hip-hop? Try this place out Thursday and Saturday.
– Club Majestic, King Street, 18-plus. Hip-hop night on Thursday is wild. Right across the street from the King Club.
– The Inferno, North Side, 21-plus. Goth Industrial on Wednesday, live Techno-Metal-Industrial on Thursday, Dance-House-Progressive-Breakbeat on Friday, Electro-Industrial-EBM-Powerhouse-Techno-Goth-Synth on Saturday. [Coffee Morning on Sunday. — Craig, scared.]
– The High Noon Saloon, near the Capital, 21-plus. Live music every night.
Check out copies of the Isthmus and The Onion around town to see more complete listings of everything going on. They can be found pretty much everywhere in downtown Madison.
Food and Drink
Food
Madison has a lot of coffee shops, bars, and restaurants (I can’t find a stat on this, but it is said that Madison has more restaurants per capita than any incorporated city in the country). If you’re going to go anywhere for food, probably your first stop is downtown Madison. State Street is the heartbeat of the city, a traffic-free street that ranges from the capital down to the University of Wisconsin campus. If you have no idea what you want to do, hop in a cab, say “State Street,” and you’ll be well on your way to having a good time.
For all of you steak-lovers, there are a few excellent choices. Check out the Tornado Room (116 S. Hamilton St., 608-255-1977) for what is definitely the best steak I’ve had in Wisconsin, and they have an excellent martini lounge as well. Farther east is Fyfe’s Corner Bistro, with a much more staid atmosphere for any of you bringing your significant other along with you.
Madison is home to a large amount of ethnic cuisine as well. Looking for Thai? Check out Sukho Thai near Camp Randall Stadium or try Vientiane Palace for some Lao/Thai food (151 W. Gorham St., 608-255-2848). Himul Chuli (318 State St.) downtown offers amazing Himalayan/Nepalese food, and Nam’s Noodle (1336 Regent St., 608-287-0475) offers amazing Vietnamese. Restaurant Muramoto (106 King St., 608-260-2680) has an unusual neo-Japanese cuisine that is absolutely exquisite (a short review can be found here). Most of these restaurants, like much of the rest of liberal Madison, have large amounts of vegetarian options for those of you who are so inclined.
Just want to order pizza? I strongly recommend ordering from the Glass Nickel Pizza Company (608-218-9000) from their Westside location if you want either excellent traditional pizza or wild-and-crazy pizzas. Want a deep-dish pizza? Pizza Extreme is the way to go (608-271-3333).
Drink
Let’s be fair. Most people will find some food that they want, somehow or other. It’s the drinks that people want. Here’s a quick rundown:
State Street area:
This is a college town. If you go downtown to State Street on the weekend, all you have to do is just wander down the street and you should see a lot of people out and about. I’m going to admit straight up that college bars and sports bars are not my scene. There are a ton of them on State Street, but of special note is State Street Brats, if only because it will give you a chance to try out bratwurst. Num!
Main Street area:
State Street ends at the Capital building, and Main Street is just off it. There is a nice strip of bars on West Main Street, all wildly different. Genna’s two-story lounge bar sometimes features DJs or slam poetry competitions, and a lively crowd. Next door, the Tornado Room doesn’t just serve steaks and martinis, but they also have an underground bar/music venue called the Corral Room for a bit more intimate a space. Next on the list is the Shamrock Bar, “a bar for everyone,” mostly catering to the gay community and people that enjoy karaoke. If you go out with any Madison people, it is incredibly likely you’ll find yourself at the Paradise Lounge, a dive bar with a ton of character and incredibly cheap drinks. Finally, at the end of the strip, we come to The Slipper Club, a bizarre joint that features drag shows one night and punk rock shows the next (and the drinks are okay, too).
My personal picks are the Opus Lounge, for the best martini bar in town, the Wisco for the best bar burger, and Mickey’s for the coolest, laid-back atmosphere. Keep your eyes and ears open for after bars. There are plenty of fantastic after bars to be found.
I hope that everyone finds this little guide useful. I know that I’m incredibly excited for Madison to be hosting its first Grand Prix, though it is such a shame that it couldn’t have been held in a central location. Having a great time in Madison can be incredibly easy, if you just know where to look.
See you there!