Things I Miss About Madison

The way-cool "Forward" badger banners on select lamp posts around downtown Madison. Simple, clean graphics. A set of these would make for some fantastic garage fodder. Maybe the good people of sconnie.com can put this on a t-shirt.

Things I Miss About Monona - BLIZZARD!

I have to say, even though it's in the mid-60s and sunny here in the San Diego area, I am really bummed that I don't have a chance to play in the Wisconsin snow.

I dreamt that I was skate skiing on Monday night. At this point I feel that I could handle a nice, snowy winter from about mid-December through the end of January. After that, I'm over it. Thanks to ex-neighbor and friend Erika for snapping the pic this afternoon.

Things I Don't Miss About Monona - Stairway to Hell

I loved our Monona home. A nice, central location not far from downtown Madison. A proper 105' x 95' lot. Fantastic neighbors. Cool mid-century modern style. I could go on and on. But for all of the house's strengths, one thing that perpetually bothered me was the basement stairway.
Not the fact that the stairs themselves were overdue for a refinishing (one of the few remaining things on my to do list prior to us moving), but the fact that the house's architect seemed to fail in considering that someone over about 5'5" would ever reside here. There simply wasn't enough headroom clearance for anyone of even average height - and I'm 6'1". Not sure how this slipped by the inspectors back in 1963 - maybe the builder slipped a little something in an inspector-bound envelope to overlook this.

The first month or two was brutal on my cranium, but soon I found myself automatically listing my head to a 45 degree angle in order to clear the textured ceiling. Every guest who ventured down the stairs had to be told to watch the clearance. But still, every few months I'd end up crashing skull to plaster if I was doing something slightly out of the ordinary on the stairway - such as vaccuming the stairs, painting trim, or, inevitably, portaging something both bulky and heavy.

And while I'm still sad that I no longer call that house my home, I do have one happy head that's no longer inadvertently raining bits of plaster to the stairs below.

Things I Miss About Monona

Getting ice cream at Monona Bait & Ice Cream.
Tacked onto the front of a typical 1950s ranch house (and likely occupying the spot formerly used for the house's garage), Monona Bait & Ice Cream was always a fun destination for Celeste & I to pedal to on summer nights. Serving only the best ice cream from UW Madison's Babcock Hall dairy, it was always a treat to buy a scoop or two and then walk across Monona Drive to the park on the shores of the lake.

Make mine a scoop of chocolate peanut butter please.

Things I Miss About Madison pt. VII

Mounds Pet Food Warehouse.


Yep, I miss a pet food store. But Mounds is unique. In an industry dominated by one lame mega-chain (PetSmart) and an even lamer one (San Diego-based Petco), it was refreshing to visit the east Madison store a couple of Saturdays per month to get some noms for the dog(s). Humble and unassuming, the east Mounds would invariably have numerous other dogs checking out the chow and the good selection of durable toys.

Their propane refilling station was key to many grilling sessions. Unlike the scammers at Home Depot and AmeriGas, your 20# tank would actually be filled to capacity. HD and AmeriGas reduced their fills over the summer to 15# - for the same price I'd pay for 20# at Mounds. The 3/4 "fills" are one of the reasons we keep burning through the propane (the other reason being the mild weather).

And I can't forget the best thing about Mounds - you couldn't leave the store without 2-3 bite size Mounds candy bars.

Things I Miss About Chicago (and Most Midwestern Cities)

Cool neighborhood taverns, like Chicago's Streetside Cafe in Logan Square.
One thing that this part of California does not have is beautiful old brick corner taverns. The kinds of places that you walk quickly to on a cold night, to meet up with friends and enjoy great beer and good bar food.

Streetside is a short walk from my brother's flat. We tend to hit the place when I'm in town and want to treat him to some grub in exchange for overnight use of his couch. Last time I was there with him in February we drank some fine ales from Bell's Brewery of Grand Rapids Michigan and ate greasy fried food.

Things I Miss About Madison VI.

The Old Fashioned opened during our Madison tenure and quickly became our favorite restaurant. Inspired by and celebrating Wisconsin's classic supper club atmosphere and cuisine, the Old Fashioned offers great unpretentious food, great Wisconsin beers and their namesake (and Wisconsin's unofficial state cocktail) Old Fashioneds (Korbel brandy, 7up, bitters, sugar, orange slice and a maraschino cherry).

Allie, Celeste and I brought many out of town guests to the Old Fashioned. Situated on the Capitol Square, it's a great way to get immersed in Wisconsin dining.

The decor is full of dark wood with various vintage dairy and beer signs and lights. The 1940s Wisconsin classroom map takes up a good chunk of wall space in the front while a large antique bar occupies the back of the place. At that bar you'll find just about any Wisconsin beer you can imagine. Cheap stuff like Blatz and Schlitz as well as the best Wisconsin microbrews. I'll take a Furthermore Knot Stock please.

We'd always start out with an order of their excellent thin-sliced french fries and tiger blue sauce (a blue cheese/horseradish dip). I rarely strayed from the #36 - deep fried walleye sandwich with a side salad. A classic Wisconsin desert was ordered when we "had room for it" - apple pie with sharp Wisconsin cheddar. Just like my grandma used to make.

This is how crummy a pic of a shirt looks when you use your phone's camera and snap it while wearing it.

The last time I briefly swung through town, I introduced a couple of coworkers to the place. They dug it, I bought a shirt.

Can't wait to hit it again the next time I'm back in town.

Things Allie misses about Madison pt I.

Woodman's Markets.
Ahh, good old Woodman's.

Where the brown tile floors in the enormous produce, meat and cheese sections make the license plate-equipped carts rattle a certain way. The flip-up style carts would be especially clangy until you had added some weight.

Where we knew not to expect good produce on the weekends.

Where we could buy virtually everything in one quick trip. No secondary trips to Target needed for toiletries.

Where the selection of ethnic foods was unparalleled compared to everything but specialty markets.

Where you didn't need a silly "rewards card".

Where we could buy turkey brats.

Where the selection of beer was amazing.

Where the selection of cheese was even more amazinger.

Where you'd shop with people from all walks of life. Woodman's was unpretentious.

And most importantly, where the prices were untouchable.

Below see what $120 (after $35 of "reward savings") bought us at Vons today. I shouldn't be able to carry $120 worth of groceries inside in one trip. And we didn't buy an exceptional amount of stuff.

We could have filled the top and bottom of a cart at Woodman's for $120.

Things I miss about Madison pt. V

Big puffy clouds.

US 51 (Stoughton Road), north of McFarland WI

Here in Carlsbad, we seem to have two types of sky. Heavy marine layer fog or clear cloudless sunshine. I guess it could be worse, it could actually rain here once in a while.

Things I miss about Madison pt. III

Klarbrunn sparkling water, all I can find out here is second-rate La Croix.

Things I miss about Madison pt. II

Or, rather Monona in this case.


Saving big money at Menards. Not so much the savings, but the handy location about a mile away from our home. There were plenty of weekends where I'd make two to three trips over there over a 24 hour period. I've needed to purchase felt feet for the new IKEA table for about a week now, but can't justify driving five miles to spend $3 at the nearest hardware store (Encintas Home Depot). So the kitchen floor gets marred a little bit. It's a rental.

When we first moved to Monona, I figured I'd be hitting Home Depot most of the time. I've always been partial to HD, but this Menards was so handy - and so Sconnie. The "freebate" deals were too good to pass up, the Sunday circular was always read. Where else can you buy Famous Dave's BBQ sauce for $.29 after mail-in rebate?

After about six months of living there, Menards was my default home improvement center, I'd only made "special" trips to HD - like if I needed Behr paint or a gas grill. Or if Dad sent a discount coupon.

[cue jingle]
plumbing, electrical, appliances too
the savings will always come right back to you
you save big money
you save big money
when you shop Menards
[/end jingle]

Things I don't miss about Madison pt. I

The wretched condition of Monona Drive, especially after the brutal winter of '07/08.

Madison things I'll miss pt. II

Catching brief glimpses of the lakes. If you're close enough and looking the right way, it's hard not to spot the Yahara lakes here at the end of a street or in between buildings or trees.

Late summer afternoons when the sun starts getting low is ideal.

Madison things I'll miss

I've been thinking a lot over the past few weeks about some of the great not-so-obvious things that the Madison area offers.

First up, UW Madison student radio WSUM 91.7, "the snake on the lake". Always an eclectic bunch of music depending on what time you're tuning in. Sometimes it's standard indie/college rock, others it's death metal, alt country, etc. - but my favorite is Sunday mornings (and other times) when they're playing dub/reggae. Not your standard Bob Marley/Peter Tosh offerings, but hitting the Blood and Fire and Trojan catalogs among others. Just about the only time I'll tune in to the radio.

And well-done/humorous PSAs too. Favorites include farm tractor safety and boating around manatees.