{"id":10384,"date":"2018-08-27T11:32:16","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T16:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/?p=10384"},"modified":"2020-03-20T14:12:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T19:12:55","slug":"taste-of-madison-survival-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/taste-of-madison-survival-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Survival guide: 5 tips to make the most of Taste of Madison"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taste of Madison, the annual food free-for-all that takes place on Capitol Square over Labor Day weekend, is nearly here. The event brings together 80+ food vendors and raises $60,000 for local non-profits each year by attracting 250,000 attendees. It can be massive and overwhelming with complicated logistics, especially for first-timers.<\/p>\n

To help you navigate this sea of music stages, hawking food stalls and hungry kids, we put some tips together. Here\u2019s how to survive the Taste of Madison<\/a>, to be held this year on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 1-2.<\/span>\n

1. Have a plan in mind.<\/h3>\n

Do your research. You have a homework assignment: Go to their handy list of vendors and menus<\/a> and figure out what sound most appealing to you. Then, use their map<\/a> to find clusters of vendors that you can hit at the same time.<\/p>\n

Maybe you\u2019ll start your day at FIB\u2019s<\/a> and grab yourself a meatball on a stick. (It\u2019s a rule that at any Wisconsin event where a food on a stick exists, you must have it \u2014 and at just $3, it\u2019s a steal!) You can then try the Asian tuna taco ($3) down the block at The Post<\/a>, a newcomer to the event this year, while you rock out at the WJJO Solid Rock stage. When you\u2019re ready for more food, try the lobster curds ($5) at The Rigby Pub and Grill<\/a>\u2019s stand on the other side of the stage.<\/p>\n

To plan the best route for you, decide a starting point and end point and determine what places look good in-between. Just don\u2019t forget to grab a dessert during your escapades \u2014 blue moon ice cream for $3 from Babcock Hall is hard to beat.<\/span>\n

2. Try the expensive foods your cheap-ass wouldn\u2019t normally get.<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re like me, you don\u2019t spend a lot of money eating at restaurants where an evening out can mean losing a big chunk of your paycheck. The Taste is the perfect opportunity to sample some of the options these places offer, to see you want to splurge the next time you celebrate Treat Yo Self Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I like to visit Johnny\u2019s Italian Steakhouse<\/a> for steak or cedar-planked salmon occasionally. While the steakhouse prices may normally prevent me (an east-sider) from making the trip all the way to Middleton, at the Taste the restaurant is offering a smoked salmon dip for $4, as well as filet tips for $5. That\u2019s definitely a price I can afford, especially for great tasting steak (aka my own personal kryptonite).<\/span>\n

3. Go in a group. (Or don\u2019t?)<\/h3>\n

Going with a group of friends has clear advantages. You can coordinate food to grab, with each of you staking out a different \u201czone\u201d and bringing items back to an agreed-upon meeting spot. Boom! You\u2019ve got your own potluck dinner that won\u2019t require any dishes to be washed.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, there\u2019s also something to be said about going alone. I\u2019ve done this before, and it wasn\u2019t that bad! You may feel a bit lonely, but you\u2019re not beholden to what the group wants to do. Maybe you don\u2019t want to watch a band that everyone else in your group would, or maybe you want to try another dish from a restaurant your group already went to. If you\u2019re alone, you\u2019re able to be selfish, guilt-free. You\u2019re also more likely to find a suitable place to sit on the crowded Capitol lawn.<\/span>\n

4. Be ready to park far away (or not at all).<\/h3>\n

Just like with the Farmer\u2019s Market, it can be next to impossible to find a place to park near Taste, and any potential flooding-related<\/a> closures could make it even worse this year. It\u2019s best to have an idea of where you can park, for free, that\u2019s a good distance away. James Madison Park<\/a> has a long stretch of parking spots on the right side of Gorham \u2014 you might get lucky and find a space there.<\/p>\n

You can always employ another, better, option: Don\u2019t drive at all. Take a taxi or rideshare service to the event, and save yourself the hassle, as well as reducing the anxiety created by periodically wondering if you parked in a legal space.<\/span>\n

5. Bring something to do (and a pillow).<\/h3>\n

There\u2019s only so much to do at Taste while you\u2019re waiting to get hungry between food runs. At some point you\u2019re going to get bored, especially if you didn\u2019t bring something to keep you occupied. Don\u2019t be that person to rely on your phone as your sole source of non-beer entertainment.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I do: grab a pillow, and place inside the pillowcase one book, a crossword puzzle, two pens, a deck of cards (or another small game), headphones and some scratch paper, which comes in handy for listing the vendors you still want to check out. You\u2019re guaranteed not to get bored with those items by your side, and if you need a quick nap after falling into a food coma<\/a>, you\u2019ve got your pillow there to rest your dreary head upon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taste of Madison, the annual food free-for-all that takes place on Capitol Square over Labor Day weekend, is nearly here. The event brings together 80+ food vendors and raises $60,000 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":10390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5154],"tags":[128,5165,28,12120,7238],"yoast_head":"\nSurvival guide: 5 tips to make the most of Taste of Madison - The Bozho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The annual food free-for-all is nearly here. 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