A double dose of deliciousness at Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry

If there’s one thing I have in common with my co-workers, it’s a love of food.  So, while we were all working in Madison, Wis., last fall, we made it our mission to find not only the best cheese curds in town, but we expanded our mission to include the best burger as well.  Wisconsin is the dairy state after all, and what goes better together than beef and cheese?  

I’ve already made it pretty clear in previous blogs that Madison has more than its fair share of bar and grills where burgers and cheese curds are staples on the menu, but while we were researching places to try, Dottie Dumpling’s Dowry seemed to strike a chord with everyone.  Maybe it was the alliteration in the name.  Maybe its initials invoked something subliminal in men with healthy appetites.  Maybe it was the notion that bigger is actually better when it comes to a good, juicy burger (each one begins with six ounces of fresh Wisconsin-raised ground beef).  Whatever the case, the place had an impeccable reputation going back 40 years, and we wanted to find out why.

A commoner dines (and drinks) at the Old Fashioned, Madison, Wis.

One of the first places my new job sent me was Madison, Wis., and one of the first places I discovered after working hours was the Old Fashioned.  Given Wisconsin’s rich traditions of supper clubs and taverns that celebrate beer, cheese, sausage and fish frys, I couldn’t have chosen a better starting point.  

With its location in the heart of downtown, in an older building on the square that surrounds the state capitol, you’d think -- like me -- that the Old Fashioned has been a food and drink destination for all walks of life in Madison for generations.  But the reality is the Old Fashioned was established in 2005.  I think I have socks older than this place.  Nonetheless, it seems to do old-school Wisconsin very well, and it seems to always draw a diverse crowd, from suits to students, singles to families, blue collar to politicos.   

So, the Old Fashioned’s atmosphere and reputation was enough to draw me and my co-workers there to check it out.  And the quest to find the best cheese curds in town.  And the quest for good local beer.