They say Madison has the most restaurants per capita of any city in the U.S. JM likes lists and Nichole likes to eat, so we decided to eat at (nearly) every restaurant in Madison in alphabetical order.
Here's our method: from Isthmus' (a local alternative newsweekly) "Eats" list, we print the list of restaurants beginning with the next letter, and go to each place in order, one time. When we finish a letter, we go through a "make-up list" of places that have been added to the online list in previous letters. We go to chain restaurants, but only visit one location. For more on how we interpret The List, see "What is a restaurant, and when is it closed?"
When we've been to a restaurant, we post our notes and grades (A, B, C, D, or F), update the Coke/Pepsi pages, and stick a pin in our map.
Our grading rubric
An A means it's a favorite that we'll add to our regular restaurant repertoire and recommend
wholeheartedly.
A B means it was pretty good at being what it set out to be, and we'd return if our dining companions wanted to go.
A C means it was average, and we wouldn't go back unless someone else really wanted to.
A D means we won't go back and we'd warn others about it.
An F means something was poor enough to complain about, we got sick, or there was a kitchen fire or
some other calamity that made for a terrible experience.
Places will close (often!) and links will break (even more often!), and we don't always edit our archives, so call ahead before you visit a place we've covered.
There are about 600 700 [updated 2010] restaurants on the Eats list. We started in 2004 and our goal is to finish Z sometime in 2012.
Until then, please feel free to comment, and enjoy!
Chow,
Nichole and JM
If you care to, you can read more about the project. Or even more:
- What others are saying about Eating in Madison A to Z
- MadInteractive food blogging panel, May 21, 2007
- "It's a long way to Yummy Buffet," published in Isthmus' dining guide, April 2005
- Our April Fool's Day jokes
Trailblazers and kindred spirits:
- Nick's Madison "Restraunts": a campus-centric dining guide. No longer updated.
- Remember Rennebohm's lunch counters?: an Odd Wisconsin item from the Historical Society about Patch & Kimbrough, two friends in 1970 who set about eating at every one of the drugstore's lunch counters.
- Swickape's "Restaurants I've been to in Madison": the page comes and goes, but lists the 400+ establishments visited by another completist. He gave the A to Z project encouragement early on.
- Ultimate Madison Bar Tour sought to imbibe at every bar in Madison.
- Toronto's Serial Diners: truly the spiritual precursor to Eating in Madison A to Z, this supper club meets weekly to eat their way through the Toronto Yellow Page listings.
- And the list goes on: Kabulawayo, Starbucks Everywhere, Man Bites World, 1000 Bars and Beyond, Washtenaw Burrito Report, MSG150, PBR150, Milwaukee Brunch Reviews, Fed Up With Lunch, Javier Omar Garcia's photo diary, Vending Spree, La Booze Vie, 31 Days of Pizza, The Pie Dude, French Dip Review... we believe this is one thing the internet is great for, and we're glad to be part of it in our small corner of the world.
- Our special guests
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