Two months into college, I've come to realize that some of my simplest joys come from one thing: food. When searching for the perfect school, I knew I would not be able to function if the campus didn't offer a wide variety of restaurant options. With this in mind, Potbelly and Chipotle quickly became a quintessential part of my college criteria.
Needless to say, I couldn't contain my excitement when I visited UW-Madison for the first time and found that State Street was also bursting with a vast array of sit-down restaurant options. As we passed by each one, my mom assured me that we'd try out a few of them as soon as parents' weekend rolled around. Until then, it'd just be me and my Chipotle burrito.
When my parents finally did drive up to Madison for parents' weekend, my mom certainly did not break her promise. We decided to try out Francesca's al Lago, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near the Capitol.
I was not disappointed. Francesca's offered a wide variety of Italian cuisine with many inventive recipes, including pizza with prosciutto, artichoke, mushroom, olives and egg.
I would definitely recommend the Gnocchi Bolognese. The pasta dumplings melted in my mouth and the sauce was light and delicious. I was also thrilled to share the Bruschette con Rucola with my family. The mozzarella and tomatoes tasted extremely fresh, which was something that had been missing in my diet for the last couple of months.
Then of course came the moment we all had been waiting for: Badger game day.
Instead of going to the typical Buffalo Wild Wings or State Street Brats, my family and I wandered into Brocach on Capitol Square.
Brocach, which I Iater found out means badger den in Gaelic, is an Irish pub and restaurant that prides itself on being authentic. It serves Irish corned beef and cabbage as well as shepherd's pie. The atmosphere only adds to its Irish charm.
The bright red building draws you in while the dark wood interior makes the restaurant a cozy place to dine. I know my family would not have wanted to be anywhere else as we all chowed down on our juicy Brocach burgers before enjoying the day watching football at Camp Randall.
Brocach also recently opened up a new location on Monroe Street. The co-owner and general manager of Brocach on Monroe, Melanie Gautreau, said she is very excited about the restaurant's new location.
"We live in the neighborhood so we frequent the restaurants here often and we thought that Brocach would fit in this side of town," Gautreau said.
Brocach on Monroe takes pride in its atmosphere and Gautreau explained the restaurant strives to achieve the Irish word craic, which is the "buzz or vibe of a place."
"We want the vibe to be such that when people walk in they not only want to stay, but they want to come back again," Gautreau said.
Kathleen Mallett, a UW-Madison student and waitress at Brocach on Monroe said the restaurant is incorporating local options into the menu.
"Everything at Brocach on Monroe is a lot fresher and organic, yet it is still connected to its Irish roots," Mallett said.
There are many other excellent restaurants to experience in Madison. Eating at Frida Mexican Grill on State Street is the perfect way to satisfy your guacamole craving.
As Monday rolls around and parents weekend comes to end, it's inevitably time to get back in line at the dining halls. And although you may be eating Easy Mac for a while, it's always handy to have a few restaurant recommendations up your sleeve for the next time your parents come into town.
