Wisconsin foods to try in Madison: cheese curds, frozen custard, brats and more

Cheese curds

Curds are the freshest form of cheese, young and unaged, usually cheddar. According to the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, they squeak because the curd's protein structure rubs against your teeth. The squeak fades after a few days, which doesn't mean they've gone bad. They're best eaten fresh, at room temperature.

• Fried: The Old Fashioned on the Capitol Square serves house-made, beer-battered curds and a poutine with curds and sausage gravy. The Great Dane does Old Glory curds in pale ale batter, and every Culver's has Wisconsin cheese curds as a side.
• Fresh: look for Wisconsin cheesemakers at the Dane County Farmers' Market, a producer-only market where every item is made by the vendor selling it. The outdoor market on the Square runs through November 14, then moves indoors for the Holiday Market at Monona Terrace. See our farmers markets guide.

Frozen custard and ice cream

Frozen custard is like ice cream made with eggs as well as cream and sugar. Travel Wisconsin says Wisconsin was making it by the early 1930s, and Milwaukee calls itself the unofficial frozen custard capital of the world.

• Culver's started in Sauk City, about 25 miles northwest of Madison, in 1984. Each restaurant posts a frozen custard Flavor of the Day, alongside its ButterBurgers.
• Babcock Dairy Store, 1605 Linden Dr. on the UW campus: ice cream made by UW's own dairy plant, about 20 flavors, from a standard mix recipe unchanged since 1951. It also sells Babcock cheese, including juustoleipä (bread cheese). It's cashless.
• Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream: a Madison company dating to a candy and ice cream shop opened on Monona Drive in 1962, now with about ten shops around town, including State Street, Atwood Avenue, Monroe Street and Hilldale.

Brats and sausage

• Brat Fest: the event bills itself as the "World's Largest Brat Fest," held Memorial Day weekend at the Alliant Energy Center. It has sold brats for local charities since 1983: more than 4 million brats and almost $2 million raised. The 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
• Bavaria Sausage, 6317 Nesbitt Rd., Fitchburg: a family-owned German butcher for more than 60 years, making bratwurst (including Nürnberger), weisswurst, summer sausage and landjaegers from recipes that trace back to Schweinfurt, Germany.
• The Old Fashioned: an award-winning Sheboygan bratwurst on a hard roll with raw onions, pickles and Düsseldorf mustard.

Wisconsin cheese

• Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St. on the Capitol Square: an artisan cheese shop devoted to Wisconsin makers, with cheeses like Pleasant Ridge Reserve and Hook's Triple Play. Closed Sundays.
• Babcock Dairy Store: UW's dairy plant has made cheese since 1951.
• The farmers' market: Wisconsin cheesemakers sell directly at the Dane County Farmers' Market year-round, indoors in winter.

The brandy old fashioned

The Wisconsin Historical Society calls the brandy old fashioned "the unofficial state drink of Wisconsin": it faded elsewhere in the 1970s and '80s but never went out of style here. (A 2023 effort to make it the official state cocktail passed the Assembly but not the Senate.) Order one muddled at The Old Fashioned, which is named for it, or at any supper club. See our supper clubs guide and fish fry guide for two more Wisconsin traditions.