The pedestrian spine from Capitol Square to UW Madison campus. Ian's Pizza by the slice, Colectivo Coffee, Plaza Tavern's Plazaburger, late-night student eats and the Cento and Marigold Kitchen anchors at the Square end.
The Plaza Tavern on North Henry, a block off State Street between the Capitol and UW Madison, is home to the secret-sauce Plazaburger since 1964.
Signature: Plazaburger
Order: The Plazaburger with the secret sauce, plus a side of fried cheese curds.
Tip: Closed Sundays; small-town tavern feel makes the dinner shift the right window.
Ian's Pizza on State Street, the Madison pizza-by-the-slice operator at the foot of State Street, runs the famed mac and cheese pizza late into the night.
Signature: Mac and cheese pizza, Slices by the wedge
Order: A slice of the mac and cheese pizza and whichever weekly experimental slice the kitchen is testing.
Tip: Friday and Saturday night runs late, until 02:00; the State Street slice line moves quickly at the window.
Dotty Dumpling's Dowry on North Frances, downtown Madison's burger institution founded by Jeff Stanley, runs a long burger menu with cheese-curd toppings.
Signature: Melting Pot burger, Onion rings
Order: A Melting Pot burger with hand-cut onion rings on the side.
Tip: Closed Sundays; the front bar gets loud on football and basketball game days.
Ian's Pizza on State Street, the Madison pizza-by-the-slice operator at the foot of State Street, runs the famed mac and cheese pizza late into the night.
Signature: Mac and cheese pizza, Pizza slices
Order: A slice of the mac and cheese pizza and the daily experimental slice.
Tip: Friday and Saturday night runs until 02:00; the State Street slice line at the window moves quickly.
The Plaza Tavern on North Henry, a block off State Street between the Capitol and UW Madison, is home to the secret-sauce Plazaburger since 1964.
Signature: Plazaburger
Order: The Plazaburger with the secret sauce and a side of fried cheese curds.
Tip: Closed Sundays; the small-town tavern feel makes the dinner shift the right window.
Parthenon Gyros on State Street, Wisconsin's first gyro restaurant since 1972, serves house-made gyros and Greek plates with a rooftop patio for outdoors.
Signature: Gyros, Greek salad
Order: A house-made gyro plate with a Greek salad on the side.
Tip: Open 11:00 to 03:00 daily; the rooftop patio fills first on summer evenings.
Mediterranean Cafe on State Street, the family-owned Mediterranean and Middle Eastern counter near campus, serves couscous, falafel plates and kebabs to a student crowd.
Signature: Couscous, Falafel plate
Order: A couscous stew or falafel plate with Arabic tea.
Tip: Counter ordering keeps the line moving fast; lunch hours are calmer than the late-afternoon student rush.
Paul's Pel'meni on West Gilman just off State Street, near campus, serves Russian dumplings in a counter-service room with two choices: potato or ground beef.
Signature: Potato pel'meni, Beef pel'meni
Order: A bowl of potato or ground beef pel'meni with butter, sour cream and curry powder on top.
Tip: Open until 23:00 weeknights and 01:00 on weekends; the late-night student traffic peaks after 22:00.