Vendors, food trucks and stalls: the cheapest, fastest, frequently best food in Madison.

Don't-miss vendors

Banzo ★ 4.4

Mon-Sat 11:00-20:00, Sun 11:00-15:00; truck rotates seasonally

Banzo on Sherman Avenue, the falafel cart turned brick-and-mortar Israeli kitchen, runs Capitol Square Saturdays as a Dane County Farmers' Market staple.

Try: Israeli falafel and shawarma platters

2105 Sherman Ave, Madison, WI 53704

Curd Girl ★ 4.6

Truck-based, rotates seasonally Tue-Sun lunch and dinner

Curd Girl, the city's defining cheese-curd food truck, fries Wisconsin curds in beer batter, rotating Library Mall, farmers markets and breweries.

Try: Beer-battered Wisconsin cheese curds

210 Henry Mall, Madison, WI 53706

Slide ★ 4.4

Mon-Fri 11:00-14:00 Library Mall, dinner rotations on Fridays

Slide, the Library Mall lunch slider truck since 2011, slow-roasts brisket and pork for sliders on Wisconsin pretzel buns at the downtown food cart strip.

Try: Madison-roasted brisket sliders

210 Henry Mall, Madison, WI 53706

Tex Tubb's Taco Palace ★ 4.1

Mon-Thu 11:00-22:00, Fri-Sat 11:00-23:00, Sun 10:00-22:00

Tex Tubb's Taco Palace on Atwood, the east-side Tex-Mex taqueria since 2006, runs hand-pressed tortillas, queso, brunch and a long late-afternoon happy hour.

Try: Tex-Mex tacos and queso

2009 Atwood Ave, Madison, WI 53704

Swagat ★ 4.0

Mon-Thu 11:30-14:30 and 16:00-21:00, Fri-Sun 11:30-15:00 and 16:30-21:30

Swagat on North High Point Road, the west-side Madison Indian restaurant, runs a long menu of chaat, samosas, curries and biryanis with a lunch buffet.

Try: Indian chaat, samosas and biryanis

707 N High Point Rd, Madison, WI 53717

Ian's Pizza by the Slice ★ 4.6

Sun-Thu 11:00-02:30, Fri-Sat 11:00-03:30

Ian's Pizza on State Street, the State Street outpost of Madison's late-night slice institution founded on Frances Street in 2001, sells mac-and-cheese pizza and rotating slice creations.

Try: Mac and cheese pizza by the slice

100 State St, Madison, WI 53703
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