• dog-friendly,  food,  local

    A Country Drive and a Cheese Shop

    When life gets hectic, which is most of the time, my husband and I like to go for a country drive. (Yes, I know that makes us sound decades older than we are, but I also like Scrabble and gardening, so I think I’m really a grandma at heart, anyway.) On the Fourth of July, we loaded up our dog in the car and drove to Blue Mound State Park for some hiking. On the way home, rather than taking the interstate, we meandered back toward Madison on county highways. We stopped at our CSA farm, Vermont Valley Community Farm, which was not only lush with vegetables, but also fields…

  • dog-friendly,  food,  local,  microbrews

    Puppies and Microbrews

    I’m doing it. The puppy post. But it will tie in with food (the people kind). And beer. I promise. One thing I miss about Chicago is all of the dog-friendly bars. It’s not uncommon to walk by the outdoor patio of a pub and see dogs leashed to their owners’ tables. So when the bar Woofs opened in Madison, I walked right in and naively asked the bartender if it was a place I could bring my dog. He laughed at me and set me straight. Literally. Woofs is a gay bar (something we also have too few of in Madison). Oops. While it turns out Woofs is not…