The Beatles say all you need is love, but Badgers say all you need is cheese. Dairy products don’t care when you’re having a bad hair day or if you failed an exam. They’re always there for you, just a swing the fridge door away. As Badgers, we have no shame in bursting that door open to have some quality time with our true love: dairy. And this is why.
Mickies Dairy Bar
Better than any other type of bar, Mickies is a dairy bar. Do you ever find yourself eating something so deliciously warm and gooey that you wish you were sleeping inside of it? That’s how you’ll feel mid-bite into a Mickies Dairy Bar grilled cheese. This cheese-melt stole our hearts, and Badgers will wait in line for hours to indulge in it. If that won’t satisfy your fix, order an omelet–essentially some eggs hiding beneath a heaping pile of delicious shredded cheese. These cheesy-delights paired with an old-fashioned milkshake keep students and alumni consistently rolling out of the diner blissfully stuffed.
Cheese Curds
Living in Madison, Badgers might as well be living at a state fair. With these deep fried delicacies around every corner, we’ve found the tastiest (but not necessarily the healthiest) way to get our calcium. Amongst restaurants respected for their perfectly crafted cheese curds like The Old Fashioned and Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry, there’s one cheese curd cart that really speaks to Badgers: Curd Girl, arguably Madison’s best cheese curd stand, is every Badger’s spirit-food-truck. We’re all just some cheese guys and cheese gals living in a curd world.
Babcock Ice Cream
Who needs Ben or Jerry when you’ve got legendary, campus-made ice cream? With over 70 flavors, Babcock ice cream is a staple in a Badger’s diet whether it’s 9 a.m. or 2 a.m. More than a dessert, it’s a way of life. “Babcock ice cream defined my undergrad. My boyfriend and I ate it as we crammed for organic chemistry and then when we applied to med school,” said Victoria Kent, class of 2014. “It’s one of the things I miss the most about Madison.” People are so incredibly passionate about this dessert that it can even be shipped to any door in the nation.
Spicy Cheese Bread
Amongst the squash and mini loaves of bread, you can’t miss Stella’s Spicy Cheese Bread at Dane County’s farmers’ market in Capitol Square. Herds of people flock to Stella’s renowned bakery stand. Take one bite into this bread and you’ve found a cheese sanctuary. Beneath the perfectly soft spicy bread is a pillow of cheese just waiting for you. Once you eat a melt-in-your-mouth loaf of Spicy Cheese Bread, your bland nine-grain, dairy-free wheat bread in the pantry suddenly seems like a disgrace. “God bless spicy cheese bread,” said junior Hannah Nunne. With Stella’s around, the famous saying “the best thing since sliced bread” should be changed to “the best thing since Spicy Cheese Bread.”
Badger Cheese Club
Badgers are so faithful to cheese that there’s a club to honor it. “It’s just a real Gouda time with people there,” said junior Eric Ottmann. “It’s just nice to enjoy the simple things in life and I don’t have to worry about any Muensters.” Join these cheese-lovers for a romantic evening spent sampling the finest artisan cheeses. You may think we’re joking about this cheese congregation, but Badgers don’t joke about cheese.
Cheesehead Hats
Every Badger needs a ridiculous foam hat to sport his or her dairy pride. Flaunt that obnoxious excitement while you eat Babcock ice cream on the terrace or as you sample State Street’s cheese curds. But whatever you do, don’t let those cheese-haters get you down. You’re not only making a fashion statement, but you’re making a statement for all of us Badgers–we have a deep (fried) passion for dairy.
