An Ode To Curds: Madison Edition

A self-proclaimed curdaholic tests her strength in an epic Curd Crawl in downtown Madison, WI.

Hi. I’m Tess. And I’m a curdaholic.

Never heard of one before? Come to Madison, Wisconsin, and there’s a good chance you’ll also become one.

I realize that those of you who have not had the privilege of visiting the Midwest may not even know to what “cheese curd," or “curd” for short, refers. This saddens me. I want you all to know: a cheese curd is essentially a nugget of fresh cheese, usually cheddar. A fried cheese curd, more importantly, is the same, except it has been dipped in a beer-based batter before being placed in a deep fryer. For the remainder of this article, when I say cheese curd, I mean fried cheese curd.

The Fried Cheese Curd is not just the appetizer you order before your burger, or the side with your shake, or the snack your mom buys you at the Wisconsin State Fair. Oh, no. The Fried Cheese Curd is a delicacy, an art, a way of life. It has brought joy to people’s lives for over 4,000 years (shoutout to eatcurds.com for that statistic).

The Fried Cheese Curd is, in short, the gift that keeps on giving. But now, it is my turn as a curdaholic to give back to the people.

If you live in Wisconsin, or anywhere nearby, you know that Madison is THE foodie central. When I moved to this city as a freshman in college, I was introduced to a new world of cheese curd prominence. I didn’t have to rely on Culver’s (although a wonderful establishment) for my regular dosage of fried cheese anymore. Now, I could order cheese curds at just about any American-style restaurant and enjoy many diverse forms of the curd. I quickly realized, however, that making the decision on which restaurant I should go to first in my quest for enCURDagement became agonizingly difficult. I needed a system to organize and rank the many cheese curds of Madison, WI.

Cue: the Curd Crawl.

It’s exactly what it sounds like, as long as you don’t take the “crawl” part literally.

So, here is my narrative of a Curd Crawl I conducted with a few close friends one rainy Friday afternoon in April. My attempt to get to the best cheese curd vendors in the city was, of course, limited by time, money, and a physical maximum capacity for the amount of cheese able to be packed into one’s stomach within a 4-hour period.

I originally intended to make a list ranking the curds in order of deliciousness. However, soon after my Curd Crawl commenced I realized: every curd is created equal. Although different in its shape, seasoning, and general taste, all cheese curds are beautiful in my mind. I have never tasted a curd I outright didn’t like. And since each person looks for different qualities in their curds, I figured your ranked list would be different than mine. It’s important to note that the order I list the restaurants is the order we visited them, NOT my ranking. I will, however, mention my three favorite places in the descriptions.

1. Roast Public House - 558 State St

We started out our journey at about 4pm, rain jackets and umbrellas in tow. Although some questioned if the weather would thwart the Curd Crawl, I refused to let mere precipitation get in the way of our mission. Roast is a popular bar for the college crowd, but in addition to its nightlife, many rave about its appetizers, salads, and sandwiches. I wasn’t ready to give my stamp of approval until I tasted the cheese curds. Listed on the menu as “Sassy Cow Cheese Curds” served with chipotle ranch, they arrived in under fifteen minutes and cost $9 for approximately 10 rather large curds. The best quality of these curds was the freshness of the cheese. A few of us even felt/heard a slight squeak (that’s a good thing, for you cheese curd virgins out there) upon our ravenous bites. My accomplices thoroughly enjoyed the homemade chipotle ranch sauce served with the curds, but I, not being a fan of anything spicy, opted to go without it. Jessie Lustman, the “date-friendliness” analyst, pointed out that these curds were a bit too greasy and messy to be consumed while also trying to act ladylike on a date. She was probably right; I could literally see my reflection in the puddle of grease leftover on the serving plate.

All in all, the Roast cheese curds were very good, albeit a bit overpriced. Don’t be fooled by their flat, fried pickle-looking appearance – these suckers are packed to the max with fresh cheddar cheese. Beware of greasiness.

2. Hawk's Bar & Grill - 425 State St

Next stop was a local favorite: Hawk’s. As it was listed on the menu, an order of cheese curds was $6.95 and served with tomato basil, spicy ranch, or ranch. Of course, I made the executive decision to go for good ol’ ranch. Here, we ordered at the counter and only had to wait about 5 minutes for the cheese curds to be delivered to our table. A major plus. Since a few extra people showed up to join the Crawl, we decided to get 2 orders. Great decision. The portion sizes were very generous, especially for the price. Another plus. Despite the quick service and large servings, the cheese curds were not top of the line. As my sister, Sophie, put it, “I feel like I could order these at a concession stand”. The smaller cheese-to-breading ratio and bland flavor, for instance, were not ideal. Don’t get me wrong; I obviously still enjoyed the fried white cheddar cheese, especially since they were minimally greasy and cheap. But Hawk’s, to sum it up, wouldn’t be my first choice.

3. Chasers Bar & Grille - 319 W Gorham St

Chasers is a favorite hangout for students, whether that be on Friday afternoons after class, during any Badger game, or on a weekend night. When we arrived around 5pm, the afterschool crowd was still as lively as ever, making for a great atmosphere to consume some curds. For only $7, we got about 20 of the best Wisconsin Cheese Curds thus far in our journey. The white cheddar cheese was stringy, fresh, and got 4 stars out of 5 on the Jenny Hohl Melt Factor (a scale my friend, Jenny, came up with to rate the extent to which the cheese melted in her mouth). It was less greasy than the typical curd as well as perfectly bite-sized, and thus extremely date-friendly. All these curdtastic qualities made Chasers cheese curds my second favorite of the bunch.

4. AJ Bombers - 201 W Gorham St

At this point, the early signs of curd coma onset began to appear. Our stomachs were fuller and our pockets were lighter. But nevertheless, we used the Wisconsin motto “Forward!” as inspiration to continue on to the next restaurant on the list: AJ Bombers. If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, Bombers is the place to go. For only $4.50, we received a plentiful serving of medium-sized cheddar cheese curds served with chipotle ranch, similar to that of Roast. The spicy food lovers of our group were in heaven, since the ranch had a bit of kick, but if you aren’t a fan of spice be sure to ask for a different sauce. We couldn’t quite put our finger on it, but something about these cheese curds made them taste more flavorful and, as Maddie Ganther, a fellow fried food aficionado, put it, “diverse”. Jessie Lustman, the date coach, chimed in that the interesting flavor of these curds could provide conversation for a date, and labeled them “strongly dateable." To put it simply, these curds are definitely worth a try.

5. Tipsy Cow - 102 King St

It was 5:53pm, and curd paralysis was becoming a pressing issue. Jenny Hohl, who we once counted on to lead the group with her Jenny Hohl Melt Factor, stated, “I feel like they’re all morphing together in my stomach." It was true. I began to realize that we could have approached the Curd Crawl more realistically by pacing ourselves, only eating a few curds at each stop. However, the Curd holds a certain power over us weak humans. It is difficult, especially for a native Wisconsinite, to limit our curd intake once we start. That is, of course, until we reach the maximum physical limit of curd consumption, which was getting closer and closer with each curd basket we ordered.

It was a blessing that Tipsy Cow was located about a 10 minute walk from AJ Bombers, as it gave us some time to digest, walk off what we could of the past cheese curds, and ready ourselves for the next batch.

Dinner was in full swing at this point, and finding a spot at the bar was near impossible, so we were forced to stand and eat. Not ideal, but we were only there for the curds so it didn’t bother me much. The best quality of the Tipsy Cow curds was the quantity. Although the actual curd was on the smaller side, the serving size was very generous for $7. Another positive about these curds is that they are beer-battered with Spotted Cow, one of my favorite local brews. You can actually taste the beer-batter in each curd, which was a new, and very welcomed, experience for me. If these white cheddar curds were just a bit crispier and larger they probably would have made my top three. Still very, very satisfying.

6. Dlux - 117 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd

A trendy downtown eatery, Dlux is known for its fantastic burgers and weekend morning bottomless mimosas. It is also notorious for its long waits; tonight was no exception. We were told it would be about an hour until we could be seated, but we somehow secured one seat at the bar, which we shared. We immediately ordered (yep, you guessed it) cheese curds, and they arrived within about 15 minutes. The $7.50 platter included about 8-10 large, seasoned curds with a side of ranch. At the time, I was only physically able to consume one cheese curd, but I loved it. The cheese to breading ratio was fantastic and the cheese was as fresh as can be. Not a fan of waste, especially when it has to do with cheese curds, I took the rest to go and enjoyed them even more the next evening. The all-around great taste of the Dlux curd made it my third favorite of the day.

7. The Old Fashioned - 23 N Pinckney St

There was a moment when I considered stopping short of our last destination. I don’t think you can ever truly understand the abdominal pain one goes through during a Curd Crawl until you experience it firsthand. Yet, the phrase “hurt so good” had never been more applicable, and I knew I needed to finish what I started. Thankfully, a few of my most loyal friends were willing to complete the crawl with me while the others trudged back home, probably 10 pounds heavier.

I am deeply sorry for those who turned back early, because The Old Fashioned was truly a delight. Despite the growing mass of cheese in our stomachs beckoning us to stop eating, it was impossible not to enjoy these cheese curds. The cheese was the freshest we had yet and gloriously stringy, as you can see in the title photo of this article. Jenny Hohl even perked up to give The Old Fashioned curds a full 5 stars on her Melt Factor. The greasiness was moderate to high, but the cheese to breading ratio was stupendous. Along with the usual ranch, we chose to try a garlic aioli sauce on the side, which turned out to be a pleasant addition. For only $6.95, we received about 25 cheese curds – a steal in my mind. There’s not much else I can say about these curds except that you have to try them. The Old Fashioned was by far my number one favorite stop on our Curd Crawl.

And with that, I had completed my first Curd Crawl. It had tested my strength, stamina, and digestive system, but it was all worth it. The Crawl was a remarkable bonding experience, not just between my friends and me, but between all of us and the star of the show: cheese. As my accomplice Julia Stathas put it, "I'm going to tell my grandchildren about this someday." For now, I decided to tell you.

I hope that my Curd Crawl inspires you to get out there and add some new cheesy flavor to your life. Regardless of your homeland or your cheese history, I encourage you to visit Madison and visit some or all of these great restuarants*.

*Disclaimer: If lactose intolerant or vegan, disregard article and sorry for wasting your time. Bummer.