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| - State Street* has a here-today, gone-tomorrow feel about it. I've lived in Madison for slightly over two years and not many of businesses from my first visit are left. Yummy Buffet, the Russian Dumpling place, Real Chili, Fuddrucker's, a couple of small ladies' clothing stores (sorry, don't go in them), etc. The list of new arrivals is equally long. D.P. Dough, American Outfitters, The Love Shack, The Crab House. For a college town, Madison is devoid of local institutions.
Nick's is not one of these fly-by-night operations. It feels like it's been around for a while, and it's true - Nick's has been open since the 70's, I hear. The floor is old, the wooden paneling is old, the booths are worn: much more New York or Chicago than Madison. It's one of these places where you fully expect to pay cash only at an old fashion register - you know, one that looks like an over-sized type-writer. Zero concessions to modern business models.
What is surprising is the mediocrity of the place. How has it stayed, when everything else just goes? I've had hamburgers at Nick's, Club Sandwiches at Nick's, Liver and Onions at Nick's, Grilled Cheese at Nick's, and it's always a disappointing, soggy, indifferently prepared meal. Or does everyone not agree?
Someone, please explain Nick's to me. Is it the pie?
*For non-locals, State Street is a pedestrian mall that connects the Capitol to the University of Wisconsin Campus. It's only a few blocks long, but it feels like a major commercial and cultural thoroughfare. That should tell you something about Wisconsin.
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