My wife and I traveled to Madison for the first time for her conference and had no idea what to expect. We've had good times in Milwaukee, but Madison is something special. Our hotel was a block away from the Blue Moon Bar and we needed to grab some food and drinks after the drive up.
We walked over and found a neighborhood bar that had good music, was clean, and had a cool pinball section upstairs. We were met at the door and taken to a booth upstairs.
We ordered the cheese curds and burgers and a couple beers. The beer selection is quite good and of course New Glarus is on the menu. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and were quite happy with the price, coming from Chicago.
All in all, I would go to this bar/restaurant all the time if I live nearby. Unpretentious, delicious, and inexpensive. Check it out if you are in the area!