I just moved here from out of state (grew up near nyc), and after living here for a few months I've decided this is one of my favorite restaurants in Madison. There's a few reasons why:\n\n1. I'll start off with the fact that this place has far-and-away the best cheese curds I've tasted yet. Granted I'm not a Wisconsin native, but I can appreciate good food when I see it. The Old Fashioned's curds are the tastiest, gooiest, squeakiest, and have the best texture of anywhere else I've been. They're a must-have, hands down.\n\n2. The atmosphere is perfect. It's the kind of place where you can feel comfortable in anything from a shirt and tie to a t-shirt and shorts. It has this rustic, busy feeling that feels both modern and, well, old fashioned. The energy in the place is always happy, probably attributable to point #1.\n\n3. The beer. I hear their cocktails are great too, but I haven't actually had them. I have, on the other hand, had several 12-snit beer flights there and I can safely say I've tasted everything they have on tap. The biggest thing is that their selection is almost entirely Wisconsin-local beers. I love that, even though (and maybe especially because) I'm from out of state. Their presentation (on giant slabs of wood) for the beer flights is pretty awesome, too.\n\n4. The food I've had there is the only thing I might hesitate on for the 5-star rating (I'd have preferred to give a 4.5). I love their Wurst Platter (which can easily feed 3 people for about $15), and some of their burgers are very good, but I've found the food to be extremely rich and hard to take more than a few bites of. If you're into that, right on. I have a little trouble getting through meals, though. Lots of food for relatively inexpensive cost. \n\n5. Everything else, like the service and the outdoor seating and the text system for getting a table. All outstanding.