Harvest Evasion 2016 in Madison WI, Day Four: Brunch, Beer and Botanicals ... and mustard, too.

It was Sunday in Wisconsin's state capital, and another drop-dead gorgeous autumn day.

Well, they're better here than in my beer.

Following the morning hyper-caffeination ritual at Barriques, the coffee shop and wine bar located a mere minute away from our residence, we retrieved the car and drove north on Park to University Avenue, and then due west to the Great Dane Hilldale for a brewpub brunch, as detailed here:

All hail Sunday: Liquid brunch at Great Dane Hilldale, liquid lunch at Capital Brewery.

Capital Brewing's beer garden wasn't yet open on arrival, so there was time for a walk, which brought us to an attraction we'd missed during previous visits, the National Mustard Museum (founded 1986).

No visit to Southern Wisconsin and the Madison Area is complete without spending some time in Middleton … the home of the internationally infamous National Mustard Museum. Some call it the “Condimental Divide”. It’s where thousands of mustard enthusiasts each year leave those ketchup-eaters at the pass, and reach the summit of mustard love at the Mustard Museum.

The centerpiece collection at the Museum is an ever-growing display of prepared mustards, currently more than 5,566 jars, bottles, and tubes from all 50 states and more than 70 countries. Also on display are hundreds of items of great mustard historical importance, including antique mustard pots, mustard tins, vintage mustard advertisements, and assorted mustard memorabilia.

It's a fun place with mustard and puns in equal measure, and the admission is free. How I failed to purchase a Poupon U. sweatshirt is a complete mystery.

After beers at Capital, it was time to visit the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, an experience enhanced immeasurably by the gorgeous weather.

Stroll 16 acres of outdoor gardens featuring stunning landscapes and Midwest-hardy plants. Visit the tropics in the Bolz Conservatory, filled with exotic plants, flowers, orchids, birds, and a waterfall. Outdoor Gardens are free and open daily.

Still stuffed with brunch, I thought to investigate a brewpub of recent vintage called Next Door, and it was solid. We enjoyed beers and nibbles, and there's more here:

A couple of beers at Next Door Brewing Company in Madison, Wisconsin.

By now it was mid-afternoon. The plan was to rest, eat dinner relatively early and pack for the drive back while watching the second presidential debate. I decided to walk down to Rockhound for one last beer:

How Rockhound Brewing's smoked hop pale ale and the Super Bowl in the year 2000 connect in my cranium.

A final memorable meal came at Ramen Station, yet another top quality restaurant within a short walk of our Airbnb. Returning to home base, the debate had just started, and watching it was the single worst decision we made on the trip.

Early Monday morning at 5:45 a.m., the seven-hour drive commenced to a New Albany street grid mercifully returned to its normal configuration. Spending the weekend in Madison made for my favorite Harvest Homecoming ever, an evasion I hope we'll be able to repeat in future years.

If you can't beat the 800 lb. gorilla ... then run away.

Harvest Evasion 2016 in Madison WI, Day Three: Farmers Market day, with a martini and taqueria for good measure.

Monona Bay. 

Saturday morning dawned cloudless and pleasingly chilly, with temperatures in the forties. The itinerary stipulated coffee and muffins at Barriques, followed by a walk to the Dane County Farmers Market, which surrounds the state capitol on all four sides, with people, wares and merriment spilling into nearby streets -- especially State Street, pointing the way to the University of Wisconsin.

Somehow, in a way that defies native New Albanian logic, Madison's premier farmers market thrives entirely on its own merits, completely absent "infrastructure improvements" that serve mostly as window dressing for organizers and mean nothing to the vendors or their customers. There isn't even a Port-A-Let that I'm aware of, and market is well-attended, even in October.

So, as always, I found the squeaky cheese curds.

As always, delicious.

With a Food & Dining Magazine writing deadline looming, and my story about Louisville's new HopCat beer bar due the following week, it seemed reasonable to have lunch (with beers) at HopCat Madison for the sake of comparison. It's a few blocks down State Street from the farmers market. This is where we met Fred Swanson, as detailed here. Beers and snacks were just fine, and the conversation superlative.

Later in early evening, after the (now warmer) walk back and a recuperative nap, Diana suggested a cocktail at the Sheraton Madison bar -- for old times' sake, as we stayed there so many times during the Great Taste of the Midwest. A full account is here.

Saturday's final stop was dinner, and required the commute on foot of approximately 25 yards from our lodging. We'd already investigated the Taqueria Guadalajara, and Fred offered a recommendation. Super stuff, and my dish came with a roasted pepper that brought tears of joy to my eyes. I'm surprised we couldn't smell the taqueria from the house.

Have I mentioned how much we enjoy Madison?

Harvest Evasion 2016 in Madison WI, Day Two: The non-negotiable pilgrimage to New Glarus, brewery and town.

When there's a combined coffee shop and wine bar only a minute's walk from your Airbnb, that's where breakfast is: Barriques on Park Street in Madison, and a fine way to begin the day -- with espresso, not pinot noir, although be aware that this establishment boasts an amazing list of $10 wines.

Friday morning's destination was New Glarus, a small, tidy Wisconsin town situated roughly 25 miles south of Madison. It bills itself as "America's Little Switzerland," albeit lacking Alps, but with flair enough that folks who know nothing about "craft" beer still visit for the Old World charm.

We indulged in a round of thrift shopping on the route out of Madison, and I disgorged this perfect $1.00 musical accompaniment for the drive. Think oom-pah with yodeling, and you'll be close.

It's hard to imagine many sightseers in New Glarus leaving without learning about the big (and growing) brewery on a hilltop overlooking town.

This is the "new" New Glarus Brewing Company facility, opened a decade ago, where more than 200,000 barrels of beer are brewed yearly. The "old" plant just down the road adds more than 50,000 barrels to the total, all of which is available only in the state of Wisconsin.

To place these numbers in context, consider that the state of Indiana only recently has breweries even approaching the 50,000 barrel level.

New Glarus Brewing Company is a case study in excellence, and this is true in so many ways that enumerating them in depth would require a university business course term project, something far beyond this brief sketch.

Nonetheless, an overview includes the uniform quality of the beer itself, the decision some years back to distribute only in Wisconsin, the beer tourism approach embodied by the hilltop brewing shrine, the architectural design of this shrine, employee ownership of the company and female management of it ... and I've only scratched the surface.

This year was our fourth or fifth visit to the brewery, which we'd toured previously. This time the sampling bar and gift shop proved sufficient, with a beer enjoyed outside in the garden. In recent years, this comfortable expanse has been augmented with mock abbey ruins and other clever amenities like the rinsing station, a retrofitted vintage console from a German brewhouse.

As always, the final stop was the takeaway beer warehouse. To visit the brewery during the second weekend in August on the occasion of the Great Taste of the Midwest is to learn that incoming brewers from out-of-state emulate swarms of locusts, generally removing more ought-after brands from the shelves. Going in the off-season (those 51 other weekends) is better.

I pay little attention these days to beer ratings, but at least several of New Glarus's renowned fruit-based sour ales were available for purchase, along with plenty of the brewery's delicious styles from the German pantheon: Staghorn Octoberfest, Zwickl, Two Women Lager and Uff-da Bock.

I'm glad they had two-wheelers.

After loading the trunk at New Glarus Brewing, and before considering where the luggage would be stowed on the return trip, it was time descend the hill and proceed to Glarner Stube, a perpetually packed Swiss-German restaurant with New Glarus beers on tap and sauerkraut the way it's supposed to be, this being a particular passion of mine when dining out. My choice of beer was Spotted Cow, because ... when in Rome.

Out on the main street of New Glarus, I had fun walking back and forth in the crosswalk, from one side to the other, experiencing the amazing sensation (for a New Albanian) of having drivers actually yield to pedestrians, just the way they're supposed to do, but don't, because Irv Stumler says no one in our sity speeds or drives hazardously.

Later, back in Madison, there was cocktail hour at the Wonder Bar Steakhouse and a much needed nap before dinner. Located a short walk away from the pad, Mini Hot Pot was the choice for our evening meal, and make no mistake: We need one of these in Louisville.

The new Mini Hot Pot on South Park Street is particularly inviting on a cold, windy, gray day. The small restaurant’s specialty is bubbling broth in individual hot pots, served with colorful plates of meats and vegetables that diners cook themselves, fondue style.

Owner Vincent Chang explained that hot pots are traditional in northern China, where the winter weather is similar to Wisconsin’s. Historically, he said, an entire family would gather around one boiling cauldron of seasoned broth, dipping in ingredients and sharing the soup.

Harvest Evasion 2016 in Madison WI, Day One: Ha Long Bay or funnel cakes? Hmm, let me see.

Like the wise guy said: No gin -- no Tonica.

The route to Madison, Wisconsin does not lead through Chicago, because who wants to drive through Chicago without stopping for a while?

It's better to head north to Indy, west via Champaign to Bloomington, then north again, cutting like a dagger through the farmland of central Illinois, past Rockford (hometown of Cheap Trick), to the Wisconsin border. We learned this way during those many years transiting to the Great Taste of the Midwest, America's second oldest and best beer festival.

The world keeps changing, and so does Madison, but Wisconsin's state capital remains a somewhat blue city. The University of Wisconsin keeps things youthful and smart; the food and drink scene rocks, and the outdoorsy vibe impresses, especially when the weather is gorgeous and autumnal.

We found a basement apartment through Airbnb, conveniently located just off South Park Street, steps away from Monona Bay. Before check-in, there was dinner at our favorite Asian restaurant on Williamson (Willy) Street: Ha Long Bay, featuring Vietnamese, Thai and Laotian cuisine, and of course, local Wisconsin beer.

Nearer our room, post-meal beers were taken at Rockhound Brewing Company, a recent addition to the Madison beer scene.

Has evading Harvest Homecoming ever been this fine?