What’s New at the 2024 Taste of Madison

have you tasted the best beer in the Galaxy if you've had beer at G's Brew Bar on Monroe Street you probably have they are raising the bar of bars if you visit gar challenge them to pick the perfect beer for you I love beer and I don't really know that much about it so I really love quality selections and recommendations like theirs plus G is clean and cozy go visit GS brew bar.com and scroll down to sign up for their newsletter today on City cast [Applause] Madison it's Thursday so of course we're dishing on Madison's food scene and it's time to taste our city yes the fabulous Taste of Madison Fest is this weekend Saturday and Sunday with over 90 vendors who come to together around the capitol Square to offer their best eats it's a totally free event to attend plus this year's got some twists from last new amenities and sparkling activities some literally to get the load down of what you can expect we sat down with Sarah Clemy the president of Madison festivals the organization that runs the Fest it's Thursday August 29th I'm Bianca Martin and here's what Madison's talking about [Music] Sarah hey hey thank you so much for having me today of course well Taste of Madison is an iconic festival and 2024 marks its 42nd year and for folks who may not be familiar with the event it's essentially a two-day schorg of Madison area food offerings all brought together around the Capital Square so what's got you most excited for this year taste is really different this year so you're going to have a lot of familiar flavors that you're used to having in the past with a bunch of unfamiliar twists so we've made quite a few changes and I'll just start going through them if that works for you yeah definitely please okay so taste uh like you mentioned it's a free Festival you do not need a ticket to attend the entire square is filled up with food and beverage vendors uh we have about 90 different restaurants this year which is the most restaurants that taste of Madison has ever had so there's a ton of them uh there's 27 different bars yeah it's huge and there's just a lot of like really good offerings it's interesting because I had somebody on Facebook just the other day be like oh no it's just a bunch of chain restaurants and I was like what he's like if you get something cool for food there then I'll and I like went through our menu and I was like here try this or this or this or this and you just look through the menus and he actually wrote back on Facebook um he was like oh my gosh I hadn't looked at the menu and I booked my hotel and I'm ready to come I was like okay good oh my gosh it's always someone who like hasn't actually gone they kind of come back around yeah yeah we put lots of planning into this this is legit yes but I think for a lot of people because taste has been around for so long it can easily get the mentality of been there done that and so that's why we're changing things up this year so in the past we always you all heard it something different so I am very much not a status quo person I am a disruptor I like to change things I like to push the envelope um and we are doing that with taste this year so there are traditionally three music stages at Taste of Madison the entertainment's always free so whether you buy food or drink at all you don't have to you can still come and watch the music there's no tickets we get that every year how do I buy a ticket there is no ticket just show up it is free so there have always been three stages this year there's only going to be two so we have our JJ stage on MLK and we have our q106 stage on Wisconsin but on East Washington we no longer have a music stage and instead this year we have what's called plop yes yes it's going to be really cool so it's got arcade games like classic arcade games that we grew up with and that were so fun to play Papa shot uh pin Seekers is going to be there with a chipping challenge so you can win prizes uh we'll have a half a pickle ball court set up so you can learn either how to hit a pickle ball or you can try to win some prizes you can hit it into the little pickleball bug oh this might be my moment then cuz I right pick a balls all the rage yeah it is the rage I just said the other night to my husband I was like I think we might have to take lessons and he's like I don't know Sarah we could probably figure this out you don't want to get shown out at the taste of Madison no no I I'm G to have to practice my skill set but we have DJ Fusion there so he will have all kinds of music going the whole time a huge big buildout bar all kinds of different yard games it should be really really fun it's like golf simulators yeah like in chipping challenges and you know just different fun things uh also in that area which is new for Taste is we're having shade tents which we've never provided before and picnic tables so we're having seating so we've never actually provided seating before at Taste of Madison it's only been at the square so this is the first year we're providing picnic tables to give people a place to kind of take a little rest that's nice cuz otherwise it's kind of like yeah maybe like move along but that's more accessible too right and that kind of goes into our other area which is the recharge Zone on West Washington which is also new and that will be a lot more of just chill so that's the picnic tables again that's the yard games like cornhole or lad ball connect for you know life-size big games um as well as a big bells bar so Belle the brand of beer and one of the things that's really neat that they're doing is on Sat Saturday night they're bringing in a nail technician so you can get free manicures did you like who you were the Planner on this right like there's well there's two of us there are two people Madison no it would be great I'm loving you know what would be great um manicare station this is truly an all stop an all around good perfect stop well so Sunday we didn't forget the um facial hair people because there's going to be a glitter beard artist oh my goodness that's just what it sounds like they could do the hair on your head as well but they fill your whole beard with glitter it's bananas you should Google it I mean that's like a that sounds like a commitment I'm about it yeah I think it'll wash out that night you can take a shower or you could just like rock it because they probably have a product that you know doesn't do the sort of you know because some people use glitter as Revenge yeah no no maybe it's somebody you don't like and then you just go to their house and you shake your face afterwards so the glitter goes everywhere or it's just like love I mean Huck we we love the glitter that's so fun how can you not yes so that's going to be really fun um we're having free yoga both mornings on the capitol lawn so you don't reserve a space but you bring your mat and you just show up so f45 is leading it one day and the local movement is leading it the next day so that's a that's a fun new thing wow that's really these are really special editions yeah yeah they're really fun one thing I'm excited about is we worked with my Arts this summer which is the like youth-based Community Art Center over on East Washington Street and we did a community day of art so anybody could come in and they it was free and they could create canvas art pieces um totally free we provided all of the materials my Arts was absolutely fabulous to work with they did a ton of of leg work on this project um but all of those art pieces will be displayed at the taste of Madison and then they're being auctioned off and all the proceeds from the auction 100% are going back to my Arts uh to fund their programming so that's really cool so I'm excited about that there something that people might not know about the taste of Madison and we will talk about food y'all we will talk about food but the taste of Madison is this is a really huge event that is has 30 area volunteer groups that work together to make this possible it is so Taste of Madison is owned by Madison festivals which is a registered nonprofit in our state we also own the Madison Marathon so a common misconception is that the taste of Madison is a for-profit event but it is not it's a nonprofit event so our proceeds are going back to local charitable groups in our area um and a lot of that is done through our volunteer support program so we bring in anywhere between 500 to 600 volunteers uh they receive a donation for working different jobs at the event um additionally if you leave a tip like you buy a beer or a soda or a glass of wine and you leave a tip 100% of that stays with this volunteer group like the taste of Madison doesn't take any of that we give 100% to the group and then additionally make a an additional donation wow yeah I saw that y'all donate like 90,000 plus and yeah yeah on average yeah it's huge it's huge and that's just like the direct donations that we're making back that's not actually the full picture of the economic impact of something like Taste of Madison so when you are calculating the economic impact or the direct spending of any event whether it's taste or live on King or artfare or you know fetto Marquette any of these events they all have an economic impact to our city so taste the last few years has been anywhere between 7 to8 million so that's people that are coming to our community they're staying at our hotels they're eating at our restaurants they're filling up with gas they're they're just seeing like the man you mentioned at the beginning he booked a hotel it's not just right right oh my gosh yeah I love when I when I get people like that I love the trolls on Facebook I can't help it I go down a rabbit hole oh my gosh yes because it is so easy to be a keyboard word and just say whatever is on your mind but you know we're real people over here yes that's true and they can come and get their manicure done with you yeah and glitter their beard I'm gonna glitter bum I'm right there [Music] poos the land down under has never been easier to reach United Airlines has more flights between the US and Australia than any other US Airlines so you can fly non-stop to destinations like Sydney Melbourne and Brisbane explore dazzling cities Savor the very best of Aussie Cuisine and get up close and personal with the wildlife who doesn't want to hold a koala go to united.com Australia to book your adventure let's talk food cuz this is our our food segment of the week and people love to hear about that let's check food so as you said you have have tons of vendors on deck and the food vendor space is sold out so what are some of the eats coming to taste all right so when we talk about food a fun thing with Taste of Madison is each year we host what's called The Taste of taste and it's a pre-event for Taste of Madison some of our restaurants come out um we invite about 200 people and they sample food and beverage from our restaurants and they vote on their favorites and so those restaurants are then crowned the best taste so we have a couple mini James Beard yeah it's a mini mini taste beard taste glitter beard taste glitter beard taste glitter beard I love it we're so sensual we're really we're artists on this conversation we are yes we are so we have some really really fun restaurants that that won you know ye's yummy kitchen is actually a new restaurant for Taste of Madison and they won in a few different areas they got first place for their appetizer with their crab Rons uh and they got second place uh with their pad tie in their Asian Asian dish ooh our first place dessert winner oh my gosh it's called the restaurant's called Songbird fruit and it's grilled peaches o yum it was delectable so they brought their sweet peach so it's like a grilled Georgia Peach with you know ice cream and um like that crumble like the brown sugar and butter crumble but they also have a Savory one and it's got goat cheese and I don't want to go too much into it because I don't want to screw it up but it's oh my gosh oh you have to go there that sounds really good let's see who else so nma's World Tour won for their smoked pork carnus with corn and jalapeno sauce that's a really good one Comm and pasta who's been a vendor with us for a few years won first place for their fully loaded mac and cheese and he's really neat because all of his pasta what was it loaded with I don't know goodness it's just goodness okay just goodness um yeah load loaded with greatness he makes all of his stuff from scratch so it's great you know we're excited this year too because we have some more of the downtown businesses that got to participate in Taste of Madison this year and probably due to the bad game being on a Friday night instead of on a Saturday like it usually is uh so it changes how the crowds work out um so like balair Cantina is in this year for example and they'll have you know walking nachos and mini Taco plates State Street Bratz is actually in for the first time so we're excited about that great it's a brat summer yeah it's a brat summer um Baraka is one of our big vendors um they do East African cuisine and they always do a great job you know we I don't have any favorites it's kind of like how I don't have any favorite kids but if I had to pick one kid quote unquote to hang out with or visit at taste I really like cafe Costa Rica yes yes I really like his food a lot so he's going to have like sweet plantains and his mango man chips and and Tacos um we love kakas and banadas and kakas aapas they do two different booths they are just remark a let's see Cooper's Hawk is a new restaurant over in Greenway Station and they'll be in this year I don't know if you've been there yet but it's so good no I haven't oh check it out um Draper Brothers trap house they a newer restaurant downtown they'll be at taste this year uh you know and then we have a lot of the fun people like gig's cupcakes and nothing bunk cakes and glazed which will have like Mochi donuts and and um you know dut EnV and the chocolate shop which is such a Madison staple so there are so many restaurants and so many menu choices to choose from so I encourage people to go to the website because it's got everybody who's going to be at the event and it's got their menu listed as well as the price and if they have allergen friendly food so whether it's gluten-free dairy free nutree um it is listed on there I do make the caveat that if you have strict food allergies you are coming to a food festival so bear that in mind so although an item may be listed as gluten-free or or nut free you're Outdoors at a food festival where they're cooking Outdoors so be mindful of that especially with the level of your allergy that's really smart well those are all great options and part of the excitement is you just get to try stuff out that you've never seen too so like just winging it is is a great idea um Taste of medicine is more than just food as we've discussed like all the new things but you'd mentioned that there's music can you tell us a little bit about do we know who's performing we do know who's performing so that's also listed on our website so we have entertainment all day long both Saturday and Sunday going the entire day so you know you start off uh with some more country artists over on Wisconsin Street with our q16 stage um our headliner on Saturday is Chase Beckham and Sunday is Matt stelle uh so those should be pretty popular and then on our JJ which is traditionally our Rock stage uh you know you'll have some some favorites that you've had before the Fufu dolls or versus me but then our Saturday headliner is Nonpoint which is a taste of Madison staple they're super popular they're super fun just really really good music and then well I guess music is subjective what's really good but they're very popular and then Sunday as headliner is Royal Bliss so it it should be really good time for music we also have the forward marching band they come out and they March the start of the square they March the whole thing they're so fun they're fun we love them they're so fun you know and I mentioned DJ Fusion will be over in playtopia so he'll have a a full variety of mix of Music whether it's you know 70s 80s 90s country EDM all of it I am curious can you share any tips for first timers who are coming because it is a big event should like folks walk counterclockwise like at the farmers market is there a Rhyme or Reason bring water do people need cash like what are some of the logistics to keep in mind yeah that's a great question so I highly recommend that people look through the map ahead of time and kind of see who's there so there is a map on our website you can click on it download it print it we do not provide printed maps at the event but we'll have big ones that you can look at but I just kind of suggest looking through through that um don't bring your dog it's against the city permit so unless it's a service animal keep keep a pho at home cash and credit are both welcome so at our beverage stands where we sell beer wine soda it's credit or debit only you can turn your cash into a cash card but credit and debit are preferred so if you need to turn it into a cash card you just ask at the beverage stand uh but our restaurant vendors take both and they do keep 100% of their sales that's a question I often get asked I recommend bringing a refillable water bottle because another new thing we have this year is the water wagon and that's like a like a beard tapping caddy except for it has water I love it yeah so it's free water uh it was sponsored by First Choice Dental this year so you just but we don't provide the water bottle so bring your water bottle you can fill up your with your free water and then I usually recommend that people bring like a blanket to sit down on um so you can put that on the grass and wear your on screen smart wear comfortable shoes like don't you know you're not dressing to impress you're you're dressing to walk around the square yeah so have fun with that you know it's just um you can do a little bit of both you can you can dress to impress get your beard but like your shoes your feet don't worry about it maybe okay maybe that's me talking selfishly where I'm like just wear your tennis shoes you know no no it's good I mean you want to be able to walk for long time and good have a good time yeah and I you know there's um I think the other important thing for people to realize is taste is a really popular event so there's a lot of people that come down and so having some Grace and some patience and that goes for anything in life uh will get you a long way you know you get more flies with honey than vinegar so absolutely and you are literally so delightful I just have to throw that out right now um thank you speaking of honey you're so sweet um and it just occurs to me I should ask about parking oh yes parking so parking is available anywhere kind of in any of the parking lots parking garages around the square or street parking there's a link on our website uh but it really is kind of first come first serve a lot of the parking garages now do charge parking fees uh because it's considered an event weekend so you can take the bus and you know those buses go from all over the city uh a lot of the buses that have had to be rerouted we have put flyers in to let them know how the rerouting is going and what's changed but I would just you can see some real time parking maps and what's available on our website it'll link you right to the city website okay awesome of course folks can also walk and and bike and all the things right Sarah thank you so much for coming on and giving us the scoop for this year's Fest I mean it really sounds great like the food already it's already a fantastic event but we can can tell you guys put a lot of thought into making additions and making it even more accessible and fun yeah well thank you you know we um we take feedback seriously so if people have thoughts if they send it to us on Facebook or send it to us via email we really do take it seriously and do the best we can and you know this is just year one of something new and and discovering new things so we hope a lot of people come out check out some of the new familiar things and discover something new that they love about Taste of [Music] medison that's Sarah Clemy president of Madison festivals if you want to find out more about what's going to be at the taste this year or any other details about the Fest head to our show notes for a [Music] [Applause] link that's all for today here on City cast Madison I'm Bianca Martin if you enjoyed the show why don't to share this episode with your friend who has luscious facial hair okay we'll be back tomorrow morning with more stories from around the city talk soon [Music]