The scene in downtown Madison this week, especially on the State Street side, reminds me of a record I wore out as a child. It was called "Teddy Bears' Picnic," and it went something like:
If you go down in the woods today
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go down in the woods today
You better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.
The teddy bears are picnicking en masse in the campus environs, using the metaphor to describe the annual rite of moving day.
We all know that Aug. 15 marks the expiration day for thousands of student leases, prompting a mountain of curbside discards and an armada of rental moving vans. This is also a good time to spot out-of-state license plates. It is not a good time to be driving around the area on casual business.
But when moving day is done, chances are Mom and Dad and Bud and Sis, who often come along for the moving out or moving in, can celebrate the transition with dinner at a local restaurant. And a fine array of choices they have in Madison's proliferating roll of dining establishments.
There is one soon to be added to the list. Contributor and food blogger André Darlington follows chef and restaurateur Dan Fox to the verge of a new culinary enterprise in his cover story, "The Birth of a Restaurant." The teddy bears will have no shortage of places to picnic in downtown Madison.
-- V.O.
vo@isthmus.com
