Throughout 2020, its clear that we have seen a lot of big changes to the Madison area, from murals on State Street to the construction of several new buildings on the University of Wisconsin campus.
One smaller, but equally significant, change is the recent influx of new businesses to the area. All of the new businesses are unique and bring a creative new way to enjoy some of our favorite foods, and some even bring exciting new meals to try for the first time.
Here are four new restaurants in the Madison area that shouldn’t be missed.
‘Streateries’ to take over State Street during summer weekends
Le C’s Patisserie & Tea House
Le C’s is a patisserie, which is a special type of bakery that specializes in French and Italian pastries. Here you can find baked goods such as macarons, eclairs and other delicious pastries not commonly found in the U.S.
In addition to their delectable desserts, Le C’s also offers a wide variety of tea beverages. They offer everything from fruit tea, lattes, milk tea and even flavored milk, which will be sure to interest even the most casual of tea drinkers.
An exciting new addition to the already vibrant tea scene on State Street, Le C’s offers the best of teas and French and Italian pastries.
Crave Coffee and Donuts
I have three words that are going to make your mornings a lot more interesting — Coffee. And. Donuts. Need I say more? Crave Coffee and Donuts is the newest caffeine and sugar fix to come to the University Avenue area, and needless to say, they are on to something great.
Along with a wide variety of gourmet donuts like chocolate and glazed, Crave makes coffee shop drink favorites such as espresso drinks, hot chocolate and lattes. Aside from grab-and-go breakfast, Crave also serves sit-down food including quiches and burritos. What’s more, Crave is now hiring full and part-time donut bakers! If that isn’t your dream job, I don’t know what is.
Crave opens at 8 a.m. daily and rest assured, you will see me there waiting outside the door at 7:59 a.m. to get a gourmet apple cider donut.
Wisconsin Union will better indicate presence of beef gelatin in Babcock ice cream
J-Petal
If you haven’t heard of J-Petal by now, you undoubtedly will soon as they will be all over your Instagram feed in a matter of weeks. That’s right, J-Petal serves none other than the social media phenomenon of rolled ice cream.
They created fun names for their sweet frozen treats, with ice creams ranging from Green Hulk to Honey BOO BOO to New Best Friend. And just when you thought pastries couldn’t get any better, J-Petal also serves Japanese crepes.
As well as sweet fruit and dessert crepes, J-Petal has savory crepes with ingredients like beef, crab and shrimp. And not to be missed are their lightbulb drinks. If you have never had the chance to drink out of a lightbulb, J-Petal will change that with their collection of sparkling waters served in tall glasses resembling the common household light bulb.
J-Petals is a must-visit for anyone looking for a midday pick-me-up snack or for the casual social media influencer who needs a few hundred more likes on their next post.
Local program cooks up job opportunities for formally incarcerated
Whether you’re craving a kickstart to your morning, a refreshing tea drink or a cool dish of ice cream to say farewell to summer, Madison’s newest businesses will have everything you can hope for and more.
