Uppies and Cuppies on the Road

Smalls, Grandma, and I just got back from a road trip to Wisconsin. Some of the highlights of the trip were
- stopping in Bloomington, Illinois to have a raisin extracted from Smalls's nose. She claims she put it there because my mom and I "were making too much noise."
- seeing roadside attractions like a life-size pink elephant wearing glasses, giant corn, a giant cow and a giant bull, and the House on the Rock.
- eating and eating and eating. We had some great food on the trip, and my uncle took us to some really great restaurants in and around Madison, Wisconsin. A few were brewpubs, and I love that they're kid-friendly but also make great beer. Here a few of the best places we ate on our trip.

Great Dane Pub, Madison WI

The Great Dane. Look at that neat bicycle shadow.

Great Dane is a pub and brewery based in Madison. They have a great kids' menu (http://www.greatdanepub.com/sites/default/files/kids%20menu.pdf) with fruit and vegetables available as sides. We got to sit outside in a courtyard, but they have lots of indoor seating, too.
We ate here before attending a free outdoor concert by Brother, a Celtic-Australian fusion band. They played didgeridoos while wearing kilts. It was awesome and inspired Smalls to dance wildly.

The Grumpy Troll, Mt. Horeb WI

Mount Horeb is the Troll Capital of the World.

Another brewery and restaurant, in a small town outside of Madison known for their troll carvings (the main street is known as the Trollway). You can eat in the main dining room or the pizzeria upstairs; we ate in the main dining room. It's very kid-friendly, with coloring sheets and crayons and a kids' menu and a changing table in the women's bathroom. Here's a link to their Junior Troll menu: http://www.thegrumpytroll.com/menu/kids_menu.pdf.
We visited Mount Horeb after visiting House on the Rock (the first time), so I was reeling a little from trollway/Wally Keller/Infinity Room weirdness.

Culver's

A giant bull in Stewardson, Illinois. It has nothing to do with Culver's.

Culver's is a Wisconsin-based chain of fast-food restaurants. They are known for butter burgers and frozen custard. Both are as wonderful as they sound. Frozen custard is like the densest, creamiest, smoothest soft-serve ice cream you've ever had.
On our way home, after a detour to see a giant bull in Stewardson, Illinois, we stopped at the Culver's in Effingham (within sight of the World's Largest Cross). Here's a link to their kids' menu: http://www.culvers.com/menu/ScoopieKidsMeals.aspx. It's butter burgers and chicken fingers, but they do offer applesauce as a side.