While looking through a travel brochure for the city of Madison, I saw an ad for Fromagination, a cheese shop located in the downtown area of Madison, right near the capitol building and farmers’ market. It sounded cool, so I was excited to make a stop at the store, a part of my trip. As you enter this beautiful looking establishment you are greeted by the scent of cheese, and before you are tons of options. They had samples available for some of the classic Wisconsin cheeses: brick, Colby, and cheese curds, all of which were delicious. I also got to sample baby swiss for the first time and I enjoyed it. They had several employees waiting to help you. The employees seems to be very knowledgeable about their cheese. We were greeted warmly as we entered the store, and got the explanation of what was in each display case. As for the prices, they were reasonable for a place of this quality.
Besides cheese, you could find honey, wine, books on cheese, tools for slicing cheese, non-alcoholic drinks including Dogs n Suds Root Beer, and more. I noticed upon checking out they were selling Zingerman’s candy bars, which I thought was cool being from the Ann Arbor area myself. Outside the store they had a nice little area with tables and chairs so that you could sit back, relax, and enjoy your fromage. We enjoyed some Colby cheese, along with some ice cold limeade I purchased at a nearby street vendor.
The store also offers special events and classes. It seems like they have something going on each Saturday. We just missed out on hearing about the classic Wisconsin cheeses. If you are in the downtown Madison, make sure to take some time to stop at this institution.
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