We have all experienced the moment of late night hunger. While you may cry yourself to sleep after realizing you’ve just inhaled an extra 2,000 calories, late night eating in Madison is inevitable. After a fun night out of parting or bar hopping, you’ll find yourself stuffing your face with anything from pizza, to cheese curds, to Tags breakfast sandwiches. Even if you’re the good student who’s spending the night studying, Memorial Library is right across from State Street, so either way it's bound to happen. Although late night eating may be the sole reason for the freshman 15, it also makes for some of the best memories. Luckily, Madison students are fortunate enough to have a wide variety of places open past midnight. Here’s a list of the most popular late night eating spots to ensure that your taste buds will never be disappointed.
MacTaggart’s (Tags): Located in a nondescript small basement in an alley off of Langdon, Tags is normally the go to for Greek life. They have a wide variety of basic grocery store food, but also make the most unreal egg breakfast sandwiches. On top of that, they offer free popcorn, so when waiting for a sandwich or just browsing around, you can always grab a bag of freshly popped popcorn.
Fried & Fabulous: Offering a variety of food including cheese curds, pizza rolls, fried cookie dough, and fried Oreos, this is definitely not the place for anyone on a diet. There is no way that any of this food is good for you, but it’s hard to pass up. The fan favorite: fried cookie dough balls, which are basically chocolate gooey balls covered in powdered sugar. Yes, please!
Ian’s: This is the Madison staple that is a must try for any visitors. It’s conveniently in the middle of off campus, bridging the gap between off-campus party houses and campus dorms. The downside is that Ian's always has a line...but the pizza is definitely worth the wait.
Pizza Di Roma: This pizza is probably just as good if not better than Ian’s, but a less popular spot. Their slices are huge, there’s rarely a line, and they offer a ton of specialty slices and pastas. Plus, they deliver relatively quickly. PDR > Ian’s.
Toppers: Topper’s is pretty second-tier when it comes to pizza in Madison, but there’s nothing quite like their signature topperstix to satisfy your late night hunger needs. Who wouldn’t want to smother their pizza in a garlic dipping sauce? It’s greasy, bad for you, relatively cheap, and delivers fast.
Wendy’s: This is where you go when you realize you only have $3 in your wallet. You can easily get your money’s worth even if you're on a budget. Also, Chocolate Shoppe and Coldstone close at 10 p.m., so if you're really craving ice cream you can settle for a frosty.
Short Stack: If you’re the kind of person who craves diner food late night, this is the place to go. They’re open 24 hours from Thursday to Sunday and have really good pancakes, egg scramblers, and breakfast sandwiches.
Late Night Tornado Room: You will definitely not leave this place hungry. From their large steaks, to salmon, to cheese curds and fries, they offer some of the best food for half the price starting at 10 p.m. Tornado Room is great for a late night burger fix or juicy steak.
JD’s: JD’s is best for having a late night snack. They have pretty much everything you could crave after 2 a.m. The crispy chicken sandwiches and Philly cheese steak fries are a great alternative to a typical slice of pizza from Ian’s or PDR.
Qdoba: Conveniently located on state street and open until 3:00 a.m., Qdoba is the hot spot for those who are craving Chipotle, but realize it;s closed. But actually, who wouldn’t want to indulge in their signature Queso at 2:00 a.m., otherwise just a big bowl of melted cheese. The chips on the side are just there to make you feel better about eating cheese as soup.
No regrets.
