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Start a Top 5 for Cheap EatsEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Isthmus and Madison Magazine. Updated August 2026.
Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream · Monroe Street
Madison Magazine 2025 Gold winner and Isthmus standard-bearer. Since 1962 on Monona Drive, 110-flavor rotation including Zanzibar chocolate and Blue Moon.
Greenbush Bakery · Near West
Madison's kosher-certified doughnut bakery, a staple on Regent Street since 1996. It took gold in the 2025 Best of Madison readers' poll's Bakery-Sweets category, and it remains a currently licensed operation in the county's food establishment registry, a mainstay of the neighborhood's morning routine for nearly three decades.
Lupe's Taquería · Middleton
A counter-service Middleton taqueria making burritos, tacos, tamales and quesadillas to order. A Wisconsin State Journal restaurant review recommends it for satisfying a taco craving, and the same straightforward, made-to-order approach carries over to its burrito lineup. It sits just outside the Madison city line in the western part of the metro.