State Street Brats

Few events scream Wisconsin! louder than eating fried cheese curds and a mustard-slathered bratwurst, then washing down both with a cold Leinenkugel at Brats. On game day, you’ll see more red in this crowd than at an Elmo convention, but the game is visible from virtually anywhere thanks to projection-screen TVs on the second floor and 50-inch plasma screens built into the wall of the heated beer garden. (Unless you get stuck behind Bratman, the bar’s benevolent wiener mascot.) Alumni and students alike revere the place thanks to fun traditions like kissing a stuffed water buffalo head for a free birthday shot, as well as the clever beer stock exchange, whereby the prices of various brews fluctuate on a running ticker depending on how often patrons order them that night.

Photos: Courtesy of State Street Brats