It's hard to be mad at the world when you're walking through the farmers' market near the capitol on a beautiful morning in Madison - even if you've got a hangover. But a Bloody Mary from the Old Fashioned still helps. Our group of four put our name down, were quoted a 45 minute wait (hey, it was game day), and grabbed a couple of Bloody Mary's (Maries?) from the bar. The excellent cocktail came with pickled asparagus, Brussels sprout, and olive, with a shot on the side. At first we thought we were meant to drop in our own vodka, but no, it was a beer chaser. I guess that's just how they roll in Wisconsin. They weren't quite spicy enough for us Texans, but the bartender recommended we add a dash of Sriracha - which I had never done before - and it worked. Really well. That's a trick I'll remember for the future.\n\nAfter waiting for awhile outside in the glorious weather, watching people peruse the market, our name was called and we sat down at a spacious table. We ordered the fried cheese curds for an appetizer, and finally \"got\" the whole Wisconsin cheese curd thing. These were perfectly golden fried, and orders of magnitude better than our previous experience. I then ordered a Wisconsin Bloody Mary, which was a virtual breakfast in a glass: pickle, cheese curds (not fried), a spicy pickled egg, and a slab of beef jerky, with the de rigueur beer chaser on the side. Excellent, and highly recommended.\n\nFor our entree, we were each drawn to the No. 1, Wisconsin Benedict, and ordered a round. I love Eggs Benedict in theory, but don't generally like Hollandaise sauce, so I prefer them at places like Mama's Cafe back in Texas, where the Mexicana version uses queso, or at the Old Fashioned here in Madison, where the Wisconsin version uses a tangy mustard blend. The eggs were actually sunny side up rather than poached, runny, and set atop an English muffin, and of course, this being Wisconsin, a Bratwurst patty. The rosemary potatoes that came on the side had a crispy fried exterior, and were a delicious accompaniment to the Benedict.\n\nThough I love a big diner breakfast on Saturdays before a big game, I can't really call this \"diner\" food, more like \"upscale comfort food,\" but it was nevertheless a fantastic start to the day, and I would be eager to try any number of their other dishes. Guess I'll just have to make another trip back to Madison.