New to the board...need Madison recs

Mrs.Xstattic

Hi ladies!

So, I've never posted here before, but I thought it would be a good place to try and get some suggestions...my husband, son and I are moving to the Madison area pretty soon (we live in Menomonee Falls right now).  I don't know much about the Madison area at all, so I'd love some suggestions on pretty much everything - pediatricians (we have a newborn), salons, places to eat, places to shop, doctors, dentists, playgroups, etc... basically, anything you can think of that would help.

Thanks so much!

MadCity_WI

Which side of Madison are you moving to? 

I replied to a Madison restaurants post about a week ago and it lists my fav places on the west side and downtown.  Scroll down and the post should be relatively recent.

Check out momsinmadison.com for playgroup listings.  They also have chatboards, so you will be able to get lots of opinions on pediatricians there.

For salons, I go to Jenny at Deonne Spa and love her.

For dentists, my DH and I go to Stacey Dental our subdivision, and  we have been happy with them. 

 

Brooklyn2WI

Hi and welcome to the board. I think you'll really like Madison -- we moved here last July and I just love it here.

Our pediatrician is Dr. Meier who is with UW Health, but you'll have to check and see if he's accepting new patients (someone on here wasn't sure if he was anymore). If you can get in with him, I highly recommend him -- he's pretty fabulous. For primary care doctors, we see Dr. Podein at the Odana Atrium clinic (west side). He's very proactive about health, and has a lot of suggestions on things you can do with diet and exercise to help improve health. I like him a lot. He's young, but very good.

We live close to the Hilldale Mall, so I do a lot of shopping there. There's a Macy's, Anthropologie, North Face store... it's a very neat new area. Oh, there's also a fun little toy store in the mall but I don't know the name of it. There's a very nice Sentry food there, and the Whole Foods is also moving there pretty soon. Hilldale also has the Sundance 608 movie theater -- it is really nice and shows independent/less mainstream movies. As you can tell, I like it a lot! We also shop at the West Towne Mall and the Monroe Street area. If you hit up those three places, you can find just about anything you want! Oh, and definitely go to the Farmer's Market on the Square on Saturdays -- it's cheap, has a lot of variety, and really good food (and flowers). Many neighborhoods also have their own Farmer's Markets on Wednesdays, which are smaller but still have lots of stuff. They're also a lot less crowded, as you might imagine.

I'm still going to my hometown hair stylist and dentist (Janesville) because I'm afraid of trying somewhere new. I need to bite the bullet pretty soon though, so I'll be reading all the recommendations you get there!


 

MaestraMama

Hi & Welcome!  I'm sure you will love Madison...we moved here 4 years ago from the Fox Valley area and just love it!  

We are currently searching for a pediatrician, so I don't have any first hand recommendations for you there. 

Some of our fav. restaurants: Cocoliquot, Eno Vino, Delmonico's, Fresco, Harvest, Great Dane, Laredo's (for Mexican). 

I think you said you are moving this summer...defintely check out the bike trails, the Farmer's Markets and the Concerts on the Square (Wednesdays in the summer)...so fun! 

I see Brynn at the Ultimate Spa and Salon (Monona) and she is wonderful.  I was nervous choosing a new stylist, but she was the first and only person to do my hair in Madison.  I would never leave her, she does such a great job. 

I see a dentist at First Choice, but I can't say that I'm extremely pleased, they do an ok job, just feel like I've been given the run around a few times with them and I've been thinking about switching dentists. 

I LOVED my OB at Melius, Schurr & Cardwell (Fitchburg), but had to change drs due to insurance.  If your insurance covers them, I would highly suggest them. 

I think that's it for now...if I think of other things, I'll let you know!  GL w/ the move!   

JnJ04

Pediatrician/Doctor - DD and I go to a family doctor - Dr. Edwards at the UW Health Odana clinic.

Salon - I go to Anna at Aniu

Places to eat - I also really like Laredos and the Great Dane. We don't get downtown much but there are also a lot of great places near State St.

Places to shop - I go to all of the places that previous posters mentioned and also Greenway Station.

Dentist - I go to Dental Health Associates on PD but they have a few locations if one is closer to where you'll be living.

Playgroups - I don't go to any but like someone else said momsinmadison.com is a good resource for that and also meetup.com.  The Star Cinema movie theater has Baby Box Office on Tuesdays for moms to bring in their babies. I never got the chance to go before I went back to work but it sounds like fun.

Have fun getting to know the area!

Mrs.Xstattic

Thanks for all the suggestions.  My husband got a new job in Verona, so we're looking at either the west side of Madison, or the western suburbs.  We haven't found a place quite yet (he's currently commuting from the Falls every day), but we're actively searching...

I'm super excited about the move - everyone has such great things to say about the area.  We're really excited to meet some new people out that way. 

Now, I just need to get into posting on here more!