The Great Dane on the square is my go-to place to take people when we are up near the Capitol - here are the reasons why:\n\n1) When we have visitors, there are almost always kids. LOTS of kids.  Today we had four adults and six kids.  The downtown Dane has a nice basement area with large tables that is perfect for big parties with children because, not only is there room, it's usually less busy so our rowdy kids won't bother nearly as many people.\n\n2) They have a humongous selection of food. If you can't find something you like at The Great Dane, you should probably just stay home. They have everything, including good options for kids and vegetarian meals that are marked with a little carrot to easily identify them.\n\n3) Beer is good for you. Especially beer that is not made by a big beverage company.  My favorite is the Crop Circle Wheat, but I'm a wheat beer girl, so anything with wheat makes me happy.\n\n4) The food is good. It's not the best food you are going to find in Madison, but it's good.  The Mac and Cheese (which I've probably eaten 10 times) can be really hit or miss. Sometimes it's amazing. Sometimes it needs more sauce.  Today I had the grilled cheese, which is really more of a vegetable sandwich with cheese.  This is the second time I've had this, and it was substantially better than the first.\n\nI really don't have anything bad to say about The Great Dane. Our server today seemed a little annoyed at having to serve a giant party of kids 5 and under, but one slightly peeved server does not a bad restaurant make...I think I said that right. ;)  \n\nWe will keep coming back to the Dane...it's a bit like a Madison institution at this point. ;)