Monday night we had a fun family outing. I feel like generally speaking, 2023 is not the year that we are doing “all the holiday fun things”. It’s just been a weird year with the puppy and the bathroom remodel and the houseguests, yada yada. You all know, if you’ve been reading along.
Plus, we’re traveling for the first time ever this Christmas, so that’s another oddity.
We normally try to go to a performance of some sort- we’ve done The Grinch, A Christmas Carol (several times), the Nutcracker, a performance of Handel’s Messiah, last year we saw Come From Away… but this year it’s not fitting in. Which is fine, because we did just go to Aladdin in October, so I guess that feels recent enough. (Though, not holiday… but oh well.)
Anyway, I wanted to squeeze in at least some sort of special holiday outing, though.
So Monday night, we went out to dinner at a placed called Lucille, just off the capitol in downtown Madison. It’s a new-to-me place, but they go ALL OUT with the Christmas decorations. They call it “Miracle on King Street”.
It is highly popular this time of year, so I had to make a dinner reservation. By the time I tried, the weekends were booked solid (by people who are better planners than I am…). BUT, they had a Monday evening slot open, which nicely coincided with the end time of Asher’s band concert! We gotta eat anyway, so I figured we could go to the concert and then out for a (later) dinner after! It worked out perfectly.
It was really fun!! The place was ADORABLE and I will 100% make this a yearly tradition. I’m not sure how I didn’t know about this!! (Thanks to Facebook, I saw a friend post about it which inspired the idea! See, social media not always evil.)
At Asher’s band concert:
We then went home to get Ethan (who had stayed with Charlie) and headed downtown.
Like I said, the restaurant is just off the Capitol Square. Always a nice photo op in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol. 🙂
We were a little early, so we had to wait just a little. Which was fine – time for photo ops. 😉
The little entryway was adorable:
We sat upstairs, where they had MORE lights everywhere and views to the downstairs area. All of the big TVs on the wall were playing one of those crackling fireplace channels. Just soooo cute!!
I ordered one of the special Christmas drinks- I think it was called a Christmaspolitan or something like that.
Asher got a virgin holiday martini, too.
We got really yummy pizza for our main meal!
It was a really great holiday evening. And, since it was really just dinner, it didn’t take up a ton of time and fit into our week pretty seamlessly.
Anyone local- highly recommend checking this place out, if you haven’t already!
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for a successful Day 1 of my Christmas Challenge…. I was able to sit and read, alone, during most of Asher’s swim practice. Ivan was gone with Ethan at soccer, so it worked out perfectly.
GRATEFUL KAE 
Just went to a local restaurant here in the SF Bay Area doing the “miracle” thing for a work event yesterday. So festive!
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Awesome! Yes, it was sooo festive and fun!! I definitely want to go there again. A work event at a place like that would be really cool. 🙂
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Going out to dinner on a weeknight is the best! Bonus points when it’s the latest “it” place and you line it up with a school event.
I’m well aware of the difference in price between getting a seasonal cocktail at a restaurant and, say, pouring a glass out of our fridge bottle of Jose Cuervo margaritas. And you know what? I DON’T CARE!!!!! I have a million other ways to save money.
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Hahaha, right!! YOLO. 😜
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Long-time reader but first time commenter. I lived in Madison for five years after college and my husband and I make sure we go to Lucille’s whenever we’re back. Osteria Papavero, just down the streets, is one of our all-time favorite restaurants. This was a fun post to read!
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Hi! Thanks for the message! I also don’t know that other restaurant- will definitely check that out! We always talk about the fact that there are tons of great restaurants in the downtown/isthmus area and we always say we should make a list and start going to them once a month or something. But we never do…. haha. Maybe in 2024?!?
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It looks like a lovely spot! Are we going to get updates on all twelve days of Christmas?! It’s like a mini-NaBloPoMo for you!
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Yes, I think I will try to do that! That’s a fun way to keep myself accountable, too. 🙂
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I love holiday themes decor in restaurants! Looks so fun and festival. We almost never go out for dinner because of my early dinner schedule but if I find a place near by that we can go early, I’ll definitely do it.
I miss the colddddd as I see you guys all dressed up for the winter.
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Haha, yes, I do like putting on a nice coat and/or scarf around the holidays. Though I’d really prefer if it got “just” barely cold enough to need a coat, and never any colder. 😉
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This sounds SO fun! I know photos never do things like this justice, but I could totally tell how awesome the decorations were. It sounds like a really festive thing to do, and I would have gotten the special drinks as well- like Birchwood said, there are other ways to save money. This was a special occasion and splurging on fancy drinks makes it even more fun.
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This sounds so fun! I am terrible at planning fun holiday outings but it’s something I want to work toward.
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What a fun spot! There are some places in Minneapolis that really go all out for Christmas. The place where we had my work holiday party this week was so festive and fun. I haven’t been anywhere else this season but should try to next December! I think The Grinch at the children’s theater will be our tradition although just for the boys and me. It’s not Phil’s thing really… but as the boys get older we will find more family holiday things to do together. We really need to make a point to look at Christmas lights but maybe not until after Christmas as I don’t think being in a confined space with me while I am covid positive will be good for everyone… I am really hoping not to give this to anyone!!
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What a fun night out. I love how they decorated the place. Very festive!
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I always thought Lucille was fancy, for some reason. Thanks for helping me rid myself of that perception. It’s still “downtown”, though, and me + downtown + driving/parking = freak out. Still. Also? I’ve never been to some of the apparently amazing restaurants on Williamson Ave on the East side. I need to fix that this year – someone needs to hold me to it. 🙂
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