Restaurants
MEDITERRANEAN CAFE   625 State Street, (608)-251-8510  Absolutely the best place in town to eat Shawarma! Take a plate - they'll add all kinds of goodies to the meat (rice, tahini sauce, Greek salad, hummus, pita bread). Order outstanding Arabic Tea with it - and you're all set.
MAZA   558 State Street,  (608)-256-9330   Dish called Fried Mahi (it's actually a trout) is unmatchable! They serve it on basmati rice with a choice of soup or salad, also adding Afghani bread (called Nan). Or you can choose very decent Lamb Kabobs instead of fish.  Among appetisers,
Sambosa (type of fried dumpling) is very nice. Don't forget dessert - Firni (Afghan style custard) is totally delicious!
SA-BAI THONG   2840 University Avenue,  (608)-238-3100   For some reason, I'm not big fan of Thai food. However, I'm totally conquered by this restaurant's appetizers - and go there just to indulge in them! My favorites are: Shrimp Purse, Angel Wing, Sa-Tay and Goong Tod. There is another location by the same name in Madison, but this one is my favorite.
BANDUNG   600 Williamson Street,  (608)-255-6910   My favourites in this Indonesian restaurant are Sate Kambing, Sate Ayam and Sate Sapi -  skewered lamb, chicken or beef respectively, served on a bed of lontong rice.
Bookstores
FRUGAL MUSE  7475 Mineral point Road,  (608)-833-8668   I consider it one the best used bookstores in Madison. While there are some bigger stores, the shelves here are packed tightly and offer astonishing selection, and the folks who work in Frugal Muse are dedicated to what they're doing and best everybody in customer service and friendliness! There are couple of other locations, and even one in Darien, IL, though it's not a chain but a family business.