Cranberry Creek Cafe

Working downtown has its advantages. There are a lot of options for lunch but when the weather is nice I really enjoy walking over to Cranberry Creek Cafe, grabbing some fruit salad and whatever-entree-of-the-day they have cooked up and heading outside to sit on the capital lawn or on the picnic tables in front of my office building. Cranberry Creek puts its menu online so you can choose which day will be best for eating out and that has really helped this obsessive organizer plan out the week.

There are always soups, vegetarian and meaty, salads (pasta, fruit, etc), and usually some kind of lasagna, baked meat of some sort, or my favorite, mac and cheese. It's made daily and you can tell. It's also very tasty and very fresh and best of all- very affordable. The staff are really friendly and always helpful. They never push anything on you (like those giant rice krispie treats need pushing) and overall it's a quick, efficient experience. I get the feeling that there are a lot of regulars who go in there for lunch- perhaps one day I can stroll in, ask for my "usual" and stroll out feeling special.

I gotta say- it's nice to have a high quality, grab and go lunch place nearby.

Sophia's Bakery and Cafe

Tiny space. Big, delicious, and tasty food. That's how I would summarize Sophia's. We have talked about going to Sophia's forever. People tell us it's good, we don't go. People tell us it's great, we still don't go. People say "you must go to Sophia's for breakfast or your life will not be complete" and you guessed it, we don't go. Who knows what got us to finally get over there. Technically it was Easter Sunday so perhaps that was it. It could be that I was wearing bright teal tights and felt like celebrating. Likely that was it.

Anyway, we walked into a restaurant that could not have been bigger than our living room. Oh, you haven't been to our apartment? Eat at Sophia's and you'll have a better understanding. Wait, you haven't gone to Sophia's yet? Vicious circle. The size was stressful to me at first; especially since all of the 5 tables were full. And there was a line. But it worked out (Bob always tells me it will, I always glare at people urging them to hurry up with their food and get out) and we got a table in the back corner after climbing over 3-4 people. I ordered strawberry waffles and with some whipped cream and fruity goodness it was one of the best breakfasts I've had in Madison. Bob got cottage cheese pancakes and I coveted them the entire time. What a genius combination! There were millions of things we could have gotten including a variety of egg dishes, crepes (sooo tempted), and the most beautiful baked goods!

The whole place had a french inspired feel and really, I'm being too harsh about the size and crowded feel. Don't get me wrong-it's suuupppeeer small but the food is more than worth it and if it's nice, get your food to go and eat outside, eat at the park. Eat in your car, the food is spectacular you won't really notice. On a final note- at Sophia's you order your food when you get in but you don't pay until you are on your way out. I guess it's no big deal but it was initially strange. And you have to repeat back what you ordered. Good thing I could not forget the amazingness of my dish if I tried.

Don't be like us! Don't delay in getting to Sophia's. You'll feel european. And completely satisfied.

New Orleans Take Out

If you're in the mood for a Po' Boy or decent gumbo, you should check this place out. But if you live in a city that has winter and Zombie rallies, New Orleans Take Out might be a more suitable choice. I don't know the story about how Madison managed to have a pretty authentic New Orleans style take out place, and the website is frustratingly unhelpful, despite being otherwise thorough. On a side note, you should check out the photo of Brett Favre at NOTO for his 10th wedding anniversary. Interesting they're leaving that up there here in Wisconsin.

Anyway, the food felt genuine, and our order was ready in about 20 min. They seemed pretty laid back, which fed into the NO feel, but they made sure they got our order right despite recording the wrong name. It was also priced appropriately.

Surprisingly, there is another New Orleans style restaurant in Madison, the Bayou. Betsy and I went there when it first opened... and it was pretty bad. Food was relatively tasteless and took forever to come out of the kitchen. To be fair, it had just opened, so maybe they've got their act more together. We haven't reviewed it because we haven't been back. But if you have the choice, do what Brett Favre did. Not that thing, the eating at NOTO thing.