Brasserie V

Apparently brasserie is French for brewer. Who knew? The name tips us off immediately that Brasserie V will be a restaurant devoted to the beers it brews. Did you notice I sent you to the "Beer" page? I did. I was going to count the number of beers they offer, but one look at the list makes it obvious that this is a fool's errand. I've tried many but will never get to them all, and despair of suggesting anything with such a small sample of their overall offering. They have over 40 Belgian beers alone. That's a big Belgian bender, that is.

The foods good too. Too good. Actually it's just pretty good, but good enough to bring in too many people. The place is pretty crowded during lunch and dinner, even the nice long bar. There's not exactly a lot of room to wait either. You should call for reservations if you want to go when normal people eat.

Ok, seriously the food. It's good. Nice franco/european fare, like steak-frites with aioli, but with a Madison effort to source food locally and inform their customers about the farms and dairies that make their meal possible. In addition to the steak-frites, I've had the V Burger and the Pork Belly, and they've both turned out pretty nicely.

I would say that Brasserie V shoots a little higher than it seems they can cook. Their food prices are moderately upscale, and the food they serve is good but not great. I like their steak-frites, but I've had better, just down the street at Jacs. The pork belly was good, but not as good as Graze and not in the same universe as the food at L'Etoile. If you go there, go for the relaxed atmosphere, the excellent selection of beers, and the good sandwiches.

Steenbock's on Orchard

Hearing that a new restaurant opened up on campus didn't really excite me all that much. I mean, I think I was burned pretty bad by the horror that was the old Union South. However, Steenbock's is in the new Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery and it is....cool. The whole building is amazing- serene, modern, water everywhere. The instant I walked inside I wanted to hang out forever.

Anyway, that's all about the WID and not the restaurant. Steenbock's on Orchard is bringing a whole new level of class to that part of campus. We went during restaurant week (which is probably our favorite week of the year) and so with three courses (well, six with the two of us) we feel as though we got a good sense of the potential. The food was excellent- fresh, local. Which in this town is almost a given I suppose. Apparently they make their own jams and cure their own meats which is pretty groovy. It's light, lots of windows, super tall ceilings and you can easily hear all those water fountains and displays as you sit, relax, and eat a good meal. Between the two of us we tried salad, soup, sandwich, pasta, chocolate cake and strawberry shortcake. Yah, this place knows us well.

It is seriously nice to have a place like this in the south/west part of campus- especially partnered with the fabulousness that is the new union south. It's a new happenin hot spot!

Fresco

First, go check out the pictures in the Gallery page of Fresco's website. I'm serious, go check it out. I'll wait.

If you've gone to their website, continue. If not, return to the previous paragraph.

Ok, that's the biggest reason to go to Fresco. Rooftop restaurants in Madison are not exactly common. It's a beautiful city, but it's not very tall, and most of the eateries are solidly ground level or below (RIP Underground Kitchen... at least temporarily). Fresco is located on the top floor of the Overture Center for the Arts, which also houses the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. It's a short walk from the Capitol, which can be seen from some spots in the restaurant. The inside section is separated from outside by all glass walls, maintaining the view even in the comfort of indoors.

But let's not get carried away. Despite being a "rooftop" restaurant, I think it's on the 3rd floor, so it doesn't exactly tower over the land below. And the view from Graze is probably a better one, despite solidly terrestrial footing. So let's stop gushing and get to the food, shall we?

Almost. Fresco is also unique in Madison for it's modern-artsy decor. Funny shaped plates, uneven bowls, bright solid colors. It feels right, existing one floor above a modern art museum.

Ok ok the food. Pretty good. Not amazing, but solid. The menu is relatively small, which conveys confidence that what's on there will be good. Most of the dishes are meat or seafood, which seemed a little unusually heavy but probably fit with the fancy-pants city restaurant theme. Their menu is largely seasonal in fruit and vegetable selection, though the abundance of seafood indicates less than strict localvore sensibility. The menu changes regularly (another indicator of excellence), so I won't talk details. General feeling was their dishes were good but under vegetabled. Some of the parts of the dish I was most excited about were little more than garnishes for the meat. The food was done well and presented nicely.

Let's be honest here. The menu is pricey ($20/entree), but the reason to go here is for the ambiance. I've actually never been when it's dark (the two times we've made it were at the height of summer), but I bet it's a romantic spot to have a dinner. Personally, if I had money to burn I'd go to some of Madison's other fine dining establishments. But it is worth a visit, if just to see what Madison looks like from the 3rd story.