Smoky Jon's

Smoky Jon's. You should visit the website before reading on. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Let's discuss . Number one, what is the first thing you see on the website? Two movies with still shots of an unreasonable amount of meat.  The meat is not arranged in a particularly attractive way. This is Smoky Jon's way of warning you, like a meat scarecrow. If a restaurant with an alter to meat on its front page doesn't appeal to you, then it's probably best you and Smoky Jon's go your separate ways right now.

Okay, you're still reading. Well done, brave meat soldier, you are in for a treat. I know your type. You know Smoky Jon's wants you to be worth of its meat, that Smoky Jon's won't pander to those who care about "how the meat is presented." Instead of focusing on the counting how many slaughtered animals are in these videos, you slow trip towards full meat frenzy. Your mouth has started watering. You can smell the meat and you know how the pork will be soft and juicy after sitting all day in the smoker. Read on, meat-adventurer. You are among friends.

During our carnivorous journey, we sampled a pork shoulder sandwich and a marinated tenderloin steak sandwich. Both came with Smoky Jon's sweet BBQ sauce on the side. This is a test. The BBQ sauce is not optional, though it is on the side. DO NOT EAT THE SANDWICH WITHOUT THE SAUCE. I cannot stress this enough. In fact, to eliminate any misunderstanding, here are the simple steps to optimize your enjoyment of that sandwich:

1. Take the top of the sandwich off
2. Smother all of the sandwich with the BBQ sauce that comes with the sandwich
3. Put the top back on
4. Pick up the sandwich to eat it.
5. DO NOT PUT THE SANDWICH DOWN UNTIL YOU ARE FINISHED. DO NOT STOP TO WIPE ANY OF THE DRIPPED SAUCE OFF ANYTHING.
6. After you are finished with the sandwich, take a shower.

All the sandwiches look good and come with sides. The sides are not as good. We had applesauce (bland and weird consistency), fried biscuits with powdered sugar (okay, not worth the angioplasty I'll have to get), spicy corn (actually, this was quite good), and french fries (they were good, but if you can't make good french fries, you should not cook food). But you didn't come here for the corn. You came for the meat. And you have left satisfied. Perhaps we shall meat again.*

*Don't you roll your eyes at me.

Bunky's Cafe

Let me start with this. The inside of Bunky's Cafe reminds me of what the inside of my head might look like, were it possible to see it. I don't really get the "vibe" they are going for...but I like it. It reminds of someone's living room and yet also a kind of italian bakery and yet ALSO a hippy gift shop. Yah, go ahead and imagine what that implies about me.

Anyway, the decor matches the food in a way. There's some italian, some mediterranean and also some more local, midwestern fare. All of which are good and none of which I am complaining about. We went with friends on a Monday night (apparently the first Monday they were ever open for dinner) and enjoyed pineapple....wrapped in bacon....drizzled with mango sauce as an appetizer. Yah, not sure what area of the world invented that but give them the good seats at the summit next time.

Dinner brought the four of us a variety of dishes- I had butternut squash ravioli with a marinara sauce, which was such a perfect fall meal. It had some toubouli in the middle which I found odd...but kind of a good concept. If the sauce weren't as thin I would say go for it. But even though it was thin, I still say go for it. My fellow diners got everything from lamb, to hummus and pita to okra.

Everyone enjoyed their meal and the friendly, welcoming service. The only odd thing was our waitress kept pushing these city tins. Oh well.

Overall, I would absolutely go back to Bunky's. It's fun, it's funky, the price is reasonable, and the food is high quality. Yatta!

Brocach

Ugh, I'm sorry to say that the first time we've gone out to eat someplace new lately it was a big fat disappointment. We were so hopeful when we saw the new Brocach open on Monroe Street. It seemed like the perfect fit for the block and brought something a little different. There have been a few failed restaurants lately but this had potential.

We decided our inaugural visit should be during brunch; which they had just started the day we went. I love brunch so sure, my expectations were high. But come on. First of all, service was slow and I SWEAR the wait staff was not older than 13. Really. It was a disturbing scene. But since they were so young they should really have moved faster. Anyway, the pre teens were friendly enough but didn't seem to have a firm handle on what was going on. Ok, fine. It's a new restaurant and brunch hasn't been done before, we'll cut them some slack. But they were out of stuff. On the menu. Which to our knowledge had not been used until that day. HOW could you be out? But I guess the yogurt parfait was not in the cards. I got a scrambler of sorts which was WAY too big and not all that tasty. Bob got bagel and lox which I think he enjoyed (even if he didn't know how to eat it- it was piled THIS high). He liked it. But didn't love it. And really, we deserve love here people.

So, in summary, it was an overpriced, under performing meal. We won't go back. And we'll tell all our friends to skip it. We're so mean.

Alchemy Cafe

Alchemy Cafe is the kind of place that Madison breeds. It's a bar with a good selection of highly alcoholic beers, served in glasses particular to your beer selection. The food is mostly organic. There is a clear commitment to locally sourcing both the food and drinks and informing the consumer about the source of their food. Some cities have dives. Madison has gastropubs, where foodies expect to know the farm which raised the cow for their burger and smell a sample of the grass the cow grazed. One of those statements is an exaggeration.

Alchemy is a cozy place inside. It does not take credit cards, but is kind enough to have an ATM inside (pet peeve alert: ATM stands for Automated Teller Machine... people who say "ATM machine" are best publicly humiliated). The lights are relatively low and they often have music, though not on our trip.

We went as part of REAP's local harvest: taste of the town. I got the burger special, which was seasoned with aioli and had some seasonal veggies. The burger was great... except for the meat part, which I ordered medium-rare but turned out very dry and shrunken, served in an over-sized bun.

We also tried the Matilda "burger," which is your standard butternut squash burger. What, you haven't had a butternut squash burger? Well, they're really good. A creative dish, pulled off well.

And I guess that kind of sums things up. A bar that makes a squash burger better than a beef burger. Someday, I'm going to miss Madison.

El Rincon Tico

Ok, it's pretty rare that we just flat out do not enjoy a restauranteering experience. But when we went to El Rincon Tico we left not only really disappointed but also...really hungry. Allow me to explain.

I have been excited about this place for months, really since I saw the sign announcing it's arrival. We are big fans of Cafe Costa Rica and Mango Man so Version 2.0 was bound to be good right? We went on a Friday night around 7pm, and got a table right away. And that was the highlight.

Service was slow. Like, really slow. And after our waitress would stop by once it would take days for her to stop again. She also didn't seem to know what she was doing. I mentioned this to a friend she reminded me that this would be what is called "bad service." YES, bad service. Definitely bad service.

We both ordered the special (some kind of garlic chicken with potato stew and plantains), which not only came out suuppeerrr slowly but came out without plantains. THIS, was not acceptable. Before we could ask about where they were our waitress left and never came back. We started to eat- the food was lukewarm and bland. Our waitress FINALLY came back to "check on us" and we asked about the plantains. "Oh, we ran out. But I thought you two would get the last ones." Well, no, we didn't. Thanks for the heads up.

Anyway, we tolerated the rest of the meal, waited 20 minutes to pay the check, then got out of there. Still hungry. So, I made us stop by Willy Street Co-op to buy..you guessed it...plantains. Which we proceeded to take home, cook, and eat.

Ugh, I am so sad. But I just can't stay too mad at Mango Man.

Chautara

Chautara is one of SEVERAL Nepalese restaurants in Madison. Think it's surprising that there are an abundance of Nepali cuisine in deep-fried apple pie Wisconsin? We think so too. Yet, this is the curious situation in which we now find ourselves, and there's nothing for it but to soldier on, sample the food, and blog about it.

Here are our findings: First, Chautara is located on State St. and has outdoor seating. We note this as a plus. Second, unlike certain other Nepalese restaurants on the 300 block of State St. that I could name *cough* Himal Chuli *cough*, this restaurant serves meat. And not just meat, but my favorite meat, Lamb. We note this as another plus. Third, the menu looked pretty good, a nice mix of meat dishes balanced with grains (mostly rice) or vegetables (including the nice use of chickpeas). But the specials sounded great, and I opted for the market Lamb with Daal (thinner than other's I've had, more soupy, but tasty) and some seasonal veggies like patty-pan squash. I'll give this another plus.

So I guess Chautara gets three pluses. Out of how many? Oh, I don't know. Let's say four. Three out of four is pretty good, in my book, which is the one you are reading. All in all, it was a good, straightforward meal of traditionally cooked meat and roasted veggies with a nice soup, located on State St. I know it's a Nepalese restaurant, but that epitomizes good Midwest food for me.

Marigold Kitchen

Marigold is a cute just-off-the-capital-square restaurant. Yes, I know there are many but I would say that Marigold definitely stands out. It's pricy (maybe over priced) but really, what isn't these days? If you want a cheap meal, this probably wouldn't be your first stop but if you want a quality, pretty speedy meal prepared with care by people who obviously love food check it out. In fact, why haven't you gone already?

It offers fresh seasonal fare (seriously, if I had a dollar for every time we said that phrase on this blog; sheesh get over yourself Madison. But don't really because I love you) and I really love the charming simple interior. They have great outdoor seating and the case of tarts and baked goods near the register is edible decoration, I swear.

Breakfast is your best bet here because surprisingly, there aren't a lot of (good) breakfast options in this area. Lots of veggies, goat cheese and eggs. Can't go wrong. I've enjoyed quiche (which changes regularly) and scramblers (which also changes regularly) and really, anything that changes due to the seasons is a win in my book.

The only caveat is that it can get pretty busy, so maybe go at off times. But definitely go!

The Merchant

I watched The Merchant move in, redesign the corner, and open to the public, since it's just about a block from work and I would often walk by on the way to the post office, farmer's market, and the dozens of other restaurants in the area. I couldn't decide if it was going to be a grocery, cocktail/wine bar, restaurant, etc. Turns out it's kind of all three.

We went there last night by accident almost. We had intended to go to Graze, a long standing favorite, but with a 45 minute wait, we were too hungry to put off our own grazing. So, we wondered over to The Merchant and snagged a table outside- PERFECT. It was a good omen of things to come.

The menu is ideal- local ingredients, seasonal options, etc. Their website describes their cooking as regional American fare that is simple and comforting. I think it's super accurate. Here's why- between the two of us we ordered: watermelon and cucumber salad with ricotta, a grilled cheese and lavender honey sandwich, two bowls of creamy roasted corn soup, and a bbq beef brisket sandwich. I thought the grilled cheese was just a little on the simple side (though, it was only $8) but the honey really elevated it. Everything else was good (the roasted corn soup in particular) and washed it all down with a lovely glass of beaujolais.

Ok, it's on the pricey side, but it IS right off the square, surrounded by plenty of pricey. Hipsters will probably like it, but we think probably will most people. Plus, did you hear about all this confusion over whether or not Scott Walker was "kicked out" of this place? Lots of rumors- but we find them amusing. Solidarity Merchant!

Taste of Madison

Ok, so we had to debate whether Taste of Madison counts as a "restaurant." We also debated if we could count food sampled from a new restaurant as eating at that restaurant. I think we decided no...but still wanted to blog about the Taste and since we did it last year, we are justified!

We just love the taste. Betsy's parents are often in town over labor day so it has become a little bit of a tradition for the four of us.

With over 80 restaurants serving small tastes of some of their specialities, you could easily spend hundreds of dollars and eat your weight in food. We paced ourselves and tried food from probably 7-8 different restaurants.....mostly desserts.

With a chocolate chip cookie dough egg roll (I remembered these from last year), a frozen piece of cheesecake dipped in chocolate, deep fried cheese curds, mango gelato, jerk pork, falafel wrap, a beignet (see, I told you we had a lot of desserts), and a chicken stuffed jalapeno, we were pretty happy. Though, I was desperate for an empanada from Caracas but sadly, they were sold out by the time we worked our way through the crowd.

Great food, great fun! Though, the music stages are annoying. Maybe we're old?

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.

Maharani

I'll start with some advice. Do not go to Maharani if you're in a fight with your significant other. We tried it- BIG mistake. Amusing to look back on but totally unfair for the restaurant. We have been there before (peacefully) but for some reason some small argument seemed to escalate and linger over our garlic naan, mango lassis and curry. OOPS. (in case you're wondering, we totally made up the second we left- perfect timing I know).

We have frequented all of the Indian restaurants in Madison (that we know of) and while I have nothing really negative to say about any of them I will say that they all feel kind of the same. Buffet of assorted Indian specialities and classics (for instance-samosas, which are a real highlight for me), kind of awkward service, attentive filling of the water glasses, and a bit on the pricey (overpriced?) side. I guess I would give Maharani a bit of an edge because of its location- very close to the capital- and most of the other Indian restaurants are a bit out there (though, Flavor of India is one exception). Check out some of the reviews they have on their website- I could get behind most of those comments but I wasn't inspired enough to get all crazy.

Sometimes you just want Indian food- and so Maharani is a great option if you're in the mood. Nice convenient location, buffets at lunch (and brunch on the weekends), and a overly animated websites (seriously, go check it out).

Pita Pit

This may be the shortest post in Mad Sampler history but I'm wracking my brain to come up with something witty to say about Pita Pit. They make pita sandwiches and write funny descriptions of the contents. Bam! We ate there once, both our pitas were good (philly steak and turkey), and we'll likely eat there again. I kind of have a thing for "theme" restaurants. And given that I think that pitas are amazing, this is a great themed restaurant for me.

Prices are good and if you use badgerbites, they deliver.

Cheap eats, pitas of every size and shape though if you want to go someplace with food you could NOT easily make yourself at home, you probably don't want to go here.

Roman Candle

If I weren't so persnickety about my beets this post would have been a 100% positive post. As it is now, it's a 97% positive post. We have to thank our friends at Eating in Madison A to Z for recommending Roman Candle's Algo Malo pizza, after I bemoaned Ian's Pizza's lack of beet options. Those folks are the real pros at food blogging and criticism...for reals. I'll just get this off my chest now- I was kind of disappointed with the beet density on that pizza. All the ingredients were delicious, fresh (onions, walnuts, garlic, etc). But a few beets here and there does not a beet pizza make. However, as I said, not everyone is focused on quantity when it comes to beets (thus, I only took off 3% points).

Anyway, in our humble opinion (because even a sparsely beet-ed up pizza can't change our view of this place too much) , Roman Candle Pizzeria is one of Madison's best pizza places. They have tasty pizza, unique toppings and homemade spicy sauce. Lots of options for vegetarians (hello, fennel) and carnivores (mmm..sausage). We have ordered from them numerous times and been quite satisfied. We also enjoy eating "in" (well, their Willy Street location) and soaking in the sights of Willy Street. There are several locations in the Greater Madison area and in fact, I'm using them to "cater" a work thing I'm doing in a couple of weeks. Can you cater pizza? Anyway, I like them so much I want to share them with non Madisonians.

Underground Kitchen

Restaurant/bakery? People do that all the time. Restaurant/bar? Please. Restaurant/Meat Market? Well, that's a little more unusual. That's a little more Madison.

So we've established it's a distinctive place. It occupies the location of a favorite from the past, Cafe Momartre, and it's done well with the space. Inside, it feels like a minimalist restaurant/meat market, with the painted brick and exposed timber.

The menu is small but well conceived. There are meat and cheese boards for a table to sample, though we didn't get either of these. Also there were the pickle platter and pretzel dogs. We didn't get these either. What we did order were the tilapia and cavatelli pasta. Betsy said the cavatelli was amazing. In fact, she asked me to emphasize it, so I might write AMAZING. At any rate, my tilapia was pretty good. PRETTY GOOD.

All in all, I probably should have ordered something a little different. I could have made a dinner out of the pickle platter and the meat board. At any rate, the tilapia was not bad, but I found the whole thing just a little overpriced. It seems like this place should be more casual/upscale, with casual/upscale prices rather than upscale upscale prices. UPSCALE PRICES.

In the end, I'd recommend the Underground Kitchen. IF YOU'RE A MILLIONAIRE. I mean, it's good, but if you're going to spend that kind of money, I think you should go to one of the other fine dining establishments in the Madison area. If you're set on the pickles, there's still Graze.

Ian's Pizza

You know, I have commented, more than once, on the mediocre quality of Italian food in Madison. And I stand by that- there are a couple of gems but by and large they are just so so.

However, I do find that pizza in Madison is excellent. Probably because it's a college town and probably because most pizza in the midwest (or really, in the US) is not so much authentic. We've definitely Americanized pizza. No complaints. But when we get pizza from Ian's, a local favorite, it reminds me nothing of Italy and everything of Madison. By and large, my favorite kind is the mac and cheese. And I am not alone- it's their highest selling slice. But besides the mac and cheese there are always incredibly creative and inventive options. Such as the guacamole burrito pizza, the chicken pot pie pizza, the bbq steak and fries pizza, the drunken ravioli pizza and the farmer's market veggie pizza (wow does that one sound boring now). They have a featured pizza of the week, which keeps things interesting.

It's super affordable, you get huge slices and their salads are actually delicious. No iceberg and carrot shavings business here- try fresh mixed greens, cranberries, and nuts.

This might be my favorite Madison pizza place and I have never heard anyone in Madison say one word against them. It's "so Madison" as I would say. If only they would heed my advice to make beet pizza. Seriously, it could be the new mac and cheese guys.

Lakeview Bakery and Deli

Always nice to find another lunch place within walking distance of work. A colleague recommended we head to Lakeview Bakery and Deli for lunch after hearing rave reviews so we decided to check it out. We were not disappointed- food was excellent! And I hear it's not just excellent for lunch- apparently breakfast is great too. I'll definitely be testing that theory soon.

They have some nice "box lunch" options where you can get a sandwich, a salad, and a cookie for $7. I went that route- with an amazing spinach and strawberry salad as the side and a tasty turkey guacamole sandwich as the main event. Bread was clearly freshly baked which improved the experience. The salads seem like they change each day, and include pasta, greens and fruit. Hey, as long as the "salad" isn't iceberg lettuce with some shaved carrots, I am happy.

Prices are good, ambience was a little quirky (in a good way), staff was friendly and for a small coffee shop type place in the first floor of a hotel, the food is much better than expected. I have no qualms telling you to go and enjoy!

The Tipsy Cow

The first time I noticed the Tipsy Cow had gone into the space previously occupied by King and Mane is when I saw the entrance way painted to look like a cow. Already, I liked it better. However, I learned (after eating there) that the revamping and makeover was done by the same owners who were attempting to revive the business.

I had high hopes heading there for lunch with some co-workers mostly because the name is fantastic and I never got into King and Mane (they used to have great tomato bisque and then for some reason, changed the recipe- probably just to spite me). But the menu is just so-so- lots of fried stuff, everything a la carte, and there is essentially nothing for vegetarians. The fried cheese curds were fantastic- no complaints there (fine, I suppose vegetarians can get their fill of fried cheese). And again, it's not as though the food was bad- in fact, it was decent. I had a turkey sandwich with spicy mustard and bacon. But with all of the gastro pub type places on the square this place really can't measure up. I'm not sure I'll be back but the allure of the cow painted entrance/sidewalk might be strong enough to get another lunch out of me. Time will tell.

Madison Sourdough

First of all, let me say this: Madison has a significant brunch selection. Among our favorites is Graze (for the varied menu and great view of the capitol through a huge plate-glass front), La Baguette (for their amazing Quiche), Zuzu (because it is around the corner and has a breakfast egg sandwich special that's pretty cheap), Lazy Jane's (for the Willy Street hipster in us), and most recently, Sophias (for the pastries and sweets).

All that being said, Madison Sourdough stands out. First, it looks like it's in an old car repair garage. It has two huge front windows that fill the bay doors and let in lots of light. Second, it's fundamentally a bakery, and so their breads are the best. When we go back, we're going to make sure we require bread so we have an excuse to... um... buy their bread.

Thirdly, their breakfast sandwich. It's a breakfast egg sandwich. Like Zuzu. Except amazing. Part of it is the croissant, which would have been a great brunch even on its own. But the chessy-eggy goodness inside was just as important. If I had to visit the places we've already been for brunch, I would go to Madison Sourdough, Madison Sourdough, Graze, Madison Sourdough, La Baguette, Graze, Madison Sourdough, and Madison Sourdough. I'd do that 100 times, and then go to Zuzu, to remember what normal food tastes like, kind of reset the palate.