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Other Madison food reports: * My wife and I had breakfast last weekend with another couple at Monty's Blue Plate Diner on Atwood Ave. I had pancakes which were average-to-good. The service was quite poor. I ordered regular pancakes, but got blueberry ones. A friend got toast with his order, but the server reported that he dropped a piece on the way over but would replace it. He didn't until it was requested. Based on one visit, I'd continue to rank Marigold Kitchen, Lazy Jane's, the Original Pancake House, and Sophia's above Monty's. Frankly, one can eat as well or better and less expensively at Cleveland's Diner. * My recent visit to Monty's evokes memories of a visit to Mickey's Dairy Bar on Monroe Street (across from Camp Randall) last summer. There I had what were probably the worst pancakes I've ever had in my life. They were pasty, flavorless and completely unedible. Beware.

Tubb's Taco Palace is a fantastic addition to the Atwood neighborhood on Madison's East Side and a terrific place to grab a bite before a show at the Barrymore Theater. The fish tacos are the best I've had since San Diego several years ago. The restaurant is located at 2009 Atwood Avenue. Kevin Tubb is the owner of Eldorado Grill on Williamson Street, the best Tex/Mex restaurant in town by far. Wisconsin State Journal review Isthmus review

I lived around Boston until I was 14 and went to college and grad school there in the late '80s and early-to-mid '90s. During high school and after my college days, I lived in the Burlington, Vermont area. That outsider perspective allowed me to see a real Boston-centric perspective that was pervasive in the Boston media. This "best of" list is an excellent example of this. I find it hard to believe that there isn't at least one New England restaurant located more than 70 miles outside of Boston worthy of this distinction. Between Portland, Maine and the entire states of Vermont and Connecticut, I mean ... please. What about the Jackson House Inn in Woodstock, Vermont or the Kitchen Table Bistro in Richmond, Vermont? What about Fore Street or Hugo's in Portland, Maine? I'm not as familiar with Connecticut, but I'm sure there at least one candidate there?

Another welcome addition to the Madison culinary scene is The Old Fashioned, located on Capitol Square. Apart from the great Wisconsin food and nightly specials, don't miss out on the specialty old fashioned drinks (including a terrific bourbon old fashioned) and the bar built from the floor of a former Buster Brown shoe factory. The Old Fashioned Wisconsin State Journal review

I wish the many threads on the Burlington area could be combined rather than start another new one. My 2 cents: Kitchen Table Bistro in Richmond (Exit 11 off I-89).

The Wisconsin State Journal, based in Madison, ran a review of Cocoliquot in its Sunday edition: http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?r...20ENTERTAINMENT

While in town to visit my wife's family for Thanksgiving, we stopped in at Oyamel for a delicious dinner on Friday evening. Overall, we had a delicious meal--one of the best at one of Jose Andres' establishments in recent memory--and that's saying a lot. The Mezcal margaritas were awesome. The chili salt on the rims of the glasses gave the drinks a zip that accompanied the tequila splendidly. My wife and I shared about 8 dishes with another couple. Highlights of the meal were definitely the red snapper ‘ceviche’ served ‘Veracruz style’ and the carnitas. I also really enjoyed the Nopalitos - Young cactus leaves with tomatoes, prickly pear dressing and micro cilantro. Steve Klc's fabulous desserts capped off our meal. Among the four of us, we shared three -- the warm chocolate cake, the tres leches cake, and the milk chocolate flan. The cake was very good but the latter two desserts stole the cake! The Mexican hot chocolate is also not to be missed. Web site: http://www.oyamel.com

There seem to be scant few Madisonians on egullet, but nonetheless, I report for the benefit of any visitors to our fair city... A wonderful new restaurant opened at 225 King Street, just off Capitol Square, in the past few weeks. Cocoliquot is on the first floor of a new condominium and it's a beautiful space. The restaurant is comprised of a traditional bar to one side, a long "cuisine" bar on the other side looking into an open kitchen (and pastry room), and a series of high-top and regular tables amdist the middle and against the windows. Web site [under development]: Cocoliquot. The menu is all small plates, ranging from $6-15 each. Sections include: viande (house-made charcuterie with cocliquot mustard, cornichons and country bread; salt-cured foie gras with quince marmalade and toast; biftek hache with shallot confit); selections changeantes (omelet of the day, tartine of the day, fish of the day); fruits de mer (mussels steamed with cider and cream; roasted scallop, smoked bacon and aged balsamic vinegar); legumes et fromage (pommes frites; onion soup; roasted beets, autumn greens, walnuts and mint balsamic vinaigrette; desserts; coffee and tea. My wife and I ordered a number of items upon our first visit last Monday. The most stellar dishes were the manila clams steamed in saffron broth and the wild mushroom and gruyere tartlette. The poached leeks and truffle vinagrette, the smoke-roasted leg of lamb, flageolets and herb jus, and the escargots de bourgogne were also very good. The trio of rillettes--rabbit, pork and duck--were rather underwhelming. The house bread ($2 per basket) is excellent. And the fresh goat's cheese, figs and lavender honey--which we made our dessert--was to die for. The wine list is also stellar--heavily French- and European-influenced--and all selections are available by the glass, carafe, and bottle. The restaurant uses Riedel stemware--only the best. And it has a VERY reasonably priced wine list! (For example: 2003 Catena Malbec for $28/bottle and $7/glass; Jolivet Sancerre for $32-bottle and $8/glass.) We ordered carafes of the very sleek and sophisticated 2004 Lemelson Tikka's Run Pinot Gris (Oregon), $17; and the 2001 Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage (Syrah, Rhone Valley, France), $13. The people behind Cocoliquot are the owner and chef of Harvest--perhaps the best restaurant in Madison at the moment IMHO--and the owner of Maduro. The chef at Harvest plans to be on site at Cocoliquot--and we saw him there last Monday. Eventually, the owners plan to open a smaller space around the corner on Wilson Street for retail as well as for cooking and wine classes. Cocoliquot is definitely worth a visit--particularly if you're looking to be transported from the Midwest through culinary adventure and eye-catching decor. It's a worthy edition to the downtown culinary scene--and would also appear to be a swell place to grab a drink. Hours: 2pm-close, M-F; 5pm-close, Sat; Sunday brunch beginning Thanksgiving weekend.

My father once told me a joke about a Texan of large girth who had a massive heart attack while on vacation in Hawaii. Only problem was they didn't have a large enough coffin in which to ship him back to Texas. So they administered an enima and sent him home in a shoebox. As was that Texan, so is this guy. It is appalling that he takes advantage of those new to wine in this way. Such misinformation and price gouging! But I imagine that a small percentage of his customers walk away happy that they scored some "expensive" wine.

The Inn at Easton in Easton, Maryland. See this older eGullet thread on this fine restaurant/inn.

So what I want to know is where did alexthecook end up going in Boston?

If you're interested in experimenting with wine pairing to home-cooked food, Food & Wine's web site--www.foodandwine.com--offers some good recipes with wine pairing suggestions.

Ronnie, I suggest you rename this thread to "Achieving Redemption at Mazos Burgers." You're certainly a case study! Next time we drive over from Madison, we'll have to check this place out. Is Mazos even better than Dotty's in Madison?

Have you reviewed the many existing threads on Boston to get you started?

No. 9 Park could easily fall into your category #2 or #3. I used to stop there when I was in Boston on business frequently. I highly recommend it. Fantastic service, excellent food, sophisticated cocktails, great wine list. The chefs tasting menus are also worth considering. It is located across the Boston Common from the 4 Seasons--just beneath the Massachusetts State House.

Here are links to a few local news stories about Real Chili: Capital Times Isthmus

Also, please, please, don't overlook The Kitchen Table Bistro in Richmond--roughly between Waterbury and Burlington--just off I-89, Exit 11. For my money, it is cooking up some of the best food in the Burlington area right now. Here are some other Burlington/Montpelier/northern Vermont threads that may be useful: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=67521& http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=52025&

As a former Vermonter, I'd second the Mary's at Baldwin Creek and Sarducci's recommendations. However, I'd caution driving over the mountains during the winter in inclement weather. Better to stick to Route 100 and the I-89 corridor at those times.

While recently in New England, my wife and I picked some some FABULOUS apple cider doughnuts at a farm stand just into Vermont along U.S. Route 4 on the Vermont/New York border (near FairHaven). When I used to live in Burlington, Vermont, one could always count on the Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury (near Stowe) for delicious cider doughnuts as well.

I lived in Vermont for years until 2001--although my folks still live in the Burlington area--and heard good things about the Common Man Restaurant in Warren. I've never eaten there however. Here is its web site: http://www.commonmanrestaurant.com The Mist Grill north on Route 100 in Waterbury might be worth considering as well. More here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=67590&

I was in the Burlington area visiting my parents last week. A nice new edition (opened in October 2004) to the ethnic restaurant scene in the greater Burlington area is Tiny Thai at the Lang Farm Center in Essex. It serves genuine--not Americanized--Thai food at very reasonable prices. Here's a brief write-up from the Burlington Free Press: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/wkend/taste/9.htm

Thanks for the recommendations ... I'll check these out!

As an anniversary gift, I am considering getting my folks a subscription to a wine of the month club. Does anyone have any good recommendations? Ideally, it would consist of a bottle or two per month. If it is a single-region or single-nation focus or a single-grape focused club, I would love it to be any of the following: Australian reds, California reds, Pacific Northwest wines, German riesling, New Zealand wines; otherwise, I'm open to a broader month-by-month assortment. Thanks!

Probably too late for MT-Tarragon, but perhaps useful to future readers: At our June wedding in Madison, Wisconsin, we served the 2004 Avelada Vinho Verde and the 2003 Penfolds Rawson's Retreat Shiraz/Cabernet. Entrees were beef tenderloin or salmon. Bought at a case discount, we got the Avelada for about $6/bottle and the Penfolds for lss than $9. Attendees, including a few wine aficionados, were very pleased with the selections.

Here's a past thread that may be helpful as well: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=52025