liamdc

Resuscitating this thread... Having lived in Madison for a good three seasons now, here are some brief musings about what's good around town in addition to some of the aforementioned restaurants: Eldorado Grill - Slamming margaritas. Fantastic grilled meats. Top notch. On Williamson St., next to Ground Zero coffee. Eno Vino - Wine-focused bistro in Middleton featuring small plates will transport you out of the Midwest for a spell. China Palace - New chef has created an excellent, authentic Szechuan menu in a somewhat overadorned restaurant in a mall on N. Sherman. Spicy, wonderful. El Pastor - Traditional soft tacos, tamales and the like are quite good. Very inexpensive, affordable Mexican food. On S. Park. Roman Candle - Making pizza like no other in Madison. The Roman Candle - featuring spicy banana peppers - is a winner! Williamson St.

Sara is my better half. Here's a brief report on our visit to Annapolis last week. 49 Westwas our home away from home because of its very mellow vibe, Scrabble games at the ready, its lovely wine list and its excellently rich desserts. On one visit I had a fantastic glass of the Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2002. We enjoyed a yummy breakfast one morning, too--a Belgian waffle with fresh blueberries and smoked salmon on a bagel. Good coffee drinks, too. Our best meal in Annapolis this trip was O'Leary's Seafood. The portions here are incredibly large and the dishes very rich however. Come with a huge appetite or prepare to skip either the dessert or the appetizer. We enjoyed an excellent Maine mussels starter as well as the plump fried oysters. For entrees, we had the Maryland crab cakes and a special of the day, a crispy grouper with a tex-mex (spicy) preparation. Very cozy atmosphere inside the restaurant and the staff kindly offered to split up multiple checks for our large party of 10. We also ate at Joss Cafe-Sushi Bar. Very good overall; reasonably priced. We ate at the sushi bar. The highlights were definitely the lobster haruma and the Joss roll. We also ate crabs at Buddy's. As others have said, it is very noisy inside and right on the main drag. The crabs were good, but not from Maryland as the hostess assured us they were. Our waitress set the record straight--"Maryland crabs from Louisiana."

Terry Thiese is a German wine expert. More info here: http://www.skurnikwines.com/msw/terry_theise.html

Report of a new wine bar & speciality food shop that just opened in downtown Madison... It's called C'est le Vin, located just off the Capitol Square on the ground floor of the Capitol Point condominiums, on East Mifflin Street. A 3/30 Capital Times story described it as a "small 750-square-foot space, which also serves as an espresso bar during the day and elegant cocktail lounge at night....The shop features an extensive beer selection, open cheese counter with local and imported artisanal cheeses, and sleekly designed kitchen products, including bamboo cutting boards, stainless steel wine holders and bottle stops. The cafe serves a signature coffee blend roasted locally by Etes-Vous Prets that combines light, medium and dark roasts, and baked goods by pastry chef extraordinaire Sophia Barabas, who owns Sophia's Bakery and Cafe on East Johnson Street. Select wines, sometimes featured by region, can be ordered by the glass or customers can enjoy a bottle off the shelf by paying an $8 "corkage" fee." When I visit, I'll report back. The ice has thawed, where are all the Madisonians on eGullet?

Odessa Piper has sold L'Etoile to her chef de cuisine, Tory Miller, and his sister. Read more in this Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story or on L'Etoile's web site. Piper was honored by the James Beard Foundation as Best Chef/Midwest in 2001 and was a 2004 nominee for outstanding chef. An added note: L'Etoile's downstairs cafe is definitely worth checking out for pastries, Ancora coffee, coffee/espresso drinks made with homemade syrups, and lunch (hearty sandwiches and soups). The egg salad sandwich is terrific. The cafe is open Tuesday-Saturday until 1:30 pm.

There are 2 older threads on this topic with more information: Annapolis/Eastern Shore Inn at Easton

The last time I ate at Cap City (Capitol Hill location) I found a piece of scrapmetal in my burger. Now, it wasn't named the Junkyard Burger - I believe it was the Filibuster Burger, which sort of suggests that the cow is still talking.

Yes, head to Uglesichs for lunch and Elizabeth's for breakfast/brunch another day. You WON'T be disappointed.

Depending on your definition of 'immediate,' you could always grab a bite at Legal Seafoods or Matsutake Sushi at National Airport, especially if you're not flying into the old terminal.

I lived in DC until last September. Both Schneider's and MacArthur's are top-notch. If you're in the neighborhood, Circle Wine & Liquors (on Connecticut near Chevy Chase Circle) is also worth a look. I found its new world wine selection to be superior to Calvert Woodley. Ask for Kumar. Circle runs weekly specials in the Post as well.

Sorry I missed both John & Derek on Sunday night, but a fabulous meal was had despite their absences. Three in our party of four, including myself, partook of the lamb minute steak: Lean, cooked perfectly medium rare, and flavorful. (The other person ordered the chicken.) I confess I ordered the steak in part for the side of mac & cheese. We also ordered the spring rolls and the oysters for the table. I'd had both items before, but the oysters were definitely my favorite this time 'round--plump & juicy with the spicy chipotle tartar sauce! Oh, yes, I tremendously enjoyed the Bourbon Slipp. I dare say it's the perfect drink. And I shared a lovely half bottle of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape with a colleague. John--can you help me out with its name? Hope to see you guys before too long. Nice new web site by the way: http://www.firefly-dc.com

Why didn't they just go ahead and put ratatouille on their menu? Now, if this is an urban legend precipitated by competitor wineries, I hope they're forced to eat crow.

I'll be back in town this weekend for a conference and dining at Firefly on Sunday evening to try John's latest and to sample Derek's latest concoctions. One Bourbon Slipp please!

The pomegranate seeds are a great touch, giving it interesting contrast in taste, crunch and color. Quite unexpected and much better than I woulod have thought. ← I am in town for a conference and I had a delicious dinner at Barrio Cafe in Phoenix last night. I was part of a party of three--we had to wait about 25 minutes for a table at about 7pm on a Thursday night, but it was well worth it. The $5 house margaritas at Barrio are the perfect blend of sweet and tart, served straight up on the rocks. The guacamole as described above is very unique, comprised of chunks of avocado, pomegranate seeds, and more. It is made table side and comes with really tasty tortilla chips as well. I was very happy with the slow-roasted pork (Cochinita Pibil, slow roasted for 12 hours, served with achiote rejo, sour orange and salsa Yucatan, $17). I also had a small taste of the mole served with the enchiladas---very yummy, coffee & chocolate flavors, and spicy!

Despite the fact that Nectar, sadly, is pushing up the daisies, its service is still the best in DC ... if it is nothing but a memory. Long live, J & J!

I believe that Terry Thiese, the outstanding riesling importer, is also based in DC. Is he not?

If you like oysters, hit Acme or Felix's.

I'd second Stephen's No. 9 Park recommendation. It is located right below the Massachusetts State House on the corner of Beacon & Park Streets. Read more here.

Here's where Otter Creek is distributed: http://www.wolavers.com/home/otter_creek/locations.html

Magic Hat #9 is a solid beer surely, but I tried Humble Patience for the first time over the holidays near Burlington and was pleasantly surprised. It is a wonderful effervescent and tangy Irish red ale. Not sure if it's on tap anywhere though. Another Vermont brewery to seek out is Otter Creek, based in Middlebury. Its Copper Ale is one of my favorite beers and I've enjoyed its Stovepipe Porter and Oktoberfest in the past as well. I know that Otter Creek is available as far down the East Coast as Washington, DC--not sure where else in the U.S.

Has anyone else been to Bistro Bis since Rocks' post in early November? Don Rocks' post

Alban 2002 Viognier Edna Valley $28 (although I got it for $20 in SF--very complex & richly flavored w/ a zingy finish) Omaka Springs 2003 Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough $17 (my favorite NZ '03 SB; fuller in body than some; pineapple notes) Steele 2002 Pinot Blanc Santa Barbara County $16 (pear/grapefruit flavors, terrific minerality) Excelsior 2002 Chardonnay Robertson $8 (unoaked chard from S. Afr.; light, lime notes)

831 E. Johnson St. It's a tiny place, and it's only open for breakfast/brunch on weekends--and on the occasional Wednesday evening for dinner, I understand. I've only been for breakfast--they serve up amazing omelettes and buckwheat pancakes. I've never tried their pastries which are also supposed to be very good. Here's another egullet blurb on Sophia's: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...2729entry762729 ← Had a DELICIOUS "farmer's breakfast" at Sophia's early this afternoon: scrambled eggs, potatoes, apples, onions, cheddar cheese, and spicy sausage. Yum. Sara and I also picked up an almond croissant and brioche that we'll sample for breakfast tomorrow morning!

831 E. Johnson St. It's a tiny place, and it's only open for breakfast/brunch on weekends--and on the occasional Wednesday evening for dinner, I understand. I've only been for breakfast--they serve up amazing omelettes and buckwheat pancakes. I've never tried their pastries which are also supposed to be very good. Here's another egullet blurb on Sophia's: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...2729entry762729

As sara's fiance, I feel like we're taking over this thread, but nonetheless... Muramoto at 106 King Street, just off Capitol Square, in Madison has become a favorite of ours. I guess it's best described as Asian fusion, but I think that term turns some people off. Trust us--this place is good. Maybe not worth driving from Chicago for, but perhaps from Milwaukee! Our meal there on Friday night may have been our best so far. Sara had her customary oyster shot. We then shared the miso black cod (outstanding, but perhaps a touch oily), the curry oyster (3 oysters, fantastic!), the duck/mango/avocado roll (yummy-it works), and the spicy tuna roll. Muramoto just updated their wines-by-the-glass list and have added some nice new offerings. I had a glass of the Edmeades Zinfandel and sara had a glass of the Westry Pinot Gris. Other Madison eateries I've enjoyed and which are worth going back to include Takara (sushi), Dotty's (burgers), Bandung (Indonesian), Mekong (Thai/Vietnamese), and Sophia's Bakery & Cafe (amazing breakfast).