notbatgirl
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Posts posted by notbatgirl
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That's interesting -- I really like Harvest, and found it especially good last time I went. They got a new chef in December, a guy from Sparta (WI, not Greece), and the menu is now more adventurous but still takes advantage of good local ingredients. An example: we had a sunchoke panna cotta for an appetizer, with a caremalized pistachio topping -- sounds like it could be overly ambitious, but it was actually very very good.
We haven't been to Eno Vino yet but after reading everyone's raves it's clear we have to go!
I am not a big fan of Harvest. ( I think the staff is pretentious and it is over-rated.) I used to love Letoile, but my last few visits have been only mediocre. The service is always good, but the menu hasn't left me with much to talk about. My partner and I really love Fresco ( in the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art) for downtown dining or Eno Vino (on the west side). Both of these, especially Fresco, have great service and exceptional food. Definately do Marigold for Saturday brunch. It is the best in town. Another great local spot is Greenbush on Regent street. It has all the quaintness of an of old trattoria, and the pizza is fantastic. We also frequent Takara for sushi and the Oldfashioned for that "Wisconsin" experience. Hope this helps! -
Apparently there's a good new Mexican place on Willy Street, near the Bongo Video strip mall -- I hear they have great burritos and very good veggie options. It's not really authentic, but it's supposed to be muy tasty.
HiFor the best Chinese in Madison check out China Palace on Sherman near the airport--and order off the back pages, the non-Americanized stuff. The rest of Chinese in Madison is kung pao-chicken-esque...although I've heard rumors of congee at the place in Hilldale but not yet checked it out.
For Vietnamese, we are indeed severely lacking. The best available is Saigon Noodles on Odana. But their pho is somewhat hit or miss and they skimp on the toppings on vermecelli noodles.
For Mexican, tonight we tried the new Mexican places in Market Sq on Odana (with the mislabeled sign), it was recently written up in the State Journal. Very bare bones cheap taqueria, and the tacos are quite good. Apparently they have great tamales, 12 for $12, available tomorrow morning. I may go and grab some.
The best Indian is also on Odana--Maharaja. Not perfect but good for Madison.
Last--for today--Jada's Soul Food off Park Street is the real thing; chicken, greens, mac n cheese. Yum.
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I'm with you on Magnus -- I've never been impressed with the food or ambiance. It is so LOUD in there!
HiNot sure what is special about Magnus's "wine program"--never struck me as a terribly interesting list, nor do I love their food. Wouldn't bother.
We're giving Fresco some time to settle in before going over there, only seems fair...
If you've not been to Greenbush for pizza, that's an absolute MUST-- yes, I know there is other pizza in the world, but this is worth the trip.
I don't find the upscale places in Madison all that impressive--so in lieu of spending a lot you might be happier trying El Dorado for very good tex-mex-- terrific drinks and very flavorful food, or maybe Eno Vino out in Middleton for small plates--or Cocoliquot.
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Hi all, I've been on eGullet for years but only just started posting -- probably due to having a baby and thus being home (on the computer) all the time! Anyway, we've been in Madison for 2 1/2 years, and I also grew up here. We're from the Bay Area and definitely into food, and we have some favorites here -- similar to Sara's, actually:
Greenbush for pizza
Dottie's for burgers
El Dorado Grill and Bon Appetit and Lazy Jane's for brunch
Sardine and Cocoliquot and Osteria Papavaro (not mentioned in this forum, but truly wonderful -- chef is a member of the Madison Slow Food movement) and Harvest for non-ethnic dinner
Lao Lan Xiang and Himal Chuli for ethnic dinner
Barrique's for lunch sandwiches, wine, coffee, pastries, ambiance, free wireless...we're so happy the Monroe Barrique's is now giving us a good alternative to Ancora! I also recommend the new French bakery on the West side, Madeline's, for decent croissants and papillons. L'Etoile Cafe is good for those too.
We have yet to find any decent Chinese food here and have given up searching. We'd also love Vietnamese food recommendations.
Oh, and I work on campus and highly recommend Ingrid's Lunchbox, the red cart on library mall, for a wonderful lunch option. Her food makes you feel like you're eating a home-cooked meal on a farm in Iowa.
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Just came across this string for the first time -- my husband and I eloped to Chicago in September 2005 and ate our elopement dinner at Alinea -- a truly amazing experience. We had the 12-course meal; pictures are up on our Flickr site, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginkat/sets/889944/
Moderator Note: For an in-depth look at Alinea's pre-opening development, please visit The Alinea Project forum.======
We were the first table sat at Alinea on opening day......words can't describe what It's like to eat at this restaurant
Alinea will change the way people look at restaurants forever.......I can't even imagine what this restaurant's future will hold, it is almost scary to think about
A completely flawless meal on opening night with a 28 course format, very few people can pull that off..... it will be a very long time before a restaurant of this caliber surfaces anywhere in the world.......
an amazing experience to say the least....alinea has raised the bar to unreachable heights!!!!!!
the kitchen is amazing and the new plates and serviceware are really cool as well
congratulations to chefg and the team at Alinea....I can't thank the entire staff enough for the mindbending experience and I am looking forward to my next meal (if I can get a reservation)
I have pictures of every course and will post them soon>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
seaninnashville
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p.s. Sara and other Madisonians, maybe we should start some sort of foodie parent group so we can all go out to eat together and overwhelm the other diners....
At 2 months, your baby will be so portable! We've had great luck with our (now) 2-year-old at just about anyplace in the Chinatown Mall (Lao Szechuan, Spring World). You can go in the Mayflower Grocery and look at the fish in the tanks, then buy Pocky. The mall stores face an inner walkway so if you have to step outside, you're not right on the street and there are lots of cool storefronts to look at. There is a red line stop for Chinatown-- that would probably be easier than a cab.Hot Doug's is great for kids too-- Doug himself describes it as "Kid-friendly, adult hostile." Go around 11 to avoid the long line. We had good luck at Goose Island (the one on Clybourn) too, especially when ours was very young. The booths make for discrete nursing if needed.
I don't know about much off of North Michigan, but I encourage you to hop on the El (subway).
Good luck and please report back!
Cheers, Jen
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Yes, please report back -- we just had a baby and are avid foodies, and have begun to worry about our restaurant experience getting severely downgraded because we're toting a child around. (Note that I would consider being relegated to steakhouses and pizza places as "severely downgraded.) BTW, for those in Madison, we took our 5 week old to Sardine and it was great -- loud enough that no one noticed any babbling, and the waiters were very friendly. We've also been with her to El Dorado Grill for Sunday brunch, twice, and had a very positive experience.
At 2 months, your baby will be so portable! We've had great luck with our (now) 2-year-old at just about anyplace in the Chinatown Mall (Lao Szechuan, Spring World). You can go in the Mayflower Grocery and look at the fish in the tanks, then buy Pocky. The mall stores face an inner walkway so if you have to step outside, you're not right on the street and there are lots of cool storefronts to look at. There is a red line stop for Chinatown-- that would probably be easier than a cab.Hot Doug's is great for kids too-- Doug himself describes it as "Kid-friendly, adult hostile." Go around 11 to avoid the long line. We had good luck at Goose Island (the one on Clybourn) too, especially when ours was very young. The booths make for discrete nursing if needed.
I don't know about much off of North Michigan, but I encourage you to hop on the El (subway).
Good luck and please report back!
Cheers, Jen
Madison, WI dining
in The Heartland: Dining
Posted
Hey Liam, thanks for the tip about La Querentana! We went tonight and had a positive experience overall. We got the tamales (one veggie, one chicken -- only OK, not great), a chicken quesedilla (excellent -- great texture and especially good with the salsa verde supplied to the table w/the chips), and two tacos -- one carnitas (excellent) and one carne asada (very good but a little tough). My husband also ordered horchata, which was not on the menu -- he said it was quite good. It's made in-house.
Anyway, we recommend it! It was empty when we went, so clearly it needs customers. The decor is also sadly lacking, being of the ugly-strip-mall variety.