Since arriving on the Madison restaurant scene in 2010 Nostrano has consistently impressed me, enlightened me about new food, wine and libations and held a place in my top 3 favorite restaurants in town. EVERYTHING they make is fresh, seasonal and hand-made with precision and delightful detail. Nostrano is only open for "Apertivo" (their version of happy hour) and dinner. Although they are right off the square in a lovely historic building on Hamilton, they are still not on many people's radar (or at least not the people I'm telling). It's smart of them to take part in Restaurant Week because it allows them to showcase what they do and guests can try them at both lunch (only this week) and dinner for a modest price. Another crazy smart move Nostrano makes during Restaurant Week is to create beer and wine pairings for all three lunch and dinner courses. Beer pairings were an additional $12 and wine was an additional $15 at lunch. Nostrano also offers their popular marinated olives as a starter for $6. Over the years, I've heard many restaurants complain about Restaurant Week. There are various issues and reasons, but one of the big complaints of the higher end ...
Day 3 of Restaurant Week was a gloomy, misty one so I was happy to join my friend Phillip for lunch at one of my favorite Madison restaurants, Osteria Papavero. I don't throw around the "favorite restaurant" phrase with abandon, but I do get asked the question a lot. The answer depends on a few factors, but Osteria Papavero is always on the top of my special occasion list. The quality of the food and quaintness of the space keep bringing me back. I have been to Osteria at least threes times in the past five years of Restaurant Week and the food never disappoints...unfortunately, this time, there was some disappointment. We started with a Farro and Pesto Salad and Wild Mushroom Soup for appetizers. Farro is a grain similar to barley. It was cooked to a slighty chewy al dente that pushes back just a touch when you eat it. This is as it should be. The farro was tossed with high quality, flavorful olive oil and pesto that was so bright it made me think of summer.
January in Wisconsin brings a bleak reality check for all of us...the holidays are truly over and the gray, cold days and depressing end to the Green Bay Packers season are here to stay. Thankfully, Madison Magazine's Restaurant Week arrives at the same time and brings distraction. Today was Day 2 and what's better on a Monday than going out to lunch? My companion and I chose Inca Heritage because of their interesting & adventurous menu options. We hadn't made reservations, as you often need, but when I called at 11:45 am they were gracious and happy to get us right in. Inca Heritage is located on the north end of Park Street and only street parking is available, but we found a spot right in the neighborhood with no problem (less than 1/2 blocks walk). When you walk in the door you are greeted by the vivid marigold colored walls and the wonderfully warm and friendly staff. Our service continued to be warm and gracious and was also prompt. For appetizers we chose the Spicy Tuna Causa
For years now I’ve been faithfully going to a little chocolate & candy shop in Madison. I don’t remember how I discovered it, but I was hooked once I did. It reminds me of old fashioned shops I went to as a kid and they still do things that old fashioned way here today. Their candies fill vintage jars all over my home year round and their dark chocolate nonpareils and divine pastel cherries were carefully tucked into brown craft paper boxes, tied with orange raffia and sent home with all the guests at our wedding 13 years ago. It is probably not the one you think. And it's probably not your second guess either. It's James J Chocolate Shop. They are in a little unassuming spot squeezed between an acupuncture clinic and Mexican restaurant (what??) in a strip mall just off of HWY 12/18 as you exist onto Midvale. They are easy to miss, but should not be! Madison is filled with wonderful chocolatiers, caramel, toffee and truffle makers for sure. I love them all, but they get lots of attention. James J doesn’t seem to. Maybe they are so busy they don't need to advertise? ...
This evening I'm giving a presentation to the Council of Independent Managers at The Madison Club. I thought I'd share one of the topics I'll be discussing here on the blog: How can we ALL be more safe in our OWN kitchens? How safe is your kitchen? What grade would I give it if I came and did a private health inspection? The FDA estimates that there are about 48 million cases of foodborne illness annually –that's 1 out of 6 Americans getting sick each year. These illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths every year. That means 60 people in each of our 50 states will die this year just from something they ate! Here are the top priorities restaurants have in place, and the ones YOU should too, to keep your family safe? #1 Wash Your Hands (before, between & after prep) Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food and after using the bathroom, changing diapers, sneezing, handling pets, handling raw meat, smoking, eating or basically touching anything besides the food you ...
Graze chose to not take reservations during Restaurant Week and instead was on a first come, first serve basis. This is smart because it still gets people in their door and to the bars at both Graze and L'etoile (which they opened for overflow). They also chose to charge $30 for dinner, not $25. The service at Graze was warmer than I'm used to and very attentive-which is definitely the norm. I was happy to see more smiles and a lightened up mood. Here were our RW choices and what here's what we picked... First Coarse Choices: Beet "Steak" & Cod Cakes The cod cakes were a substantial portion of two thin and crispy cakes held together by egg and very little if no breading. They were served with sautéed shoots, a lightly spicy aioli and sundried tomato relish studded with a few nicoise olives. The aioli left me wanting more spice and the relish fell flat and didn’t really pair with the cod. The beet “steak” was so named because it ...
Monroe Street has become a great place to eat and shop again after many years of multiple vacancies and poor fits. On a cold day or night, there’s nothing better than slipping into a cozy little pub or coffee shop to sit and sip with friends and eat comfort food. Brocach on Monroe serves up warm service, a welcoming atmosphere and hearty portions. I was lucky enough to join seasoned blogger and expert, Brian Lee, the creator of Eat,Drink, Madison.com, for lunch. I consistently use his website as my resource for coming up with where to go and what to do in Madison-very comprehensive and super easy to navigate. These were our Restaurant Week Choices at Brocach. We chose the Fire Roasted Prince Edward Island Mussels & Duck Fat Fried Fingerling Potatoes for our first course. The mussels came with a Beurre (butter) fondue for dipping and garlicky sourdough toast. Yum! Usually mussels are swimming in the sauce, but this time it was on the side and made the dish less messy and more ...
People always ask me what my favorite restaurant is. Being a restaurant consultant and former health inspector, I understand the question, but it is rarely a simple answer. Recommendations depend on what you're in the mood for...ethnic, vegetarian, breakfast, fine dining, etc. Since Nostrano arrived on the Madison scene in 2010, they have consistently been at the top of my list when I recommend fine dining, desserts and cocktails. What Nostrano really excels at is obsessing over the details. I love that because it's I obsess about with my clients. Nostrano gets almost everything right........ Here were our RW options. First Course: Squash Soup (with Cocoa Spätzli, Pumpkin Seeds, Smoked Maple & Sage) Bleu Mont Cheese Salad (Winter Greens, Willi's Bandaged Cheddar, Pickled Pears, Cipollini, Mostarda, Walnut Sourdough). If you are wondering what half of this is, that's half the fun of Nostrano...they are always introducing their guests to new and interesting food (a lot of it local or house made). My favorite first coarse item was the additive Mostarda , an Italian born spread made of candied fruit and mustard in a thick syrup. The salad was lightly dressed, ...
Forget that it was 5 degrees outside in Madison today. Forget that it was Monday, a holiday and the inauguration was on TV. My girlfriend had the day off from her busy job and that was the only reason I needed to take her out for a stylish lunch. We chose HotelRED's restaurant, The Wise. The Wise has creative cocktails, appetizers and entrees to go with it's hip and minimalist decor. We ordered this strawberry, black pepper tequila cocktail and settled into our cushy chairs...unfortunately they were the kind of cushy that's just too cushy and you can't get comfortable or close enough. Service was a bit slow, as I've experienced at The Wise before, even though they were not busy. We ordered the Spiced Butternut Squash Soup with Hazelnut Cappuccino Cream, Pork Cassoulet Soup, a Wisconsin Grilled Cheese with Arugula Pesto and the Pulled Pork shoulder with Slaw Sandwich. The squash soup was our favorite. Rich,smooth and creamy, with a light touch of sweetness and hazelnut. No ingredient ...
Well it's that time again...January in Wisconsin. The holidays are over and so is Green Bay Packer football. It was 7 degrees out today. That's almost too cold to go outside. We're bored. Let's eat! Restaurant Week is a great excuse to get out of the house and try a few new restaurants in Madison. You get three courses so it's a great way to sample the restaurants offerings and decide if you want to go back again. I'll be blogging everyday this week so continue to tune in. Day 1- Lunch at Quivey's Grove. Quivey's is pretty quintessential Wisconsin. I mean you get to eat comfort food and drink beer in a stable. Fun, but those stone walls aren't insulated very well..it was chilly where we were sitting. Here are the menu options we had. We chose the Parmesan Potato Puffs and the Chopped Romaine Salad for our 1st course. The Potato Puffs were average and needed to be a bit more done in the center. The Truffle aioli was a delicious touch. The Chopped Romaine Salad tasted just like a summer ...
