JT Whitney's Friday Night

With very decent live music every Fri night, great beer-battered fries, and great beer how can you go wrong? We've made JT-ing a semi regular Friday night event, especially on Friday nights after Beth gets off from her surgery rotation. This time we split the surf and turf, with a strip sirloin steak and three coconut shrimp. The shrimp were a little small, but very tasty with actual coconut flavor (sometimes they just taste like popcorn shrimp). Like all Fri nights, Jt's had live music which is usually quite decent for a west side restaurant. Beth ordered a 22oz lemon-beer drink that we have only seen in France before, and I went for a 22oz Strongbow. If you've only tried the Woodchuck brand cider before, you are really missing out on a man's cider (as manly as cider can be). When Beth and I were in the Bretagne (Brittany) region of France, I got hooked on cider. In either case, $9.50 for 44oz of decent drinks isn't too bad, especially when the drinks are difficult to find at any other local WI pub. Also, JT's has started serving their beer battered fries in a plastic pitcher, similar to those you would find at the Memorial Union.

JT Whitney's Pub & Brewery
674 S. Whitney Way, Madison, WI 53711
608-274-1776
http://www.jtwhitneys.com

http://www.jtwhitneys.com/kitchen/content/full_menu.pdf

All you ever wanted to know about Cider/Cidre/Srumpy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cider

Hot nights at Vin Santo's in Middleton

Ok, this is technically in Middleton, but who are we to squabble over geography?

Recommended as a wonderful new lesser known Italian place, we had to try it. It really had the small town charm even though we were a short drive away from campus. They have actual daily specials that change daily instead of 'highlighting' a meal and calling it a special like a lot of other restaurants. Vin Santo' seems to pride themselves in fresh Italian products and seafood oriented dishes. We went with a pesto linguini and a homemade Italian sausage with a spicy tomato sauce. The pesto had an extremely fresh taste and was not quite like anything I have had before, good pesto without being overly oily tasting. Beth's sausage dish had a lot of sausage and was quite tasty, lots of spices. Our waitress warned us that the 'sausage' dish was pretty hot, to put it mildly. It was the hottest thing we've ever had that could still be considered tomato based!

For dessert we tried the tiramisu and the bread pudding. These dessert-to-plate ratio was possibly the highest of any restaurant we have been to, very large pieces and very yummy. If you happen to find yourself on that side of town, check out a book at the Middleton library and wander over the Vin Santo for good Italian and large desserts.

http://vinsanto.us/home.php?g1=g&p=2&s=10

JTIF!

We went to JT Whitney's tonight after a few months hiatus (an incident with a too hot buffalo chicken sandwich and then a too boring ranch chicken sandwich) and I guess that absence makes the heart grow fonder, or the food better. We had a great meal, balancing out previous bad meals and worse service. Don't get me wrong, the food can be good, it is just that some can be sub par, especially for price, as is basically a bun and side dish on a boring plate, worse than at Outback, but not so bad, considering the lower price. The service has been horrible in the past, as in, you are better off ordering form the bar and picking it up yourself, but tonight, the servers functioned like they actually worked at a restaurant. Throughout all this, and our many trips since JT's opened, the beer fries have remained a delectable staple.

The fries tonight were extra good - extra crunchy and tasty, with extra ranch served without complaint. Something new with the fries- they are now served in smaller, more vertical basket than the previous large round flat basket. Not as impressive appearing, but it probably kept them warmer and crunchier.
For main course, the Ruben was large and had a full, zesty flavor. Ugly potatoes were a satisfying comfort side dish. The spinach, glazed walnut and candied apple salad was whole leaf with normal walnuts and candied pie-filling style apples, but despite these downfalls, was tasty with great dressing and fresh spinach.
All this left no room for dessert, but we recommend the Smores at the table. Sure, it might be overpriced for the ingredients but the overall price isn't bad and it is a unique experience.
One final note about the beer- we sampled a special summer beer with notes of coriander or some such thing (sorry, can't recall the details of the fancy beer) and it was refreshing, light with a not-too-sweet fruit air, but I personally prefer dark beers. They brew their own beer, root brew, cream soda and even orange soda. The regular beer selections change daily, making it a good place to get something interesting and unique to drink as well as to eat.
And for those who are fans of heart attacks- try the whole hard boiled egg, wrapped in bacon, beer battered and deep fired. I've never tried it, but am curious- so please leave a comment if you have given in to the heart attack temptation!

http://www.jtwhitneys.com/

It's closing time!

Not really a review of food, but more of restaurant practices...If a restaurant closes at ten, doesn't that usually mean that you must be in and ordered by ten, but can stay as long as is necessary to eat? Or if you were there at nine, then "last call" for the kitchen is at 10? That's how it worked at Vin Santos', where we walked in at 9:15, to be followed by another group at 9:45, and didn't leave until almost 11. Not so at Maharaja, where we went for Beth's birthday last week. We arrived at 9:20 to be told by 3 people (host, water filler and order taker) that they closed at 10 pm, so we must order (kitchen is closing!) and leave by 10 (restaurant is closed by 10)! Hmm. Well, we were done by 10 and out, a little rushed but not bad. We just found this odd, especially from a restaurant that prides itself in customer service and gives steamed towels out at the end of the meal. We still love it there though!

http://www.foodspot.com/maharajaodana/menu.html

Michael's cheese curds and frozen custard

Real cheese curds! YUM! That's reason enough to hit Michaels. But there is so much more. Like custard! Note- there are several Michael’s around town, and not all necessarily serve all the same food. But they also all have different flavors of the day, so theoretically, you could go to all on one day and not repeat a scoop! Burgers....fries...sundaes Ben always gets his staple, the Turtle sundae. Beth mixes it up, but always includes hot fudge and some sort of baked good, be it brownie, cookie or Oreo. Or candy bar. Or anything else, really. It's all good, although we don't recommend the banana shake- chunks are weird. But if that's your thing, go for it! Haven't tried the Michael's special Sprecher's root beer - has anyone out there tried it? Let us know your thoughts!

http://www.ilovemichaels.com/

(In)Famous Dave's

We recently read an unfavorable review of Famous Dave's on madisonatoz.com and it got us thinking...what is our review of the BBQ house?

We used to go a fair amount, but haven't been there in a while, so this is based on past visits. hmm- maybe it is a review itself that we don't want to go again for a fresh visit and review?

The long and short- the BBQ wings (esp hot) are great and the bread pudding is marvelous and we get both every time. Corn muffins, fries and mashed potatoes are good sides. The green beans we would agree are leathery and taste like they are from a can. Not great for the price and fact that if you get the beans, you don't get the mashed potatoes or fries! The Kahlua brownie that we have had only once was more of a cake and was dry.

Prices can be a bit steep, especially for platters, but the lunch sandwiches are well priced and taste good (especially the Georgia chopped pork sandwich), but have pretty generic supermarket buns (how hard is it to get some real buns?)

All in all? We recommend Dave's for the wings, the sandwiches and the platters (but you'll spend a bit more). Don't get the beans and definitely get the bread pudding! We also appreciate the roll of paper towels on the table- plenty of clean hand wipers at your fingertips!

www.famousdaves.com

Maharaja, High King

We've been to Maharaja 3 times in the last 1.5 weeks, I think we're addicted. Beth has the Lamb Masala every time and I went with the chicken Tikka Masala twice and the Tandoori chicken once. I am a huge fan of curries and would recommend the lamb and chicken Tikka Masalas to anyone that likes flavor and a bit of spice. The first time we went I tried 'medium plus' as the spiciness level and it was just at my comfortable threshold. The third time we went Beth finished all of her Lamb Masala (spiciness=medium) and she noticed feeling slightly buzzed for the next 45 minutes (special spices?). Their desserts are flavorful, smaller, inexpensive and perfect. Either way, this is possibly the best Indian restaurant in Madison. If you go make sure to try a Mango Lassi and an order of Nan.
http://www.foodspot.com/maharajaodana/menu.html

Late night cheeseburger run (in paradise)

After roller blading around Lake Monona Beth and I decided to make a run to Cheeseburger in Paradise. It was 11:30pm by the time we got there and they had no problem seating us at that hour. We sat in the back away from the live music, which was pretty good but a little loud for talking. The burgers are quite good as always and you have to love the Heinz 57 at every table. I went the mini cheeseburgers which and kid (and Ben) would love and Beth ventured out for their mushroom swiss burger. You know that when they give the name for the type of mushroom its going to be good. Both were very tasty and the coke I ordered had extra syrup in it from the normal mixture, yum.

http://www.cheeseburgerinparadise.com

Pitstop in Monona

Beth and I went for a nice roller blade around Monona today. It was a lot of fun and one of my favorite things to do with Beth when its nice out because we get to talk and 'blade' at the same time. We start out a Olin Turville park and head Northwest initially. The trip takes us ~1.5 hrs at a semi leisurely pace but this time we were help up by a fantastic little ice-cream shop in Monona that the owner runs out of his/her house. It looks like the garage and another small room have been sacrificed to the project and there is an additional sun-patio overlooking the lake. We of course had to go with the world famous Babcock ice cream, Chocolate peanut butter, and also had some French fries. When we stepped in I was immediately reminded of the little restaurants in the movie Pleasantville and of the Little League (baseball) candy stand. They had a lot of my childhood favorites like atomic fireballs, lemonheads, airheads, etc. I would highly recommend a stop if you are strolling, blading, or biking in this area and are in need of some delicious ice cream, soda, or other treats. Goodeats!


PS: they have a long standing policy of refilling your root bear float with more root bear should you need more :)

Monona Bait and Ice Cream Shop

(608) 222-1929, 4516 Winnequah Rd Monona

http://maps.google.com/maps?oi=map&q=4516+Winnequah+Rd,+Monona,+WI

Spaghettios at Tutto

As a long time resident of Madison, we would frequent Tutto with friends while in high school and undergrad but haven't been there several years. Its possible it was the time that we chose to go (11:20pm) but the waiter was very slow and uncaring. I had my usual favorite, Tutto pasta, and Beth ventured out of her norm and went for the spaghetti and meatballs. I thought the Tutto was its usual tasty self, but the spaghetti tasted like Spaghettios from a can. This is very strange from Tutto pasta, because its always been so tasty in the past. They have recently increased their prices substantially with a $5 plate splitting charge, and are now charging ~$4 for the side salad that was complimentary not too long ago. For desert we went with a tiramisu and a 'mousse'. We were surprised to find that by mouse the waiter meant a chocolate cake with a bit of mouse between the layers. We ended up taking that back but the tiramisu was pretty tasty. Tutto used to be one of my favorites, but I really can't say that anymore. Sorry Tutto.

http://www.foodspot.com/tuttopasta/

Fondueless fondue restaraunt

Beth and I went to The Melting Pot in Brookfield WI and it was a lot of fun to make our own dinner and talk over boiling Coq au Vin. With four people we opted for their Big Night Out which features a cheesy fondue, an entree, and a desert for four. I'm not sure how things would have been with two people but the cheesy fondue was lacking in the cheese department, pretty small portion. This was true with the entree although a little less so. The plates and dishes we used were also something you might find at the Paul Bunyan Restaurant in the WI Dells. This is all ok and great, but when the prices are as high as they are at the Melting Pot, one would expect a lot more. The Melting Pot is reportedly coming to Madison soon. I think the idea of a fondue restaurant is great and Madison could use one, but this particular franchise is not going to make it in Madison with all of the other great food at more reasonable prices. I recommend making your own fondue at home (see previous post) with imported cheese from a grocery store.

https://sigma.franconnect.net/meltingpot/state_list_restaurants.jsp?state=Wisconsin

Fluno Center UW-Madison, Turkey Mignon?

With close-up views of campus, the capitol and the lake high atop the 8th floor of the Fluno building how can you go wrong? I attended a meet and greet cocktail hour that was held in a foyer that included a small bar and a large terrace area for fantastic views. Later dinner was served in the Skyview room adjacent to the patio area and was finely decorated with rich woods and other modern materials. A better than average dinner salad was produced, but is reminiscent of the campus' standard fair found at most of the other campus unions events. For dinner there was a choice between Turkey Mignon wrapped in bacon, pork with cranberry sauce, or a vegetarian calzone. I tried the turkey and was pleasantly surprised with the quality and taste. It certainly does not rival its 'real' beef counterpart, but had a tender texture and was light on the salty smoked flavor that one finds with a lot of pre-prepared turkey cuts. There was some question about which meal was which and our waitress noted that you could tell that this one was the turkey because "Mignon means cute, but it must also mean wrapped in bacon." A slow grin grew across my face and on the face of one other person at our table who later claimed to know a little French, but everyone one else at our table chuckled in the cute joke that the waitress had just made. The service was great though and all of the waitstaff was friendly and attentive. For desert we were served a delicious piece of dense flourless cake with a raspberry coulee. This was quite unexpected and had the consistency and richness of decadent desserts served in France.

In general you might only dine at the Skyview room if you are on official business with the UW or celebrating with someone in the business school, but I encourage you to partake in the dessert and enjoy the views!

http://uwexeced.com/fluno/

Etiquette dinner at the Memorial Union

"no you may not blow on your soup while on an interview dinner (or other formal dinning event)"

Possibly the most useful dinner I have been to. This event was meant to inform college students of the various etiquette rules of dinning, specifically while on a job interview or other formal dinner. I went with two good friends so it made the 3 hour dinner go a little faster. From the questions that were brought up throughout dinner it seemed like most people been living in a swamp for most of their lives. Almost all of the instructors comments were common sense type things, other than some of the knife and fork placements (see list below). Then their were the decidedly specific and completely useless (to everyone else) questions like "what if I am in Morocco next month and the custom is to use your hands while eating and I am given a fork at the same time that someone gets up to great me with their left hand?"

I had the fortune of being able to practice (everything at once) while attending a formal-ish dinner at the Fluno center the following Friday (see above post) and this class was quite helpful with putting all of the rules in place for proper etiquette. At this dinner I noticed that the three oldest members of our 7 person table were practicing all of the mentioned rules for dinning and everyone (except for me) else had made some type of small mistake during the dinner. Not that this is a big deal or even a deal at all, but at least I am confident in how the bread should be passed, broken, buttered, and consumed!

Tips that were useful to me, some obvious, some not:
1) When arriving at a dinner always introduce yourself around the table while standing and shaking everyone’s hand.
2) Do not shake hands while seated
3) Firm shake, do not grab for half of the hand, and hold for 2-3 sec with eye contact
4) place name badge (if worn) on right side so that people can read it quickly when they shake your hand
5) Do not get up and do the Southernly thing if a business woman leaves the table (possibly ok if in the southern states?..any comments?)
6) fold napkin rectangularly with an overlap (shorter side up) so that quick and easy wipes can be made
7) Its ok to not eat something you do not like, leave it on your plate
8) Take small bites throughout the meal so you are able to talk quickly after someone asks you a question
9) White wines are served chilled, hold the stem so as not to heat up the wine with your hand
10) Reds can be held at the base of the glass, or at the stem
11) Always thank or acknowledge servers (don’t be a dick in general). This is interpreted as how you will treat ‘real’ people and not just the ones that you want a job from
12) Put purses/briefcases on the right side of chair, meals are served from the left, taken from the right
13) Suit coats can go around the chair. Can be placed inside out if you think something may spill on it, although I have never seen this
14) Do not blow on soups or soup while on a soup spoon. Just don’t blow in general while at the table.
15) Soup is eaten with an outward stroke. This prevents drips from being thrown into your lap. It can be ok to whip off the bottom drip on the edge of the soup bowls
16) Cherry tomatoes must first be stabbed by one tong of a fork to relief the fluid pressure and then may be cut with a knife
17) Knife can be used with left (American style) or right hand (the rest of the world’s style). I find it much easier to just keep my knife in my right hand instead of endlessly switching hands. Either style is appropriate for business meals in the US.
18) When finished with a knife it may be placed on the top lip of the dinner plate (or bread plate)
19) Forks should be placed on the lip of the right plate.
20) In general utensils never teeter on the edges of plates or bowls and are not placed back on the table (dirtiness issues).
21) Bread is passed to the right (unless someone asks for it close on the left side)
22) Take butter for bread and place onto bread plate (take out of foil wrapper and discard)
23) Break bread into small one-bite pieces and butter while holding everything over the bread plate (crumb issues)
24) Do not use fingers to touch food during main course, unless eating finger foods (fries, etc)

Abuelo's "mexican embassy"

Not sure if a restaurant needs to be an embassy, but the food is wonderful, great flavors and textures, and we got a free appetizer for joining the "e-club." Between the two of us, we have gone 4 times in 3 weeks. Hmm, do we have a problem? The food is a little more expensive than you would expect to find at many other Mexican restaurants, but it is quite authentic (at least from what we can tell from living in New Mexico for 6 months).

http://www.abuelos.com/

Blue Moon: cheese curds, burgers and pool

We love Bluemoon for their cheesecurds, big size, small price and real curd, for their blue cheese burger, yummy, messy, no frills but a frill itself, and the pool- $1.25 a game and food is ready by the time your done if you play as badly as we do!

It is also a favorite after exam stop for the med students.

We had a great time today, food was good as usual, you get it fast without any fus and there is space to relax, so a nice place to go if you are in the area. And now the have a nice new large parking lot! they also have a change machine or will givde you change to play pool (if you give them bills!)

When we were there, two 20-something mailmen came in for lunch (with soda, not beer) and to watch the Brewer game. they were wearing the post office shorts with their shirts untucked and gave us the impression of asking for the "college" route to get to hang out at the Bluemoon during lunch. the "scenary" on the jogging paths and in the yards is likely not bad now that it is warm, either.

Some downsides to the bluemoon- cash only and their atm charges a fee, they charge 20% for takeout (what is that about? they count the tip into what they make on the food?), and that last time we tried to go there they wouldn't let us stay for burgers because Beth didn't have her idea- even though no one ordered alcohol and by law Ben as her over-21 spouse can vouch for her (they wanted photo id and the marriage certificate.) Erg. This time they didn't card, so we don't know what that other waitress' problem was.

fianl rec- check out the bluemoon for some real WI fat-fried cheese. ;)

http://www.bluemoonbar.com/bluehome.html

Nada wrong with Nadia's

Possibly my favorite restaurant in the Madison (and Milwaukee) area. Gourmet French cuisine at prices that a student can afford for a special occasion. I have ordered the Filet Mignon twice and the escargot three times, although no one can beat LaPaella's escargot. The Chevre appetizer is quite possibly the best Chevre food item that I have tried and desserts always include some type of fresh berry or fruit choice. Their atmosphere is laid back but formal if you want it to be. Its not uncommon to find a person with a t-shirt and jeans during lunch hours and dinner formal during later hours. They also have a closed circuit kitchen-cam where you can watch your meal being prepared with surgical precision and care. If you are waiting for guests to arrive, they have a cute little sitting area off to the side of the main dinning area and sometimes have live music from a baby-grand that lives in the restaurant. Nadia's is sooo State Street with its charm and cuteness and so fantastic in its service and cuisine.

http://www.nadiasrestaurant.com/

Easter Brunch

Who would have thought that it would be so hard to find a place serving any breakfast food for brunch? So many place we checked bragged about their seafood and fresh cuts of ham, but didn't have waffles, french toast adn all those other necessities!

We finally found Captain Bill's, a restaurant in Middleton with a boaty feel on the lake, and waffles, french toast, eggs benedict (with fish instead of ham...odd), bacon and sausage. As well as freshly carved meats, shrimp, trout, etc.

Something odd- juice was incldued with the emal, coffee and tea were not. Also odd, our "server" introduced herself and said that she would be "just clearing plates and stuff." she actually didn't call herself a server, is that typical for buffets? We go to brunches a lot and I haven't noticed that before.

Their clam chowder was great and so were their waffles. The other food was good, as expected, and although it was crowded, they did a good job of keeping food out until the last guests (us) had left.

It was a fun time, and I think we ate too much! We would recommened for the casual, fun feel adn for the crispy on the outside warm on the inside waffles (or at least Beth would!)

http://www.nautigal.com/capbills/index.html

Pancake Café (Fitchburg)

Gotta love apple-Carmel pancakes and albacore tuna melts. The food is always wonderful; coffee is great with a side of rich fresh cream. Ben thought that our waiter was the burliest waiter that we've ever had, possibly a lumberjack. The hefty waiter also brought us a carafe of Pepsi so that refills would be much more frequent and self serve! Beth loves the purity of the German pancakes, but the brown sugar and apple pieces of the apple-pancake melt in your mouth with every bite. French fries, as the side dish for the tuna melt are surprisingly good and this style of fry goes well with mayonnaise.

http://www.pancakecafe.com/

Cheesey Night In

Fondue, brie-en-croute and fresh parmesan bruschetta, mmm mmmm!

We usually make our fondue with local swiss cheeses to save $, but went for a combo of local swiss and gruyere, and wow, what a taste difference! Like being back in France, yum! The backed brie was store bought to save some time and was quite good, highly recommended-can't remember the brand, but it is the only one that is sold at Copps and Cub, and was flavored with cranberries and a rich sauce. For the bruschetta we had fresh baguette from La Brioche (try their eclairs- over filled but so good!), and sprayed olive oil on with our new Misto. That was fun- thanks Bob! The actual bruschetta mix was from Copps, as usual, with imported parmesan. Half of the cheese was eaten before it hit the bruschetta, but that's ok. :)

Our fondue nights are great! Still waiting for a restaurant nearby to make fondue. Did get it once at an eclectic cafe by the river in Milwaukee (Cafe Vecchio Mondo, 1137 N Orld World 3rd St tel:414.273.5700), they made it special for us (it was listed online in their menu but not in the cafe menu.) It was good, but lacked the rich French taste. Their Manhattan martini was wonderful though, so go their at least for that.
Otherwise there is the Melting Pot in Brookfield. We have never been there but their online menu looks good (but pricey).

If you are ever in Brest France, we highly recommend the fondue restaurant near the open air market ( Fondues Des Lys, #40 rue de Lyon -29200 Brest, Tel: 02 98 43 42 77)

Bon fromage!

Down in Outback

"Do you guys mind if I sit down with you?"
um, yes, but you're going to anyways I suppose... we thought that it was a little weird that our waiter sat down next to Ben to tell us about Happy Hour specials, but it is a "casual" restaurant.

We go here a fair amount, mostly for the cheese fries, chopped blue cheese salad with sweet pecans and their desserts. Since most of you probably know this restaurant, we'll just hit on the high adn low points of our particular outing.

They served the cheese fries, great as usual, and the saldas and the meals almost all at once. How much can we eat at once guys? We also got a new appetizer "Bushman 'shrooms". hmm, can't say that the name is great. Ben really liked them, Beth was equivalent. Good mushroom flavor, but not much added in the batter. It was a heartier batter than you usually get, crunchy really, and was tight around the mushroom rather than puffy.


For the main course, Beth had the outback special. Wouldn't recommend- the steak was a bit stringy and not too well cooked. Ben went with the pork chops. The flavor was really good but the chops were tough.

And can anyone explain why they can have ice cream, milk, chocolate syrup and blenders and not do milkshakes?


Outback is known for their steaks and big meaty protions, but we like them best for their cheese fries and their sundaes! It is a good time, but be prepared for a check larger than expected.

link

about Beth and Ben

Beth is a 3rd year medical student at UW-Madison and is preparing to go into pediatric surgery after graduation.


Ben is a graduate student at UW-Madison in the Engineering Physics Department and is studying plasma physics related to space propulsion.

Madison Cuisine Review

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