Taste of Madison

Ok, the Taste of Madison was quite good this year - the weather was mild and not too sunny, the crowds on Sunday weren't too crazy, and most importantly, none of stands had run out of the food that I wanted to try. I do have a couple of complaints, though: why are there stands from Rio? I can see Fitchburg, and Middleton, maybe. But Rio? Why not bring in Janesville restaurants? Or Portage? Rio is 30 miles from Madison. I would also like to complain about the brochures - bring back the small, glossy brochures and have people handing them out! We hunted down the State Journal stand to find some, and were asked at least six times where we had found them. People want the brochures and they were too hard to find.

This is what I ate:
Spicy Beef Skewer with pepper dipping sauce (Kelly's Grill in Fitchburg)
Hand Dipped Halibut (Joey's Seafood)
Coconut Shrimp (Joey's Seafood)
Key Lime Pie (Joey's Seafood)
Berry Panna Cotta (Lombardino's)
Jerk Chicken Nachos (Bluephies)
Spinach Boat (West Side Club/Queen Anne's)

All in all, another fun Taste in Madison.

Import death or dearth

Yet another hootchie girl clothing store in the (seemingly) endless array of shops owned or masterminded by the import conglomerate that dominates the 100 and 200 blocks of State is "moving" or closing. The signs say "moving sale" but I have my doubts.

Cosi looks close to being done - the workers are going great guns, lots of hammering and drilling. I am looking forward to finding out what they have to offer.