(Not the Copa) Cabana

I love white bean paste. And I love Brazilian food. It is without surprise then that I love the Cabana Room, the lower level restaurant and bar located in the Samba complex that is the remodeled Avol's Bookstore on Gilman. The space is gorgeous: brightly colored, lots of polished woods - and the food is fantastic. I ordered a grilled mushroom and pepper wrap with goat cheese and white bean paste. It was sweet and savory, full of nutty garlic flavor and delightfully chewy. Add a side salad with crisp greens and a mango vinaigrette, and I was happy as a clam. Even happier when one of my dining companions wished to swap sandwich halves, and I was able to sample the grilled cheese with pesto and tomato Cubano, which is a sandwich brick pressed on a grill, not unlike a panini. It was cheesy and fresh and a perfect complement to the wrap. The only problem is that I would like to have half of each every time I visit and I may not find someone willing to swap! Can't wait to try more.

Maharani à l'ouest

I did not know that Swagat, at High Point and Old Sauk Road offered the same lunch buffet as Maharani! I knew they were owned by the same folks, so it makes sense. Man, that is a great buffet. The lentil donuts, the chicken tikka masala, the mango sorbet. It's all there. And delicious.

Fair is Fair

I love Alterra Coffee. I love that their coffee is wind-powered, uber eco-friendly and they are Fair Trade certified. I love the way a latte tastes when made with Alterra Coffe, I love Voltaire's Passion, I love that I can get it at Sentry Hilldale, the best grocery store in town.

But the only place that I know of that sells Alterra downtown is Barriques Market in the old Loraine Hotel at the corner of Fairchild and W. Wash . And that place is kind of a mess. It is not entirely clear where the line to order starts - sometimes it is to the right, sometimes it is down an aisle, the space is entirely too cluttered, and while I can forgive both of those things, it is also SLOOOOOOOOW. But the lattes are awesome, and I love Alterra, and it is convenient, so I will certainly keep going there.

And thank you to EmWi for the gorgeous photo that I lifted from flickr. Isn't it pretty?

Coffee at Cosi

I had a latte at Cosi and it was delicious! I admit it, I was surprised. I had never ordered any coffee beverages there (I might have ordered milk a couple of times) and I will definitely order a latte again. I have been going through a latte upheaval lately - I really don't like a scorched tasting latte (who does?) and my usual favorite place has been tasting kind of scorchy.

Kudos to the new seasonal menu items at Cosi, as well. The salad bruschetta is just my thing - it is so flavorful, I don't even add the balsamic. I am such a sauce person, this is quite remarkable. The salad consists of grilled chicken, cannellini beans, fresh basil, tomatoes, red onions, cracked pepper, Romano cheese & mixed greens. It is served layered, which is unusual and works really well for a salad like this. Highly recommended.

One last note, the last time I was there, the baker was making a pan of the oatmeal energy cookies that they have in baskets by the cash registers and man, did those look great! They are neatly wrapped in cellophane and I haven't been tempted before, but now that I know they are made fresh in-house, I will certainly give them a try.

Sangria Ya-Ya

Icon, the new tapas bar on the 200 block looks promising. There is a glossy poster in the window proclaiming authentic Spanish sangria. Who doesn't love sangria? And truthfully, who doesn't love tapas? Everything looks ready to go, I didn't catch an opening date on the window, but I suspect it will open any day now. It looks very sleek, all black and white and silver inside. Add a trench coat and dark red lipstick and you might find yourself the main character in a film noir. Not sure how that fits in with tapas, but I'll play along.

Sucre on the square does not look anywhere near ready to go, though. They are doing a major renovation on that building. There is no trace of the former McDonald's anywhere in sight. I will be dreaming of chocolate croissant a little while longer on that front.

Candinas is Fancy

Fancy chocolates. Fancy fancy. Candinas chocolates are billed as equal parts artistry, science, and love and I agree. The fancy lies in the artistry; they are so beautiful!

Located now on the Capitol Square (as well as Verona), the Candinas chocolates contain no preservatives, so they must be eaten right. Hell, yeah. I have to eat them right away? I can do that! I believe that Markus Candinas is a swiss-trained confectioner, as opposed to Gail Ambrosius, who is a french-trained confectioner and the chocolates are definitely different, all in a gloriously delicious way. Here is a chart of the types of chocolates Candinas offers. My favorites are the dark caramel, dark hazelnut and ginger.

A Slice of Sal's

OK, OK. I know it is not Sal's anymore. Or Casa Bianco. But can anyone really keep track? The enormous New York-style slices are the same, the guys working behind the counter are the same, so what if the name keeps changing? If pressed, I could probably come up with the accurate name (Pizza di Roma), but everyone knows which pizza place you mean if you call it Sal's, or if you refer to it as the one on the 300 block, or the one by the Tyme machine, or the one with the big, cheap slices.

The slices are big. And they are inexpensive. And I would describe them as greasy. And delicious. I prefer the plain cheese, the margerita and a slice with fresh mozzarella, spinach and tomato. And anything with feta. The hawaiian is very popular, as well as barbecue chicken, the baked ziti and something my husband refers to as the heart attack. I believe it has at least four kinds of meat including sausage, ham and bacon.

This pizza has taken the place of Rozino's in my heart, soul and stomach. I never thought I would get over the loss of Rozino's on Fairchild when the entire block was torn down to make way for Overture. But a nice, big, greasy slice of cheese from Pizza di Roma, and I am a very happy girl.

A Little Black Velvet

Went to Brocach, the Irish pub on the Square last night and it was a very busy place. The crowd there is a little weird, maybe a few too many parents and a few too many Badger fans, but the food is usually good and the atmosphere not run of the mill.

I ordered the Black Velvet, which is my favorite beer cocktail - half Guinness then topped off with champagne, but was dismayed to discover that the bartender was unfamiliar with that drink. My companions were lucky enough to order their drinks from the Irish barkeep who not only knew how to pour a Guinness without any head, he also knew how to swirl a shamrock into it!

I was also dismayed to discover that the burgers no longer arrive with the Brocach slaw (purple cabbage with raisins and caraway) and a heaping plate of fries. Now the burger is served with a normal amount of fries and a pickle. Boring. The slaw is something special, and it was sorely missed. According to the menu, it is still served with lunch. (?)

The Dublin City Burger still tastes great, though: eight ounces of certified angus burger with Irish cheddar cheese sauce, double smoked bacon, sautéed crimini mushrooms, onion strings and Guinness Stout sauce. The onion strings are sweet and crisp and more than made up for any lack in slaw. Add a little malt vinegar to the fries and all is well.

If you are in the mood for something decadent after your meal, the chocolate cake is not to be missed. A slice of this layer cake with thick, fudgy icing is best when split between two parties and washed down with some Guinness. The cake warrants a trip all its own.

Maharani Wahoo

Just a hop, skip and jump from the Downtown library, Maharani's Indian lunch buffet is without a doubt a favorite place for librarians who lunch. Or at least my posse. That joint is flavor-filled to the gills and the hot naan just keeps coming. My favorites include: dahi vadas (lentil donuts in yogurt sauce), dosas (crepes filled with potato and onion), any of the curries, pakoras and samosas, the chicken tikka masala, gulab jamuns (deep-fried dough soaked in syrup), kheer (rice pudding), and of course, the mango ice cream. I always eat until I am feeling rather sicky, and my hair smells like curry for at least 12 hours, but I can't wait to go back and do it all over again.

Located in the original building of Metropolitan Place at the corner of W. Washington and Broom, Maharani also offers free parking. In downtown Madison! That is the greatest wahoo of all.

Reviews:
Daily Page Forum
Madison Magazine
Wisconsin State Journal

Sardine

How do I love thee, let me count the ways...

Sardine is my favorite place for dinner. Marigold Kitchen is my favorite place for lunch. I spend far too little time dining at either establishment. Here is a recent run-down of what I like about Sardine:

The Steamed Mussels and Frites. (I have ordered this every time I have dined at Sardine and it is amazing.) The mussel are perfectly prepared. The creamy broth with diced tomatoes and onions is flavorful and not cloying. The frites are crisp, hot and twice fried. The homemade mayonnaise is thick and tangy. I will continue to order it EVERY TIME.

The Warm Duck Confit Salad. I don't eat duck. But I eat it at Sardine. The duck is finely shredded, smoked and moist. The salad is crisp and although I don't like frisee per se (too tricky to eat) the sharpness really contributes to the overall taste. Add fresh green beans, tomato, lardon (bacon, bacon, bacon), crispy fried potato medallions and a poached egg and I am in heaven.

Potato Leek Soup. Best my hubby has ever had.

Various Entrees. All of the entrees are superb, but I really don't need anything other than the mussels. And I admit it. I will gladly eat the veal. I enjoy this restaurant so much, that I will eat things that I tell people I would never eat. Namely duck and veal. But I would gladly eat goat cheese stuffed chicken breast with a zucchini carrot cake, grilled pork chop with roasted peaches, or anything that you set in front of me. Because everything is that good.

Cafe Soleil

This entry veers off State Street two blocks to the east, on the Pinckney side of the square. Cafe Soleil is the breakfast/lunch eatery owned by L'Etoile and home to the remarkable chocolate sand cookie. Their pastries are always fresh and the coffee is a notch above the rest.

After walking to grab some coffee on a quick mid-morning break with some colleagues, I thought I should write this gem up. My latte was perfect and I left dreaming of brioche and the trout salad, even though I wasn't hungry. Here is the menu.

Add to all this goodness: they have recycled coffee cups. Cafe Soleil has gone green and switched all of their disposables to products that are made of either biodegradable/compostable materials, like corn, or 100% recycled content. Amen.

Mad City Crab House

The lump crab is in the house! I have been reading tons of reviews of The Mad City Crab House and although I did not order wisely when I was there, I will give it another go. I wasn't feeling like fried foods, so I wasted my crab on the Mad City Salad. The chilled Dungeness Blue Crab meat was plentiful and sweet, but the greens were just so so. There were carrots, tomatoes, dried cranberries and a tomato basil vinaigrette, which is close to my perfect salad, but it wasn't spectacular. I have heard over and over again, though, that the crab cakes and sweet potato fries ARE spectacular, so next time I will order that. Lesson learned.

Some reviews:
The Daily Page
Isthmus
Wisconsin State Journal

Contemporary Afghani Cuisine

I love Maza, where Saz used to be at 558 State. I used to like Saz just fine, the artichoke quesadilla being the only artichoke quesadilla I have seen on a menu before, but I love Maza. And truthfully, I couldn't remember the last time I had been to Saz.

Since Maza's opening this spring, I have been there a 1/2 dozen times and have ordered the same entree each time, mixing up the salad, soup and appetizers for variety. I order the Kofta every time. This is an amazing Afghani meatball dish (more like small seasoned beef patties) with basmati rice and served with a tomato based sauce with chickpeas, leeks and a million other spices that makes for an unbelievably savory combination. I have also sampled the lamb kabuli palow, which is a tender lamb dish served with a basmati rice pilaf with raisins, carrots and onions, as well as the beef and chicken kebobs (watch out, those metal skewers are hot, and the wait staff don't always warn the diners - one of my dining companions got a nasty burn).

The salad is decent - fresh leafy greens with a homemade balsamic dressing and the soup is good, too. A tomato vegetable soup with noodles and a comforting flavor.

The complementary flatbread is fresh and warm, and the Maza sampler is super yum - it comes with buryani (fried potato and leek dumplings), a chunky hummus (I am an afficianado of the creamiest of hummus - that found at Mediterranean Cafe or King of Falafel) but this hummus is excellent, and a giant vegetable fritter - I think with chickpeas, leeks and potato? The sambosa is also excellent - another fried dumpling filled with ground beef, onion, cilantro and chickpeas. All of the dumplings I have tried thus far are served with yogurt sauce and a zesty green chutney. Yum.

At the time of it's opening, there might have been a question of whether or not State Street could support two Afghani restaurants (the other being Maza's parent across the street, Kabul) and I can say with certainty, yes. Even with relatively poor, slow service, the place is always packed and the food consistently good.

fromagination

I have been waiting for you my whole life! An artisanal cheese store opened on the square on Carroll St. next to Badger Office Supply this week. It is amazing. There are cheeses. There are organic crackers. There are chocolates. Frosted cookies. Chutneys. Mustards. Even some peppy ostrich sticks that quite pleased my hubby. I am in love with a pumpkin spiced cheese spread made with the milk from the happy sheep that graze in Wisconsin's driftless area (this might be Westby). Hidden Springs Creamery makes a Driftless cream spread to rival any spreads I have had since Madison Bagel was making a salsa cream cheese. (RIP Madison Bagel, I still dream of the whole wheat world, even with Gotham just down the block). But happy new day, for fromagination. I wish it all the best.

Mmmm, gelato

Suddenly, "Madison-Area" is exploding with gelato. Which is fine by me, but I don't spend that much time in America's best suburb (aka Middleton). State Street still only has one premier gelato joint and I am going to focus on that.

Hooray for Paciugo. I am working through all the flavors with my merry band of taste testers (thanks Veronica, Nancy, Kelly and Laura!). I always get the small cup with three flavors and have worked my way through: lavender, rose, violet, panacotta wedding cake, berry white, black pepper olive oil (amazingly fruity and delicious), chocolate almond, black cherry swirl, pistachio, coconut, chocolate coconut, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate turtle, cinnamon, dulce de leche, fondente, tiramisu, rum raisin, watermelon and strawberry balsamic. I draw the line at beer.

At 70% less fat than ice cream, I can eat there almost three times as much as Chocolate Shoppe and not feel guilty! And it is fun and delicious.

Back to the Beat

There have been so many changes on State St., I can barely keep it all straight. And I have been away from the beat for a year, so I will start with what I can!

The latest buzz is for Za's, which used to be the old Blockbuster. The marinara is just ok, but they have Cheesecake Factory desserts and if you don't want to order from the menu, you can create your own pasta, pizza, salad or panini. Which surely wins the award hands down for best variety.

I highly recommend the Italian Creme Cake and the decaf coffee was freshly brewed, instead of old and nuked, which, sadly, is the norm.

Next up: Maza, Mad City Crab House, Paciugo, and Mad Dog's.