http://www.thedailypage.com/eats Eats content from ISTHMUS | The Daily Page webmaster@isthmus.com (Webmaster) Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:53:52 CST Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=28450 http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=28450 Vintage Brewing Company has a lot going on: an illuminated aquarium in the middle of the bar, flat-screen TVs showing everything from sports to Forrest Gump, cheesy yet appealing '70s beer signs with photos of clear mountain streams and babes with Farrah hair, and various pieces of mid-century kitsch. Throw in a few pool tables, videogames, local artwork, giant brewing equipment and a fireplace, and you have a whole lot of theme. My experiences at Vintage were a similar mixed bag. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:24:15 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28412 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28412 The Willy Street Co-op has finally released its long-awaited plans for a second store. The second site chosen is in Middleton, at the corner of University Avenue and Park Street, in a pre-existing shopping center. The store would move into the end space vacated by Walgreens, which built a new free-standing location some blocks east on University Avenue at Branch Street. Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28281 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28281 We are a nation of nibblers. As I was walking over to The Big Eat at Monona Terrace on Monday night, I passed by a local restaurant where a man in the window was digging into a good-sized steak. It looked perfect, but I was just as happy contemplating the many small plates I'd be getting over the course of the next couple of hours. Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=28255 http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=28255 Thai cuisine is among the world's most exciting: It's colorful, dynamic, ebullient, in-your-face. It's a cuisine that doesn't shy away from intense flavors like chili paste and fermented fish sauce. Eating Thai is about trying centuries-old flavors of galanga, kaffir lime leaves and cilantro. Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:33:54 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28120 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28120 Downtown Madison is seeing an increasing number of Mexican options for lunch. Taco fiends are set to be well-served near campus, with Taco Heaven opening in the old Le Chardonnay space on West Johnson and another joint going into a storefront on University next to Wando's. Meanwhile, a pair of new restaurants closer to the Capitol are already open. Las Cazuelas fired up its wood-burning oven at Butler Plaza late last year, and was followed last week by La Mestiza, which opened a second Madison location on East Main just off the Square. Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:37:38 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28012 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28012 Underground is also planning to renovate the vacant restaurant space at 127 E. Mifflin St. -- most recently home to Cafe Montmartre -- and open a restaurant there by mid-summer. The work will start as soon as Feb. 1, with attention paid to recycled building materials and sustainably-harvested wood. No name has been selected yet, but expect it to fall under the Underground Food Collective brand. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=28451 http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=28451 If I see red velvet cake or carrot cake behind a glass-front counter, it's game over -- other cakes, you have no chance to go home with me. I've never been in a situation, to be honest, in which I had to choose between them. And I probably wouldn't; they would both probably end up in a nice little Styrofoam container for me to eat as dessert and breakfast. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28418 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28418 Brooklynite Cathy Erway definitely has something right. Americans do not cook their own dinners often enough and when we do, it's too often an indifferent, hurried effort. No wonder eating out seems like a better idea. Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28134 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28134 Reading Thomas Keller's new cookbook is like meeting a supermodel; you have to stare with your mouth hanging open for a while before you actually think about any real interaction. It took me at least a full read-through before it dawned on me that I could use this lush, oversized book to help me cook something. Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28086 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28086 So, there's blended Scotch, and then there's blended cheese. Take Bellavitano, a Parm-cheddar hybrid created by Sartori, a third-generation cheese company from Plymouth, Wis. It has the sweetness of a Parmesan alongside the sharpness of a cheddar, and its texture is somewhere in between: flaky and firm, not rock-hard. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28455 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28455 St. Patrick's Day is the holiday of choice for the beer enthusiast. It conjures visions of all things green, ranging from leprechauns to beer. However, I just can't bring myself to contaminate my favorite brew with food coloring. After all, the phrase "green beer" is often used to describe young and unfermented brews with yeast so active they turn your stomach. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28418 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28418 Brooklynite Cathy Erway definitely has something right. Americans do not cook their own dinners often enough and when we do, it's too often an indifferent, hurried effort. No wonder eating out seems like a better idea. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:24:15 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28412 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28412 The Willy Street Co-op has finally released its long-awaited plans for a second store. The second site chosen is in Middleton, at the corner of University Avenue and Park Street, in a pre-existing shopping center. The store would move into the end space vacated by Walgreens, which built a new free-standing location some blocks east on University Avenue at Branch Street. Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28409 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28409 Real Trappist beers, from the abbeys of Belgium, will be the unifying theme of an upcoming dinner at The Haze on Sunday, March 21. The idea for the event came from Madison author Madeline Scherb, whose book <i>A Taste of Heaven</i>, published last August, is a guide to some of the best foods produced by monks and nuns in the U.S. and Europe. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28455 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28455 St. Patrick's Day is the holiday of choice for the beer enthusiast. It conjures visions of all things green, ranging from leprechauns to beer. However, I just can't bring myself to contaminate my favorite brew with food coloring. After all, the phrase "green beer" is often used to describe young and unfermented brews with yeast so active they turn your stomach. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28380 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28380 The Great Dane Pub and Brewery just released the highest-alcohol beer it has ever made. The downtown Madison brewpub has finally put its Belgian Barleywine on tap after more than a year of fermenting and conditioning. Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:20:52 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28071 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28071 "It's kind of like the farmers' market, but with lots more cheese samples, and instead of vegetables -- beer!" one person said to me, and that's pretty close. Two rooms of vendor booths flanked an open area with tables where performances by the Cork and Bottle String Band alternated with demos on pairing beer with food (presented by TDP's beer guru, Robin Shepard) and pairing beer with chocolate, with chocolates by Atwood Avenue chocolatier Gail Ambrosius and beer by Furthermore of Spring Green. Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28061 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=28061 Even though we know the days are getting longer, it's still reassuring when the first Mai Bocks begin arriving on local shelves. These lagers are traditionally brewed in the dead of winter and aged until spring. And now, just when the seasonal melancholy is about to become oppressive, these incredible bock beers start to emerge from lagering. Sprecher Brewery is one of the first local beer makers to offer a little bit of "may bock" springtime. Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=27661 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=27661 The holiday season often brings out memories of family and friends, and sometimes we raise a glass and toast those who made a difference in our lives. Grumpy Troll brewmaster Mark Duchow recently lost his father. Duchow decided to pay tribute to his dad with a special creation. Rye Bob, a dry and spicy ale, was put on tap a couple of weeks ago, complete with Mr. Duchow's picture on the tap handle. Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:00:00 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=27607 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=27607 O'so Brewing's name is short for "oh so good," but its latest creation Lupulin Maximus is more like "oh so hoppy"! Double IPAs have a reputation for being pretty hoppy -- here brewmaster Marc Buttera has taken the style and tried to top it by adding an actual hop flower in every bottle.