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JA's Soul Food is Madison's catfish headquarters
on 10/30/09 at 9:00 am | Madison has seen quite a few cherished soul-food storefronts disappear, including Kipp's Down Home Cookin', A Place for Friends and the east-side location of Madtowne Fried Chicken. Jada's Soul Food was another, but there was one thing going for Jada's that the other restaurants didn't have: Larry Jackson, now the owner of JA's Soul Food. |
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Fringe Foods watches Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre World episode in Wisconsin
on 10/28/09 at 2:00 pm | Food critic, chef, and Minnesotan Andrew Zimmern has been revealing the strangest of foreign foods to American television viewers since his show, Bizarre Foods, debuted on the Travel Channel in February 2007. He has expanded his focus to culture as well as cuisine with Bizarre World, and on Tuesday night we were treated to his trip to Wisconsin. |
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Marc Stroobandt wants you to drink your dinner
on 10/25/09 at 12:00 pm | The time has finally come. Beer has officially been invited to sit at the adults' table, and the coordination of beer/food pairings is emphasized more now than ever. Those of us who tire of our wine-drinking friends constantly tossing around "oaky" this and "tannins" that can at long last stand up and say, "this beer would go great with a nice steak au poivre." |
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The Underground Food Collective's guerrilla cuisine
on 09/25/09 at 9:00 am | In the kitchen of the Goodman Community Center on Madison's east side, the Underground Food Collective works to craft another event meal they call A Celebration of the PreIndustrial Pig. It's meant to bring back a bygone era of food production. Ingredients are supplied, grown, raised, processed and cooked locally. Invitations to the meal are informal at best; news is often spread by word of mouth and social networking websites like Facebook and Flickr. |
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Heirloom hogs
on 09/25/09 at 9:00 am | It might seem odd to revel in eating a pig that's critically endangered, but that's how you work to save a breed like the Red Wattle (sometimes spelled "waddle"). Rescuing endangered livestock breeds is a contradictory practice; eat them to save them. |
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Gone in 60 seconds at the Ian's Pizza eating contest
on 09/11/09 at 2:00 pm | I watched as the guy carrying the hot-bag walked up the mall toward the platform to cheers and applause. Within minutes, the tables were set up and the first plates were filled and then emptied by the first six hungry souls. Techniques varied, from typewriter to pizza roll-up. |
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Public Enemies exhibit opens at the Oshkosh Public Museum
on 06/29/09 at 3:00 pm | It hardly seems like it's been over a year since Public Enemies, opening in theaters nationwide on July 1, was filming in the streets and buildings of cities across Wisconsin. But while that time flew by for me, at least, the folks at the Oshkosh Public Museum were busy using it to compile and coordinate an impressive collection of Public Enemies-related artifacts and reproductions for a new exhibit. |
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Fringe Foods: Crispy pig bung from Asia Express
on 06/24/09 at 2:00 pm | Like menudo, pig bung is a product of efficiency, frugality, and a little bit of poverty thrown in for good measure. When the finer cuts -- the belly, the hocks, the loin -- are gone, "what's left" becomes "what's for dinner." Think ears, hooves, jowls, and bung. |
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Small (-ish) bites at Burgers and Brew: REAP Food Group serves gourmet in miniature
on 05/31/09 at 1:00 pm | Do you like burgers? Beer? Enjoy supporting local food growers? If the answer is yes, then Burgers and Brew, held at the Capital Brewery Bier Garten in Middleton, is the festival for you. |
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In my grill: HuHot and BD's turn Madison Mongolian
on 05/15/09 at 9:00 am | In my younger days, I'd go out with a big group of my friends to a Chinese buffet and we'd eat until we could barely walk. "The Sunday Plow," we called it. The food was mediocre, mostly fried and slathered in thick sauce. Would that we were in high school today, when ravenous youths from all parts of Madison can enjoy the bounty of the latest, ahem, foreign food in town: Mongolian grill. |
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Fringe Foods: Rajbhog from Maharani Indian Grocery
on 05/05/09 at 2:00 pm | The Maharani grocery, like rajbhog, is small but packed with goodies. There are a lot of spices, naturally; the dishes that Americans are most familiar with are often differentiated only by the spice profile. There's also a lot of pre-made items, frozen and awaiting only a warm-up. And there are the shelf-stable, prefab items like rajbhog. |
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The food empires of Madison
on 04/17/09 at 9:00 am | I am used to taking risks when I go out to eat. You don't order raw oysters or cold chicken feet without throwing caution at least a little bit to the wind. But the risk is not all on the part of the diner. |
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Fringe Foods: An Easter egg hunt at Brocach, The Old Fashioned, and Muramoto
on 04/06/09 at 2:00 pm | There's one symbol of easterosity -- a concept I'm using in the spirit of Stephen Colbert's "truthiness" -- that crosses almost all demographic lines, and that's the egg. |
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Behind the kitchen door with the Underground Food Collective
on 03/08/09 at 6:00 pm | An evening with the Underground Food Collective is an evening filled with dualities. There's the pig, raised with care and individual attention by Henry Morren of Morren Farms, and standing in stark contrast to The Way Things Usually Are of massive commercial hog operations, relatively poor diet, and more of an eye towards dollar signs than developing a flavor profile. |
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Getting sauced at the Italian Workmen's Club
on 03/01/09 at 11:00 am | The afternoon didn't start out that well for me. The Italian Workmen's Club smelled incredible, all tomatoes and garlic and herbs. The man at the desk was very friendly, with a dry wit. But I was having trouble fitting in there. |
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Food and tunes meet on stage at the Cabaret Dinner Theater with David Burhnam
on 02/20/09 at 11:00 am | I'll be honest; musical theater kind of escapes me. It's the original emo, swinging wildly from "quiet as a whisper" to "bellowing from the rooftop." And so much gesticulating! From either the hands waving or the lung capacity being expelled, a fellow's likely to have his hair blown back. So it's with that background that I assure you that an evening of cabaret dinner theater at the Overture Center for the Arts entertained even me -- cynical, stick-in-the-mud me. |
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Fringe Foods: Erotic confections and The Beer Lube at Naughty Novelties and Bakery
on 02/12/09 at 2:00 pm | You know you've seen it. Whether you're off, pole in hand, to hit the slopes at Cascade Mountain, or looking to get wet at Mt. Olympus, you've driven past it at Interstate speeds. But being in a hurry is a convenient excuse: anyone passing Naughty Novelties Bakery & Adult Gifts in DeForest has probably joked about what exactly makes up an "erotic cake." |
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L'Etoile moves to the first floor for Second Tuesdays
on 02/11/09 at 11:00 am | A wise man once told us all to love our neighbors. But man, sometimes your neighbors are weird. Chef Tory Miller of L'Etoile has found an easy solution: prepare a meal that everyone loves, and get 'em all around the same table. Step back, and watch the magic happen. |
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Fringe Foods: Alligator at Liliana's Restaurant
on 01/26/09 at 1:00 pm | When we humans eat alligator, the best we can say is that it tastes like chicken. Chicken! The animal most often equated with cowardice! Who's a gator got to maul to get some respect around here? |
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Let the Cherry Limeades flow at the new Sonic in Madison
on 01/25/09 at 6:00 am | Opening a chain franchise isn't always easy. Fuddrucker's tried in Madison, and failed. Steak 'n Shake similarly dropped out in short order. Krispy Kreme never even got a shingle hung in Madison. Known commodity plus a new market equals a lot of expectations to be met and doubts to be cast aside. |
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Madison eats trends in 2008 and wishes for 2009
on 01/06/09 at 12:00 pm | We're not a big town, but we're awfully tumultuous. Last year was no exception to that rule. As we reflect on the year that was, take in a small sample of some noteworthy culinary developments of 2008, and some new ones yet to come in 2009. |
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Fringe Foods: A winter wonderland of unexpected Madison chocolates
on 12/18/08 at 11:00 am | There's an old joke chocolatiers like to tell this time of year. "When is Christmas not really Christmas? When it's a white Christmas." See, it's funny because white chocolate isn't really chocolate, plus the whole Bing Crosby, "White Christmas" thing... Okay, it's not only cornball and a little obtuse, it's also not an old joke. I just made it up. |
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America's Dairyland vs. 'I'm going to Disneyland!'
on 11/24/08 at 2:46 pm | Other than a few close Rose Bowl games in the Barry Alvarez era of Wisconsin Badgers football, there's really never been much of a Wisconsin-California rivalry. |
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Fringe Foods: Lutefisk dinner at Lakeview Lutheran Church in Madison
on 11/10/08 at 2:30 pm | Lakeview's lutefisk doesn't stink, and I mean that in every way possible. Primarily, it truly doesn't smell badly. I could tell as soon as I walked in the front door that fish was being cooked, but that's true of any Door County fish boil or a VFW hall on Friday evenings. Nothing was retch-worthy, nothing approached the stank of durian. I was seated with a happily chatting group of diners at a front table, and loaded up my plate. |
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Fringe Foods: Ackee and codfish at David's Jamaican Cuisine
on 10/15/08 at 2:34 pm | Jamaican restaurants in Madison cover all the bases. Jolly Bob's is kinda classy and the prices on their menu show it. Take one look at the cluttered exterior of Jamerica, and it's clear they're targeting the rasta demographic. But one eatery fills the niche of basic Jamaican, marked with minimal affectation and serving the one dish for which I was truly searching. That joint is David's Jamaican Cuisine, and the dish is ackee and codfish. |
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Monroe Street Bistro is no copycat
on 10/03/08 at 9:00 am | It's a little daring -- you might even say brash -- to open up a little bistro just down the street from a very similar restaurant, and name your endeavor the Monroe Street Bistro. After all, Brasserie V was there first. The temerity! But sit down at one of Monroe Street Bistro's little tables, and you'll find hardly a shadow of arrogance. |
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Sala Thai: Curry up and wait
on 09/19/08 at 9:00 am | Standing at the corner of Milwaukee and Fair Oaks, there's hardly an eatery in sight. The lonely Fair Oaks Diner stands in the center of a vast expanse of residential acreage, ancient commercial space, and the US Post Office compound. Given the nature of the fare at Fair Oaks Diner, let's say you could slide right by and miss any chance of dining out in this neighborhood. |
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Digging into the Taste of Madison
on 08/30/08 at 6:12 pm | After my the sixth opportunity since moving to Madison, I finally made my first trip to the Taste of Madison today. I hope that you know me well enough by now that you don't expect me to wander in, wide-eyed. I don't come here to necessarily praise -- or bury -- the annual festival, but to try to figure it out. |
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Bravo brings Top Chef: The Tour to Madison
on 08/27/08 at 6:44 pm | Near the conclusion of the most recent season of the hit food show Top Chef in June, Bravo announced that a tour promoting the reality program would be making 23 stops in 19 cities throughout the summer. On Wednesday, Top Chef: The Tour hit Madison, and I was fortunate enough to be one of the attendees. |
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Fringe Foods: A Summer Olympics meal at Hong Kong Wok
on 08/18/08 at 3:34 pm | It's fair to say that the Beijing Olympics are the water cooler topic of the week. Even cynics can't help themselves. Go ahead. Hum the anthem. Anyone with a TV knows either the "Olympic Fanfare and Theme" by John Williams or "Bugler's Dream" by Leo Arnaud. So hum away, because it's been in my head now since the Games started on August 8. |
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