Madison Foodie

Definition: Gastropub
[<gastro- as in gastronomic, etc. + pub]
Brit. a tavern specializing in serving high-quality food (as opposed to deep fried jalapeno poppers or chicken wings)

The Cooper’s Tavern on the Capital square in Madison is being billed by its owners as a “Gastropub”, which is a British term used to describe a pub that is as [...]

Just our luck that a couple weeks after our great Bastille Day dinner, Le Chardonnay unfortunately closed it’s doors.  The good news is that Chef Sami Fgaier is planning to be back with a new restaurant venture in Spring, 2010.  Let’s hope the fabulous moules make the move as well.
In early July, when Bastille Day [...]

Located at the top of the Overture Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Madison, Fresco presents one of the stronger visual statements of any restaurant in Madison.
From its elevator entrance on the ground floor of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, one rises to a bright open space of floor to ceiling glass walls, [...]

A couple of weeks ago, we both had the pleasure of attending a class on Italian Cheeses at Orange Tree Imports taught by Francesco Mangano from Osteria Papavero.  His passion and knowledge about the cheeses of his home country was very evident, and we tried several locally available varieties of fresh mozzarella, ricotta, and parmigiano.
We [...]

Calling something the best is always a dicey exercise, especially when it’s something like a burger in a fairly good burger town like Madison.  As Doug Moe of the Wisconsin State Journal says:
“Nothing gets the juices flowing like a discussion of who serves the best hamburger in Madison.”
In addition to the places Moe mentions, there [...]

Tapas in restaurants, or small plates, can either be a great way to see how different food tastes and textures are accented by pairings from an interesting wine list, or it can be a series of small disappoints clashing with less than inspired wine options.
Eno Vino on Madison’s far west side is decidedly in the [...]

An impromptu Friday night dinner with neighbors brought the Madison Foodie family to Pizza Brutta on Monroe Street.
The pizzas are true to a Neopolitan original,  with a thin but lightly chewy crust, cooked quickly in a wood burning oven, and without lots of heavy toppings or gloppy cheese.
The sauce for the Pizza Rosso with Sopressata [...]