Madison Dining II (American, Bakeries and Coffeehouses)

This is the second in series reviewing restaurants in Madison.

American

Due to my food preferences, American/Continental/Southwest restuarants are usually ruled out, but the one place I have been to which falls in this category is TGI Fridays on Gammon Rd on the West side.

The only other time I have been to TGIF was back when I was in Stony Brook when my "apartment-mates" dragged me to the place. It was Tanker, Semolina (Tanker's girlfriend), Semolina's sister Salmonella, Semolina's childhood friend who was visiting and Jack - apparently celebrating the end of the Spring semester. I remember I ordered some pasta dish in some kind of artichoke + cream + broccoli sauce - since that was the only one that sounded vegetarian and our waitress absent-mindedly validated that. I remember having a tough time getting the angel-hair pasta from the bowl into my mouth and Semolina very charmingly showing me how it's done. Of course, in the process she had some of it herself and graciously proclaimed that I had made an expert choice. (As expected) this was followed by the others digging into my bowl of pasta amidst very interesting conversation.

Jumping forward in time, I didn't have as interesting a company the next time around at TGIF - my company was others from my company and I believe I ordered a similar if not the same dish. Very unremarkable experience the second time around - for most part TGIF was not to blame. This to me is a classic example of how experience at a restaurant might be affected by external factors as well.

[11/23/06]
Hubbard Avenue Diner in Middleton on Madison's west side, was visited by Chimpoo, KC and myself one autumn evening around Halloween. It's a classic american style diner brightly lit and known for it's pies. Chimpoo brought some empty glass pie plates to return and exchanged that for some more pie. I was intigued by the sound of "Madras Vegetables" and ordered it and found it quite tasty and filling. It would have been better with some less sweetness either with less pumpkin squash or more firepower. And yes, I also had some tasty pie. I think I should stop by sometime soon and buy just some pie and take it home and eat it all myself. Probably not all in one go for that would be a tad foolish.

One bright sunny winter morning, not long ago, after a visiting friend missed his flight, the five us - Armpit Arumugam, Chimpoo, King Cullen, NSAK and myself found ourselves bundled up and driving in NSAK's beamer to Bluephies on Monroe Street for Sunday brunch. Bluephies has tasty and filling entrees, good coffee and (like HAD above) exceptional dessert. A good place for Sunday brunch.

Bakeries and Coffeehouses

Madison leaves a lot to be desired in terms of French Pastry and doughnuts. In fact, one of my complaints when I first moved to Madison was there there was not a single Dunkin' Donut shop in all of Madison. (There is one in downtown Milwaukee - so it's not like they don't franchise out in Wisconsin state.)

Back in Stony Brook, NY, there was a Dunkin Donuts shop opposite the railway station which I frequented because of the sugary snack which was perfect midway between lunch and dinner and getting there was a very nice walk through the campus. The Pakistanis who ran it were from Punjab and made polite chitchat in Hindi laced heavily with Punjabi. The coffee is also suprisingly good and a combination of the two was an immeasurably delightful beginning to an exciting day to be spent in NY city for which one had to catch the train from the aforementioned LIRR train station.

About a year after I moved to Madison, I found Clasen's European Bakery in Middleton and although they close early on Saturdays and are not open on Sundays (very strict Sabbath observers), they have very good goodies which have prompted me to wake up early on some Saturdays. Their Almond kringle is especially delectable.

Panera Bread offers one vegetarian sandwich but not much more. It was close to my first apartment in Madison and convenience of the quick lunch outweighed the lower quality food. I have some friends who praise that very same sandwich.

Simply Soup - This too is close to my current apartment and offers a wide variety of soups - many of them vegetarian but I think their soups are a bit on the salty side. I prefer soups that are watery, bland and steaming hot, so that I have the option of spicying it up as I like it. Less salt is healthier too...

Sunprint Cafe - We took both Andy as well as Jonathan to this place about a block from our office for farewell lunches and their sandwiches are good but not exceptional. They had very comfortable seating. Now they have moved closer to downtown - I think now they are right on the Capitol Square.

Atlanta Bread Company also offers a vegetarian sandwich (rated personally to be much better than Panera's) and some soup dishes which are very good. The ABC on High Point Rd has been a frequent stop on many a Friday evening when I visit the Madison Public Library which is part of the same complex. They also have very good chocolate chunk cookies and surprsingly good coffee.

Experiences at DD and ABC tell me that good coffee is available in many such places that don't explicitly announce their coffee and in fact charge very less for a cup too. This is a good transition to coffehouses.

Starbucks - The first mate on Captain Ahab's ship, hunting Moby Dick the whale in the book of the same name, reportedly gives his name to this ubiquitous coffee store. Starbucks coffee is good and the ambience is a big draw. However their coffee is overpriced and sometimes the barristas are very rude and do a bad job of creating the beverage. Since they work in shifts, I have not yet been able to ascertain which barrista is going to be on which shift, so I can hit the store at the right time to catch the right one. Also, not being a regular coffee drinker myself, my craving for caffeine is unpredictable. Starbuck's "Chai" is an uncharacteristic better option than their coffee given their expertise.

[11/23/06] Updates: Starbucks' highly touted Gingerbread Latte is ruefully bad and their Chai (as well as the beverages of the same name made in other such coffee shops) are made from "Chai powder" which dissolves in steamed milk like readymade coffee. Thus, while the Chai may be a slightly better option tastewise in Starbucks, it's still a mile away from the tea I can brew at home. Especially, since I now mix my own tea with Twinings Darjeeling Tea (extraordinarily flavorful Leaf Tea made for the Queen) and Taj Mahal Tea (Dust Tea to give it strength) for an extremely enjoyable afternoon break. A settee, some free time and drizzly rain outside would make the ambience complete and it would be HEAVEN on earth. :)

Victor Allen's/Ancora Coffee Roasters/Steep & Brew - These are competing chains in Madison and feature coffee that is much better than Starbucks, especially if you like coffee that is ground coarsely but roasted dark to medium dark. This combination seems to be very attractive for my palate and seems to be something I want to try if I ever decide to grind, roast and filter the coffee myself. ACR closes earlier and is not very convenient for afternoon coffee drinkers like me. S&B bakery items (cookies) are not always freshly baked and sometimes are stale.

Mother Fool's Coffe House on Williamson St, very near East side, is a "gourmet"/independent coffee place where they serve you coffee in large brightly colored cups and saucers, which you can sit and enjoy in plush but dirty couches distributed randomly in a cavernous interior which also has brightly (usually orange or red) painted walls. Sometimes the walls even have frescoes painted by "hippie" artists. They also feature evening poetry readings and have a large store of communal entertainment materials - newspapers, magazines, chess and chinese checkers boards and pieces. All those of you who go or have been to coffeehouses in San Francisco know exactly what I am talking about. The coffee though is usually not piping hot and so-so in terms of flavor. Such places are meant for impact of a more social rather than gastronomic nature.

[11/23/06] Here I should update y'all with Barriques Coffee Trader located one block west of the State Capitol building. Good coffee in large cups with some delectable pastries. If I lived on the Capitol Square, I would be a frequent visitor too!

Of course, nothing beats Madras Filter Coffee whose standard is still maintained equally well in almost all restaurants back home in Chennai.