Critiques, cravings and conundrums from the Madison food and dining scene
Small Dishes |
03/06/10A Real Phoenix
Like the mythical bird, the Cardinal Bar seems to be able to rise anew from its ashes. Its story begins in 1908 with the building of what was to be the last and largest of Madison’s railroad hotels—across the street from the Milwaukee & St. Paul depot and a block away from the Chicago and Northwestern depot (now MG&E). The Cardinal Hotel, located at the corner of Wilson and Franklin Streets originally boasted three stories, but a fourth and fifth floor were added the following year. On the ground floor was a small café and bar that catered to the hotel’s transient guests—traveling... Posted at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
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02/21/10March of Malaise
The holidays have come and gone. You’d never know it by the number of Christmas decorations that still abound. (I especially find the brown wreaths with their bright red bows depressing.) And, the New Year now seems very much like the old one. I’ve gone to Mardi Gras and returned with only a lot of worthless plastic beads. Worst of all, by even the most optimistic prediction—I’ve lived in Wisconsin too long to be optimistic—spring is at least a month away.
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02/07/10Cheesecake
Seemingly it’s been around forever—even the ancient Greeks enjoyed it. Virtually every culture that makes cheese makes some kind of cheesecake. I remember my own first encounter with what I was sure would be a yucky dessert. It was at Sam’s Subway, a delicatessen in Indianapolis and I was in second grade. Cheese here to for was something I was only accustomed to seeing on a sandwich. I only tried it because my mother told me I wouldn’t like it. Of course, she was wrong. Posted at 02:05 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
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01/24/10My Restaurant Week
Day 1, January 24 SQUASH SOUP SPAGHETTI ALLA BOLOGNESE The slow-simmered meat sauce of Bologna – locally raised Cate’s... Posted at 01:50 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
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01/17/10Grazing on the Internet
It doesn’t seem that long ago—probably because it wasn’t—when the Food Network premiered online along with many similar sites. Suddenly, a wealth of recipes and cooking advice was readily available without spending a dime on nary a cookbook. But did anyone really comprehend the revolution the internet would have on cooking and eating? Or that even in the hinterlands suddenly the most exotic bounty of the world would become just a click and Fed Ex delivery away? Or that restaurants big and small, grand and humble would open virtual locations in cyberspace? Posted at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
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01/10/10Parade of King Cakes
Mention January 6 and some people think the Feast of the Epiphany or Twelfth Night. For many, it’s time to take down the Christmas decorations. For me, it’s time to start the party. It’s Carnival time. Most years, I try to make it down to New Orleans for the final frenetic week. Carnival there is as much a contradiction as is the city itself—vulgar and sleazy on the one hand, aristocratic and sybaritic on the other. It’s like two trains, sometime running on parallel tracks, sometime on tracks that intersect. Public debauchery... Posted at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2 |
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12/27/09An Old Start to a New Year
It’s difficult to think about New Year’s without champagne. There was a time, though, when punch was the drink of choice for most celebrations. Champagne wasn’t as readily available or as affordable as it is today—at least in this country. In the U.S., there is a much older tradition of making whiskey—whether legally or illegally. No matter the quality or proof, diluted with fruit juice and sugar it became very palatable. Posted at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
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12/21/09Comings and Goings 2009
Making my annual list of restaurants that closed during the past year, I decided to also include a list of restaurants that premiered as well. I make no pretense that this is the definitive list. I find it interesting that the list of new restaurants is almost as long as the list of those that closed. I hope this is a good sign for 2010. Closed in 2009
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12/13/09Chili Today
And still cold tomorrow. Come winter, this diverse and spicy dish—often more a stew than a soup—moves to the fro Posted at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
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12/06/09Gloria in Excelsis Brownies!
Forget the frumpy Christmas cookies—you’ll get more than your fill at the office anyway. This time of year, glitter and glitz run rampant. It’s time for brownies. Homely they may be but they never fail to satisfy. First and foremost, they are chocolate. I was one of those people who liked chocolate even before the medical community began touting its health benefits. I always feel better knowing that something I crave is good for me, but of course I would eat it anyway. Neither a cake nor a cookie, brownies launched a type of baked goods—bar cookies—that today come in endless flavors and renderings. Posted at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0 |
nt burner. Perhaps Mexican in inspiration, what we know as chili today evolved in Texas. Some claim that the “Chili Queens” first ladled it up on the streets of San Antonio in the late 1800s. Women would come to the plaza in that city at the crack of down, set up their makeshift stalls, and cook the thick beef and pepper soup over open fires.
I found my interest in writing by accident. My training and first job was as a graphic designer. Unemployed, the only employment I could find in advertising at that time was as a copywriter. Somehow, I convinced Richard Newman & Associates to hire me. Later I learned they were desperate. Madison has been my home off and on since 1957 (nonstop for the past 31 years). I write about food, which I love.
