Madison, Wisconsin – Page 2

Eating with Friends all over the place: Ba Ren, Chautara (Madison), Sea Harbour (Rosemead – Los Angeles)

November 3, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Madison, Wisconsin, Road Trip

I received an email from a FOY (Friend of Yoso) today who mentioned that my posts have recently been a bit long-winded. Actually, the term used was "verbose". Under certain circumstances, I'm pretty sure that I'd be somewhat…. well pick the verb; maybe offended might fit the bill…. and perhaps I'd even respond with a somewhat colorful adjective of my own. The humorous and jovial tone of the email erased all possibility of that, and was a reminder that many of you are perhaps more interested in seeing what I ate, rather than reading about it.

And I just happened to have a bunch of photos….. revisits all, of recent meals with friends. The locations are miles apart, but here goes……

*** Ba Ren has closed

Ba Ren:

Yet again. I usually don't even take my camera out any more. During a recent visit, Akira requested a meal at Ba Ren. I believe the main reason being that I remember what his favorite dishes are here. So here's what Akira, Mr S, and I had.

After all these years Ba Ren still delivers……

You can find links to my zillions of posts on Ba Ren on our rotation page.

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

*** Chautara has closed

Chautara – Madison (Wisconsin):

I made sure to return, since I enjoyed my meal there on my previous visit. This time around, the food seemed to fall short, the Lamb Palungo way tough, the beef over-cooked, my dish, the Khasi Ko Masu was the best of the lot, but was a bit too salty. At least the photos came out a lot better than on my previous visit. Oh, and those thingys that look like Xiao Long Bao? They're "momos" a Nepali/Tibetian type of dumpling. My eating companions on this evening were from Shandong and Taiwan respectively, and were surprised when that hit the table.

In case you're wondering what, or where Chautara is, you can find out here.

Chautara Restaurant
334 State St
Madison, WI 53703

Sea Harbour – Rosemead (Los Angeles):

Believe it or not, after my breakfast at Gardena Bowl, on my recent visit to LA, I still had lunch in store. I was meeting Akira, and good FOYs PeterL and Angela, who drove all the way from San Diego, for Dim Sum at Sea Harbour. Packed as always, it was a fun and mostly delicious meal.

I love this first photo…. of the Durian Pastry…. it looked so good that PeterL could not help himself and snatched one away as soon as it arrived!

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

So there you go…… more photos, less verbiage… sheesh, I feel like a laundry detergent ad, you know, more cleaning power, cheaper price!

Man, it's hot around here, I hope everyone is keeping cool!

Madison(Fitchburg): The Great Dane Brewing Company

July 15, 2007 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Madison, Wisconsin, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

Another recommendation, this time for casual, brew-pub food and atmosphere, was the Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company. We entered in the address in the handy dandy GPS, and were on our way. After dealing with a bit of traffic, and a few glitches ("Hey, it says that there are railroad tracks here….but I don’t see any railroad tracks, do you think we’re going the right way?"), we found the "Great Dane".

We had parked on the lower level, and followed the signs to the large, fairly crowded dining area. We were seated and our really, really, nice Server(I’m sorry but I can’t remember Her name), dropped off our menus. The menu seems like standard corporate "Brew Pub" fare…..with a large scatter shot of offerings from Pizza and Po’ Boys, to Enchiladas, Chicken Sandwiches, and Burgers. The fact that Tuna Tataki and Spring Rolls were on the menu was the source of some personal amusement. My dining companions gave me a few puzzled looks as I broke out into laughter reading the menu. I was, of course, looking for some more appropriate "Wisconsin-ish" fare, and after searching a bit more (and giggling at the "King and I Pad Thai"), I found an appetizer that filled the bill.

Beer Battered Cheese Curds($6.50):

These were described as being 1/2lb of Wisconsin Cheddar Curds fried in a beer batter. Think of a perfect fried mozzarella, with a mild cheddar flavor. Everyone at the table enjoyed this. Not as salty as I thought it would be, this was a nice semi-gooey, crunchy treat. Unfortunately, frying the curd in the manner results in the loss of the curd-squeak.

The person who recommended the Great Dane to us. mentioned an item on the menu, that "no one in their right mind would order" (I’m assuming She meant other than another Wisconsonian). But since I had experienced a bit of Cheese Curd fueled temporary insanity, I decided to order up "The Great Dane’s Brat & Bacon Pretzel Burger"($9.25). Just when you think you’ve seen it all…..

Before I go on, I need to inform readers that the rest of the post has been rated "TIV"…may be "too intense for vegans".

So what was this? It is a third-pound ground beef patty and a quarter pound bratwurst patty, topped with thick cut applewood smoked bacon and melted cheddar cheese. All on a pretzel roll. Served with fries, Pilsner Mustard, and lettuce, tomato, and pickle, that I assume was of ornamental value only.

You can see the pretzel roll in it’s full unadorned beauty. When our Server asked me how I wanted my burger done, I replied "would it really make a difference?" Which cracked her up.

There was just too much going on, and too much salt. And in spite of my best efforts, and going into cardiac arrest and having to be revived by the "burger defibrillator", I could only finish half the burger before frying my curds…..

I don’t even remember the fries….

I offered one of my eating companions the other half of the burger. And even though he is a pretty large guy, with an equally large appetite, he wasn’t able to finish a quarter of the burger.

This is not a bad burger by any means…..but it was just a bit too much for me.

My eating companions found the food and to be pretty good, considering it was Pub Grub. The service was very nice and accommodating and the prices reasonable. The menu is large and varied. And the fried cheese curds were really good!

The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company (3 locations)

2980 Cahill Main
Fitchburg, WI 5371

Mon-Thur 11am – 2am
Fri-Sat 11am – 230am
Sundays 10am – 2am(Sunday Brunch served from 10am-230pm – $14.95)

Madison: Quivey’s Grove Stone House

July 5, 2007 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Madison, Wisconsin, Travel

During our third day in Madison, I decided to ask and find out where the "locals" ate. I asked our friendly and gracious "Host", Ryan to recommend a place that served "Wisconsin" cuisine. His recommendation? Quivey’s Grove, his favorite local restaurant. It really wasn’t a hard sell, he started a sentence with, "they make a really good duck….", and the rest of the sentence was lost to time and space. In other words, I was sold! So, after a busy day, we headed off, GPS in tow, and set out to find Quivey’s Grove. After a few lucky guesses on direction(gotta love that GPS), we saw the simple roadside sign, and headed up the drive, past the lovely manicured lawn, to our destination.

We had been told that Quivey’s Grove consisted of two restaurants, the Stable Grill ("really, you won’t be eating in the stable" he assured the tin horns from Cali-for-ni-ay – just in case we didn’t know…), which serves up more casual fare(anyone for Morona Meatloaf, Pork Hanerloaf, or the very classic Friday Fish Fry?) along with beverages from Wisconsin Microbreweries such as Capital, Sprecher Brewing Company, and New Glarus.

We had been tempted, but decided on the more formal fare served in the beautiful Stone House.

This beautiful mansion was built in 1855, and except for the entrance, kitchen, and bathroom (whew…) has been kept in almost its original state. Each room in the mansion has a theme, such as the Valentine Room…there’s also a (not-so) secret tunnel under the Stone House, more about that later…..

We were seated quite promptly, and our very pleasant Server, Anne provided us with menus. To quote, ""Preparing the wholesome food of our forebears requires sweet butter, fresh potatoes, and heavy cream." You gotta love this place!

I decided to start with the "King" James Strang Tarts ($6.50). To quote the menu, "commemorates the founder of a Mormon community on Beaver Island in 1847 where he declared himself king."

I thought these a bit low on flavor for such a rich concoction of cream, cheese, onions, and leeks. It was pretty heavy and I thought the cheese pastry crust to be too soft. Not quite fit for a king…….even a self declared king.

In anticipation for a pretty rich and heavy meal, I ordered the salad.

I’m not big on fruits on my salad, but in this case the salad was dressed with a lively vinaigrette, which did a fine job of balancing out the sweetness of the fruit.

About that time the muffins arrived:

You’ll notice only 2 of the original 3 muffins in the photo. In the ultimate showdown of speed shooting versus grabbing reflex, the highly motivated "grabber" won. And with good reason. These Strawberry Muffins were outstanding. Served warm, the muffins were moist, without being too dense, and slightly crunchy on the outside.

It seemed that the meal was slowly gaining momentum. By this time I was really looking forward to my Duck Wilcox ($24.50 ):

The half roast duck with dried cherry and port wine sauce was served with some very pedestrian sauteed apples, and the wild rice, though nice and nutty was a bit on the soft side for my taste.

The duck was roasted to perfection, the skin crisp, with some nice caramelization. The duck was almost fork tender, and very moist. The dried cherry and port sauce had nice balance, and I detected some additional spice(thyme??) that added to the flavor. I’ve had cherry and port wine sauced dishes twice before (both pork), and have found them to be either to much on the bitter side or too sweet. This was very nice. I’d have this dish again without hesitation.

Thanks for the recommendation Ryan!

Oh yes, the "tunnel". Well, good ol’ Ryan decided to have a little fun at my expense. He told me that Quivey’s Grove had a special tunnel that was built to hide and transport slaves from building to building during the Civil War.

So of course during dinner I had to ask our Server about it. She replied with a wry smile, "you’ve been taken in….the tunnel was built in 1980, to connect the Stone House with the Stable". Hah, so dear old Ryan sucker’d me in pretty good! I did have a chance to check out the tunnel.

Looks like a nice setting for an Urban Legend, or at least a set for an upcoming horror flick.

In the end, I guess I had it coming……I shouldn’t have mentioned that "Happy cows really come from California, don’t they?" Just kidding! Really!

Quivey’s Grove Stone House
6261 Nesbitt Rd.
Madison(actually Fitchburg, I’ve been told), WI 53719

Madison: Chautara Restaurant

June 30, 2007 mmm-yoso Madison, Wisconsin, Nepalese/Himalayan Food, Travel

*** Chautara has closed

I found out I'd be going to Madison, Wisconsin for business a few weeks ago. So being the typical food obsessed blogger, I did some research on Chowhound and other resources, and made a short list of restaurants and other eating establishments. Now these type of trips are sometimes a bit dicey, since it means several people sharing one car, etc, etc…. Luckily, I was teamed up with two other really laid back guys, who to a certain extent humored me when it came to eating. During the trip all breakfast and lunches were accounted for, so other than travel days, dinner was the only meal where we had a choice.

We flew in to Chicago-Midway Airport for several reasons which I won't go into at this time. And though we arrived at about 4 in the afternoon, due to various technical difficulties, we used the "scenic route" to get to Madison. It was a nice drive, but I think we saw every single corn field between Chicago and Madison. After checking in we headed out and got to State Street around 9pm. After walking with rumbling stomachs for a bit we settled on Chautara.

Chautara

This photo was taken a few days after our visit. Unfortunately, our visit was so very late, on a almost pitch dark evening. This being a fairly warm evening we also chose a table outside with the barest of light provided by candlelight. So my apologies in advance for the really sad and sorry photos. I had considered not doing a post at all, but decided to just go ahead…..

What I found really interesting about eclectic State Street was the variety of restaurant available, everything from African to Thai can be found on State Street or on one of the side streets. This can't be more clearly illustrated than in the existence of Chautara and Himul Chuli. Incredibly, there is not one, but two Nepalese Restaurants located on State Street.

Even though it was almost 930pm we were seated by our perky and very friendly Server Liz. After perusing the menu, we made our selections. I ordered the Khasi Ko Masu($17). The meal started with a nicely flavored soupy preparation featuring Dal. The flavors were balanced in this hearty soup.

The Khasi Ko Masu is basically a goat curry. This version was excellent, the goat meat retained some of the nice gamey wild flavor, and was very soft and tender. There was a nice quantity of meat, I'd expected more bones, but there were very few. The flavor of the curry was excellent and balanced, you could make out the ginger, coriander, and other spices, but none of them was overpowering. The tart tomato was a nice foil and provided a nice contrast. To put it simply, this was a very well prepared meal.

All of my companions enjoyed their meals. Our Server, the ever smiling Liz was a joy. Being somewhat weary, this was a nice start to our trip to Madison.

Chautara Restaurant
334 State St
Madison, WI 53703

State Street, the lively heart of Madison, features casual and varied flavors. There is one thing you must remember. State Street itself is a pedestrian mall. Only Buses, delivery vehicles, and bicycles(and there are many!) are allowed.

In other words, don't be like us….nerdy techies using our GPS system(don't you love modern technology?). We took a turn onto State Street. We're driving along, and I notice that while there are many people eating and walking, I notice not a single car! Of course we come to find out that automobiles are not allowed on State Street. I'm guessing that the clueless are many, for not a single pedestrian stared, nor batted an eye…… Makes me a feel much better, that's for sure!