Tag: Madison

Osteria Papavero

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I finally had the opportunity to eat at Osteria Papavero a couple weekends ago after talking about going there for months. It is a quaint, almost rustic feel Italian restaurant. When we arrived, it didn’t take long to get a table even though the restaurant is quite small. Our waitress was amazing and went through the menu with us and listed from memory all of the specials and the type of pasta available for the evening. I was impressed. We also spoke about the owners and how they are from Reggio Emilia, which is where I was last month. What a small world.

We started with some cocktails. We ordered the Little Italy and Pago Pago. Our waitress was spot on when she explained that dark notes of the Little Italy cocktail, which was perfect for the chilly night. We ordered the Mare for our antipasti. That night the Mare consisted of three appetizers: crab cake on top of tartar, peppercorn and coriander crusted tuna on bed of tomatoes, and white fish sausage on a puree. From my understanding, what is offered on the Mare may differ daily. My favorite of the trio was the tuna. It was seared flawlessly around the edges. I found the crab cake to be my least favorite because it was too salty for my taste, surprisingly, because I love salty food. In my opinion, the salt overpowered the crab flavor.

For my main entrée, I ordered the Risotto, which was made in a lobster broth with shrimp. My first bite of the Risotto was not great. The lobster broth was pungent and I almost didn’t like my dish. After thoroughly stirring the Risotto, the lobster flavor mellowed out and I was able to enjoy my dinner. Beware if you do not like the taste of seafood or fishiness. I also found the rice to be a bit harder than I would have liked. This was by far not my favorite Risotto but not the worst I’ve had.

My friend, Roy, ordered the pasta in place of the Tortelli that was not available that evening. It was crab and ricotta filled tortelli topped with seafood in a wine sauce. We both wanted to order that dish but I conceded. I had the waitress describe the entrée to us twice because that’s all I could think about so I couldn’t focus on what the other specials were. It was delicious. If you like a good mixture of seafood and filled pasta, I definitely recommend and especially with the Gnocco Fritto. It is puffed bread that has a layer of salt on top of it. I enjoyed it so much that I had to know the name of it.

At the end of the night, I ordered an espresso. I mean you can’t go to an authentic Italian restaurant and not get one. We ordered the Bundino di Caramello for dessert. The butterscotch pudding topped with the whippiest cream and cocoa powder was divine, which made it difficult to want to share. We ended the night with grappa like you would in Italy. We ordered the Pinot Noir grappa and it sure did help clear my nostrils and my digestive system. I enjoyed my experience at Osteria Papavero and will be returning.

https://osteriapapavero.com

Blue Agave

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My friend, Rose, invited me to lunch last week at Blue Agave. We had lost connection after high school and didn’t reconnect until last year. She is one of the most sincere, caring, and ambitious person I know and started a non-profit to raise money for the disaster relief efforts in Puerto Rico and Mexico. Blue Agave is the venue where she wants to host her next fundraiser. I was excited by the invite because I finally found out what replaced the Bayou, and was ecstatic about trying out the new restaurant.

The restaurant has a different vibe than when it was the Bayou with the freshly painted walls, new tables and chairs, and sparkly chandeliers. Rose informed me that the upstairs was a lounge area and where the prospective fundraiser would be held. The lunch menu offers a variety of options from starters such as soups to entrees such as enchiladas and fajitas. You are also able to order off the dinner menu during lunch. We were served chips and salsa, which I was not the biggest fan of. The onions were not chopped, but sliced and looked dehydrated. It’s not the best salsa, but definitely not the worst.

It took us awhile to decide what to order because we were talking and laughing a lot. Our server was extremely patient with us. When we were ready to order, I asked for the Sopa Azteca but they were out. I was disappointed but being that it had recently opened, I understood. I went on to order the Table Side Guacamole instead and the Cali Burrito. I was happy to learn that the entrees came with rice and beans. It drives me nuts when you have to buy the sides separate when I believe the entrees should always come with rice and beans. Rose ordered the fajitas and her brother, the enchiladas.

The guacamole made its way to our table and when I took a bite, I instantly thought it needed more salt. Rose felt it needed more salt too so I grabbed a saltshaker from the nearby table. After adding salt and mixing, it made it taste better. Our food arrived and it smelled delicious. My Cali Burrito was well seasoned with the proper amount of vegetable to steak filling. I enjoyed the pico de gallo and cheese sauce that it was topped with and could swear that it was also topped with a chipotle red sauce that added the perfect zing to it. The rice and beans tasted great with the burrito that I wanted more. Rose’s brother, inhaled his enchiladas, which could only mean that they were delicious. Rose enjoyed her fajitas and almost cleaned her plate. The serving size was very generous.

The chef stopped by to see how we were doing and asked about our meals. When we mentioned the under salted guacamole, he was gracious and took it off our bill. He also made note to make it to my liking when I stopped in next. Before leaving, I jokingly told our server that I might stop by later that evening. After hot pot dinner and desserts with friends later in the day, I found out that a friend I had planned to meet up with afterwards was at Blue Agave. I arrived a few minutes after she had left and bumped into our server and the chef. I decided to stay and check out the lounge area. I loved the look of the white chairs and couches in the upstairs lounge and how warm it was inside comparatively to the single digit weather outside. I definitely will be going back for dinner and to enjoy the Latin music while lounging on a white couch.

http://blueagavemadison.com

NYE: Tornado Steakhouse

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Every year New Year’s Eve creeps around the corner and before you know, it is here. The last couple of years I decided to stay in and enjoy it in the comfort of my own house and bed. Prior, I had traveled to different cities to bring in the New Year with close friends. When deciding what to do for New Year’s Eve, I said, “Let’s go out to eat at a really nice restaurant.” I could not think of a better way to ring in 2018 than eating a big old piece of juicy steak at Tornado Steakhouse.

This wasn’t my first time, but it was for my siblings, Jeremiah and Francesca, and our friend, Roy. I had hyped it up so it needed to deliver. My sister asked if she needed to dress up and I told her no because it was a supper club. Hidden downtown Madison is this adorable supper club with some of the best steaks I have ever had. This night did not disappoint. We showed up without reservations but were able to spend an hour and half learning more about each other over drinks in the dimly lit bar area.

We were seated downstairs when our table became available. I was hoping that there would be a pianist that night but the hostess told me that the person was booked for another event. Our waiter was very attentive and apologized several times for cutting me off while I was talking. I talk a lot so it no matter what he would have to cut me off if he wanted to get a word in.

Our table was served bread and vegetable garnishing when we sat down. We started with the Coquille Saint Jacques since I knew Roy loves scallops. It was delightful. The scallops were tender and the mashed potatoes were creamy goodness so I scraped as much as it off the plate to eat. It was a great way to start the meal and just enough scallops for each of us.

I ordered the 8 oz. Filet medium with asparagus because I knew I couldn’t eat any more than that. You get a choice between salad or soup. Normally, I would go with the Caesar Salad because it’s honestly the best I’ve ever had, but opted to try the soup, King Crab Bisque. The soup tasted a slightly bitter to me and I felt that it was lacking something that could have made it better. I later realized that it might be the pairing between crab and bisque that is usually made with lobster.

What the rest of the party ordered were the 20 oz. Bone in Tenderloin, 16 oz. New York Strip, and the special, Prime Rib. We all shared our meals and of all of them, I found the Bone in Tenderloin to be the most flavorful, but that did not surprise me since some people argue that bone in steaks are additionally flavored by the bone. In all, I enjoyed all the samples of the other steaks.

We, more like I, ordered the Pineapple Upside Down Cake for dessert. Luckily, our waiter brought four spoons to share. I haven’t had Pineapple Upside Down Cake in a long time and the fact that it was served a la mode made it my number one choice. The cake was good but wished there was more brown sugar to make the upside down part sweeter. I knew I should have ordered another scoop of ice cream (yes, I am that person) as cake was left behind on the plate once the ice cream was gone.

We all went home stomach happy and ready for the countdown to 2018. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to midnight. The food and drinks put me into a food coma on my couch. I fell asleep to Harry Potter with my taste buds fully satisfied, and was ready to meet 2018.

Canteen

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A few months ago, I found out Nostronos closed down when our CEO wanted to have dinner there with the management team from my workplace. I was disappointed to hear it closed and was curious what opened in its place. I was pleasantly surprised that a taqueria had replaced it when I stopped there late one night after a dinner date. Although we did not eat there, the creative cocktails were worth the stop. The Spicy Margarita immediately caught my eye because of my love for spicy food, and boy did I have to sip on it since I didn’t want it to upset my stomach especially while on a date. The drink menu excited my date as he chose a margarita made with mezcal because of its smoky flavor.

A couple weeks later, I met friends for dinner but the restaurant we had planned on eating at was not able to accommodate our party. We decided to try out Canteen. We were served duritos, which I am not a huge fan of, but my friends could not stop eating them. They are puffed wheat made in the shape of a spoke wheel flavored with chili and lime. My friends ordered the nachos and raved about how good it was with its freshly made tortilla chips. My friend ordered Creamy Horchata and I really like how refreshing it tasted. I ended up ordered two tacos: Pork Belly and Carne Asada. I wanted to love the tacos but found the meat dry, which took away from the flavor of the tacos.

Last week, I decided to give Canteen another try, and went with my brother and a friend for lunch. This is when I notice how extensive the list of the tequilas and mezcal was. We decided to order the Añejo Flight and were able to pick the three Añejos. Of the three I enjoyed the Herradura because of its lightness and smooth taste, which is sometimes hard to find in tequila.

We went on to order two appetizers. I had to order the Nachos because I only had a bite previously but was disappointed by it. It didn’t live up to the hype my friends had claimed the last time I was there. I found the chorizo to be oily and lacking in flavor, and the cheese too mild. The second appetizer we ordered was the Ceviche. I enjoyed this dish but wished it had more citrus. It was topped over guacamole, which was under seasoned and could have benefited from some salt and garlic.

We all ordered tacos for our main entrees. I chose two different tacos this time. I ordered the Barbacoa Beef Brisket and Grilled Farmers Cheese. The beef was juicy but the ratio of the beef to toppings made the taco taste bland. If there was less meat I think the taco would have been tasted better. I really enjoyed the Grilled Farmers Cheese. This is a good option for a vegetarian. I thought the flavors went well together and really liked the combination of the beans, salsa, and avocado. If you are looking for gooey cheese when biting into this taco, you will be disappointed as the cheese is dense.

We decided to go all out and ordered dessert. The Choco Taco excited us but it did not live up to our expectations. The wafer shell was soft and the quality of the ice cream did not make up for it. Additionally, the sunflower seeds did not go well on the Choco Taco. We also ordered the Strawberries and Cream Paleta. I enjoyed the paleta but I expected more based on what we paid for the dessert.

Overall, I believe Canteen is worth trying out but it does have a couple misses. What makes up for the misses is the different kind of tequilas it carries and the tacos are decently priced. I don’t believe you will be wowed by everything on the menu but I would definitely say it is not horrible. Located in one of the corner buildings of the capitol square, it is a great place to stop by if you’re looking for something quick and light.

http://canteentaco.com