Brickhouse BBQ (see here for location and hours) has finally opened their doors in downtown Madison.  Featuring Memphis/Kansas City style barbecue, this establishment is brought to you by the same people who bring you Samba Brazilian Grill, The Churchkey and Badger Liquor.  We gave the place a first look for lunch recently, with very mixed results.

As is always the case, we start by using the following disclaimer – a first look at a place is just that – giving it a try before they may have worked the kinks out.  It takes a while for a restaurant to settle in and show its true colors, both good and bad. 

We intended to start with an appetizer of the BBQ Ribs ($9.75).  The menu billed this item as individual pork ribs served on a bed of crispy onion strings with Brickhouse Original BBQ sauce.   We say we intended to start with that, but that isn’t the way that it worked out.  We watched as the server took our order on a nifty electronic device, and then disappeared.  We then waited for our appetizer for around 40 minutes — all the while envying the tables around us who had ordered after we did and were already eating (and finishing!) their entrees.

After around 40 minutes, our server reappeared and told us that there had been a problem “getting the ticket to the kitchen” or some such thing.  After about 50 minutes everything came out of the kitchen all at once – our appetizers, sandwiches and sides all made a joint appearance.  To make matters worse, all of our food was at best room temperature, and at worst, just plain ole cold.

We’re not sure how the food could have been served to us at this temperature, logistically.  We also would have appreciated it if we would have been consulted about the timing of the appetizer in relation to the timing of the sandwiches.  But, it was what it was.

On to the food though.  The ribs were not individual, as promised by the menu.  If you had intended to share this appetizer with a group rather than with an close friend, it would have been a little awkward given that the ribs needed to be manhandled to be pulled apart into an appetizer to be shared with more than one.  It is possible that the kitchen knew that there were two of us at the table and so they divided the appetizer up into two portions.  This would have been a showing of remarkable thought and organization however, and it would have been the only one experienced on this trip — so we doubt that this was the case.  The “bed” of crispy onion straws was pretty sparse.  But the ribs were good.  The sauce was not cloying or sweet.   We’d order the ribs again, but probably as an entree.

Also ordered was the Sausage Sandwich ($8.25), described by the menu as Smoked sausage, grilled, and served with Brickhouse Mustard BBQ sauce and pickled peppers.  This sandwich would have been excellent had it been served warmer than room temperature.  It was overflowing with slightly smoky, slightly spicy sausage with a really very good tangy mustard sauce. 

Cheddar Grits had been ordered as the side, and while we understand that grits are a down-home rustic food, these had too many large clumps of grits to allow us to rave about them.  Still, the flavor was what one would expect.

The Pulled-Pork sandwich ($7.75) was described as slow smoked pork shoulder, shredded, and topped with coleslaw and Brickhouse Original BBQ sauce.  We dubbed this sandwich the “Poorly Pulled-Pork Sandwich”, and not only because of the tongue twister opportunity.  There were very large clumps of pork in the sandwich which made it somewhat awkward to eat.  The flavor was there, once again – it was the execution that needed attention.  The coleslaw should have made more of an impression than it did, but it was okay.

The fries were good – crispy and tasty, and the homemade pickle slices were really very good.

The interior of this new restaurant clearly shows that they are going for more of an urban BBQ restaurant versus a down-home bbq joint.  They did a very good job at remodelling the place, and the three floors (with a very good sized rooftop outdoor deck) will easily handle the crowds that will inevitably make their way there before Kohl Center events.

So, to wrap it up, our first look at Brickhouse BBQ turned up a lot of execution errors that we hope will be worked out in the upcoming weeks.  If not, we are not convinced that, while the food is good, it is good enough to overcome the execution.

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Vintage Brewing Company has at last opened their doors on Madison’s west side, housed in the building formerly occupied by JT Whitney’s.

Madison Dining Online stopped in within a week of the opening to take a first look at the place.  As with all of our first looks, we always make sure to throw around a few caveats.  We understand that the first few days of a restaurant’s opening is not always the best time to truly understand the longterm standards of the restaurant.  Often times we take a first look at a new establishment and end up eating our words of praise.  Other times, restaurants show steady improvement  after their opening.

Having said that, here are our initial thoughts.

When you first walk in to through the front doors, there is a lounge-like area with comfortably couches and seating.  It looks nice – it looks comfy.  We still don’t really understand why it is there.  It isn’t really a place you’d settle in with a drink.  Perhaps Vintage is expecting crowds and waiting lists of people looking for tables.

The interior has been remodeled, with the alterations bringing a slightly different vibe than its previous life as JT Whitney’s.   As the name implies, it is clear that the vintage look is a goal here.  The goal is reached for the most part.

But on to the important first impressions – the food.  We started with an order of the Guacamole, Salsa and Chips ($6.75).  When the order was placed before us we were a bit taken aback at the scarcity of the chips, given the price of the appetizer.  It became apparent that the guacamole was freshly made of high quality ingredients.  The salsa was quite good as well.  It appears that the price of the appetizer goes towards the quality of these items, and we don’t really mind paying more for quality.  But really – even if the chips are homemade, would it really cost that much to add a few more to the plate so that you can actually enjoy the guacamole and the salsa?  Or perhaps we were just shortchanged on the serving portion.

We also tried the Fish and Chips ($8.75).  This beer-battered cod was fried in oil that was not hot enough, which allowed the oil to seep into the batter rather than make the batter as crispy as it should have been.  We were somewhat forgiving of that execution error, as the fish itself was flavorful, flaky and moist.  We liked it, and we assume they’ll work out the kinks.  Much like the chips mentioned above, it was actually the sides and condiments that made this dish.  The coleslaw was crisp, fresh and tasty, and the tartar sauce was some of the best we’ve tasted.  Though the menu said the dish was served with malt vinegar, we needed to ask for it.  Which is ok – just remember to do so.  Nothing beats malt vinegar on fish and chips.

The item that stole the show was the Blue Heaven Burger ($7.75).  Unlike many restaurants which will not serve you a burger the way you ask for it if you want it medium rare, Vintage asked how we wanted the burger done, and delivered it perfectly cooked to order.  Served dramatically with a knife speared through the lettuce, tomatoes, onions and burger, we have to admit that we thought this was one of the most perfectly prepared burgers we’ve had in a long time. 

Clearly hand formed before being grilled to crunchy perfection on the outside, this burger was meaty, juicy and bursting with flavor on the inside.  It was the type of burger that your mourned when it was gone, almost immediately craving another one just for the taste and texture, no matter how full you might be.

We can’t wait to go back to see if the burger withstands the test of time.

We’ll go back soon to see how this restaurant has fared since the opening week.  When we were there they were not yet serving their own brews, as they had not yet been granted the appropriate licensing needed to operate a brewpub (or so our server said).  We look forward to trying that as well.

If you’ve tried Vintage Brewing company, let us know what you thought by leaving a comment below.

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The McFarland House Cafe, 5923 Exchange Street in McFarland, will host Helping Hands for Honduras, a photo exhibit documenting recent mission work done by local volunteers.  The exhibit will open with a reception on Saturday, February 20 from noon til three, with special coffees and a special menu being served.  Proceeds will go to Sharing Resources Worldwide in support of their Honduran missions.

The exhibit, which runs for the next month, showcases the work of photographer Michael L. Sweeney  and it documents the efforts of SRW volunteers to aid the children of Honduras.  Through the help of Sharing Resources Worldwide and its volunteers, many children receive the medical assistance needed to ensure a healthier, happier life full of hope for the future.  Visit MichaelLSweeney.com for more information about the exhibit.

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Chef Nicholas Johnson of Restaurant Magnus has been named a semifinalist in the 2010 James Beard Awards for the category of Midwestern Chef.

The James Beard Foundation recognizes the best and the brightest in the food and beverage industry, and is the most prestigious award recognition program centered around the culinary world.

The semifinalists are selected from thousands of entries, and now compete for a place in the final round, which will be announced on March 22 at the Palace Cafe in the French Quarter in New Orleans.  Five finalists for each category will be selected from a panel of 400 judges.  From that group of finalists, winners for each category will be chosen.  The winners will be announced at a gala and awards ceremony on May 3 in New York.

Madison Dining Online had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Chef Johnson recently.  He is making time in his busy schedule to support and participate in the Flavors of Madison, benefiting the American Liver Foundation.  You can read more about him here!

We wish Chef Johnson the best!

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Pollo Inka has opened up on Madisn’s far west side (See here for location and hours).  Fans of Peruvian food, but aware of the sparseness of such a restaurant in Madison, we stopped in for lunch recently to give it a try.

We left very pleased, and eager to go back again – soon.

Opening in January, the restaurant was doing a relatively healthy business the day that we stopped in.  Upon entering, one could not help but notice the aroma of rotisserie chicken filling the room.  And this is a good thing.

Lunch started with an order of Ceviche Mixto ($11.95).  This ceviche was made up of chunks of fish, calamari, shrimp and mussels, marinated in lime juice, garlic and chili.  The shell it was served on was balanced on both sides by mounds of sweet potoatoes.  Other ceviches available include fish only, shrimp only and mushrooms only.

For the main courses, we tried the lunch special, which was a quarter of a rotisserie chicken (6.95) which included a house salad and a choice of rice & beans, french fries, maduros (sweet plantains) or tostones (green plantains).   We also tried the Aji de Gallina ($9.95), a shredded chicken casserole with walnuts and parmesan, mixed with boiled potatoes, with hard-boiled egg and black olives on top.  This was served with a side of rice.

We enjoyed the rotisserie chicken.  We often say that the true test of a restaurant is to order their chicken.  It is so easy to do chicken wrong.  This was far from wrong, being moist, tender and very flavorful.  The house salad that it was served with was a bland shredding of iceburg lettuce - until you added the homemade dressing.  When asked what was in the dressing, our server explained that it was a secret even from him, stating,  “Our chef makes sure we aren’t around when she makes it!”

Another element that brought a burst of flavor to the chicken was the chili sauce.  Spicy enough to cause a nice, slow heat, yet not so spicy that it was overwhelming, this sauce was a really interesting addition to the chicken.

The Aji de Gallina was on the surface quite bland.  There was something satisfying about it, however, if one looked at it from a comfort food standpoint.  Admittedly, we did add some of the chili sauce that had been served with the chicken into the dish to spice it up, and that punched up the flavor tremendously.  Next time, we’d deliberately order chili sauce on the side to add to this dish.

We liked Pollo Inka a lot.  We’d go back there any day over many of the restaurants in the area, particularly the same tired old chains.  It is our hope that Madisonians support a small, local and unique restaurant such as this.

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Find address and hours here.

The Coopers Tavern recently opened up its doors on the Capitol Square.  Billing itself as a neighborhood tavern that specializes in craft beer and rustic food, it has a very extensive beer menu, with items on the food menu that are unique and not often found in Madison.

Established as a joint partnership between Food Fight and Madison couple Peter McElvanna (formerly of competing capital pub Brocach) and his wife Amy Marsman, Coopers occupies the location formerly housing the short-lived Sucre.

We recently stopped in for a first look at the place.  We left with a pleasant intial impression.

The dish that has all the local Internet writers and foodies abuzz is the Poutine.  For those of you who aren’t local Internet writers or foodies, Poutine is not only fun to say, but it also is a traditional Canadian dish that has its roots in Quebec.  It is comprised of French Fries tossed with cheese curds and topped with gravy.  As someone who has frequently visited Canada on business, I can attest to its popularity, finding the dish served in diners, restaurants and even fast food joints. 

Poutine purists will note that there are some small execution errors in this particular poutine.  First, the gravy is a tad bit heavy.  Second, the cheese curds on the order that was served to us were pooled and melted at the bottom of the plate, creating a disk of hardened cheese with embedded french fries.  Still, it was adequate comfort food on a cold winter day.

Somewhat more successful (though slightly overcooked) was the Sconnie Egg.  A play on the traditional Scotch Egg, this hard-boiled egg is instead coated with Wisconsin bratwurst before being fried.  It is served on a bed of stout mustard, with a side of pickled vegetables.  A lacking touch which would have put this dish over the top would have been a dab of sauerkraut on the side.

The lunch menu is comprised of a few salads including a roasted beet salad with citrus dressing and a brussels sprout salad with blue cheese, bacon and croutons.

The sandwiches include a variety of offerings, including a burger, a reuben and a veggie sandwich.  We split an order of the Brisket Sandwich.

If you are looking for a brisket sandwich slathered in barbecue sauce, this is not it.  And that is just one of the reasons why this became our favorite brisket sandwich in Madison.  The other two reasons were the onion jam and the bacon aoli.  The aoli alone made this worth ordering, though the brisket itself was surprisingly moist and slightly smoky.  Served with a side of homemade chips, we’ll go back for this sandwich alone.

The chips were also noteworthy.

The beer menu at The Coopers Tavern must be mentioned.  Heavy on Belgian beers, this menu provides very unique beers that you won’t find many other places.  There are a couple dozen on tap and many served by the bottle.

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 The Flavors of Madison, a culinary event benefiting the American Liver Foundation (read more here), takes place on February 28, 2010. This event is made possible by the generous participation of some of Madison’s top chefs and their restaurants. MadisonDining.com is excited to bring you a spotlight of each chef, featuring their unique culinary views, along with  photographs of some of their works of art – their food.  These chefs and restaurants represent the finest that Madison has to offer, and their generosity reflects their united commitment to the Madison community.

This year’s Flavors of Madison is being hosted by the Madison Club.  The host chef is Chef Dan Fox.  You can read more about Chef Fox here.  The other participating chefs have years of culinary experience, diverse backgrounds and unique points of views.  Click on the photo of each chef to learn more about them, their backgrounds, and the outstanding dining experiences that they have been providing for Madison diners for years!

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Chef Dan Fox and the Madison Club play host to this year’s American Liver Foundation’s The Flavors of Madison event. 

The Madison Club is celebrating its 100th birthday of offering private club services to Madison.  They specialize in incorporating a fine dining feel into both their private dining and their banquet facilities.  Taking pride in being a scratch kitchen, the Madison Club bakes all their breads on the premises, and offers specialty dinners, tastings, and even kids cooking classes.

Chef Fox got his start in culinary arts at the age of fifteen.  After 3 1/2 semesters of traditional college courses, Chef Fox found that his passion was in culinary arts.  He switched to Kendall College, a top-notch Culinary School  in Chicago.  His internship was spent at the world-class Everest Restaurant, also in Chicago, working under Chef Thierry Tristch, who Chef Fox considers to be his mentor.   He then spent time training in Provence and Austria and naturally gravitates towards Northern French, German and Austrian cuisine.  He’s also worked in an Asian-inspired restaurant in Chicago, which brings some Asian influences to his culinary view as well.

Chef Fox has spent the last 3 1/2 years at the Madison Club, bringing his globally inspired cuisine to the diners.  He is passionate about local foods and building a farmer/chef connection.  He feels that the Dane County Farmers’ Market is the best in the country, and he has a seat on the REAP board, an organization dedicated to local, sustainable food. 

This passion has caused Chef Fox to embark on a new, exciting project, and this spring he will be starting an acre plot of produce for the Madison Club at Fountain Prairie Farms.  “We’ve designed down to every row exactly what will be grown,” said Chef Fox, “The produce will go to both the fine dining and banquet menus.”

Chef Fox believes that the most essential ingredient in the kitchen is salt, and, when pressed he will admit to a dislike of deep-fried bar food done badly.

Chef Fox and the Madison Club are generously donating  time and effort to the American Liver Foundation’s Flavor of Madison, and he considers it an honor to be the host this year.  “I 100% support the cause.” said Chef Fox.  “We have been involved with the Liver Foundation for six years, and we are very fortunate to be able to have this event at the Madison Club.”

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Chef Esmeralda Bascones of Inka Heritage will be participating in the 2010 Flavors of Madison event, benefiting the American Liver Foundation.  This event brings Madison’s top chefs together to create a very unique culinary gala.

Inka Heritage has been in Madison for three years, introducing many Madisonians to Peruvian cuisine for the very first time.  Chef Bascones and her husband Daniel Rodriguez settled in Madison in 2006, having moved from Miami.   “We were working in Miami and we came to visit one of our relatives in 2002.  We thought at that time Madison was a good place to raise children.  When we had our first daughter we moved here.”

Most people associate Peruvian cuisine with the more common Mexican cuisine served around the city, but in reality, the two cuisines can be quite different.  “Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the best Latin American cuisines.  It is a healthy food.” 

In fact, Inka Heritage has played a role in educating the dining public.  “It was hard when we first opened.  Some customers thought that we were Latin fast food, and expected to be served in five minutes.  We had to introduce the food, and explain that everything is from scratch.”

In reality, Inka Heritage delivers a sophisticated menu based on the melting pot of culinary influences that go into Peruvian cuisine.  Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Italian and Inca flavors and techniques turn up often, and often in the same dish.  The Ceviche is a specialty on a menu that changes often. 

Another unique item that can’t be missed is the Chicha Morada – one of the most unique, refreshing non-alcoholic drinks to be found.  It is made with purple corn that has been boiled for hours.  The liquid is then mixed with pineapple, apple water, cinnamon and key lime juice to produce very interesting results.

One of the top Peruvian chefs in the world, Chef Flavio Solorzano will be an honored participant in the Flavors of Madison event, cooking alongside Chef Bascones.  “It is an honor to have Chef Solorzano with us.  We are excited that he is spending time with us.”

For those who are not able to attend The Flavors of Madison, you still have the opportunity to experience a meal prepared by Chef Solorzano.  He will be the honored guest chef at Inka Heritage March 2 – 4, 2010.  Reservations are required and can be made by calling (608) 310-4282.

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Chef Angelo Cattaneo of OPA is pleased to be participating in the American Liver Foundation’s Flavors of Madison event, to be held on February 28, 2010.

Chef Cattaneo was raised in San Diego by French and Italian parents, who he describes as “great home cooks”.  He developed his passion for the culinary early in life, and has spent a lot of time tavelling and working throughout North America, South America and the Caribbean.

In 2002 Chef Cattaneo arrived in Madison, at first working as management for Whole Foods.  But soon he turned his attention to the Madison restaurant scene, and he has been instrumental in the development of key restaurants in the city.

His travel and experiences have created an interest in Asian, South American, and West Coast “Bistro” culinary influences.  He is also passionate about seafood, an interest which manifested itself during his tenure at Blue Marlin, winning “Best Seafood Restaurant” in Madison two years straight.

While Chef Cattaneo likes to avoid cooking with mundane ingredients, he believes that the most important ingredient that he could have in his kitchen is passion and caring, coming from both himself and his staff.  He credits MATC for turning out many talented, skilled and passionate people that he enjoys employing in his ventures.

OPA and Chef Cattaneo are honored to take part in the American Liver Foundation’s Flavor’s of Madison, believing that giving back to the community is an important part of being a part of the community!

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