Granted, it’s a great event, with the live music, carnival, Friday morning drive-thru and run/walk, but there’s so much more happening in the area, especially if you prefer day trips.

For example, the annual ChocolateFest in Burlington runs Friday-Monday. You can take part in the chocolate eating contest, visit the petting zoo and check out the Nascar exhibit.

While we’re still on the subject of festivals, the New Glarus Music Fest runs Saturday-Monday. Bands include Little Vito and the Torpedoes and The Jimmys.

The Mad City Ski Team starts its season on Sunday. Will it win yet another national championship this year?

On Monday, Monona will have its 58th annual Memorial Day parade, starting at 10 a.m. on Monona Drive. And while you’re in town, Monona’s community pool will be open for the season.

Finally, if you’re looking for overnight trips, here’s my previous post on where to stay and dine.

Photo from www.preakness.com

Regarding cocktails, I think most people associate the Kentucky Derby with mint juleps. But what about the Preakness, the second leg of  the Triple Crown?

If you answered the Black-Eyed Susan, pat yourself on the back. (The Preakness also is known as “The Run for the Black-Eyed Susans,” because the winning horse is draped with a blanket of daisies meant to look like Black-Eyed Susans–hence the drink.)

So many people throw Kentucky Derby-viewing parties, but no one throws one for the Preakness, which takes place this Saturday. With that in mind, here are some recommendations on what to serve:

MENU

• Crab cakes (preferably Maryland Crab Cakes)
• Roasted Cornish Hen
• Maryland Fried Chicken
• Sweet corn polenta
• Potato salad
• Smith Island Cake (Maryland’s official dessert)
• Finlandia Crush (on the bar menu at Pimlico)
• Black-Eyed Susan (or the Preakness’ sponsored recipe)

The boneless chicken comes in both white and dark meat. After eating a piece of each kind, I concluded that the chicken is good but not great. Despite the so-called original recipe flavoring, it’s much different than eating a regular piece of original recipe chicken. The skin is too thin and you really lose that fried-chicken goodness.

Put another way, if I wanted to eat chicken tenders–which is pretty much what the boneless are like–then I’d order chicken tenders. It doesn’t help that KFC asks you what kind of dipping sauce you want for your boneless chicken. Pizza Hut loves experimenting with crusts. First we saw the Stuffed Crust Pizza, then the Cheesy Bites Pizza, then the Double Deep Pizza (remember the rolled-over crust?) and now the Crazy Cheesy Crust Pizza ($12.99 for a single topping). It’s like the Cheesy Bites version in that you’re supposed to pull off the crust to eat separately, but the cheese is not rolled up in the dough this time.

Out of the aforementioned kinds, this was my favorite. The circular crusts hold a cheese-blend made up of provolone, asiago, mozzarella, fontina and mild white cheddar. It’s got so much flavor that I wish the rest of the pizza had the same blend. I would probably order this again.

The new pizza was launched in early April and will stick around for up to three months. ]]> http://www.eatdrinkmadison.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=1234 0 http://www.eatdrinkmadison.com/blog/?p=1223 http://www.eatdrinkmadison.com/blog/?p=1223#comments Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:53:02 +0000 EatDrinkMadison.com http://www.eatdrinkmadison.com/blog/?p=1223 I’ve probably eaten more grilled cheese sandwiches this month than I typically do in an entire year, but I have good reason: it’s Grilled Cheese Month.

Earlier this month I was invited to a “Grilled Cheese Happy Hour” put on by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. I enjoyed fantastic combinations such as Red Rock and Swiss Cheese with Green Tomato Jam and Serrano Ham as well as the Holland’s Family Mature Gouda and Blue Cheese with Cayenne Pepper and Kraut. Many of these recipes came from bloggers, chefs and even consumers. (Download or submit your own at the Grilled Cheese Academy.)

Assuming the average consumer doesn’t have all these wonderful ingredients, I asked Heather Porter Engwall, director of national product communications for the Milk Marketing Board, for some advice on improving the standard grilled cheese sandwich.

Porter Engwall recommends experimenting with ingredients you have in your kitchen, such as guacamole, red peppers or leftover chicken. Most times adding sweet or savory items can really boost the flavor.

Regarding the cheese, ones with low moisture such as Havarti, Fontina, mozzarella and cheddar melt better than high moisture cheeses such as blue and ricotta. Shredding the cheese also helps it melt more quickly. And let’s not forget the bounty our state provides.

“You always have access to great cheese here in Wisconsin,” Porter Engwall said. Yes, yes we do.

Finally, “slow and low” is the best method for cooking your sandwich, meaning use a low heat setting on your stove top. This helps prevent the sandwich from burning while making sure the contents inside melt.

Not too long after that, I watched the L.A. Beast chug six bottles of syrup. Check it out:

For your reference, each bottle has 2,520 calories, 624 grams of carbs and 1,440 mg of sodium. So he actually consumed 15,120 calories–not 7,000 as he said–in about two minutes. L.A. Beast then joked that he would have to go to the hospital. He’s not too far from the the need.

A couple years ago, two ABC News reporters ate 6,190 calories in one meal to see what would happen to their bodies. The doctors showed how their arteries narrowed right after the meal and continued that way for six hours. Of course, eating like this regularly can cause heart attacks.

Meanwhile, Fit Watch says that a sudden spike in your blood sugar levels can result in the loss of lean body mass (muscle), and that overeating increases the size of your fat cells.

So basically, gorging yourself in one sitting is really bad for you. At least binge drinking is okay, right?

I was wondering how this event differs from the Taste of Madison. According to Joan Herzing, marketing manager of the Concourse, “The restaurants are all local and independent, the serving sizes are smaller so you can taste from more places and the tastes are included in your (admission).”

That means no national chains like Little Caesar’s, Capriottti’s or The Melting Pot; rather, you’ll get Pizza Brutta, Brasserie V and Old Feed Mill. I’m looking forward to the diversity of cuisine types, from Blue Marlin to Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery to Quivey’s Grove.  And yes, there will be a cash bar.

Last year, all 400 tickets were sold out, and this year, thanks to the bigger venue, 500 tickets will be available. The purchase price includes a a $10 Madison Originals gift card, good for about 50 restaurants, and helps fund two Madison College culinary scholarships.

For those unfamiliar with Madison Originals, it’s a not-for-profit association of local, independently owned restaurants and affiliated businesses in the Madison area. It also publishes a quarterly magazine.

The Ugly Cookie ($2.25) is a fantastic mixture of toffee, pistachios, cocoa nibs and oats. Calories aside, I could have eaten 10 of them had it not been for the relatively high price for its size. I also tried the brownie ($3; moist and had the right sweetness), the lemon ricotta ($1.50; not much flavor), the lemon tart ($5; tasty because it wasn’t tart) and the Badger Bait ($2.50; a wonderful nexus of chocolates).

What came as a surprise to me was that my favorite item at the patisserie was salty, not sweet. I ate perhaps the best quiche ($8) I’ve ever had. The egg was perfectly fluffy, the crust perfectly flaky, and together they were harmonious. I also enjoyed the turkey panini with asparagus and morel ($9), though it was a tiny sandwich.

Some parting thoughts: Apparently it’s not much of a destination for the breakfast crowd, as the cafe was once open at 8 a.m. Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday, but now it opens at 10 a.m. those days. Also, the staff makes a big fuss if you try to pay with a credit card for any tab less than $20. At least there’s an ATM on site.

Chocolaterian Cafe is open Tuesday-Sunday. I’ve found more parking on the Winnebago Street side, where there’s also an entrance.

Looks like the ham changes from year to year, though some of the sides are repeated. And in case you’re wondering, Brazos Valley Cheese is out of Texas.

Two CherryBerrys–one across from West Towne and the other in Monona–popped up not too long ago. The premise is self-serve. You pick from among 14 flavors (the birthday cake is too sweet) and add toppings such as gummy worms or fresh fruit. The cost per ounce is 45 cents. The interior is bright and energetic; it seems like it would be a fun hang-out for the after-school crowd (hence CherryBerry’s description as a “yogurt bar”).

Forever Yogurt has a visible location on State Street where it intersects with Gilman and Broom, though the space is quite small. It’s also self-serve (Mountain Berry is very good) and has more toppings than CherryBerry (mmm, Cap’n Crunch). However, it’s the most expensive of the group at 49 cents per ounce.

Red Mango is the veteran in this category, having opened three years ago on State Street. It’s the only one that’s not self-serve, and it only has a handful of flavors (the pomegranate was very disappointing) and toppings, which start at 75 cents each(!). There’s nothing that would entice me to return to this place, especially since Forever Yogurt is only a block away.

Finally we come to Menchie’s, located in Middleton and West Towne. It also has 14 flavors (the salted caramel was fantastic), and little cups are easily accessible so you can sample whatever you want. I also like the display case for the toppings, which is built like a jelly bean “shelf” you would find in a candy store and keeps the toppings from spilling into each other. It was priced in the middle of the pack at 47 cents/ounce.

In the end, I give the slight nod to Menchie’s over CherryBerry, but you really can’t go wrong with either. I recommend not going overboard mixing the flavors and toppings. In fact, try to keep like-flavors together, such as fruit flavors with fruit toppings or chocolate with chocolate.

One other note is that I found it interesting that both Red Mango and Forever Yogurt used to be open late on Fridays and Saturdays, but now both close at 10 p.m. Apparently students have stronger cravings for salty foods like pizza than for sweets.

In this case, the Cool Ranch version ($1.39) actually tastes like the chip it’s patterned after. In fact, you can see the Cool Ranch seasoning. Still, I’d like to point out that when you bite the taco shell, meat, cheese and lettuce together, you won’t taste the Cool Ranch at all. But I guess it’s a fun marketing gimmick.

A funny note: the Cool Ranch taco was supposed to be available last Wednesday, but most stores didn’t sell it until Thursday, causing outrage among Taco Bell fans. I admit, I really like the sausage burritos at McDonald’s, and now there’s a version with steak (officially called the McSkillet Burrito with Steak and selling for $1.89). For some reason, this item is not even listed on McDonald’s website. Anyways, the steak had decent flavor, although there could have been more of it. I don’t think there’s any compelling reason to switch from the sausage version, which is only $1.

Another new item is the Fish McBites, which are vastly different from the regular fish sandwich. These are meaty, not dry at all and make for a nice snack. I also like that the carton is designed to hold two sauces on the sides. It currently comes in snack, regular or sharable sizes. ]]> http://www.eatdrinkmadison.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=1165 0