Archive for the ‘Restaurant and Bar Reviews’ Category

Food carts: Pots N Tots, Masarap

Sunday, August 23rd, 2015

Pots N Tots

When I first heard of Pots N Tots, I thought it sold potstickers and tater tots. Turns out, it’s actually crock pot sandwiches and tater tots. I would return for the latter but not the former.

For example, the pot roast sandwich ($5.50) had tender and juice beef but little flavor. Meanwhile, the chicken sandwich ($5.50) was incredibly dry, and the honey mustard on top didn’t help.

As for the tots ($3.25), which are perfectly crispy, there are nine flavors plus a daily special. The Thai chili was not at all spicy and had a nice little sweetness to it.  The Parmesan garlic had a heavy coating of Parmesan but the garlic was hard to detect.

Next time, I’ll get either the Volcanic Explosion or the BBQ Blast.

***

Masarap

This is a Filipino food cart with a short menu. It starts with eggrolls (three for $3, six for $5.50), and you get your choice of pork or veggies. I chose the pork, and I appreciated that they are densely packed with meat. The eggrolls, which are crispy and not at all greasy, are slightly bland, and thus the sweet chili dipping sauce is a nice complement.

The Baboy-b-que ($5) is a very simple dish. Chunks of pork (not slices as described in the menu) sit on a bed of rice and are topped with a BBQ-like sauce. I thought the pork could have been more tender, but all-in-all it’s a pretty safe meal, especially for picky eaters.

The only other item is the Caldereta ($7), a coconut-tomato-based stew to which you can add chicken or tofu.

Mezze

Sunday, August 9th, 2015

The owners of the Argus Bar and Grill bought Amy’s Cafe and eventually reopened it as Mezze, a Mediterranean restaurant, in April. I always thought that Amy’s was better as a bar than a restaurant, but now Mezze is an upgrade in both aspects.

Let’s talk about the bar first. One side of the two-page menu lists beers, so I asked our waiter/bartender about the cocktails, and he told me that he makes them based on liquor (rum, brandy, vodka, whisky or gin) and flavor (sweet, bitter, strong or sour). Thus, a whisky strong became a Sazerac, and a gin sweet turned into a Bee’s Knees. I enjoyed this process, as well as the cocktails, immensely.

The food choices are divided into sections called cold, hot and pizza. Based on the portion size, the plates can either be shared or eaten individually. An example is the pork kebab ($12), which comes with three large chunks of very tender and well-seasoned pork amid a bright combo of sweet corn relish, harissa potatoes and garlic yogurt.

The meat also was perfect in terms of flavor and texture on the lamb pizza ($16), which also was topped with garlic, pine nuts, onion and garlic cream. Even better was the crust, which tasted like perfectly toasted pita bread. Speaking of which, the homemade pita that comes with the falafel ($8) was much different; in fact, it was quite bland. The four pieces were strangely paired with three pieces of spinachy-tasting falafel.

If you’re looking for just a snack, the  Za’atar fries ($8) will hit the spot. They are nicely seasoned and come with garlic yogurt sauce. Others that are good to nosh on are the hummus and tabbouli ($10) and the charcuterie ($12).

Mezze serves dinner Monday-Saturday, beginning at 4 p.m.

***

See more photos in our Mezze Flickr album.

Click to add a blog post for Mezze on Zomato

Parched Eagle Brewpub

Sunday, August 2nd, 2015

It’s easy to drive on Highway M in the Town of Westport and not see Parched Eagle Brewpub. One, you don’t expect any restaurants/bars in the area, and two, it’s tucked away in a shopping strip near Skipper Bud’s.

After a day at the beach at Governor Nelson State Park, I stopped by the Parched Eagle from some refreshments. Like other brewpubs, it has its own beers–five “all-year beers” and nearly 20 seasonals–plus guest beers on tap. If you can’t decide, you can get the four-beer sampler for $6. Otherwise, pints are $5-$6.

Be sure to try the Parched Eagle Golden Ale. I’m impartial to Kolsch beers, and this one is a crowd-pleaser (or in the words of the owner, a “lawn-mowing beer”). It’s got a bit of sweetness to it, too.

Want really sweet? According to the owner, the current batch of Crane Ale, an APA, wasn’t brewed correctly, and consequently gained a strong malty (sweet) flavor, which he dubbed Texas Grapefruit. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. It’s such a unique taste, you should get some while it lasts.

Unfortunately, neither the Janethan (porter) or Verily (dubbel) were available during my visit, but I did have two other beers: The Hop-Bearer (IPA) for sure sported a strong hoppy bitterness, and the Grainne’s Special Bitter (seasonal) had a slight sour note to it.

I look forward to a return visit to try the Senor Smoke (Scotch ale), Dreamland (witbier) and the Weakling (trippel).

Parched Eagle Brewpub is open Wednesday-Sunday. It has lots of seating indoors (plus board games), and it serves a few sandwiches and snacks.

Click to add a blog post for Parched Eagle Brew Pub on Zomato

    Madison Symphony Orchestra Urban Air

  • Blog Home

    You are currently browsing the archives for the Restaurant and Bar Reviews category.

  • Archives

  • Categories