Archive for the ‘Restaurant and Bar Reviews’ Category

Teddywedgers

Saturday, November 8th, 2014

I love pasties. There’s something so comforting in eating pastry dough stuffed with meat, which is why I also like calzones and empanadas.

Eating at–or actually, taking out from–Myles Teddywedgers reminds me of my childhood, when I would often get a pasty after a trip around Farmers’ Market. That’s why I was happy and relieved when the brother-sister duo of Anthony Rineer and Karima Berkani stepped up when Raymond Johnson put the business up for sale (if you recall, Ray took over when Miles Allen died).

Now called Teddywedgers, the restaurant has entered into modern times, jumping on Facebook and Twitter, and creating a new logo. The menu includes all the original pasties, including my favorites, steak and the Big Cheesy. Half-pies are $5.50, and whole pies are $9.75.

Let’s talk about that steak pie, which includes tender steak, bits of onion at the right texture (soft, but not too soft) and not an overwhelming amount of potatoes. Meanwhile, the Big Cheesy contains huge pieces of sausage, lots of cheese (of course!) and a perfect amount of sauce (enough so you can taste it uniformly but so it doesn’t spill out).

For breakfast, I ordered both the egg and bacon and egg and broccoli pies. Both were hearty and worthy of the first meal of the day, though I would have preferred more egg in both pies.

Teddywedgers is open for breakfast and lunch Monday to Saturday. A staff member told me the restaurant will eventually expand its hours. Make sure to call before you go–on one visit, I arrived at 2:15 p.m., and it was already closed, despite the 3 p.m. closing time listed on Facebook.

Myles Teddywedgers Cornish on Urbanspoon

Cooper’s Mark, Frito Chili Pizza

Sunday, November 2nd, 2014

I was shopping at Copps the other day and noticed a display that promoted a bourbon called Cooper’s Mark. Both the display and an employee led me to believe that this was a Roundy’s product, meaning an imitation of the real thing at a lower price; in this case, $19.99 for a 750 ml bottle compared to $26.99 for a similar size bottle of Maker’s Mark.

After doing some research, I learned Cooper’s Mark is not produced by Roundy’s, so I was upset at the deception. I still conducted a blind taste test of Cooper’s Mark and Maker’s Mark with some friends.

A few months ago, I compared the Kirkland (Costco) liquors to the real thing and concluded that there were many differences, both subtle and stark. In this case, Cooper’s Mark is very similar to Maker’s. I’m a huge fan of the latter, and I always keep a bottle stocked at home, so I felt guilty for enjoying the knock-off.

At the end of the day, I can get past this guilt and recommend purchasing Cooper’s Mark. Just don’t buy it at Copps.

***

Chips on a pizza? That’s exactly what you’ll get with the new Frito chili pizza at Papa John’s. My main concern in ordering it was whether the chips would still be crunchy by the time the pizza got to my house. Amazingly, they were.

Papa John’s did a good job of replicating a Frito chili pie (or “Walking Chili”). All the ingredients went well together, and the chili was surprisingly good. A large Frito chili pizza is selling for $12 for a limited time.

Paleo Mama Bakery

Sunday, September 28th, 2014

Is Paleo another diet fad? Not according to Belle Pleva, founder of the newly opened Paleo Mama Bakery, who told me that at least some aspect of it (e.g. avoiding processed foods) will endure.

You can find endless stories of how the Paleo lifestyle–which consists primarily of consuming fresh fruits, vegetables, grass-fed meat, poultry, eggs, fish, seafood and nuts–have improved the health of its followers. Belle is no exception–she is now med-free and symptom-free from her auto-immune disease with which she was diagnosed several years ago.

Belle let me sample several of her desserts and snacks, all of which are free from grains, gluten, soy and refined sugar. In summary, I thought her products were delicious and near-replicas of their non-Paleo counterparts, though be prepared for higher prices as a result of using hard-to-find ingredients (e.g. coconut flour).

Take for example the carrot and orange cupcake ($12.99 for four). The pure honey leads a parade of flavors that also include organic oranges and Chinese five spice. I couldn’t even tell the different between normal flour and coconut flour, as used in this recipe.

You can immediately taste the banana in the chocolate banana bread muffin ($11.99 for four), although the chocolate was a bit more subtle. Still, this super moist muffin seemed like “the real thing.”

I enjoyed the two cookies I tried, even with the slightly grittier texture. The oatmeal cookies ($11.99 for eight) are made with almond flour, unsweetened coconuts and flax seeds, among other ingredients, and the chocolate chip cookies ($11.99 for eight) have both almond flour and coconut flour.

The candied pecans ($12.99 for 8 oz.) are sweet and addicting, thanks to the coating of pure honey and organic cinnamon. Another satisfying snack is the chocolate granola ($11.99 for 8 oz.). It contains walnuts, almonds, pistachios, bits of semi-sweet chocolate and too-tart-for-me cherries.

One non-sweet item graces the menu, and that’s the spicy tortilla chips ($8.99 for 4 oz.), which uses–what else?–almond flour as its base ingredient, and it’s seasoned with several organic spices, including cayenne and turmeric. If you can get over the fact that these chips are more wafer-like instead of crunchy, they can readily be inserted into your snack rotation.

Paleo Mama Bakery operates out of New Self Renewal Center, 6300 Enterprise Ln. Currently, you must order your baked goods at least 24 hours in advance.

    Madison Symphony Orchestra Urban Air

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