Archive for the ‘Restaurant and Bar Reviews’ Category

DLUX

Saturday, December 1st, 2012

I was a little surprised when Food Fight, Inc. decided to close Ocean Grill to create a new restaurant, but the successor, DLUX, has been a pleasant addition to the already burger-heavy Capitol Square.

Its unique premise is the upscale atmosphere. You can have a fancy burger before seeing a show, and come back afterward for a martini. More on that in a sec.

All burgers are $8. On one visit, I ordered the Farmhouse burger, topped with Monterrey jack, fried green tomato, bacon and baby greens. I really enjoyed the crispy tomato along with the juicy burger. The tomato jam that accompanies the burger was clever, but I prefer salty over sweet and thus didn’t use much of it.

I loved the Carnegie burger on a subsequent visit. The corned beef and sauerkraut were fortunately not overpowering, though I would have liked a little bit more of the Russian dressing. On future visits, I have my eyes on the Sunrise (topped with a fried egg and shoestring potatoes) and the Backyard BBQ (topped with coleslaw and BBQ sauce).

The French onion dip with house-made chips ($4) had huge chunks of onion in it, and after a few bites the onion became overwhelming. I probably should have ordered one of the other sides, like the blue cheese and bacon fries ($2/$5) or the sweet potato fries with sriracha mayo ($2/$5).

I tried several of the 12 specialty cocktails on the menu, and my favorite was the whiskey smash ($7), consisting of Buffalo Trace bourbon, lemon, Turbinado syrup, mint and seltzer.

On a Friday night one week and a Saturday night on a different week, I noticed the crowd consisted of mostly young professionals as well as college students. But all of them were dressed up, to follow the vibe of the venue. Neither night was packed, but for a restaurant, it was a decent showing.

DLUX is open for lunch, dinner and late-night every day and brunch on the weekend.

Dlux on Urbanspoon

Gates & Brovi

Sunday, November 25th, 2012

The first time I entered Gates & Brovi, I felt this was the perfect restaurant for the neighborhood. The exposed brick keeps the charm of Monroe Street, and the overall design with its ample, natural lighting gives it a hip, urban feel.

The menu, limited to just a page, is full of creative items. The slow roasted beef ($8.95) with its horsey sauce and caramelized onions on an Italian hoagie, was a nice departure from typical, boring roast beef sandwiches. I had to remove most of the giardiniera, however, as I thought it took a little too much away from the focus of the beef.

Meanwhile, the Chile-chick pea tuna salad sandwich ($7.75) was full of flavor with the hard boiled egg, capers and pepperoncini on top, thus eliminating the need for mayonnaise that offers drowns these types of sandwiches. The torpedo roll also was perfectly toasted to add a subtle crunch.

Perhaps the least original item, though my favorite, was The G&B ($6, add $1.50 for bacon, $2.50 for a double). If you’re looking for a juicy burger, you found it right here. In fact, the bottom bun was clinging for dear life as it was falling apart in all the juices (that’s a good thing in my book). On the flip side, the cole slaw that came on the side was rather bland.

I also recommend trying the clam chowder ($2.75 cup, $4 bowl), served every day, as well as the calamari ($9), though the breading fell off most of the pieces. The rest of the menu contains items like whole Maine lobster, salads and even Blue Point oysters ($1 each during happy hour).

Gates & Brovi is open for lunch and dinner Tuesdays through Sundays. Parking can be a challenge, as you have to park on the street (there seems to be only a handful of spaces nearby) before 7 p.m., at which point you can park in the Mallatt Pharmacy parking lot.

See more photos of Gates & Brovi at our Flickr set.

Gates & Brovi on Urbanspoon

Ivory Room

Friday, November 2nd, 2012

Madison’s only piano bar, the Ivory Room, expanded into portions of the former Ian’s Pizza this summer. If you’ve ever been to the former incarnation, you know how tight the space was. Now, patrons have more elbow room as 1,000 square feet was added.

Even better, the single piano is now dueling pianos–like you find at Howl at the Moon or Pat O’Brien’s–on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Those are the only nights that have a $5 cover charge, though that’s waived if you show a dinner receipt from Capital Tap Haus or Buck & Badger, both of which share the same owner as Ivory Room.

I have to admit, I actually like the new Ivory Room, because it finally feels like a piano bar. Also, I’ve noticed the average age for patrons has gone down. Whereas the old Ivory Room was usually packed with people 40+, now it’s more 20s and 30s. A bartender told me it’s because of the later opening hours (8 p.m. vs. 4 p.m., for example).

Regarding the musicians, I was happy to see familiar faces in Josh Dupont and Michael Massey of Piano Fondue, as well as the husband-wife duo of Anthony and Leslie Cao, as regular performers. They do a great job of charging up the crowd.

One major strike is the fact that you have to pay $250 for any size group up to 20 to sit in the VIP area, which is on the same level as the pianos. So if  you and four friends want to sit up there, you’re looking at $50 each, all for having slightly closer access to the pianos and a dedicated server. Puh-leeze. This is Madison, not Chicago or New York.

Ivory Room is open Tuesday-Saturday, with Sundays and Mondays reserved for private parties.

    Madison Symphony Orchestra Urban Air

  • Blog Home

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

  • Archives

  • Categories