The Madison area has plenty of Chinese and Indian buffets, making La Rosita Mexican Buffet in Monona a rarity. You will not find a taco bar here. Instead, you will be treated to a fairly robust selection of dishes.
First, I find it comical how many people complain online that you have to pay as you enter the door. That’s how buffets work! (See Ponderosa or Pizza Ranch for examples.)
The buffet costs $9.99 and includes a beverage. Note that most items were mislabeled, so double-check what you’re selecting.
- I haven’t seen pork skins in salsa verde at other restaurants. You’ll notice a tartness from the sauce alongside good chicharrones flavor. If the skins don’t appeal to you, you can instead get the chunks of pork in salsa verde dish, although the pork was slightly tough.
- The semi-thick slices of ham were tender and had the right amount of saltiness, and they worked well in the thin tomato sauce.
- The same broth-like sauce adds flavor to the shredded chicken, which has a hint of heat.
- The steak and potatoes was okay. It was hard to discern the full flavor of the steak, and the potatoes made the dish blander.
- The ham taquitos were really dry, but I improved them by dipping them in the delicious homemade guacamole.
- A safe bet for less adventurous eaters is the steak fajitas or the scrambled eggs with various veggies. They’re both fairly standard, with nothing to complain about.
The rest of the buffet includes variations of the aforementioned dishes plus desserts (cakes), fruit, soups and salad. You get your choice of corn or flour tortillas brought to your table.
La Rosita Mexican Buffet is open every day for lunch and dinner.
Zoup!
I was impressed with the Pumpkin Pie Bisque ($5.25 for a cup) because it’s true to its name. It’s pureed pumpkin with brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and tastes just like the pie. In other words, imagine putting a pumpkin pie in a blender until it liquefied–that’s this soup.
My No. 1 is French onion soup, and Zoup!’s version ($4.50 for 8 oz.) did not disappoint. It was very thick (instead of that watery crap other restaurants serve), had the right amount of salt and the onions were soft and tender, as they should be.
Lotsa Stone Fired Pizza
