Archive for April, 2017

Off Broadway Drafthouse

Sunday, April 16th, 2017

20170212_124554To say Off Broadway Drafthouse is an upgrade from the preceding South Bay Lounge is an understatement. The new incarnation that opened last May is cleaner, more restaurant-like than dive bar and has much better food. If you find yourself near South Towne Mall for some reason, it’s worth a visit.

There’s a nice variety of sandwiches on the menu. The War Pig ($11) has a lot of flavor, starting with the moist pork chop, followed by the crispy bacon, the lightly grilled ham and the slightly tangy aioli. Next time I may try the Egg Salad Angelique ($9).

On Fridays, the fish fry is a must. Your choices are walleye, cod, blue gill and lake perch. The blue gill ($14) is fresh, moist and perfectly crispy on the outside. It didn’t need any lemon or dipping sauce, yet I still used the homemade tartar, which was so good–it’s basically an aioli–that I was dipping my fries in it. The accompanying cole slaw is creamy, and the corn bread was served cold (I prefer warm).

20170331_120840The Royal House Salad ($9) is tossed with a citrus vinaigrette and has a nice mix of veggies, with added crunch from the various nuts. The added grilled chicken was tender.

The Airway Chicken Wings ($10) were juicy, and the spice rub is primarily a smoky paprika. Like the fish, you won’t need any dipping sauce with them. Other “shares” include Drafthouse mussels ($12) and house spiced nuts ($5).

The rest of the menu is comprised of entrees such as the herb-roasted game hen ($13) and “game day bites” such as butter fat popcorn ($4).

Off Broadway Drafthouse is open Tuesday-Sunday for lunch and dinner, and it serves brunch on the weekends.

Off Broadway Drafthouse Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Los Atlantes

Sunday, April 9th, 2017

20170403_115412Finally, another area of town besides Middleton got a new Mexican restaurant, and that happens to be Los Atlantes, which opened January in a strip mall on the corner of Whitney Way and Raymond Road. It’s got a small menu with the expected fare plus a few unique items.

Let’s look at the former first. Tacos are $2 each, are served on two sturdy corn tortillas and come with your choice of meat. I liked that there’s a heaping portion of meat that is served with tacos; in fact, I had spillover from my three tacos to create a fourth.

Reviewing the meat choices, I was disappointed with the steak because it was actually dry ground beef, and the marinated pork was surprisingly bland. The lamb, however, was perfect: tender and flavorful (even though it tasted more like goat than lamb). This is what I’ll order next time, too. Your other choices are chicken and chorizo, by the way.

20170403_120536The pork tamale ($1.50; chicken or cheese are the other fillings) grows on you. The exterior is a bit dry, but it’s aided by the red salsa inside. At this point I want to mention that both the homemade red and green salsas are “creamy” and contain so much flavor that I ended up using them with other entrees not from the restaurant–that’s how much I enjoyed them.

Now for the unique items. You’ll get tons of that aforementioned lamb in the consome ($8.99), which aside from the not-too-soft chickpeas that clashed with the rice, carrots, potatoes and onion, made for a satisfying dish. Menudo (soup, $9.99) and a lamb plate ($10.99), plus a fish fry, are some of the other items from this section of the menu.

If you have a sweet tooth, note that Los Atlantes also doubles as a small bakery, with a display case of freshly made treats such as conchas available.

Los Atlantes is open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Los Atlantes Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Akari Sushi

Saturday, April 1st, 2017

20170321_122447The owners of Chang Hua Garden converted their Chinese takeout restaurant into Akari Sushi, located near the corner of Gammon and Schroeder, earlier this year. For a strip mall restaurant, the food is decent and worth at least a consideration if you live or work in the area.

The majority of my focus was on the 16 freshly prepared special rolls, since this is a sushi place, after all. You’ll find a lot of flavor in the Out of Control ($10.50) special roll, via the tender pepper tuna and the generous piece of spicy tuna, as well as the avocado and the miso sauce.

On the other hand, the Hot Girl ($9.99) was surprisingly bland and not that spicy, despite being composed of spicy tuna and spicy salmon (plus avocado) and topped with spicy mayo. I do commend it for its atypical appearance, as it’s wrapped in a pink sushi sheet. Meanwhile, the Lake City ($9.99) combines tender smoked salmon with crunchy shrimp tempura, and the two pair well together. The roll was topped with a teriyaki glaze instead of the listed spicy mayo, but I think that was for the better.

20170321_121148Other special rolls include the Snow Stone ($10.50 with soft shell crab tempura with white tuna) and the Mango Lover ($9.99 with crabmeat and mango avocado). You’ll also find standard sushi rolls, sashimi and sushi entrees.

I did try other items from the enormous menu, which leans toward Japanese fare. I really enjoyed the spicy crab meat salad ($5.25). It’s basically a crab roll without the rice, with julienne cucumbers and crab, mixed with just enough spicy mayo and topped with bits of fried dough to add crunch.

The beef short ribs teriyaki ($8.95) was disappointing. The entree was mostly comprised of sauteed onions, and the short ribs–what little amount was provided–were super tough and primarily tasted like onions. The accompanying fried rice was slightly undercooked.

Akari Sushi is open every day for lunch, dinner and delivery. You’ll likely order to go, as there are only two tiny tables inside.

Akari Sushi Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

    Madison Symphony Orchestra Urban Air

  • Blog Home

    You are currently browsing the EatDrinkMadison.com blog archives for April, 2017.

  • Archives

  • Categories