March, 2018 | EatDrinkMadison.com - Part 2EatDrinkMadison.com

Archive for March, 2018

St. Patrick’s Day in Madison 2018

Thursday, March 8th, 2018

Irishish When you think of a city that really celebrates St. Patrick’s Day, you think of Madison, right? Ha! Well, even though we’re not at the caliber of a Chicago or a Boston, we have a surprising amount of events. Here are some highlights:

WJJO/Miller Lite .10K Run/Walk (Saturday, March 10): Each year on the Saturday before St. Patty’s Day, 1,200 people “race” from State Street Brats to Wando’s (we used to run to Brother’s before it closed). This takes place after they’ve been drinking since 9 a.m. of course. The partying continues throughout the day at Kollege Klub, Church Key, Double U and Whiskey Jacks.

Bud Light St. Patrick’s Day Regent Crawl (Saturday, March 10): Bagpipers will lead this bar crawl that starts at noon at Sconniebar and heads east down Regent Street. There will of course be specials on Bud and some giveaways, too.

Shamrock Shuffle (Saturday, March 17): If you want to do a race longer than one block, Saturday’s trot through campus is for you. The 5K/10K run and 2M walk to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County and the Children’s Dyslexia Center starts at 10 a.m. at the 400 block of State Street and includes a post-race party.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Saturday, March 17): I actually had class with Katie O’Phelan, the originator of the annual march around the Capitol Square, now in its 21st year. The parade starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, and the grand marshal is Peter Kraus from the “Bachelorette.”

Endless live music and parties: Pick a bar, any bar, and you’ll likely find live entertainment on March 17. Here are a few examples:

Erin’s Snug has the Troy Shanks Duo
High Noon has the Kissers
Gates & Brovi has The Old Tin Can String Band
Lazy Oaf Lounge has Saturday Morning Cartel
The Come Back In, Wisco and Ruby have a band-bar crawl
The East Side Club has a St. Pat’s Eve Fest (March 11)
Brocach has the Kissers (March 15)

Tags: St. Patrick's Day
Posted in Holidays and Events | Comments Off on St. Patrick’s Day in Madison 2018

Ziggy’s BBQ Smokehouse

Sunday, March 4th, 2018

20180211_121630 I didn’t expect to find decent BBQ in Oregon, but I was pleasantly surprised by the offerings, especially the sauces, of Ziggy’s BBQ Smokehouse.

The name is telling, as many of the items have a stronger smoky flavor than you typically find. The ribs ($14.95 half rack, $18.95 full rack) are some of the meatiest ribs I’ve encountered in a while. Despite being described as dry-rubbed, the ribs (at least the Texas version) didn’t have much seasoning, so unless you add some sauce, every tender bite will be a smoky sensation.

The smoked pork butt ($9.95) is similarly seasoned–as in, barely any–and smoky. Unfortunately, it was very dry, and it required a lot of the BBQ sauces to get through it. As I mentioned, I really enjoyed all four sauces, especially the hot sauce, even though it wasn’t spicy. All the sauces were the right thickness–not too watery, not too dense.

(Note, I actually ordered the bone-in pork chop, but the server messed up my order, so I stuck with the pork butt.)

The Big Zig ($11.99) is massive and could almost be part of some eating challenge. You have flavors coming at you from all angles, namely the onion rings, jalapenos, brisket, pulled pork, bacon, cheddar cheese and pepperjack cheese. The sandwich would have been even more enjoyable had it not been for the aforementioned dry pulled pork, along with the dry (and smoky) brisket.

20180211_121750 I also enjoyed the jumbo smoked bone-in chicken wings ($0.75 per wing), which are plump and sport a char from the grill. The garlic parmesan sauce did not disappoint. Your other choices in sauces are BBQ and mild buffalo.

The smoked chicken salad ($7.95) was as average as a salad could be. The smoked chicken was tasty, but it came in tiny morsels amounting to maybe an ounce or two in portion. The craisins added some badly needed depth.

Sides include mini corn on the cob and southern-style green beans. The cajun fries were simply steak fries with a little cajun seasoning. The macaroni and cheese was standard, and the cornbread was sweet and fluffy–I could have eaten a whole batch.

Ziggy’s BBQ Smokehouse serves lunch and dinner every day and breakfast Tuesday-Sunday. It also has a small ice cream shop attached to it.