It’s been almost a year since the Dayton Street Grille became CIRC, the latest to hold the mantle of the restaurant at the Concourse Hotel. Not much is different between CIRC and the Dayton Street Grille (or even Ovations before that); in fact, the famous salad bar remains intact. As a result, CIRC is still a good choice for lunch, but you’ll have better options nearby for dinner.
I don’t want to say anything more about the salad bar other than I appreciate that you can find a sandwich station in addition to salads and soups. The only soup I tried was the tomato basil ($5 on its own), which was super thick and surprisingly filling. The other soups are ginger carrot and roasted chicken white bean chili; there is no soup du jour. If you don’t want the salad bar, you also can order one of several prepared salads, like the crab salad ($11).
Flatbreads and sandwiches comprise the rest of the lunch menu. The pepperoni and sausage flatbread ($9) is generously topped with sausage and includes large, thick-cut slices of pepperoni. The thin, grilled flatbread held up well. I also enjoyed the short rib sliders ($12). You get a big chunk of short rib, and I was pleased when biting down on the tender and flavorful meat that’s complemented by a dab of horseradish potato aioli.
The appetizers on the dinner menu seem to be heavy on seafood. For example, there’s the fried rock shrimp and calamari ($9), a dish that was supremely bland (I had to empty a salt shaker to get some taste) and overcrowded with fried Anaheim peppers. I probably should have ordered something else, like the Scandinavian salmon ceviche ($9).
The Urfa pepper-braised lamb ($25) was a mixed bag. The moist, tender lamb was buried under a tasteless smattering of toasted couscous, broccoli rab and undercooked root veggies. Meanwhile, the seared day boat scallops ($27) was a yummy combination of scallops, Jordandal Farm bacon and Mascarpone cauliflower purée.
Specialty cocktails include the overpriced Paul Bunyan ($11), which has Bulleit bourbon, maple syrup and bitters, and the soothing hot buttered rum ($7), sure to warm you up on a cold day.
CIRC is open for breakfast and lunch every day and dinner Monday-Saturday.
***
See more photos in our CIRC Flickr album.
You know why there are more and more restaurants selling ramen in Madison? It’s because ramen is inexpensive and delicious. Taking a simple bowl of noodles and adding textures and flavors is a winning recipe, and that recipe can be found at the newly opened 
Rice dishes, in both teriyaki and curry form, also are on the menu. The super-thick sauce in the pork cutlet curry ($7.75) reminded me of gravy in terms of texture, but it was still a very tasty curry, though light on spices. The pork cutlet had a 2-to-1 breading-to-meat ratio, yet I appreciated the texture contrast it brought to the dish.
Make sure before you visit 
to the rest of the menu. The Guinness Brat Sliders ($9) seemed like they should have been on the Tavern Shares. The pretzel roll was a bit tough, and the Guinness-infused brats tasted like regular, plain brats. The Chimay Burger ($12.50) was much better, with its thick, nicely grilled patty inside a brioche bun.
