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Food version of the Sweet 16

March 23rd, 2014

Congrats to the Wisconsin Badgers and the other 15 teams that made the NCAA Sweet 16. Let’s replace the basketball players with foods/beverages that are representative of the university, city or state of the team. You’ll now have the following as a bracket:

Florida Key Lime Pie		Arizona Prickly Pear Cactus
UCLA Pink’s Chili Dog		San Diego State Fish Taco

Dayton Cincinnati Chili		Baylor Brisket
Stanford Google (Synthetic) Burger		Wisconsin Babcock Ice Cream

Virginia Country Ham		Kentucky Burgoo
Michigan State Cherry Pie		Louisville Mint Julep

Iowa State Sweet Corn		Tennessee “Meat and Three”
Connecticut Quahog		Michigan Blimpy Burger

Based on these food items, I have UCLA over Florida, Dayton over Stanford and UCLA over Dayton in the South bracket; San Diego State over Arizona, Baylor over Wisconsin (sorry!) and Baylor over San Diego State in the West bracket; Virginia over Michigan State, Connecticut over Iowa State and Virginia over Connecticut in the East bracket; and Louisville over Kentucky, Michigan (barely) over Tennessee and Louisville over Michigan in the Midwest bracket. In the Final Four, I have UCLA over Virginia and Baylor over Louisville. In the national championship game, I give the nod to Baylor over UCLA in a tough matchup.

Tags: NCAA Tournament
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St. Patrick’s Day checklist

March 16th, 2014

Time for a challenge: complete all the stereotypical St. Patrick’s Day tasks below. Have fun and good luck!

Watch the St. Patrick’s Day parade on the Capitol Square
Eat at least two of the following items at a local restaurant:
- Corned beef and cabbage
- Irish soda bread
- Irish stew
- Shepherd’s pie
- Lucky Charms (bonus if you can find them)
Consume at least two of the following drinks at a local bar:
- Green beer
- Irish car bomb
- Jameson, 2 Gingers or Red Breast (shot, neat or on-the-rocks)
- Guinness, Murphy’s or Harp beer
- McDonald’s Shamrock Shake
Have at least one drink before noon (anytime during the week)
Take a picture with someone wearing a “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” T-shirt
Wear a green St. Patrick’s Day T-shirt with some other funny slogan
Participate in an organized walk/run of any length (e.g. Shamrock Shuffle, WJJO .10K Race, etc.)
Wear green beads. Bonus if they have a shot glass attached to them.
Spot someone dressed as a leprechaun
Listen to live bagpipe music. Bonus if the song is something other than “Scotland the Brave”
See any other live band
Don’t wear a jacket when you go out because it’s March and should be a lot warmer

Consider yourself someone who really gets into the “traditional” St. Patrick’s Day celebration if you can complete at least 75 percent of this list.

Tags: St. Patrick's Day
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Godfather’s Pizza

March 9th, 2014

I remember as a kid visiting relatives in Green Bay and having Godfather’s Pizza, thinking it was a local pizza place. With more than 600 locations nationwide, the chain opened quietly in the Madison area in late 2012 with Godfather’s Pizza Verona and Godfather’s Pizza Fitchburg.

I like the pizza, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. You would consider carryout on your way home or as you’re getting gas, since both locations are inside gas stations.

Seven specialty pizzas ($4.79 for a mini, $15.99 for a large) kick off the menu. The All-Meat Combo is topped generously with beef, pepperoni, sausage, ham, Italian sausage and bacon bits. Just be warned that the flavor of the sausage overwhelms any of the other meats.

I was expecting the pickles to be baked alongside the beef, bacon and onions in the Bacon Cheeseburger pizza, but to my surprise, they were placed atop each slice. I thought this pizza did actually taste like a cheeseburger, and the pickles added a nice sweetness. I would order this again.

The crusts at Godfather’s Pizza aren’t special, but they are a step up from Papa John’s crusts. At least there isn’t that much crust overall, as the toppings go pretty much all the way to the end.

Godfather’s has plenty of sides, though at no time did they ever have monkey bread when I ordered. The bland breadsticks ($2.99) are saved by a marinara dipping sauce, and the cinnamon sticks ($2.99) need more frosting and cinnamon flavor.

The shining star of the sides were the pizza rolls (one for $1.99, two for $2.99). If you ever had the pepperoni rolls at Gumby’s, these are about three times bigger, more meal-like and they aren’t stuffed with under-cooked dough, as was often the case with Gumby’s pepperoni rolls. Godfather’s pizza rolls are well-seasoned, and I liked them even better with a side of marinara and crushed red pepper.

Four sandwiches ($3.99) grace the menu. I tried just one–the spicy sausage. First, it wasn’t spicy at all. The sandwich, made on ciabatta bread, was basically a pizza with (soggy) lettuce folded onto itself. In other words, while the sandwich is a bargain at its price, don’t make this a high priority when ordering.

Both locations are open for lunch and dinner every day, and the Fitchburg location also serves a limited selection of breakfast pizzas in the morning. Call ahead and be prepared for a 25-30-minute wait.

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See more photos at our Godfather’s Pizza Flickr set.