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Madison Food & Wine Show 2011

October 19th, 2011

The 10th annual Madison Food & Wine Show, presented by Madison Magazine, takes place Friday-Sunday at Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center. If you can’t attend, make sure to follow me on Twitter (@EatDrinkMadison), as I’ll be live-tweeting all weekend from the event.

As usual, I’m looking forward to sampling some of the 300 wines and taste some of the gourmet food. I even re-watched “Sideways” this week to get me in the wine mood. Here’s some more info on the event:

Tickets

A one-day pass is $37/advance, $42/door, while a weekend pass is $60/advance, $70/door. Order online or at outlets throughout the city. Note: no one under the age of 21 is allowed–no exceptions.

Friday, 5-9 p.m.

Events include “How to Host a Wine Party” ($10) and a beer and chocolate pairing ($10). Also, see the first two rounds of the dueling chefs competition.

Saturday, noon-5 p.m.

Check out the port and bleu cheese tasting ($10), Madison College’s pastry arts cake decorating and a Chef Showcase with Rod Ladson of Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse.

Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

The finalists of the Big Cheese Cook-off will compete to make the best grilled cheese sandwich. In addition, catch the finals of the dueling chefs competition.

The Egg and I

October 16th, 2011

The Egg and I opened last month in the same development where Bonfyre is, near American TV. The chain restaurant is similar to a Denny’s or Perkin’s, except it only serves breakfast and lunch.

While the food was good, the terrible service left a bitter taste in my mouth. For some reason, the Egg and I had four hostesses at the entrance (plus the manager), yet I only counted three waitresses. We sat at our table for almost 10 minutes without any contact, which forced me to tell a hostess that we hadn’t been visited by a waitress yet.

Our waitress apologized to us without a decent excuse; I heard her apologize to her other tables as well. During the meal, which took a staggering 25 minutes to arrive (it’s just eggs, after all), two other waitresses dropped trays of dishes. I’m recommending that you wait another 3-4 months (if this place is even still open) to give the staff more time to train.

Now, on to the food. The corned beef hash ($8.79) was very good and definitely not out of a can. It was served with two eggs and a side of Hollandaise sauce, which surprisingly complemented the corned beef hash quite well. I added a side of bacon, and it was perfectly cooked in the seemingly hard-to-reach medium between too crispy and too soggy.

The waffles also were good–moist and tasty. In addition, I was pleased that there were a few flavors of coffee, all freshly ground and bottomless. I enjoyed my seasonal blend.

I would not recommend the Wisconsin Scramble ($7.29), which was three eggs scrambled with Swiss, Monterey Jack, Cheddar and cream cheese. It may sound good in theory, but in actuality, the dish is too soupy. Other skillets and scrambles include the Texas (includes steak) and the Athena (includes feta cheese and spinach).

The rest of the breakfast menu consists of omelettes, frittatas, pancakes/waffles/french toast, benedicts and “Smarter Choices” (aka healthier).

The Egg and I is open every day. It also has a free meeting room and WiFi.

The Egg & I on Urbanspoon

Madtown Pizza

October 9th, 2011

At the request of an individual who emailed me, I checked out Madtown Pizza, which opened this summer in the space once occupied by Supreme Pizza on the near east side. Location, however, is where the similarities end between the two establishments.

While I always thought Supreme Pizza served a flavorless, cardboard-like pie, Madtown Pizza’s version is much better. It comes down to a simple formula: better ingredients, better … uh, maybe I can’t finish that line because it’s trademarked, but you get my drift.

The Wisconsin Bacon Burger pizza has ground beef, bacon, onions, “cheese and more cheese.” I actually didn’t think it had that much cheese on it, but it still was flavorful. You can order it, along with three other specialty pizzas, in 12″ ($12.59), 16″ ($18.59) or 20″ ($24.59).

You also can build your own pizza, with toppings varying from $1.25 to $2.25, depending on the size of the pizza.

I also tried the Bountiful Recipe Spaghetti ($6.69), which came with sausage and black olives. This also was a departure from Supreme’s terribly bland spaghetti; this one is definitely worth ordering, though it could use more sausage.

Lastly, you can get sandwiches ($4.99) and calzones ($2.25 for a mini, $4.50 for regular).

Madtown Pizza is open for dinner, carryout and delivery every day. The sign still says to be patient with them through its soft-opening–it was evident to me based on how many times I had to call until someone finally picked up the phone, and that one of the employees didn’t know how to work the cash register and so he just walked away without saying anything.

Madtown Pizza on Urbanspoon

    Madison Symphony Orchestra Urban Air

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