Posts Tagged ‘Middleton’

Cafe Zupas

Sunday, July 9th, 2017

20170630_124915Cafe Zupas is a chain restaurant that serves soups, sandwiches and salads. It’s a perfect spot for lunch, especially if you’re around the Greenway Station area.

The space is very bright. You’ll probably encounter a long, snaking line that may remind you of an airport, except it’s not depressing and actually fast-moving. The reason the line moves relatively quickly is because Cafe Zupas has around a dozen employees working the food prep area, and each takes a different order (e.g. a person dedicated solely to soup).

Let’s start with the soups (half $4.59, large $6.59). You can choose standard soups, like tomato bisque and New England Clam Chowder, or ones that are more unique, like red pepper & lobster. The Wisconsin cauliflower was perfectly thick and creamy. The cauliflower flavor wasn’t overpowering, which was nice, and I’m glad I added the applewood-smoked bacon pieces ($0.69) for a little saltiness.

The sandwiches ($5.99) are normal size, meaning not crazy big like other restaurants serve. I was considering the Cuban grilled pork but instead settled on the crab avocado melt. Even with the crab salad, cheese, avocado and bacon, the sandwich leaned on the bland side. In fact, I had to dip it in the chipotle ranch that came with my salad to get through it.

20170630_124720On the other hand, I didn’t need to use the chipotle ranch with my glazed chicken chipotle salad ($5.99 half, $7.99 large). The glaze itself was slightly sweet, and it enhanced the bland chicken, which was similar to packaged chicken you find in a grocery store. The salad was otherwise a well-crafted ensemble of peppers, tortilla strips, corn, black beans, red onions, tomatoes and cheese.

If you can’t make a decision, you may combine soups, sandwiches and salads into Try 2 combos.

Three quinoa protein bowls ($8.99) also are on the menu. The Mexicali Braised Pork bowl was super fresh, and the pork was tender. However, there wasn’t much quinoa included, making the bowl basically another salad.

Cafe Zupas is open Monday-Saturday for lunch and dinner.

Cafe Zupas Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Taqueria Gonzalez

Sunday, July 2nd, 2017

20170623_120615Taqueria Gonzalez is equal parts grocery store and restaurant located in a strip mall in Middleton. It’ll certainly satisfy your Mexican food cravings if you’re in the area.

First, let’s discuss the format. When you enter, an employee standing in front of a counter under the menu will take your order. You’ll then take a seat (FYI, there’s not much seating), and your food will be brought out to you. When you’re done, you’ll go to another counter, tell them what you ordered and then you’ll pay.

The menu consists of 10 items plus specials. Of course, I had to try the tacos ($2) at a taqueria. I liked my steak taco ($2) because the steak was juicy and tender, and there was enough flavor that I didn’t need any sauce. Other toppings include tinga, chorizo and for an extra charge, barbacoa.

The torta de jamon ($5.99) is huge. Despite the relatively high bread-to-meat ratio, the sandwich was enjoyable because of the lightly fried ham, crunchy peppers and fresh tomato and avocado. The regular tortas ($8.99) has more meat.

20170623_120608Other menu items include sopes ($3.50) and burritos ($8.99). You may notice the pricing here is inconsistent, as some items end in .99 cents, and others are rounded to .00 or .50.

One of the specials was the tamales ($7). Most of the ones I’ve ordered recently at various restaurants have been super dry, but fortunately, that was not the case here. The tamale and the chicken were both moist, although they both were fairly bland (the two kinds of table salsa helped). The accompanying Mexican rice was super fluffy, and the refried beans had zero taste.

Taqueria Gonzalez is open every day for lunch and dinner.

Taqueria Gonzalez Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Summer bucket list 2017

Sunday, June 11th, 2017

steve-miller-band(This is an update of a previous blog post.)

When you live a northern state like Wisconsin, you have to really take advantage of the seemingly few warm days we have. Madison, like Milwaukee, Chicago and other nearby cities, really crams a lot of events together from May to September.

Here is a list of things I look forward to doing each summer in and around Madison:

  • Community festivals such as Verona Hometown Days
  • Dane County Farmers’ Market, followed by Bloody Marys at Genna’s (which is open at 10 a.m. Saturdays during Farmers’ Market)
  • Concerts on the Square
  • Bike Night at Quaker Steak
  • Boating on Lake Mendota (with a stop at Three-Foot Bay)
  • Tubing on the Sugar River (and hanging out afterward at Wisconsin Riverside Resort)
  • Concert at Breese Stevens Field
  • Memorial Union Terrace
  • Backyard concerts at Wisconsin Brewing Co.
  • Governor Nelson State Park
  • Golf outings (especially the Middleton Chamber’s)
  • Sand volleyball
  • Flea market at McGaw Park
  • Madison Mallards Duck Blind
  • Brewers tailgate
  • A double-feature at Highway 18 Outdoor Theatre
  • Live on King Street
  • Mad-City Ski Team show
  • Maxwell Street Days
  • Art Fair on the Square
  • Taste of Madison (and Taste of Madison judging)

What’s on your summer to-do list in Madison? Let us know in the comments section.

    Madison Symphony Orchestra Urban Air

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