Restaurant Review: Tornado Steakhouse

The Tornado Steakhouse is one of the finest steakhouses in the Midwest. They have been around for about 16 years but the building/restaurant which houses the Tornado has been around far longer than that. This is a modern supperclub. If you don't know what a supper club is, you probably didn't grow up in the Midwest. There is a particular ambiance of a supperclub that Tornado nails head on in a classy way. Tornado is mood-lit and a highly sociable environment with a strong cocktail menu and a food menu heavy on steak, venison, and well-made seafood. One of the hallmarks of a supper club is the relish tray that starts the meal. A glass of ice with very fresh carrots, celery, olives, and radishes start off the meal. Our visitor from Florida wasn't quite sure what to make of it and if it was for eating or for decoration.

While the mood lighting made taking pictures of the food nearly impossible, it does make for a comfortable dining experience. Tornado being just off of the capitol square has been a long time favorite for politicians and lobbyists making their dirty deals as well as a higher form of clientele such as drug dealers and children's TV hosts. In all honesty it's a comfortable and great establishment for everyone who is interested in the finest meats in Madison.

Restaurant Review: La Mestiza

La Mestiza has a very strong grasp on the Fry-o-lator arts. Here is a shot of the -half- basket of fresh and hot tortilla chips they set down in front of you before ordering.

You will have a devil of a hard time finding better tortilla chips in all of Madison. These are amazingly crispy, warm, flaky and just bursting with flavor. This -half- basket of chips are worthy of a visit to La Mestiza all by themselves! Why they only brought us a -half- basket, I will never know.

Madison's 5 Best Burger's

 Now here is a shirt I can get behind! From Redbubble.com

Here is my list of Madison's Best Burgers! First off I have immediately taken any chains off of the list, Culver's, Five Guys, AJ bombers etc. all make amazing burgers, but we are looking for Madison exclusives!

Number 5 Dottie's Dumpling's Dowry: The Melting Pot / $8.89

Cheddar, Swiss, and provolone make this a true Wisconsin Burger. Combining all the cheese, Jones Farm Bacon, and Dottie's English Garlic Sauce makes this a perennial favorite. What more can you ask for then a ton a cheese and bacon on a burger? This burger makes me forget about how much "better" Dottie's was when I was a kid and they were in their old location.

Number 4 Brasserie V: the V Burger / $11

Fountain Prairie Farm Dry Aged Beef, onion straws, muenster cheese, spinach, and aioli. This is a great high end burger served on sliced bread from Madison Sourdough. Every ingredient is well sourced and well prepared. The burger itself is a 6 oz. patty which doesn't fit perfectly in the bread but has so many other tasty ingredients that every bite is a pleasure. Pair this with one of Brasserie V's 1.75 billion beers and your night is made!

Restaurant Review: VIP Asian Cuisine

This is a relatively new establishment on Odana road. They specialize in Chinese and Japanese food with two separate menu's.

Since this was a work meal and the restaurant was dark, I didn't take pictures of the food. I know, "excuses excuses," I'll just have to be extra descriptive! Everything was eaten family style.

We started out with appetizers:

Chef's Roll:
(rock shrimp tempura and crab, rolled in bean paper wrappers with brown rice)
This was a weekly special. The flavors were well balanced and the sushi rice was well made. I wasn't left missing the more traditional seaweed wrapping, the alternative wrapping did a good job of highlighting the flavors of the rice and tempura.

Veggie tempura:
Fried broccoli, carrot, asparagus, etc. This restaurant is a fine purveyor of the fry-o-later arts. Everything was very lightly battered and fried tender but not overdone.

Pork dumplings in sweet Szechuan chili sauce:
Yowza! This one was good. The sweet chili sauce almost reminded me of a Thai chili sauce that I get at Suwanasak. Great pork dumplings come swimming in that spicy sauce. Szechuan food is characterized by the interesting peppers that are used.

Szechuan peppercorns. Photo by Nocas on flickr.com

These are highly aromatic peppers which are not very spicy, however they to have the odd effect of numbing your tongue when you bite into them. This can be helpful because they are usually paired with huge amounts of other extremely spicy peppers.

Restaurant Review: Umami Ramen & Dumpling Bar

Let me give you a little background. I have been to Umami twice one year apart for a yearly large group.

I want so very much to like this place. I used to live in Japantown in San Francisco where there are amazing ramen joints cheek by jowl. I have high requirements for my ramen.

The first time I went, one year ago, when I sat down the table was quite sticky. Like, this hasn't been wiped down in a few days sticky. In a place where long noodles are slurped, and everything comes with a dipping sauce, good deep cleaning with a towel is required between every patron. This should really be done at every restaurant everywhere. I will admit, some of the stickiness could be due to the incredibly thick lacquer on the table reacting to hot dishes being placed on it. If that is the case you definitely shouldn't have those tables in a restaurant without tablecloths.

One year later I was hoping to give them a second chance.

Restaurant Review: Grampa's Pizzeria

Gilbert Altschul the Chef/Owner of the 1 year old Grampa's Pizzeria on Williamson street knows his ingredients. He knows his suppliers. He even knows where to get a bunch of old guns.

In the former location of Grampa's Gun shop, in the liberal bastion of Willy street, Pizza has replaced firearms. And I for one, feel fuller for it.

I've been in a few times since they opened and they have earned my loyalty. With star studded starters which specialize in seasonally sourced supplies they make succulent and seasonal dishes like this Shishito with Bonito starter.

Blackened Shishito peppers with Bonito Flakes

The peppers were slightly spicy, but not overpoweringly so. The bonito flakes added just a hint of umami flavor. It's an absolutely tasty dish with an interesting effect. Since the peppers are hot, the rising steam and hot air escaping from the peppers makes the razor thin shavings of Bonito dance in the currents! (look Ma I made a gif!). It's like heat distortions rising from the concrete in summer.