Eating in Madison A to Z

UW Union South (Sett)

In a word: Belongs between a match and the game.

The specs: #0768  
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Yelp, official web site;

Latest Sett news and reviews at del.icio.us

Bill ate the burger and fries with a fountain drink.
JM ate the nachos and a chicken sandwich with a lemonade.
Jennifer ate the Spicy Cat sandwich with fries.
Nichole ate the chicken sandwich with tortilla chips, salsa and a beer.
Nino ate the Spicy Cat sandwich with onion rings.
Toby ate the Usinger's brat with garlic fries.
The bill was about $12/person, plus tip.
Bill and Toby gave the Sett an A-; Nichole, Nino and JM gave the Sett a B+; Jennifer gave the Sett a B (see our grading rubric).

UW Union South was added to the list as four locations but they all started with "UW Union South" and since they are all serviced and run by the same organization, we considered it a chain. Which was a handy cheat, because despite Union staff's reassurances to the contrary just a week before, the Sett was the only food vendor open on the day after Thanksgiving. Ginger Root, Harvest Grains, Prairie Fire and Urban Slice (not to be confused with Urban Pizza - remember them?) were all closed. Has anyone been? Are they good?

Sadly, our notes were not very clear on who had what so the rest of this post is a little diffuse. Stick around for the art at the end.

The thing about the Sett is that it seems like it's still mostly Sysco supplied. So while the Usinger's brat and onion rings combo was a good one, there's nothing really super about it relative to its environs. The Spicy Cat cajun-spiced catfish sandwiches were passable. The nachos were out-of-the-box nachos, maybe a little sweet and pepper-spicy.

Nothing really stood out apart from Bill's burger. Bill liked his burger a lot. You can trust his opinion. He's a burger expert.

They do have an extensive selection of local microbrews but they're called "imports." Does not compute. Didn't keep us from partaking.

Now for the real problem: it is very loud inside the actual Sett. Like someone screaming at you at all times from wall-to-wall TVs loud. On the other hand, pointed out Nino, it would be a good place to have a one-on-one conversation safe from eavesdropping.

We only found quiet in the Sun Garden by the huge fireplace, and when we took some time to see Time (Im)material, a gallery show in which Toby took part. His installation, Horizon Life, was beautiful and meditative. Also compelling was Susan J White's Gut Lace. Wow. We're glad we got to see it. (Be sure to check out, har, Bookless on January 28, 2012.)

Anyway. We enjoyed the company of those with us far more than we enjoyed the Sett's fare. 

Tropical Cuisine

In a word: Has forgone the corn strategy.

The specs: #0767  
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Yelp; official web site, Facebook,

Latest Tropical Cuisine news and reviews at del.icio.us

Darby ate the stuffed banana and a shrimp turnover with a pineapple Goya.
JM ate the steak jibarrito with a fountain drink.
Nichole ate the lunch combo with pork, pigeon peas, tostones, and a fountain drink.
The bill was about $9/person, plus tip.
JM and Nichole gave Tropical Cuisine a B+; Darby gave Tropical Cuisine a C- (see our grading rubric).

Tropical Cuisine is Madison's first Puerto Rican restaurant, tucked behind Maharani on Broom Street. We went for lunch on the day before Thanksgiving. Mom and son(s?) were running the show; Food TV was on the big screens and we learned something about knife technique while we talked about holiday traditions and airport food. Darby knows a surprisingly good sushi spot at a hub somewhere, but we can't remember where she said it was.

She had the least happy experience, so we'll get that description out of the way. Thinking she'd save room for dessert since flan, a favorite, was on the whiteboard menu, she got 2 appetizers. Sadly, they were both out of flan and decidedly not in the business of light apps. Both the stuffed banana (battered and deep fried) and the shrimp turnover (like a deep-fried empanada) were overdone (and poorly photographed - Nichole's bad).

JM had better luck, even just in choice of side dish. The bean half of the side of beans and rice was exceptional. Small cubes of sweet potato and spiced ham turned plain, tender kidney beans into a meal unto themselves.

He took Lindsay's advice from our last stop and got the steak jibarrito, a sandwich with fried plantains starring as "The Bread." With special sauce, lettuce, cheese, and onions, it tasted remarkably like a Big Mac, but totally in a good way.

Nichole got the lunch combo: an entree and two sides from the steam tray. A generous pile of dark roast pork - complete with a strip of delicious crispy fat - was paired with salty pigeon peas in rice and fresh, soft tostones. Redemption!

If only Tropical Cuisine had been here earlier to capitalize on the low-carb trend when it was peaking, we think their Double-Down-esque sandwiches and courage to serve lipids would have served them well.

They also have the island mood that favors fresh air and a relaxed pace. But as we sat under a vent blasting (not unpleasant) warm air onto our table, we got to thinking they should have considered closing the front door sometime before Thanksgiving.

Tempest Oyster Bar

In a word: Heroes on a half shell.

The specs: #0766  
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Wisconsin State Journal, Eat Drink Madison, Yelp, Yahoo!, A.V. Club, Best Bloody Mary; chatter at TDPF; official web site, Facebook,

Latest Tempest Oyster Bar news and reviews at del.icio.us

JM, Lindsay and Nichole ate some things from the Happy Hour menu: a smoke stack, a fish cake, a couple shrimp cocktails, and an oyster Rockefeller; plus the fish and chips entree with a lemonade, a Keelhaul, and a glass of white wine.
The bill was $46, or $15ish/person, plus tip (thanks, Lindsay! edit: see Lindsay's review 9/21/11)
Lindsay gave Tempest an A; JM and Nichole gave Tempest an A- (see our grading rubric).

The early reports of Tempest had us dreading a kitschy nautical-themed grotto. Based on accounts of a boat and a big clam shell replacing the bull sculpture and antler chandeliers of Restaurant Magnus (which were equally fantastic), we chose to hedge our bets and go for Happy Hour. Dinner entrees run in the $15 range, but nibbles are just 2 or 3 clams each. It turns out that if dinner is as well-executed as Happy Hour, Tempest is probably not a bad place to indulge a craving for bivalves. In Madison. For what that's worth. (This is not where the fish lives.)

At Happy Hour, specialty cocktails and select wines are available for $5. The Keelhaul, made with gin, Old Sugar's ouzo, muddled cucumber and lime was delicious and made it hard for Nichole to frown about anything later. The lemonade was fine if a little watery and once Lindsay was brought the wine she asked for, we were all happy.

At Happy Hour oysters in various preps are available for mere pennies. Here we have some of chef's choice, one with cocktail sauce and fresh horseradish, one with a soy/garlic jus.

Our server couldn't explain what a smoke stack was (this was the only eye in the storm of otherwise fine service - there was also some confusion about rose vs. white wine) but it was exquisite: a four-bite tower of scallop, smoked whitefish and salmon topped with caviar that was both complex in flavor and pretty in presentation.

The fish cake, flaked whitefish bound with crumbs and lipids and sealed with a delicious hot-grill sear, is also worth coming back for. The oysters Rockefeller were pretty heavy on what tasted like pork or bacon, not typical for the recipe (hazy memories thanks to the Keelhaul).

The fried fish entree came with buttery fresh peas - a breath of spring in a cold autumn - and frites over a sweet malt vinegar reduction. The fish itself (we're not sure what kind) was deliciously greasy and we just wanted for a little rye bread (but we credit MFF for raising our expectations in re. the need for bread with fish fry).

Tempest doesn't fail when attempting the nearly impossible. For its Herculean effort, we recommend it as long as you can remember where you are. If you wanna put your mouth around a mollusk, here's the best, closest place to do it.