Eating in Madison A to Z

Victory

In a word: Of the people.

The specs: #0769  
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Yelp; Facebook, official web site,

Latest Victory news and reviews at del.icio.us

JM ate the ham and cheese panino. (#66)
Nichole ate the chorizo empanada with a macchiato (comped).
The bill was $11, or $5ish/person, plus tip.
JM gave Victory an A-; Nichole gave Victory an A (see our grading rubric).

Victory opened in late summer 2010 but didn't appear on the List until October 2011. As it happens, our post-W make-up visit on Thanksgiving weekend was just 11 days after a large rock bearing a political anti-recall note crashed through the Victory's front window.

These are the times we live in.

According to the owner, Patrick, the rock was propelled with such force that it hit the back wall of the cafe. Fortunately it was higher than the heads of the customers sitting in the window, and no one was hurt.

The window was not covered by insurance. While Patrick wasn't planning to ask for donations, a young customer who was in the cafe that night decorated a jar asking for support. It flooded in; meanwhile, they patched up the window with protest posters and the now-iconic blue painter's tape. It was sort of beautiful.

We haven't been back since then because we've been so fixated on getting the list done, but you can bet we would go the distance for Victory.

We had a small lunch. Nichole got a macchiato, which Patrick fixed while they talked about the rock and another worker put together JM's panino. Patrick then comped the macchiato because he was concerned that the conversation overrun the espresso's optimum consumption window. It was still perfect.

The ham and cheese panino was fantastic, with sweet ham, soft, slightly gritty white cheese (gruyere?), spinach, and a honey mustard that had a belated horseradish kick, all on an airy/chewy roll.

Spotting a familiar, whimsical font on the sign for empanadas, Nichole knew she was in luck. Not only was the Honey Bee chorizo empanada with red peppers and a wee bit of potato almost as good as it had been at Bea's Bonnet, it was served with a spoonful of blood-red hot sauce that might have been Sriracha ketchup. Eating it between sips of coffee felt like accomplishing something, somehow.

Looking back now, clearly Victory rose up over those unfortunate circumstances. We hope they continue serving coffee and delicious sandwiches for a long time to come.

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.