Carolyn Fath
It’s tempting to think of Cafe Hollander as the Colectivo of Belgian beer.
Like Colectivo, Cafe Hollander is from Milwaukee. It’s part of a five-restaurant group there, with two Cafe Hollanders, a Cafe Benelux, a Cafe Bavaria and a Cafe Centraal.
Like Colectivo, Cafe Hollander’s first expansion outside of greater Milwaukee has been to Madison. Like Colectivo, it brings the urban-casual vibe of a slightly bigger city, without seeming like an interloper to Madisonians. Madison’s Cafe Hollander opened officially on Oct. 19 at Hilldale, after a series of soft-open events that had the interwebs buzzing.
Like Colectivo, Cafe Hollander has garage-door “walls” that open to create instant indoor/outdoor dining.
And like Colectivo, it has house beers on tap. It even serves Colectivo coffee.
Cafe Hollander’s Belgian bar theme carries over into its menu in the form of mussels and frites, but beyond that, dishes mostly cover the bases of contemporary American eating, with salads, burgers, sandwiches and wraps, entrees like macaroni and cheese and meatloaf. They also serve an extensive breakfast. (Food items all have beer pairing suggestions listed with them on the menu...even the breakfast entrees.) The beer list is long, weighted toward Belgians (the bar has 30 taps); featured prominently are the three house beers brewed in Belgium in collaboration with Cafe Hollander’s parent company under the name Lowlands Brewing Collaborative.
Also newly opened at Hilldale is Bowl of Heaven, a healthy smoothie/juice bar that offers granola bowls topped with fruit. The favored fruit here is the acai berry. As winter sets in, soups and oatmeal will be introduced. Bowl of Heaven is a California chain that’s expanding to Nevada and Utah, as well as the Hilldale location. Local franchise owner Celia Garcia has introduced recipes she’s developed especially for the Madison store.
Another health-focused restaurant, Forage Kitchen, stays on the veggie side. The new salad-and-grains restaurant at 665 State St. is the second project from Henry Aschauer and Doug Hamaker, the team behind Roast Public House.
Growlers to Go-Go is applying for a license to sell growlers of tap beer at 2927 E. Washington Ave. Chris and Colleen Welch propose this “growler gallery” with 20 taps to go next door to their craft beer-centric Trixie’s Liquor. A half-dozen bar stools would allow for sampling and beer flights. Plans include selling home brew equipment, too.
Ramen Station is headed toward 1124 S. Park St., opposite Taqueria Guadalajara. Projected opening is mid-November.
For a rundown of the top carts in the city of Madison’s annual cart review, see isthmus.com/food-drink.
