All year long, we at Isthmus/The Daily Page keep track of new restaurants, cuisine revamps, and established spots that have moved or opened satellite campuses. If you've been meaning to try out a new local kitchen, here's a rundown of some of our favorites.
Bonfyre American Grille
2601 W. Beltline Hwy., Madison
The centerpiece of the Bonfyre kitchen is, as you might expect, the wood-fired oven. From that crackling fire issues forth rotisserie chicken, Berkshire pork chops and steaks. The steaks - sirloin, filet mignon, ribeye and strip - can be topped with a variety of accompaniments. In contrast to the bold red meat dishes, the seafood dishes are appealing in their simplicity.
- Kyle Nabilcy
Café Porta Alba
558 N. Midvale Blvd. (Hilldale), Madison
Café Porta Alba's pizzas are sized in 12-inch rounds, so that one pizza feeds one person, but sharing several is more fun, if you have the option. The Allegra, a white pizza (no tomato sauce, that is), is my favorite. It's topped with mushrooms and little dabs of mascarpone cheese, but the excitement lies in the truffle oil, which holds the different flavor notes together like a driving bass line.
- Erin Hanusa
Casa del Sol
3040 Cahill Main, Fitchburg
All the standards are winners. The shredded beef enchiladas are filled with tender meat, and the burritos are gigantic. The burrito tropical is one of the best, a giant edifice filled with flavorful pork and topped with fruit salsa. In fact, almost every dish at Casa del Sol is enough for two meals, which makes the already reasonable prices that much better.
- Erin Hanusa
Daisy Café & Cupcakery
2827 Atwood Ave., Madison
Try the egg sandwich, a farmers' market rainbow of a breakfast. A fried egg, bacon, purple onion and cilantro are squeezed between slices of grilled rosemary bread with just enough cream cheese to make the sandwich transcendently good. As for the cupcakes, the chocolate frosting has a serious cocoa flavor that complements both vanilla and chocolate cake, but the knock-it-out-of-the-park, bring-some-home-for-later, eat-another-one-in-the-car cupcake is the carrot with cream cheese frosting.
- Erin Hanusa
Fugu Asian
411 W. Gilman St., Madison
Fugu is to Chinese dining what places like La Mestiza are to Mexican: a new wave of actually authentic local kitchens that do justice to ethnic food. I'd return to Fugu for the pork stomach in hot chili sauce alone; the slices of stomach, tossed with crisp vegetables, have the texture and woody flavor of wild mushrooms. And plenty of the dishes on Fugu's menu are simple successes.
- Raphael Kadushin
Green Owl Café
1970 Atwood Ave., Madison
The Green Owl lives in the former Anchor Inn space in Schenk's Corners. There's a surprisingly hip, big-city vibe inside. The style extends to the bar menu; you can get organic wine and beer with your meal, or even a specialty cocktail made from local vodka and kombucha.
The Green Owl has a few notable appetizers, including the daily spread and bread plate. The walnut pesto was absolutely delicious, creamy with a slight tang. The "crabby cakes," tofu and mushroom patties sauced with chipotle remoulade and an essential squeeze of lemon, had great flavor.
- Erin Hanusa
Habanero's Mexican Grill
2229 S. Stoughton Rd., Madison
At Habanero's, the staff stuffs your burrito from the building blocks in the steam trays. Long, slow-simmered meats are at the heart of the experience: barbacoa, carnitas, steak, chicken and pastor.
- Linda Falkenstein
Ha Long Bay
1353 Williamson St., Madison
Thai cuisine is well represented by both a green curry - bright and hot oil intertwining with sticky rice - and the Triple Delight, with pork, shrimp, chicken, pineapple, squash and zucchini in a mild, subtle, complex sauce.
In Vietnamese cuisine, a tureen of quality pho is the critical benchmark. Here, Ha Long Bay really makes good. Thinly shaved beef is perched atop a tower of noodles in an intoxicating broth of white and green onions. Freshly cut limes, jalapeños and raw bean sprouts are provided on the side to accent your soup to taste; a squeeze of lime is transformative.
- Adam Powell
The Haze
106 King St., Madison
Billed as an American + Asian Bar-B-Que, this is Shinji Muramoto's most carnivorous experiment. If you're considering the pork, go Eastern. The char-siu pork features a plate of thin-sliced, tender, almost juicy pork that's so delicately flavored it shows up every lackluster char-siu rendition dished up in too many faux Asian kitchens. Just as good is the miso brisket, another plate of perfectly cooked meat wearing a slightly smoky, subtly spicy miso sauce.
- Raphael Kadushin
Ironworks Café
149 Waubesa St., Madison
Housed in a 1903 industrial warehouse where custom metal works (including the Tenney Park footbridge) were once forged, the Goodman Community Center provides art classes, childcare and other services. Its new Ironworks Café - a gorgeously retrofitted space well suited to breakfast or lunch lounging - is an asset to the neighborhood. Ironworks has wisely chosen local food providers as a means to serve excellent edibles at low prices.
- Adam Powell
JA's Soul Food
1616 Beld St., Madison
The catfish is arguably better here than at any other soul-food joint in town. An ample portion gets the usual cornmeal treatment, but here the crust manages to walk that fine line between too thick and too thin. Protected under two slices of white bread in the takeout box, JA's catfish is worth every cent.
- Kyle Nabilcy
jacs
2611 Monroe St., Madison
The menu is full of tempting stuff: flatbread loaded with oozy, caramelized brie and peaches; grilled cheese sharpened by applewood-smoked bacon or Black Forest ham; and lemon pound cake with basil ice cream. Many of the favorite items from 6Monroe Street Bistro, including the frites, have been held over. Overall, there's a greater emphasis on sandwiches and more casual fare than the former menu. jacs also has a selection of items for kids, a smart move in this family-centric neighborhood.
- Erin Hanusa
Jovian Taphaus
876 Jupiter Dr., Madison
The extensive beer list takes up as much room on the menu as the food and caters to the Wisconsin of yesteryear without ignoring microbrews. Molten Lava fried potatoes are served with beer cheese, chives and bacon bits, and the plate is actually on fire when it arrives at the table. Porky's Deluxe is a slow-roasted pulled pork sandwich on ciabatta. It's bracingly satisfying, especially when anointed with fresh cut jalapeño slices. The fish tacos with Creole coleslaw and a shrimp sandwich with scallions are also good pub meals.
- Adam Powell
K Peppers
1901 Cayuga St., Middleton
The menu is divided into three main groups: rice and noodles, Korean barbecue and soups. The classic bibimbap is done well, with a choice of beef, tuna or tofu and topped with a sunny-side-up egg; stir the veggies, the rice and the hot pepper paste (that comes on the side) into an appealing comfort stew.
- Linda Falkenstein
Lake Vista Café
1 John Nolen Dr. (Monona Terrace rooftop), Madison
The homemade french fries rival Madison's best pommes frites, and are served with an addictive, creamy tomato remoulade (a mayonnaise-based condiment similar to aioli). Lake Vista's entrees cover a nice range from basic (salads, Chicago dogs and burgers) to dishes that feature a more complex set of flavors. The Creole crab cake sandwich brings back the tomato remoulade, and the adobo tilapia in the fish tacos was flaky and tasty but not too spicy.
- Erin Hanusa
La Mestiza
121 E. Main St., Madison
There is a homey, intimate vibe to the place, and the menu is inviting. La Mestiza's shrimp ceviche is loaded with fat shrimp, and the lime is used sparingly, adding just enough of a bright citrus kick to enhance the sweet taste of the seafood. The cochinita pibil is marinated in achiote, slow-cooked with citrus juice, wrapped in banana leaves, and served with pickled red onions. All those flavors come through, but none are overstated; they draw out the tender pork's own porky, perfumed taste.
- Raphael Kadushin
Las Cazuelas
15 N. Butler St., Madison
The cochinita pibil, a slow-roasted marinated pork dish where the meat is wrapped in a banana leaf, is very tender, rubbed with achiote (a spice paste that lends a red color and a very gentle burn to the flavor) and topped with marinated red onions and slices of jalapeño. Roll some of the meat, a few jalapeños and slivers of onion in a flour tortilla; the sharp, almost citrusy tang of the vegetables contrasts with the mellow pork.
- Linda Falkenstein
Luedtke's Wonder Bar
232 E. Olin Ave., Madison
The 28-ounce tomahawk steak, which took up half the table and looked like Thor's hammer, was a very generous bone-in prime ribeye with a distinctive taste of game meat. Just as good was the Wonder Bar signature steak, a 12-ounce filet of strip loin, cut from the heart of the New York sirloin. Supremely tender, spitting juice and topped with a crown of béarnaise sauce ($2 extra), it was a classic, textbook piece of meat.
- Raphael Kadushin
Mad Dogs
309 N. Henry St., Madison
The Hebrew National carries plenty of flavor and stands up to the onslaught of add-ons that constitute a Chicago dog, but, untraditionally, toppings are customizable. Circle what add-ons you'd like on an order sheet (kraut, tomato, pickle, sport pepper, chili, cheese, giardiniera); add relish, onions, ketchup or mustard yourself from the counter.
- Linda Falkenstein
Opa Café & Lounge
558 State St., Madison
Opa's first courses provide a range of tastes and origins, from Belgian frites to charcuterie and cheese. Greek specialties like dolma (stuffed grape leaves), saganaki (pan-seared Greek cheese) and spinach pie round out the appetizers. Main courses are likewise a mixture of Belgian (waterzooi, a seafood stew), Greek (moussaka, a sort of lasagna; and spanakopita, spinach and feta pie) and other influences.
- Erin Hanusa
Restaurant Magnus
120 E. Wilson St., Madison
New Scandinavian cuisine has been resurgent for more than a decade now. Its emphasis on local sourcing, seasonal foraging, clear distilled flavors and an elegant kind of purism is really the definition of contemporary cooking. So the Berge brothers and Laura Jones, the co-owners of Magnus, deserve a lot of credit, along with chef Nicholas Johnson. By taking a chance on gravlax and lingonberries and lots of smoking, they've staged a little culinary coup.
- Raphael Kadushin
Sofra Family Bistro
7457 Elmwood Ave., Middleton
Sofra sticks to a homey Middleton vibe and a quirky aesthetic that is what it is. Its mixed grilled platter is one of the best bargains around. It's designed for two, and if you attempt it alone you'll have leftovers for days. Among the best of the platter: rich, juicy Albanian sausages, made from a blend of ground beef, lamb and spices, that great hummus, and double-cut lamb chops marinated in olive oil.
- Raphael Kadushin
Thai Noodles
5957 McKee Rd., Fitchburg
Thai Noodles operates out of an unassuming storefront in a Fitchburg mini-mall. A classic starter, spring rolls, is exemplary here. The soups of Thailand are similarly revelatory. A good tom kha is intense, sinus-clearing and fragrant; here the broth is invigorated by lemongrass, lime juice and chili paste. Shrimp rolls, a neat row of cleaned crustaceans wrapped into packets, fried and served up for dipping in nam pla phrik, get immediately scarfed.
- Adam Powell
Tapas Rias
2518 Allen Blvd., Middleton
The Plato Combinado, an ever-changing assortment of hot and cold appetizers, is a great way to cover many parts of the menu. Besting everything was the trucha ahumada, wonderful, soft smoked trout served atop a sliver of cooling cucumber with a peppier garlic-and-cilantro sauce.
- Linda Falkenstein
