Tavernakaya
Sushi Tora, once projected by owner Nick Lee to be open by February 2015, still has no exact timeline for opening, though its awning has been up for months at 546 W. Washington Ave., the former home to Electric Earth Cafe. According to Lee, interior renovations still need a little bit of work but are mostly in place. But Lee says he’s leaving next month for a trip to Japan, so he does not expect Sushi Tora to open until his return: “We’ll try for February.”
Yes Coffee Roasters of Monroe has opened its purist, minimalist Madison outlet, Sí Café, at 117 S. Pinckney St. Espresso is joined by espresso and water, espresso and milk, and three sizes of pour-overs. Get thee behind me, venti iced skinny hazelnut macchiato.
Tavernakaya, 27. E. Main St., is now open. In Madison’s latest stab at a Japanese gastropub or “izakaya” (and the first focused offering of that genre since Kushi Bar Muramoto closed in 2009), owner Michael Ding of Umami Ramen and Dumpling Bar will feature Wisconsin and Asian beers, wine, sake, craft cocktails and a large selection of Japanese whiskeys. Sushi, sandwiches, rice bowls and noodles are on the menu.
Sujeo, Tory Miller’s pan-Asian spot in the Constellation building at Livingston and East Washington, is launching a new lunch menu. When the restaurant first opened in August 2014, it had lunch hours; then it halted midday service. Now it’s back. Look for such fare as pastrami pho, shio ramen, bibimbap, Thai-style noodle salad and a two-piece Korean barbecue chicken. Sujeo is closed on Tuesdays for lunch, dinner — the whole shebang.
Rare Steakhouse, 14 W. Mifflin St., has a new happy hour with half-off signature cocktails, draft beer, wines by the glass and bar food items. That’s Monday-Friday 4-6 p.m. There’s also a “Downtown Dinner” prix fixe three-course menu for $45, offered on Sundays and 5-6:30 p.m. weeknights. It’s designed as a way to help folks to a downtown show in plenty of time, or for workers to grab dinner after work before heading home.
Madtown Chicken and Fish, 1101 N. Sherman Ave., is now open. It’s at the side of the Capitol Petroleum gas station and has previously been home to a couple short-lived hamburger and gyros vendors.
The Capital Tap Haus, a familiar presence in the 100 block of State Street since 2010, will be undergoing a big change after Jan. 1. The tavern, which has since its inception featured only tap beers from Capital Brewery of Middleton, will be switching to feature beer exclusively from Wisconsin Brewing Company of Verona. “It’s never been strictly a tied house,” says Bill Ford, director of development at the Noble Chef Hospitality Group, the parent company of the Capital Tap Haus. Tied houses are taverns that sell the beer of one particular brewery but are owned by the brewery. “This was a loose agreement between Jack Sosnowski, the owner, and Carl Nolen, then-president at Capital.”
Nolen left Capital and started the Wisconsin Brewing Company in 2012, and Capital brewmaster Kirby Nelson left Capital that same year to head up the program at WBC. Nothing much will change at the State Street location except the name (Wisconsin Brewing Tap Haus) and the beer; the menu will stay pretty much the same, says Ford. The bar will be getting a new tap system. There will be 12 WBC taps; six will be year-round beers from the brewery, and six will be seasonals and limited releases from WBC’s In & Out series.
