Deep-dish quiche from Icki Sticki.
Are there reasons to go to an ice cream and Hawaiian shave ice shop in Verona called Icki Sticki, even though it’s snowing outside? You bet.
The shop opened its first location in Mount Horeb in January, and has already expanded with a larger, second location at 103 S. Main St. in Verona.
The quick expansion came from customer input, says owner Jessica Jackson. “We had a lot of people coming to Mount Horeb from Verona and saying, ‘Verona has no ice cream shop. We need something,’” says Jackson.
Jackson acknowledges that “ice cream won’t be super popular when it’s snowing,” so Icki Sticki is branching out from those warm weather treats now that it has more space. In Verona, it is as much coffee shop as ice cream stand; the shop also serves JBC coffee, housemade Belgian waffles, and personal-sized deep-dish quiches.
“We’re doing one thing at a time,” says Jackson. She has invested in a panini press, and expects that sandwiches will be next on the menu, including grilled cheese with interesting cheeses. Bubble tea (which local teens have been requesting) is also on the agenda. “It’s the craze now,” says Jackson.
Jackson runs Icki Sticki with the help of her husband, Daniel, who is “the carpenter,” the “behind-the-scenes guy” as well as “the culinary guy.”
Jackson has an eye out for what kids want as well as their parents. Icki Sticki caters to those with food allergies. Gluten-free and dairy-free options are available, including four dairy-free ice creams daily. There’s a play space for kids and a parking lot behind the building with handicap-accessible stalls.
Perhaps most serendipitously, Icki Sticki is located in a small strip of shops with an (unrelated) pet grooming business called Gucci Poochi. You can’t make this stuff up.
Cadre, Evan Dannells’ restaurant in the former Oliver’s, 2540 University Ave., has been open since Oct. 2. You wouldn’t necessarily have tumbled to that fact from a quick Google of “Cadre Madison Wi,” though. That search will take you to a staffing agency, also called Cadre, located on the west side. Type, instead, cadrerestaurant.com to get a peek at Dannells’ farm-to-table, French-influenced menu. Cadre is open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon.-Fri. for lunch; 5-9 p.m. Mon.-Thursday and 5-10 p.m. Fri. and Sat. for dinner, and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. and Sun. for brunch.
Ha Long Bay, 1353 Williamson St., is once again open after a kitchen fire that took place Oct. 17.
