Nook
The caprese salad defies conventional expectations.
I have this theory that all chefs secretly love junk food. It’s a comforting, uncomplicated antidote to fussy haute cuisine. It’s quite often brilliant in its engineering. It’s an iconic part of American culture, and for many, it conjures powerful sensory memories from childhood.
Noah and Julie Przybylski, the husband and wife team behind Nook, the new tasting menu-only restaurant at 2138 Atwood Ave., seem to love incorporating charming little nods to lowbrow favorites in their decidedly highbrow, modernist approach to fine dining. The appropriately named space is cozy indeed, with room for just 12 patrons. From Wednesday through Saturday, Nook offers two nightly seatings — a five-course menu at 5:30 p.m. and a nine-course menu at 7:30 p.m.
The tasting-menu concept remains rare in Madison, and it’s something brand new for the city’s east side. But this once working-class neighborhood has added more high rises in recent years and trendy dining spots, and Nook appears well-positioned to attract those interested in seeking out creative food and experiential dining.
Both alumni of Everest, an upscale French restaurant in Chicago, the Przybylskis excel at creating dishes with intention — each plate at a recent nine-course dinner service had a clear and identifiable concept. They’re also excellent hosts, setting an approachable tone and explaining each course to the group. It’s an entertaining way to dine, and the commentary is necessary to help identify what’s on the plate.
A deconstructed gyro combined three different preparations of the meat — lamb sausage, cured lamb and roasted lamb loin — all pressed together into a tri-colored disc. The plate came decorated with pickles and intensely flavorful roasted tomatoes, plus slivers of pita, fried in lamb fat, which tasted like a cross between a savory donut and a perfect crouton. It’s a fun, fancy take on a fast-food classic.
Nook’s riff on a simple caprese salad stood out as well. Three fresh mozzarella balls arrive atop dried tomatoes and thin ribbons of basil; servers make a second pass to add an intensely flavored tomato tea. The mozzarella undergoes a textural transformation from the heat, turning into something akin to a cheese dumpling.
Another soup course played off a beloved childhood snack, ants on a log. A creamy base of celery root bisque was topped with a generous dab of unsweetened whipped cream and garnished with peanut dust and golden raisins. The texture was velvety and rich — almost overly so — but the sweet-savory-salty flavors worked well together.
While some courses were painstakingly and beautifully plated, others were surprisingly unattractive. I loved the futuristic shrimp cocktail, with its wonderfully sharp lemon gelatin and crispy fried parsley, but the perfectly poached shrimp were covered with an inartful blob of (delicious) horseradish sauce. The gourmet macaroni and cheese tasted like heaven but looked like hell, garnished with neon-orange cheese dust.
A salad of baby kale topped with poached pears was simply fine, and the walnut-crusted balls of bleu cheese (I didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe when the chef said they were his “bleu balls”) had a mild, garlicky flavor. But the deep-fried Fig Newton croutons were a totally fun, and very delicious, idea.
An adaptation of crème brûlée was a gorgeous tableau of autumnal colors — light green pepita puree, dark red raspberry jam and bright orange pumpkin puree — topped with a pretty, lacy golden sugar top. The combination of nutty and bright flavors was delicious, but when the colors mixed, it created an unattractive gray hue on the plate.
The beautiful details and personal touches at Nook make dining there feel special. After-dinner coffee comes with cream in a delightful, animal-shaped pitcher, and a post-dessert dessert chocolate “bark” comes perched in a cute little tree sculpture (like tree bark, get it?). A friend who visited recently raved about the chocolate-covered potato chip bark, but the version I tried, chocolate and sesame seeds, was salty to the point of being inedible. And I’m a Samin Nosrat disciple!
At $40 per person for the five-course and $80 per person for the nine-course (with the option to add a wine pairing), Nook is a pricey night out. The experience is undeniably fun, interesting and like nothing else in Madison. I left full and happy. But at this price, there shouldn’t be any missteps. Perhaps this is part of the journey as they find their footing. What’s experimental cuisine without a little experimentation?
Nook
2138 Atwood Ave.; nookmadison.com; (608) 852-7894
Seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; $40-$80; Not wheelchair accessible.
