Amy Stocklein
Crab and lobster “nachos” are based on waffle fries.
Tangent, the new restaurant and taproom from Vintage Brewing Company, dominates the ground floor of the eight-story Gebhardt Building on East Washington Avenue. The 7,000-square-foot space features a large main bar area, a smaller secondary bar room behind the host stand and a separate dining area in the back.
Each space has a completely different aesthetic, and the interior design is startlingly maximalist. The main bar showcases a massive tattoo-style mural of flowers and a woman; the secondary bar has richly patterned Art Deco wallpaper, teal velvet curtains, an embossed tin ceiling and photos of jazz musicians; the dining room features modernist crystal chandeliers framed by hanging circular sculptures. The effect is dizzying — like a Dave & Buster’s mixed with a Victoria’s Secret, splattered with kitschy accents from World Market.
Open for lunch and dinner, Tangent promises “a unique offering of craft brews and elevated noms.” Fans of Vintage Brewing Company’s beers will find a lot to love here — there are 36 tap lines, and brewmaster Scott Manning has created a line of exclusive beers for the new restaurant. There’s also an extensive wine list, NessAlla kombucha on tap and specialty cocktails.
Standard pub fare here includes appetizers, soups, salads and “handhelds” (sandwiches and burritos). But the menu reads like it was created by an artificial intelligence entity that had been shown nothing but Guy Fieri episodes (no disrespect to Guy, an American icon). And sadly, Tangent is far from Flavortown.
The nachos aren’t just nachos. Waffle-cut sweet potato chips come loaded with hunks of crab, lobster and pork belly — all mysteriously of the same flavor and texture. The menu promises “brie cream and béarnaise,” which sounds rather alarming, but the cheesy sauce was closer to a gritty, flavorless bechamel. Topped with avocado, julienned radish and (imperceptible) pickled pear, the toppings were slimy and lukewarm. The chips were nice and crunchy, though.
“Phried pepper poppers,” a riff on jalapeño poppers, were more like crab rangoon — a cream cheese mixture enveloped in crisp wonton wrappers. Although the poppers were supposedly infused with jalapeño and poblano peppers and smoky mezcal, these flavors were absent, but a sweet chili dipping sauce helped.
Tangent frites, available as an appetizer and as a side, were fine. They come naked or tossed in a choice of beef fat, smoked paprika oil, herbs or malt powder, but I tasted no difference between the beef fat and the paprika oil. The appetizer version comes with optional cojita cheese and a housemade tomato dip, which was strangely sweet yet had a taste almost like sulphur. We asked for ketchup.
Another starter, roasted lamb lollipops, could perhaps be an entree. The accompanying harissa hummus was mild but tasty, topped with crunchy pickled carrots and sweet roasted peppers. The lamb was charred on the outside and extremely rare within, not a huge problem for me, but it might be unappealing to others. The promised garlic confit and baguette were missing.
The burger, available in “omnivore” (beef patty with marrow aioli, bacon chutney and arugula) and “herbivore” (a cauliflower, hazelnut and amaranth patty with sweet corn harissa spread and smoked mushroom-bacon) was something of a highlight. The beef version came cooked to a perfect medium-rare, and the components went together nicely (although again, the aioli was lost). Tangent seems to favor a soft brioche bun for most of its sandwiches, which makes for a slightly messy experience.
A walleye sandwich was also fine — a decent piece of fish, lightly fried and crisp. But the miso-coriander aioli added no flavor, and the whole thing cried out for lemon, or anything acidic to break up the soft mouthfeel. A crab roll had similar issues, although pickles helped in this instance.
If you think a lobster mac and cheese burrito sounds ludicrous, you are correct. But it’s not worth the indulgence. The cheese sauce was gritty and again flavorless. A pork belly burrito had only a hint of what might have been mole sauce, and the side of lime crema tasted like watery sour cream.
The best part about Tangent is the service — friendly and prompt. But this restaurant is significantly less than the sum of its many baffling parts.
Tangent
803 E. Washington Ave.; 608-819-6241
tangentmadison.com; 11 am-10 pm daily; $9-$16
