Linda Falkenstein
Indian Tic Tac curry is a specialty of The Globe.
For 59 years, the little white brick diner at 309 N. Henry St. was Red and White Hamburgers. None of the establishments that followed has come close to that kind of longevity. Number 309 has been home to the Madison Bagel Co., ChinMi, Burger Joint, Mad Dog’s, Get Some Burritos (all out of business) and Taqueria 3 Amigos (now on Williamson). As of late last fall, it’s been The Globe, a kind of world fusion diner, something like a non-mobile food cart with a few tables and chairs.
The Globe has an encompassing philosophy when it comes to its menu, with dishes from Nepal, India, Thailand, Korea, the American South, Japan, Korea and the Middle East. The owner and the cooks, however, are originally from Nepal, and those are the dishes diners should look to first.
The menu starts with soups, and this winter, owner Ashim Malla has been giving complimentary cups of soup to all customers, even anyone coming in to pick up a takeout order. That’s a good move, because it puts The Globe’s best foot forward. The two soups are the best dishes on the menu.
It’s hard to choose between the 14 bean soup and a coconut cauliflower curry “chowder.” You can’t go wrong, really. The 14 bean soup may remind dal aficionados of the delicate variety served at Himal Chuli. This soup has more beans than Himal Chuli’s, and more varieties of them. Yet the delicate ajwain seed flavoring makes it clear these soups are siblings. Although some of the larger beans were slightly undercooked (on two visits), it wasn’t enough to be a problem. It’s a perfect cup or bowl on a chilly day.
The chowder is very rich, buttery and slightly sweet. Potatoes and corn don’t really compete with the rich broth or the light Thai spicing; it’s all about the coconut milk. This is a very loveable soup.
There are several winning traditional Indian and Nepalese appetizers. The bhajji, fried minced vegetables with chickpea batter, are very good, served with a yogurt sauce that’s slightly sweet, almost like lassi, and a tart achar (tomato) sauce. The bhajji are crunchy and salty, all you need for a good appetizer sometimes; the “assorted vegetables” are mostly potato and onion. The menu suggests the bhajji also come with a sweet tamarind sauce, but I haven’t seen any on my visits.
The Nepalese dumplings called momos are available in chicken or vegetarian. They come with the tomato sauce, along with a garnish of grilled onions and pepper. The chicken momos, steamed (they’re also available fried), are good and spicy and the tasty grilled veggies are more than just a garnish; they’re more of a condiment.
Less successful are the entrees. The Indian Tic Tac curry seems to be no particular curry variety, just a tomato-based gravy, kidney beans (as in rajma), carrots, broccoli (a vegetable I have never before encountered in an Indian curry) — and bland white meat chicken. A requested “three” on the one-to-five spiciness scale was not hot.
Another problem: The Indian curry is served on plain white rice instead of basmati. I’m guessing that’s so the restaurant doesn’t have to cook two different kinds of rice, since it’s also the base for the south Asian dishes like the grilled Korean barbecue (available with tofu, chicken or pork) and the Thai Coconut Curry Hurry (available with tofu, chicken or shrimp). But it would be worth it to have basmati.
The grilled Korean barbecue seems to be a popular dish; I saw and heard multiple orders for it. It’s pleasant enough, with a sweet, spicy sauce (a “four” was finally spicy) over stir-fried vegetables. The Thai coconut curry, my pick from among the entrees, is better, reminiscent of the fabulous soup.
Other Asian dishes round out the menu: fried rice, a chili buff, soba noodle salad and a ramen soup. Occasionally, specials crop up, like the jambalaya, which wasn’t up to the standard of New Orleans Take-Out.
I would love to see the Globe build on its strengths and serve more Indian or Nepalese dishes and add more soups, where the flavors really pop. The Globe has big ambitions, which is great, but sometimes there’s magic in your own backyard.
The Globe
309 N. Henry St.; 608-640-4435
11 am-9 pm Mon.-Thurs., 11 am-10 pm Fri.-Sat.; $3-$14
