The Coopers Tavern
Cottage pie with lamb is on the St. Patrick's Day menu at The Cooper's Tavern, joining corned beef and cabbage and bangers and mash.
I don’t suppose any of us will forget last March 17, a dismal day in the annals of drinking and dining and the edge of the cliff as taverns and restaurants began to shut down.
This year, things are looking up. As you might expect, Irish food will be front and center on the March 17 menu at The Coopers Tavern. On the menu: dinners of corned beef and cabbage with all the trimmings, lamb cottage pie, or bangers and mash. Guinness and Magners Irish Cider are also available to-go. Those wanting takeout need to preorder by March 14 at 3 p.m.; call 608-256-1600.
Monty’s Blue Plate is doing corned beef and cabbage, with options to serve one, two or four; orders have to be placed by March 14. The same is true for the Hubbard Avenue Diner.
The Great Dane has an Irish take-and-bake feast for four that includes corned beef and cabbage, carrots and parsnips, colcannon, salad, rolls, pretzels and stout brownies for dessert. Pre-orders will be taken through March 15 for pickup at all the area Dane locations. You can also add on a crowler of green pils.
Willy Street Co-op
Corned beef from the Willy Street Co-op.
The Willy Street Co-op has housemade Irish soda bread and housemade corned beef; they are available at all stores “while supplies last” so best call ahead to check.
The State House at the Edgewater is accepting orders for its takeout St. Patrick’s Day dinner with options for two or four persons. The meal includes corned beef and cabbage, carrots, turnips and onions; potato leek soup; Irish champ (potatoes); and soda bread.
The Nitty Gritty is also taking pre-orders for its March 17 menu of corned beef and cabbage and Irish stew dinners, Guinness to-go and several other appropriate Wisconsin-made stouts.
The Nau-Ti-Gal will have corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day as well; call 608-246-3130 for reservations or takeout.
Brasserie V is taking pre-orders for reubens and take-and-make shepherd's pie dinners for 2-3 persons featuring local lamb and beef; plus, you get a free Guinness with your order. Curbside pickup is available on March 17, or, you can celebrate on the Brasserie's sidewalk patio.
Finally, as a lifelong fan of the Shamrock Shake, I would be remiss if I did not mention the shake of the month at DLUX, made with Sassy Cow vanilla ice cream, mint, and Lucky Charms.
Frying again: The Avenue Club, which has been closed for the winter, has partially reopened to serve fish fry on Friday nights; takeout and delivery are available. Online ordering starts Friday at 8 a.m.; pick-ups are scheduled from 4-8 pm. Customers get a pick-up time window and can pull into designated stalls in the rear lot, and text the kitchen with their vehicle description. Who says that Wisconsin has not perfected the art of the takeout fish fry?
More than fish and corned beef: Every week, the UW-Madison Hillel provides “Shabbat in a Box” to help create a “meaningful Shabbat dinner, social-distance style.” (A limited number of students are now able to partake of the meal onsite.) Pre-orders for these meals need to be made no later than Thursday at 5 p.m. for pickup 2-3 p.m. on Fridays at Hillel. Each Shabbat dinner has an entrée (either meat or vegetarian protein), a side, dessert and challah. These are free for students and $15 for community members. This Friday’s menu, for example, is chicken or tofu sabroso, congri rice and beans, corn on the cob, and spicy fudge brownies.
UW-Hillel is also doing Passover seder meals for students and community members in dinners for one, two or four persons. These should be pre-ordered as soon as possible for pickup 2-4 p.m. on March 26 for the Saturday seder meal and 2-3 p.m. on March 28 for the Sunday seder meal.
Drive-through soup: The successful Soup’s On promotion of local restaurants from Dane Buy Local that’s been running since November out of the FEED Kitchens on North Sherman Avenue is moving to the other side of town. Customers will still order soup online from a roster of local restaurants; curbside pickup, however, moves to the Badger Prairie Needs Network drive-through at 1200 E. Verona Ave. in Verona starting March 16. Soups are posted Wednesdays; orders are taken through midnight Saturday, for Tuesday pickup 4:30-6 p.m. Restaurants vary but you can find soups from Lombardino’s, Brasserie V, Quivey’s Grove, Nonno’s, The Ugly Apple and more.
Linda Falkenstein
Tenko Tea is now upstairs at 540 State St.
Bubble up: Tenko Tea has opened on the second floor at 540 State St., former home of the Hungry Badger Cafe and before that, Kabul. Tenko Tea sells bubble (boba) tea and bills itself as a healthy alternative to bubble teas made with low-quality tea and artificial flavors. It’s one of two outlets; the other is in Champaign, Illinois. Tenko carries hojicha green tea, and offers cheese foam — made from yes, cheese (sometimes cream cheese or mascarpone), milk and whipping cream.
[Editor's note: This post has been updated with additional restaurant information.]
