Laura Zastrow
Lake Edge Seafood brought lobster rolls and more to the east side.
Last January, would I have predicted that four dedicated poke restaurants would open in Madison in 2018? I would not have. But 2018 was a surprising year. Day after day, hour after hour, surprise after surprise! Really, the spectre of four new poke spots barely made a dent in my spinning consciousness. But we are talking about the relatively safe bubble of Madison restaurants — and not the nation at large. Do you eat to make yourself feel better? Have some poke.
All for the good
Yes, it can get confusing. Poke Poke (that’s the one at the Gateway Mall), Poke Plus (State Street), Poke It Up (University at Frances) and FreshFin (ground floor of The James on Gorham Street) covered most of the raw fish bowl bases this year. Is cooked fish more your deal? Many fish fans headed to the new Lake Edge Seafood, a restaurant and market that brought new spark to the Lake Edge Shopping Center on Monona Drive.
Bierock, a beer bar serving stuffed European dumplings with both traditional and new-world fillings, filled a vacant spot at the Northside Town Center, and Beef Butter BBQ moved in to a former Rocky Rococo’s nearby.
Working Draft Beer Company opened on East Wilson Street, gradually adding a menu of sandwiches and thoughtful snacks. Flix Brewhouse brought house-brewed beer, a full menu and motion pictures to East Towne Mall.
Heights Kitchen launched in the intimate space on Allen Street that had been home to a number of Underground Food Collective pop-ups. The new Nook features a prix fixe tasting menu, something of a new horizon for the Atwood neighborhood.
Several food carts made the leap to brick-and-mortar. Tapatios Cocina opened in the Hatchery Hill Towne Center in Fitchburg; it’s the first restaurant from Leticia and Daniel Hernandez of the Cali Fresh cart. The Pickle Jar folks, Jennifer St. Cyr and John Pickle, created a version of their cart in the former Layla’s on South Butler Street.
The fickle finger of fate
It’s sometimes just good luck that keeps an eatery going. A run of bad luck can mean the doors close abruptly. There are closures that speak to a, perhaps, miscalculation of trend (no more Disco Fries). Sometimes there seem to be too many other similar eateries too nearby (goodbye Mr. Brews Taphouse-East Johnson Street, Lotsa Pizza, Sprecher’s, Capriotti’s). Maybe the location was not quite right for other mysterious reasons (The Chicken Run, Hail Mary Sports Grill, Sliced Deli).
Construction on Monroe Street for much of the year exacerbated financial woes and did in longtime favorite Jac’s. Newcomer Burgrito, a fledgling Freshii franchise and Brocach-Monroe also failed to survive the disruption.
Two spots out in the sea of Costco-west development closed: P.F. Chang’s sustained major damage in August’s floods. Yet despite flood damage, a new Point Burger Bar (a burger/Point beer/video game concept with several other locations in Wisconsin) opened after repairs, in the former Quaker Steak and Lube. The first Madison Freshii, near West Towne, also succumbed due to flood damage.
Revolving doors
Dubai, a Mediterranean restaurant, took over the former Zandru’s tapas in the old Yellow Jersey storefront on State Street. The Tin Fox opened in the former Freiburg Gastropub on Monroe Street, while Freiburg reinvented itself as Freiburg Tap Haus at the site of the former Wisconsin Brewing Tap Haus on State Street. Osaka House closed; Chen’s Dumpling House moved in, to good effect. Sweet Home Wisconsin serves a combination of Wisconsin and Chicagoland favorites in the former O.S.S. on Regent. El Panzon opened in the former Le Petit Croissant.
Common Ground tried a new concept, a community-centric coffeehouse and event space in the old Branch Street Retreat (and a series of other short-lived ventures). Boar and Barrel took over the former Hamilton’s on the Square. Frutta Bowls opened in the old Dough Baby. Cafe Zoma became Cafe Brittoli. Sol Azteca became La Escondida.
Blue Agave, a Mexican restaurant, opened in the former Bayou on South Butler Street. El Rancho took over Mr. Torta’s on Cottage Grove Road. And Valentia Coffee is now in the former Coffee Bytes.
Blue Agave
Blue Agave injected new life into South Butler Street.
A taste of the world
Kingdom brought West African food as well as burgers and gyros to the Capitol Petro on East Washington Avenue. A second location should be opening soon in the former Bistro Honda (which opened — and closed — this year) in the Northside Town Center.
The Globe, a Indian/Asian fusion spot, opened in the Henry Street space once home to Red and White Hamburgers and an array of eateries since. Kabul Restaurant, after trying to make a go of the second floor space at 540 State St., closed. It was replaced by the Hungry Badger Cafe, which specializes in momos, the Tibetan dumpling. Other new entries near campus were Village Pizza and Strings Ramen. Madison’s first dedicated sushi restaurant, Wasabi, closed, due in part to the illness of owner Ken Katsuma. It reopened briefly as Wasabi, then changed its name to Yume Japanese Restaurant, run by the owners of Takara.
And Madison’s only Sri Lankan restaurant, KJ’s Curry Bowl, closed in the last couple of days of 2017.
Linda Falkenstein
Chen’s Dumpling House was a return to the kind of small, locally owned restaurant featuring global cuisine that was once the lifeblood of State Street.
Saddest goodbyes
The original Chocolaterian closed. The confectionery, bakery and cafe in the historic Schenk-Huegel building in Schenk’s Corners was heavily damaged during a fire in the wee hours of the morning of Feb. 25. Despite a GoFundMe campaign that brought in pledges of some $23,000, the cost of rebuilding was not what insurance and donations would cover. And so Chocolaterian regrouped at its Middleton location.
Ciao Fraboni’s, the Italian deli on Regent Street and one of the last true remnants of the neighborhood’s Italian origins. At this site, it is irreplaceable — although fortunately, a second location remains in Monona.
Finally, what can I say about the loss of Ella’s Deli? The site of all those high school dates, the kid birthdays, that same kid’s first job. The voluminous menu of sandwiches and platters, the sweet-n-sour cabbage soup, the grilled pound cake sundae — no more. Farewell, Ella’s. We miss you.
