You are in luck. Anyone who does not read the food half-page this week is missing out. I have found what is by far the most intimate dining experience in Madison.
Madison Masala, 115 State St., has pillows, hookahs and private curtained tables. Nick's Restaurant, 226 State St., has dark booths. Takara, 315 State St., has blinds in the windows. All of these make for an enjoyable atmosphere, but the most romantic atmosphere I have experienced in any restaurant is at the Bon Appetite Caf??.
ESSENTIALSBon Appetite Caf??805 Williamson St. 283-4266 Tue.-Thurs. 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sun. 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (out of 5) Overall **** Food **** Decor **** Service **** Sexiness **** Upscale dishes from around the world Class |
You may not even notice this tiny caf?? on Willy Street. Apparently not many people have, because both times I have visited there were only a couple of tables occupied. Here is a hint: If you are going to the Eldorado Grill, don't. Cross the street and go down half a block.
When you enter, you will see a coat rack on the right and some art with two African-style masks on either side. There is a large mural of a vaguely European harbor on one wall. Abstract art in large frames lines the pastel-painted walls. There is a rack of wine glasses hanging above the register that casts a striking shadow directly onto the center of a painting that looks like an exploding cloud.
Even the bathroom is well put together with a post-art deco lamp and small paintings. It's as if an art gallery designer decided to take tips from the Real World houses and designed a restaurant for his or herself. And I say him or herself because the style is very personal. The fact that the whole place has a personal touch relieves it from any pretentiousness. There is nothing faux about this restaurant and it's the antithesis of the pandering style of Spices, 117 State St., with its fake stone arches and street lights.
Enough about style; a dining experience is made or broken by the food. La Paella, 2784 S. Fish Hatchery Rd., has a certain old-world reverence for food.
I have now been twice. The first time was a hung over Sunday when I decided to go for a walk down to Willy Street and remembered the little caf?? a former TA told me about. I sat down by the window and started reading The New York Times near a young couple who were taking the boy's grandmother out to brunch.
I was surprised to see such items as blackened salmon and Spanish tortilla on the menu for under $7. I ordered the Turkish Pita and the Verdura en Hojaldre. The Turkish Pita is dipped in a French toast-style batter, fried in butter and topped with cinnamon pears and apples and fresh whipped cream. The topping was fantastic, but the pita was a bit tough for a hung over boy to cut and chew. It did come with a fruit salad on top of dandelion greens and drizzled with yogurt that was an amazing complement.
The Verdura en Hojaldre was considerably more impressive. A tart filled with two types of mushrooms, leeks, peppers and parmesan cheese, this is a dish that makes you feel excellent. The pastry was buttery and flaky and the filling was strong and extremely flavorful with mushrooms and parmesan. This dish came with garlic polenta and is the heartiest delicacy I have ever had before 2 p.m. Coffee and red wine complement a meal like this equally well, and Bon Appetite serves excellent coffee and wine.
Not content with just having brunch, I soon returned. As luck would have it, I went on a Tuesday, which is ""Around the World"" day. Every Tuesday a new menu is made that showcases a cuisine that is Mediterranean or Mediterranean influenced. This particular Tuesday featured Brazilian food. All the entrees are under $18 and come with three other courses: appetizer, soup and salad, a fantastic deal for food of this quality. It's like if you have a chef friend cooking for you and he or she wants to be more than just friends. The appetizer was Cr??me de Avacate: pureed avocado with cream, lime and sugar served on garlic bread and topped with a slice of fresh fig. The overall effect is guacamole on ecstasy: I didn't want this fluffy, sweet item to leave my mouth.
The soup was a Brazilian vegetable soup with yams, fresh mango, red peppers, tomatoes, pasta and a creamy vegetable broth. The broth was flavored with orange, bay leaf, cinnamon and cumin, the combination of which was reminiscent of a curry. The spice mixed with the sweetness of mango and yams and a whole of cream blew my mind. Balance and texture. Then came the salad. And there was literally no time between when I finished the soup and when the salad was brought, if only because there was, by this time, no one else in the restaurant. Marvin Gaye was playing on the CD player, and when the salad came I regretted that I was dining with my editor instead of a significant other. A cold salad of winter squash, garlic and onion tossed with a very light vinaigrette, topped with pomegranate seeds was simply the sexiest salad I had ever had. Garlic and onion and sexy, you say? The garlic and onion were so subtle you barely noticed them and gave yourself up to the combination of sweet flavors.
The entrees themselves were similarly astounding. How on earth they got the shrimp, mussels, mahi-mahi and crab meat in my seafood stew to be so tender I may never know. They were more expertly prepared than at La Paella. The coconut cream rice soaked up the broth and I barely even had to use a spoon. I have had decent bouillabaisse before, and this beat the living hell out of them. My friend's Feijoada was similarly excellent. Pork tenderloin, ham and sausage were cooked with black beans, green peppers, jalapenos, celery and spices to achieve the earthiest flavor I have ever had. My grandma spent years in Cuba and can make some fine black beans and pork, but this once again walloped any previous similar dish.
Maybe you will say I am being a little too kind to this place. You are wrong. If you like Spices, or Angelic Brewing, 322 W. Johnson St., that's great for you. This place offers one of the most sensuous experiences in Madison.
Take your girl here, sit with her at the tiny table and enjoy the most personal, adventurous and delicious meal you've had in a while. You can even afford to spring for a whole bottle of wine at these prices, and enjoy the music. Hell, go by yourself, and pleasure yourself orally. Just go there, because no one seems to realize what's right under their noses.
