It's Finally Settled

Brasserie V has the best frites in town. No question about it.

Yes Karl, you were right.

Jac's comes in at a close second, followed by Sardine.

Horned fruit

Don't ever buy this fruit. It looks interesting, but it's shit fruit. Honestly. Hard to eat and unsatisfying. It's called horned fruit or spiked fruit or some such thing, but if you see it don't buy it. Claire says it tastes like lime jello, but I think it tastes like a pile of shit. Anyway, even if it tasted like lime jello, that's no selling point. Beware of the horny melon.

Challenge Accepted!

First of all, I'd like to start off by thanking Trason for the wonderfully original gift of our very own blog. It was such a surprise and we were really excited to get started.

All weekend I've been coming up with different topics to write about, ones that are extremely important to me. For instance; where to find the best whoopie

pies

in the Madison area, how to decide what type of coffee/tea to pick at the Steep and Brew stand at the Farmer's Market and why Abita Strawberry Beer is so refreshing in the summer. (yes Jason, it really is.) But, for right now, I'm going to give a brief summary of the "Birthday Extravaganza" as was requested.

The weekend started off at one of our favorite restaurants (and Jane's favorite) in town, Cafe Continental on King Street, which has some of the best outdoor seating in Madison. Unfortunately there was still some April chill in the air so we ended up sitting inside. Martinis were ordered by most, of course I ordered the most ridiculous drink I could find. No umbrellas, oh well. Karl and I ordered mussels, of course, which were not as great as we'd found them before. At Cafe C the m

ussells don't come with frites, unlike a few other places in Madison. We had crab cakes which were good, fried calamari which is a must and a caesar salad that was only a decent. Service was excellent, atmosphere is always pleasant and relaxing.

We met some friends at the Great Dane downtown and stopped at Natt Spil on the way home for some late night takeout. What a wierd place. If you haven't been there, you've gotta check it out some time. But don't plan on making reservations or even calling because there's no phone. There isn't a sign outside either so it's a little tricky to find if you haven't been there before.

Sunday Morning Birthday Sunrise.

Karl paid a couple of geese $50 (in birdseed) to swim out gracefully and set the mood. He claims. But it was beautiful.

By the way, if you're ever writing a blog and Karl is looking over your shoulder, he'll tell you that you need two spaces after every period.oops.

Brunch at Sardine = Best Bloody Marys in town.

Please note: Karl and I have never blogged before so be patient with us as we figure out how the whole thing works and what kind of writing style is best. We're still working on coming up with a rating system and we'll try to keep the posts interesting and entertaining as opposed to bland and boring. . . . like giraffes.

Genius Tacos

Genius Fish-Tacos.

That's what we made tonight, and it's an appropriate topic for my first blog since fish tacos are probably my favorite food in the world. If I was stranded on a desert island with only one choice of food, my choice would be fish tacos. This is convenient because if I was stranded on a desert island fish would likely be one of the few available choices of food. The tortillas would likely be more problematic, but I think I'd make do. (Palm leaves? Coconut husks? This would be a tropical desert island). Some of the garnishes and accoutrements might also prove rather challenging; however, I don't carry a bottle of tapatio and a clove of garlic with me at all times to ward off vampires. (Side note: If I was stranded on a dessert island, my choice would be strawberry-rhubarb pie, hands down.)

Strangely enough, good fish tacos are hard to find, even in coastal areas. But if you have a hankering, and you should, here's a good recipe that we tested tonight and it is delicious. Here's what you'll need:

Talapia (or similar fish), marinated in chile and lime sauce
Tortillas (we used corn, but flour would probably be better. The small flour ones.)
Avocado
Cilantro
Yellow Onion
Chipotle Mayo (Chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, garlic, mayo-go easy, salt, and oregano.)
1 jalapeno chile

We grilled the tilapia and the jalapeno, and made the chipotle mayo in a food processor. We also warmed the tortillas on the BBQ coals. Assemble into a taco and, voila, delicious, genius fish tacos. That's how you do it.

Happy Birthday Claire!

The 1st post on this new blog will be guest-blogged by Karl's brother Jason...

For the last several months, Tracey and I have been hearing about a food journal that Karl and Claire keep. In their journal, they record the restaurants they go to, what food they eat, and of course what they liked and disliked about each of the restaurants. They don't go out every night, in fact, sometimes they don't go out for a week or more, but they are always trying new restaurants, new areas, and new menu items. Tracey and I enjoy hearing about where they went, what they like, and we love to hear them argue about which restaurant has the best pomme frites (Brasserie V vs. Jacs), who has the best burgers (Cafe Soleil vs. Dottys), and of course who has the best mussels (Eno Vino vs. Brasserie V vs. Sardine). Their discussions make us want to visit these restaurants, and they both have such vivid, descriptive memories, that we have been requesting access to their journal since we heard of its existence.

I like to joke that Karl and Claire do everything together, in fact, I joke that they should get a mashed-up name (like Brangelina), so I started jokingly calling them Clarl (Claire + Karl). They have responded by refering to Tracey and I as Trason (Tracey + Jason), which is clever, but not very original (c'mon guys!). Tracey came up with the idea a few weeks ago that they should blog about their experiences, so that others could get ideas and opinions about places before they ventured in to try a new cuisine or restaurant. They have steadfastly refused to start a blog, so Trason started one for them. We issue them this challenge: Karl and Claire MUST blog about Claire's Birthday Extravaganza Weekend--the restaurants they go to, the sites they see, and the experiences they have around Madison. The blog is called Clarling around Mad Town, and if they can think of something better (which they probably can), all I ask is that they bring this post with them to the new site.

A few things you should know about Karl and Claire--these are in no particular order, but they may help you understand the reason this blog must be written by the two of them. #1. Karl and Claire are hilarious--they crack everyone up. They are great story-tellers and they always seem to have a good time, no matter where they are. They are also excellent writers and they love to take pictures as well. #2. Karl and Claire love to eat out, but they are also fantastic cooks at home--they try new cuisines and styles, and they always make delicious food. #3. Karl and Claire do more than just eat and cook--they love to read, play volleyball, hang out, go on picnics, visit the zoo (go Vilas!), hang out with friends, and they even imbibe adult beverages now and then (Claire, unfortunately, has a taste for strawberry beer). #4. Karl and Claire love their pets as much as they love each other--Karl has a 5-year old lab mix named Beetle who is scared to death of Claire's clawless feline, Ella.

As for what we expect from this blog, I thought I would share a recent restaurant experience to start this blog off on the right foot...

ENO VINO

One of Claire and Karl's favorite restaurants is Eno Vino, off of Old Sauk in Madison ( 601 Junction Road, Madison, WI 53717-2155), which Tracey and I visited to celebrate her recent birthday. I made reservations the day before, as Eno can be very crowded, especially on a Friday night. Tracey and I arrived and were seated almost immediately. The restaurant is beautiful, with a large bar dividing the room in two--the colors in Eno are wonderful, warm and inviting. The place was bustling at 7:30 on a Friday, with many well dressed, happy customers. As we perused the menu, we were greeted by our waiter who told us the specials. We ordered a Quartino of Shiraz (Nugan “Vision” 2008 Riverina, Australia) to share, and then selected two items off of the tapas menu. The menu at Eno Vino is different than other restaurants--it is Tapas (shareable appetizers), flat bread pizzas, bruschettas, cheese and meat plates, and some wonderful salads. Tracey selected the Ahi Poke, and I selected the
Sea Bass & Scallops--we thought two would be enough, and we were correct. The Ahi Poke (Sushi Grade Ahi, pineapple chile marinade, wasabi caviar, sesame seaweed salad and fried wontons) was different than we imagined it would be--Tracey has traveled around the world and has experieced Poke, mostly on Palau. Although Eno's Poke was good, it was not the same as Tracey has had on other occassions. It was still delicious, though. The Sea Bass and Scallops came pan-seared with basil verjus butter sauce and tomato jam, and it literally melted in your mouth. The scallops were perfectly seared and the Sea Bass was cooked to perfection. We lingered over the food and had another Quartino, this time a merlot (Pavilion 2008 Sonoma County, California). The food and wine were incredibly luscious and enjoyable. Although it was Tracey's birthday, we decided against staying at Eno for dessert, since there was nothing that caught her fancy.

RATING

5/5 for ambience and service

4/5 for their food

4.5/5 overall

SHOULD WE EAT THERE?

A Resounding YES!!

So the gauntlet has been thrown, join me in requesting, nay, demanding that Clarl record their experiences during Claire's birthday this weekend! Tracey also thought that they should have unique scoring system for the restaurants, which they will have to develop.

Happy birthday Claire!

Love, Jason and Tracey (Trason)