Clarling Around Mad Town

Time for another list, my friends. This time, my favorite restaurants in Madison and the surrounding area. These aren’t in any particular order, but if it’s closer to the top, it’s probably pretty damn good. I’m certain that Claire will amend/alter this list, but here’s what I have so far:

1. Eno Vino. Give me one choice for a delicious meal in Madison, and I’m going with this place. For those who haven’t been there, Eno has a tapas menu, or, as my brother says: a “topless” menu. For the sake of clarity, “tapas” means a snack or appetizer, and does not, as my brother would have you believe, have anything to do with toplessness. Uncool, J. (I should add here that all references to my brother’s opinion have been made up and/or altered for the sake of humor.)
2. Brasserie V. First of all, best frites in town. That’s well established. Based on the experiences Claire and I have had, and reinforced by outside opinion, the service is not the best. Despite this shortfall, however, the food is amazing. Local, organic, fresh, delicious. Great location, great interior, great food. Also, a superior beer list. Quickly becoming one of our favorites. (Try the mussels.)

3. Natt Spil. I think I’m going to surprise Clairee with this one, but she and my Mom and I had a great time there recently, and we were able to sit at a table on the sidewalk on a beautiful day and that goes a long way for me. We’ve also been there a couple times late at night and each time was an experience. If you haven’t been there, don’t try to look it up: they don’t have a phone number or a website. They don’t even have a sign outside marking the location. What they do have is great food and a great atmosphere, as well as weird food and a weird atmosphere.
For instance,(no reason for this photo, he's just adorable) in terms of food, they serve pizzas, dim sum, and what I would call hippie dishes, and everything we’ve had there has been excellent. In terms of atmosphere, it’s hard to describe, but I can tell you that on some nights they cram a DJ into the building and the place gets packed, and it’s jumping.
4. Sardine. Beautiful building, great lakeside seating, wonderful food. A favorite.
5. Samba. Claire mentioned this place in an earlier post. Really good food and great interior design.

I have to cut it off there and continue later—so many great places in Madison. All of these could have easily cracked the top 5 for me: Jac’s, Murimoto, Wasabe. I can’t believe I didn’t get Café Continental in there, that’s certainly one of the best in Mad Town. There are too many, I’ll post something about many more later. Just to finish, though, let me add a few favorite lunch/brunch/breakfast places:
1. Café Soleil. Divine.
2. Hubbard St. in Middleton. Can’t miss.
3. Lazy Jane’s. Again, wonderful.

I can’t go on, there are too many great places, and I know I’ve already forgotten to mention so many. I will continue later.