madison ethnic restaurants?

hi, does anyone have any suggestions for inexpensive restaurants, including ethnic, for madison wisconsin? i used to live there, but havent even visited in 15 years. i can't afford l'etoile, so that's out. i'll be staying at the arbor house, the weekend of 7/23, which is on monroe about a mile, i think, from the stadium. our breakfasts are covered, but need some lunch and dinner recs. i'll have a car, so it doesn't need to be within walking distance. thanks, justjoan

It has been a couple of years since I was in Madison but there are a bunch of restaurants there which are old favorites which I try to return to at least once (or more than once) whenever I visit.

1) Restaurant Muramoto (see http://www.muramoto.biz/, 225 King St around the corner from the WI state capital) which is among the best Japanese inspired dining I have had anywhere. Of particular note is when they offer the very reasonably priced Chefs Tasting on Sunday evenings (one of my all time best dining deals I've ever experienced - amazing food, exceptionally priced). This is a small plate style Asian fusion restaurant - don't go here expecting standard sushi or "Japanese" dishes, expect really creative, seasonally inspired, Asian/Japanese influenced dishes.

2) Vientiane Palace - 151 Gorham St. Ignore the rundown look to this place (or the mixed Yelp reviews), at least when I was last there, this Lao-Thai restaurant served up exceptionally tasty food for very low prices. A fantastic place to go with a large group, order a bunch of dishes (vegetarians are well served here) and enjoy. Does it stand up to the high standards of Chicago area Thai food? Perhaps it isn't quite at TAC Quick etc levels but it is extremely good and always worth at least one stop. Tasty, spicy (if you ask for it), with a great selection & fantastic prices & at least when I've been there friendly service. Sure the place looks like a dump but ignore that and enjoy the food.

Madison has a bunch of other inexpensive ethnic restaurants, many up and down State St. Most are what you would expect in a college town but there are many others which are decent - I recall good meals at either of the Nepalese restaurants in town as well as other spots.

But if you have only one meal to have on a Sunday evening in Madison go to Restaurant Muramoto and get the chef's tasting you will not regret it.

Enjoy,

Shannon

A second recommendation for Vientienne Palace. It is my kind of place; great food served in a run down joint, just dumpy enough to keep the riff-raff out.

You can also refer to this site, http://www.madisonatoz.com/, a project by some Mad City locals who are attempting to eat their way across the state capital in alphabetical order.

If you're in a meandering mood, just try walking down State Street from the capital building down to the student union. A group of us from Roadfood did this back in June of this year. The thread, http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/The-Contingent-will-invade-MadCity-on-May-2-2010-m571092.aspx, will show you some of our ideas from conception to final execution and then reviews and photos of many of the choices we made.

Have a great trip!

Buddy

thanks shannon and buddy. vientienne palace is definitely a possibility. the other places i'm interested in are chautara, for nepalese; the weary traveller, because it sounds interesting in a madtown way and i can visit the willy st. coop next door; thai orchid, because it's close to where i'll be staying. japanese food isn't a great favorite of mine, but i appreciate the feedback from both you, and i'll check out those links. justjoan

JJ, I just do not see why, coming from Chicago, you want "ethnic" food in Madison. Eat the local food!

On Saturday AM, you cannot do worse than eating at the farmer's market. Irene's breakfast sandwiches, from her wagon, are one of Sheila's all time favorite meals. Another market option: make your breakfast easily from the cheese samples, a donut or something and finish with some warm spicy cheese bread and fresh berries.

We love the Old Fashioned on the Square. I mean it's "ethnic". Ethnic Wisconsin food. The Friday fish fry is about as good as any we've tried in Madison (if not quite as atmospheric as others), but we also love other meals. The brunch works just fine, get the walleye and eggs or the Wisconsin benedict which includes a brat patty. For other meals, the Meirsfield brat is about as good as those things go. We nearly always get the fried cheese curds. And the beer list. OMG!

More Madison "ethnic" at its finest is Mickey's Dairy Bar, which I and others have written much about. Ethnic means outstanding eggs cooked in butter and fried potatoes called "yanks." Get a slice of the blueberry coffeecake too.

Then there is that other Wisconsin ethnic treat, frozen custard. Michael's is not Kppps (and what else is!), but it's still pretty good. Sheila also has a weakness for their burgers.

The Washington Island Hotel coffee shop is worth a visit.

hey rob, we get breakfast in our hotel, and it looks like it'll be tasty. i know and love mickie's dairy bar, dont know michael's or the washington hotel coffee room, i'll check them out. i looked at the website for old fashioned....eh. remember, i lived in madison for 7 years and didnt drink/like beer or cheese curds then and nothing has changed. (tho i'd love to stop by the plaza, a hangout of mine for one of their great plazaburgers with secret sauce, but i have the to take into account my friend's tastes too, alas.) i will definitely come home with some spicy cheese bread. do you want me to bring you any cheese from fantome or bleu mont?? joan

(just)joan, we've been to Chautara, and its "parental unit" (as in, owned by the parents of the people who own Chautara) Himal Chuli, up the street. Both are quite good, although with two distinct approaches. Himal Chuli is more of an urban cafe setting with a vegetarian focused menu, while Chautara is definitely more upscale with a wide choice of meat dishes including numerous incarnations of goat. Both serve some very good food, although, for a value conscious diner like myself, let's just say neither one of them is shy about their pricing.

The big hit of the day during that Roadfood Tour was Rising Sons Deli, http://www.menupix.com/menudirectory/menu.php?id=730490 for Thai and Laotian food. They're located just a few blocks further down State Street from Chautara and Himal Chuli.

Don't forget to finish your day with a cone or two from the Daily Scoop at the UW/Madison student union. All the cream used to make their products comes from cows that re part of UW's agricultural program. That's right-ice cream from educated cows!

Buddy


Rising Sons Deli
611 State Street
Madison, WI
(608) 661-4334

The Daily Scoop
Memorial Union
800 Langdon Street
First Floor Commons Area
Madison, WI

Vital Information wrote:JJ, I just do not see why, coming from Chicago, you want "ethnic" food in Madison.

Because Chicago doesn't have Indonesian food? Or at least good Indonesian food?

Hold the presses!

What about graze opening this weekend. New restaurant from the L'Etoile folks.

I second Buddy's rec for that Ice Cream, it was wonderful!
and it isn't ethnic, but on that trip, we had some really great super Crisp Fried Chicken at Nick’s Restaurant, 226 State.

If you want to peruse the thread, it's at:
http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/tm.aspx? ... e=4#580967

i thank you for all the suggestions. i havent forgotten the great UW ice cream. i went to school there a million years ago. and a visit to the union terrace is not to be missed. with ice cream cone in hand, if possible.
if 'graze' is indeed opening friday, it would be great timing...and i bet it'll also be mobbed, but i'd like to check it out. can't find anymore about it online, other than what VI linked to. will report back if i go. this is to be a relaxing trip. other than the farmers market, i'm not pushing myself to do anything..... justjoan

Madison really is loaded with good ethnic food restaurants. If you like Indian food both Maharaja (east and west locations) and Maharini (downtown on West Wash) have great lunch buffets for about $9, and the evening food is great too.

Saigon Noodles on Odana Road has good Vietnamese food, the to go sandwiches are great.

HaLong Bay is a Thai/Vietnamese place on Willy Street that I really enjoyed when I ate there. The Vietnamese style crepes they do for weekend specials are affordable and huge.

There are quite a few good Mexican places in Madison now too. Antojitos el Toril is one of my favorite restaurants of any kind in town, it is on Cottage Grove road. La Concha on Fish Hatchery, south of the beltline, has huge and delicious torta sandwiches along with some of the best baked goods in the city. Their tres leche cake is to die for.

I don't know about ethnic, but I need one of these.

I can't emphasize enough how great Restaurant Muramoto is. Seriously one of the BEST meals I have eaten in the past decade was there (and that includes meals at multi-Michelin starred restaurants and lots and lots of other great places around the world). This isn't "Japanese" in the sense of the sushi & other standards found a Japanese restaurants around the country.

This is serious Asian Fusion.

The Sunday Chef's tasting which includes 3 Savory & 1 Sweet dishes for $30 a person is one of single best dining deals anywhere I've ever encountered (a meal at Radio Africa Kitchen here in San Francisco is perhaps the only one I've encountered that comes close and that works out to closer to $50+ a person).

Here's the current menu - http://www.muramoto.biz/menu/rm_dinner_print.html

And yes, they have a few sushi rolls (all of which are exceptional) but it is the small plates, seasonal specials and entrees which are what makes Muramoto different from most other "Japanese" restaurants.

Seriously this is the restaurant I crave going to whenever I'm in Madison - and a place I may go back to multiple times on a single visit and to which I try to go with as large of a group as possible so as to get a taste of as much of the menu as possible.

here is what i can add to the discussion of madison restaurants. remember, i was only there for 2 short days: the weary traveller had exactly the atmosphere i was looking for for lunch-casual, dark wood, original tin ceiling. but the hamburger that was recommended to me called, 'bob's bad breath burger' because of its garlic content was not garlicky. the thinly sliced, pan fried potatoes that accompany the sandwiches, though, were greasy and scrumptious. the washington hotel coffee room, which is not in a hotel, but rather on a residential street, hiding behind a knitting shop on the shores of lake monona was fabulous for sipping a coffee or tea and gazing out a huge wall of windows down to the water. the great discovery of the trip was pizza brutta, on monroe street, about 4 blocks from the stadium. they make only neopolitan style pizza, larger than a dinner plate in a 800degree brick oven. the mushroom/carmelized onion/fontina, and the margerita pizzas were so good that we picked up some to bring back to chicago. they reheat beautifully. this place has no long lines and reasonable prices.
i was hoping for a morning croissant at cafe soleil, the bakery connected to l'etoile restaurant, but it is gone. i went into the new location of l'etoile, and their new gastropub, graze, in the usbank building, also on s. pinckney and met ellie, the baker. she told me she'd hoped to still provide baked goods this last saturday, but was too busy with the graze opening the night before. i picked up their menu, which by now is probably online. its short and sweet-stuff like bone marrow/toast, chicken/waffles, house charcuterie.
there are a lot more restaurants to try than there were when i lived there a long time ago, which is great to see. i'd love to try more of the recommendations i got from lth on another visit. justjoan