You know, I'm not really sure they were giving away THEIR alcohol. I was sitting at a table and eating with our guests, so I am not sure that they did not simply pour the glasses from bottles that the patrons themselves brought in. I merely assumed they had offered the glasses to those waiting, but I could have assumed incorrectly. I think we should let this one drop because seriously, I don't know what happened.

And besides, that's not what my posting was about. Are there police lurking on this thread? I'm a little freaked out and will be more careful about my observations made here in the future.

I didn't mean to freak anyone out...I'm new to lth (well ...deeply devoted eater and long time reader, but it has always felt like I was cheating if I didn't join for some reason ...like how I felt about listening to NPR before becoming a memeber)...I live in the area by Mado and have been there three times now...I like almost everything about it except for sitting at the bar with my back to the door....so I was just reading the thread...no harm or threat intended

Are there police lurking on this thread? I'm a little freaked out and will be more careful about my observations made here in the future.

We should all be careful. This is not exactly a secret conversation, and lots of people read it. While I don't imagine police are lurking here, it is pretty public. If you wouldn't want it printed in the Tribune, don't write it.

Before now it would have seemed odd to reply to postings about my own restaurant. I think people are fully entitled to their opinions and it has been helpful for us to read people's reactions.

However, as a restaurant in the process of applying for a liquor licence I feel the need to state for the record that we ONLY pour alcohol brought into the restaurant by our guests. To do otherwise would be beyond foolish on our part - obtaining a licence is already difficult enough without breaking laws to contend with.

Thanks again for all the helpful input.
Allie

I finally made it to Mado last night, along with another foodie/wino friend. We called ahead to see if there would be a wait, and Allie told us that if we arrived at 7:30 (about 15-20 min) there should be a table. When we got there, they had 2 open tables and since we might have had a joiner, she offered us the 2-top next to another table that was almost finished and therefore could be scooted into our table. Now that's how you make a great first impression!

A very vibrant ambience, and great mix of old brick, modern art and the big chalkboard. We asked for still water and received a very cool, thick-glass bottle with a wide top. I noticed that there was no upc code and Allie explained that they had a walter filtration system and the bottles were dishwasher friendly and they want to be as carbon-neutral as possible...all for that!

Food was very tasty. We ordered some starters: grilled octopus, liver pate, chorizo salumi, and heirloom tomatoes. The tomatoes were great, mix of beefsteak and cherry with a light mustardy vinaigrette. Salumi was savory, moist and a good texture, 6 slices so not huge but big flavor. The pate was huge on flavor, had a cognac note to it...served with crostini. The octopus was my fav, grilled then slightly chilled and served with romesco sauce - great texture that I always love about octopus done right. All paired very well with Domaine Tempier 2006 rose.

We had a baby greens salad, then shared the hanger steak with the gorgonzola polenta and a small order of the farro with spit-roasted lamb and summer squash, and a side of creamed corn (a major highlight and waiter-recommended). Steak was ordered mid-rare, and arrived more rare in the center but it was outstanding. We could tell that it was locally raised just due to the texture and flavor. The gorgonzola was present but not over-bearing. Farro was earthy and chewy, a nice counterpart. The creamed corn was fresh, sweet and delicious! These went very well with the BV 2001 Rutherford cab sauv (still young).

Service was friendly and casual, and advice to those who stated that it was inattentive: maybe let the staff know that you have a timeline and I'm sure they will accomodate you. My friend and I like dining leisurely so this was right up our respective alleys.

No room for dessert (very sad), and we were late for the last set at WestFest so we hit the road. The bill was about $60 which I find quite reasonable. I will definitely return, and wish them luck on their licensing.

Oh, our friend never showed, and the room stayed full after 9pm.

I was *so* excited to eat here and left feeling a little disappointed. I've lived in the area since 1996 and welcomed the arrival of Mado. I stopped in to check out the menu on a Saturday afternoon and found the space comfortable and inviting. Upon returning — without a reservation — on a Wednesday night at 7:30, I wasn't quite as comfortable. From the start, there seemed to be a lot of confusion about whether or not our party of three would be seated. There were plenty of empty tables, all filled quickly by parties with reservations. As the first in our group to arrive, I was told we would have a 45 minute wait and took a seat at the bar. After drinking one bottle of our wine, we were finally seated at 9.

We all enjoyed the pate (trio of pate?) as an opener. Two of us ordered the tagliatelle pasta (small portion) and found the texture amazing but the flavor lacking — it improved with salt. (Salt? On a pasta dish? I'm Italian and expect pasta dishes to sparkle. Maybe it needed more cheese?) My swiss chard side was incredible. My friend's carrot soup seemed to beg for salt. My sister enjoyed her hanger steak.

When our bill arrived, we noticed that part of it had been comped, likely due to our long wait for a table. Still, we ended up spending $25 each and had no leftovers. (I'm not complaining, but typically when I spend that much on dinner, I end up with leftovers...) I was expecting to rave about this place and tell all my friends how amazing it was. Instead, I'll go back in the near future with a friend or two and just give it another try.

Each time my wife and I have dined here, we've been struck by a few things:

1) How comfortable and laid back the space feels

2) The freshness of the ingredients and their deceptively simple preparation and presentation

3) How no matter the portion size, we've always left perfectly sated.

4) What a bargain. Last night, for three or four appetizers/sides (perfectly roasted carrots, delicious heirloom tomatoes, salami, trout) and one main dish (pork loin with rapini and balsamic), the bill came out to a relative pittance (esp. for diners on a relative budget - our most recent real splurge was on Schwa, and we agree it was worth it if only as a disincentive to drop that much cash on one meal again!).

Basically, in the end, Mado offers the taste and feel of a great dinner party meal where the host has taken great care to choose only the freshest ingredients, and devise the dishes most sympathetic to those ingredients. And that’s why we’ll keep going back.

My wife and I went to Mado on Friday night. I would say that our overall experience was mixed.

First, I was surprised to see so few choices on the menu. Having read the other postings, I thought there would be a few more selections. After staring it down for a while, and spending a few minutes killing all the flies buzzing our table that was up against the window, we finally each had a different starter, and then each chose the same main course.

My wife had the corn chowder, which I thought was excellent. The flavor from the wood grilling of the corn made the chowder taste like there was some smoked meat in it, but the preparation is vegetarian.

My starter was the country pate, which I thought was only average. It did have a good flavor. I was surprised however to find that they typical accompaniments to pate, like toasted bread, mustard, and a pickled veggie, were all extra! The server said that they originally didn't have them as part of the service because they felt that the pate stood on its own, but so many people asked about the accompaniments that they decided to add them to the menu. While I understand that these things have value, I think you should just increase the cost of the dish and serve them in the traditional manner. Pricing them as extra on the menu is cheesy.

The main course we each had was the hanger steak with gorgonzola polenta. The flavor was fantastic, especially the polenta. However, the size of the serving was really tiny. We each got 5 slices of steak, and probably a half cup of polenta.

We skipped dessert because there wasn't anything that jumped out at us as being enticing, and we were a bit taken aback by the small main course to the point we didn't want to spent any more money in the restaurant. We went back to our hotel (we stayed downtown because we saw a play the next day) and picked up something to snack on along the way.

Overall, the execution of what we had was very tasty. The place was definitely crowded, but I've seen that many times before with new places that are BYOB. I suspect that their clientele will diminish once they have a liquor license and people are required to order their wine. That tends to be how things go when a BYOB gets their license.

I'm glad I tried it, but I won't be back.

John Danza wrote:My starter was the country pate, which I thought was only average. It did have a good flavor. I was surprised however to find that they typical accompaniments to pate, like toasted bread, mustard, and a pickled veggie, were all extra! The server said that they originally didn't have them as part of the service because they felt that the pate stood on its own, but so many people asked about the accompaniments that they decided to add them to the menu. While I understand that these things have value, I think you should just increase the cost of the dish and serve them in the traditional manner. Pricing them as extra on the menu is cheesy.

John,

At 4 bucks each, the meat antipasti - including this pate - are an amazing bargain. I agree with the server that they stand alone, but wouldn't argue with anyone who wants the accompaniments. I certainly prefer the option of paying only 4 bucks for the outstanding pate to being forced to pay more for accompaniments I might not want. I have cheesy taste, I guess.

I am glad you enjoyed Mado. You described everything you ate as "excellent," "good flavor," or "fantastic". That range of descriptives sounds about right to me too. I also really enjoy Mado's style of doing things, which is the only area in which it appears that our viewpoints depart.

Kenny

For my palate, the richness of most pates requires the accompaniments just to break it up a bit. I find it tough to just eat it straight. However, I'm completely the opposite when it comes to a cheese course, as I almost never use the bread that comes with it. Whatever works for each of us on this is great. That's why we live in America!!

I think the portion size of the main course is what turned me off. I'm a big guy with a big appetite, but I like what some people would call "small, pretty food" and am never hungry leaving a restaurant after having that style of dining. That's why this was disappointing.

My comment on probably not returning is more about value, once they have their liquor license. Based on my other postings on other topics, you can see that I'm really big on wine with dinner. I'm not convinced that there will be enough value for me at Mado once the wine is coming from their wine list, assuming that they follow the usual restaurant M.O. of charging between 2.5 and 3 times retail. That will take my $70 bill for what I had up to probably $110-$125, and it wouldn't be worth it for me.

But that's why there's a zillion restaurants around, so we can both be satisfied!

John Danza wrote:I think the portion size of the main course is what turned me off. I'm a big guy with a big appetite, but I like what some people would call "small, pretty food" and am never hungry leaving a restaurant after having that style of dining. That's why this was disappointing.

I could see how this might happen. When I have dined at Mado, I always go with a group and share a whole bunch of stuff for the table. If we're not full after the first round, we order more. What you have called a "main course," Mado just calls "From the Grill". That said, I personally find the steak entree very filling, with the richness of that gorgonzola polenta and what I'd estimate is at least a third of a pound of meat..

I assume the $70 you paid was for two, and included tax and a very generous tip? Unless things have gone up a lot at Mado, it's hard to see how the order above could come out to more than 25-30 bucks a person before tax and tip.

Kennyz wrote:I assume the $70 you paid was for two, and included tax and a very generous tip? Unless things have gone up a lot at Mado, it's hard to see how the order above could come out to more than 25-30 bucks a person before tax and tip.

Yes, it was for the two of us. The starters were both $8, IIRC. The steak dishes were $18 each. Total of $52. Then you add in the 11.5% to the gods of government. I usually top 20% on the food/beverage but will usually round up just so I don't have to deal with getting a buck and some change back. Plus the server was cute, so what the heck (good thing my wife doesn't read the board).

John Danza wrote:Plus the server was cute, so what the heck (good thing my wife doesn't read the board).

This made me laugh, as my wife does read the board.

I had dinner at Mado last week and my experience was mixed but favorable, overall. I like that the restaurant is built on an admirable 'local whenever possible' philosophy but the food, while mostly delicious, didn't completely succeed on its own.


Mado is located at 1647 N Milwaukee Avenue

To start, we had a few appetizers, some of which lined up completely with the local bent and some which strayed from it a bit. Again, I bring this up mainly as a point of reference because such issues do not matter so much to me personally. A charcuterie plate made from locally-sourced meats delivered mixed results. The copa (sic) really sang and delivered an unmistakably funky pork punch that satisfied. I also enjoyed the country pate, which was a very respectable rendition. Lamb pate was far too loose in texture and had a flavor that somewhat reminded me of canned meat (not saying it was canned) and the pickled lamb tongue, the item to which I was most looking forward, was somewhat bland and too subtle.


Clockwise from bottom: lamb pate, pickled lamb tongue, copa (sic) and country pate


I did not care for the broccoli with almonds and preserved lemon. I thought the preserved lemon was way too sweet and not well-matched with the broccoli . . .


Broccoli with Almonds and Preserved Lemon


We also had some decidedly non-local appetizers. Baby octopus with romesco was great in every way -- wonderful flavor and texture. The romesco was fantastic. Marlin ceviche was notably fresh-tasting but somewhat devoid of flavor, or too subtle for me.


Baby Ocotopus with Romesco Sauce



Marlin Ceviche with Spicy Yellow Watermelon and Mint


Entrees were uniformly successful and easily trumped the starters. The hanger steak was cooked perfectly to medium rare, with a wonderfully crusty exterior, and full of beefy flavor. I didn't love the somewhat hard-textured lump of gorgonzola polenta that accompanied it -- especially compared to the side of silky regular polenta we also ordered -- but it had its fans at our table. The Lake Superior whitefish was terrific. It was served with cucumbers and chili oil, both of which went well with the fish and sparkled individually, as well. Chicken with charred onion panzanella was fantastic. The bird (which I believe was brined) was exemplary and the accompanying panzanella was deep in flavor, and an inspired accompaniment. Lamb leg and sausage with Swiss chard was mixed. The meat components were stellar, especially the sausage, but the chard was minced into such small pieces, it was not particularly satisfying. It was also bit too salty for my taste.


Hanger Steak with Gorgonzola Polenta



Lake Superior Whitefish with Cucumbers and Chili Oil



Chicken with Charred Onion Panzanella



Lamb Leg and Sausage with Swiss Chard



Farro with Salt-Roasted Chicken and Summer Squash (ordered at the table but I didn't taste it)

Additional sides we ordered were tasty. Even though it is August, roasted carrots and rosemary roasted potatoes had a seasonal lightness to them. The aforementioned polenta was fantastic. Several vegetables, which I consider more typically seasonal than carrots and potatoes -- corn, summer squash, green & yellow waxbeans, tomatoes and eggplant -- were offered on the menu as antipasti. We ordered the beans as one of our sides.


Green & Yellow Wax Beans with Lemon and Basil


Roasted Carrots

Desserts were very tasty, too. The apricot and pistachio crisp with whipped cream was chocked full of delicious, ripe apricots and topped with an addictive crust. The cocoa bean panna cotta with candied hazelnuts and crispy chocolate was absolutely delectable and immensely satisfying.


Apricot and Pistachio Crisp with Whipped Cream



Cocoa Bean Panna Cotta with Candied Hazelnuts and Crispy Chocolate


Portion sizes were certainly adequate but, as one of our friends pointed out, somewhat uneven. The chicken was a full half-chicken and the lamb 2 ways was also a generous portion. The hanger steak was a somewhat skimpier portion, probably due to the higher cost. That unevenness does make sharing entrees a bit of challenge. Still, our total bill before tip was $210, which represented a decent value, in my opinion. I'll definitely be back to Mado. I really appreciated the meal I had; not only the ingrdients which comprised it but also the way they were handled.

=R=

Not to harp on a single meal from a year ago at a place now up for a Great Neighborhood Restaurants award, but what are the virtues that people claimed to find at Bonsoiree back then (and which I didn't, especially?) Well-crafted, imaginative cuisine, an unpretentious neighborhood spot where you can BYOB, and modest prices-- at first.

After spending a number of hours in Mado's kitchen shooting an upcoming Sky Full of Bacon, I finally ate there last night with a few others involved in the production. And for me, Mado is the place that people were looking for in a place like Bonsoiree, but still at the price point that makes experimentation and hits-or-misses an acceptable part of the journey. All over town now entrees start with a 3, and at that price they damn well better come off perfectly. At Mado, I think every entree (or at least nearly so) started with a 1-- a price at which one can happily go for the ride with a couple of chefs who are making their menu up new, constantly, based on what's in the markets. Rapid-response cooking like that is going to be better some times than others, by its nature, but rooted in classic skills, you should be able to keep that average pretty high-- and that's exactly what I think Mado has done. Superior ingredients and some classic techniques produced an outstanding value for the price (barely $20 per person before tip) and compared favorably with any meal I've had lately-- Sepia, Graham Elliott, Mercat, etc.

The in-house charcuterie is certainly one of the big reasons to go. We tried three different head cheeses, including the pork which will star in the podcast, although I think my favorite (don't tell Triska) was lamb, just a subtle lamb flavor shining through the texture of head cheese (which, at least the way they make it, isn't a gooey gelatinous loaf but somewhat akin to chunks of leftover Thanksgiving turkey bound with a little cold gravy). Even better than any of them, though, was the copa, cured pork shoulder somewhat like prosciutto, which had the beautiful deep red color and winey complexity of the best charcuterie anywhere I've had it.

Antipasti consisted of a number of simply dressed plates, mostly fresh vegetables, and a selection of pickled items. I really liked the pickled watermelon slices and zucchini bits (THERE'S what to do with all your zucchini!), a beet salad with pistachios and a slightly spicy yogurt dressing was superbly fresh and bright, and a little tuna and potato dish poached in olive oil was like a great, simple tapas. I was less wild about uncooked brussel sprouts tossed with shaved parmesan, I would have liked them both softer and warmer, I think.

Although I liked the housemade pasta itself, I agree with those who find the pasta dishes a little too minimalist, even by authentic-Italian standards. But two entrees were really great. One, which Rob Levitt had urged us to try, was calves' liver in a reduction with bits of their homemade bacon-- this was surprisingly easy to love even for someone who's not wild about liver, the preparation gave the liver a steak-like richness. And a dish of little fried perch on top of a cauliflower puree with a saffron sauce was wonderfully light and fresh.

Mado has instantly climbed onto my recommend-to-people list for offering really well-made and interesting food in a comfortable setting at comfortable prices. I asked Rob during the shoot why he thought that people had a negative perception of the value and the portion size and he said some of them seem to expect to leave with a big bag of leftover food. If that's so, then they should be eating at Rosebud or something; the value here, of extremely high quality meat that's raised and used in a responsible way, and served at a reasonable size for a reasonable price, seems like a very good deal to me. You get what you're paying for here on the plate, not in a bag afterwards.

Mike G wrote:Not to harp on a single meal from a year ago at a place now up for a Great Neighborhood Restaurants award, but what are the virtues that people claimed to find at Bonsoiree back then (and which I didn't, especially?) Well-crafted, imaginative cuisine, an unpretentious neighborhood spot where you can BYOB, and modest prices-- at first.

While Mado is ok for what it is, it isn't even close to the same class of cuisine as you find at Bonsoiree.

Needless to say from the above, my feeling is pretty much the precise opposite. À chacun son goût...

MikeG wrote:You get what you're paying for here on the plate, not in a bag afterwards.

You pay a premium at a farmer's market much of the time, but you feel good doing so and usually get produce that is about 20 times as good and fresh as at Dominick's (many apologies for mentioning that name and Mado in the same paragraph). Mado might be costly if you think about how few ingredients go in every dish, but when you take the gestalt, I actually think it's one of the better values in the city. It almost feels like thieving from Vie's pantry and slipping away unnoticed.

Not everything is a hit - I would not recommend the calamari right now at all, and the tiny perch fillets are a bit precious (and hard to balance on the palate with no spoon for the underlying pool of lightly-saffroned sauce). But knowing that you have a new menu and ingredient set every week will keep me coming back so I can be knocked over by how good raw beets and brussels sprouts can be, and remember the simplicity of a basic vinegar pickle. I also adored the eggplant pasta - al dente, rich, and balanced without much fuss or oil. If they had space for a big bread oven and budget for a top-notch boulanger, and offered bread before being asked (you really need something to sop up the sauces and brines), I think most comments about portion size would evaporate.

Quite impressed. While it's not painstakingly crafted high cuisine, sometimes you have to admire the execution of restraint, of simplicity. Mado's a Shaker Hymn in this respect.

Mike G wrote:Needless to say from the above, my feeling is pretty much the precise opposite. À chacun son goût...

Mike, I just didn't see a reason to take a shot at another restaurant (i.e. Bonsoiree) to pay complements to Mado. Mado should stand or fall on its own.

The too-few times I've been to Mado have been great, although I am now in desperate need to try the head cheeses and calves liver. Mike and Santander, I agree with your thoughts on Mado, and am also a fan of Bonsoiree. They are separate philosophies, but it's great to have both within a few miles of home along with Lula Cafe, and (opening next week with much anticipation) The Bristol. Variety is the spice of life, no?

Ronnie, you have a career in food photography if you so choose, those pics are outstanding!

wino66 wrote:Ronnie, you have a career in food photography if you so choose, those pics are outstanding!

Let me chime in with my kudos as well. Ronnie, the photos are fabulous!

John Danza wrote:

wino66 wrote:Ronnie, you have a career in food photography if you so choose, those pics are outstanding!

Let me chime in with my kudos as well. Ronnie, the photos are fabulous!

Thanks, guys. Great food is an inspiration and basically photographs itself.

As for going pro, I wish I could afford the paycut

=R=

Has anyone been by Mado for lunch? I am working from home today, have a mid-morning charcuterie hankering and was wondering if it was available for lunch.

msmre wrote:Has anyone been by Mado for lunch? I am working from home today, have a mid-morning charcuterie hankering and was wondering if it was available for lunch.

Even if it has been available in the past, that's no guarantee that it's available today.

If you're interested in a specific item, your best bet is always to call:

Mado
773-342-2340

Best,
Michael

Seasonality slipped my mind. Thanks for the help, Michael.

Here's hoping headcheese is in season today.

Mado is open for lunch, but it is an abbreviated sandwich menu, not the dinner menu.

For those interested, Mado is serving the charcuterie plate for lunch today.

i had a genuinely thrilling dinner at mado on thursday night. there is plenty of delicious food out in restaurantland that i love, but 'thrilling' is a word i reserve for a meal with components that are not often offered, and well executed. i think i made rob(the chef's) day by ordering lamb, lamb and more lamb.

every thursday mado receives a whole lamb(so they tell me). one of their missions is to use as much of each animal as they possibly can. and i was happy to help out with one of the least popular lamby parts, the liver. rob tells me he's lucky to sell one lamb liver entree per dinner service. but he offers it, i guess, because he's got it. i shared a lamb liver pate with a friend, followed by a very satisfying arugula, roasted pear and hazelnut salad. i found the flavor of the pate very, very strong(but not liverish), incredibly wonderful and impossible to describe. and because i expressed an interest in trying lamb testa (head cheese) rob comped us a slice (it wasn't on the menu). it was mild, tasty, and nothing like what i expected. it was just meat pulled from inside the head and neck after the head was braised. the meat is packed into a mold and sliced. this was followed by an entree of lamb liver (barely cooked-perfect) with superb, tiny roasted turnip halves and turnip greens. because the lamb was slaughtered on the young side, the liver was quite mild, depending as much on properly undercooking it as on it's intrinsic flavor.

for dessert the 3 of us shared the unusual, creamy panna cotta made by steeping cocoa nibs in cream for several hours. the flavor is only barely chocolaty. it's more about the creamy denseness of the custard, well balanced with hazelnuts and chocolate bark made with chunks of ladyfingers and chocolate. we also shared the buffalo ricotta (imported from italy) with local organic honey drizzled over it. this, to me, is the essence of a perfect, simple dessert. my only complaint of the evening is that the portion of ricotta was very generous, but the drizzle of honey was less so. our third dessert was something strangely described on the menu as 'migas bark'. since i know migas to be a mexican breakfast dish, i didn't know what to expect. but it was a very creative and delicious candy made by staling, or toasting, small pieces of leftover bread and coating them with dark chocolate (in this case, delectable el rey chocolate). it was all in all, a memorable meal with kudos to rob and alli levitt for creativity and deliciousness. justjoan

I had a very relaxing and pleasant lunch at Mado on Friday--my first visit. I had a hankering for charcuterie (actually hadn't seen msmre's inquiry above before I went), and I guess I should consider myself lucky that I just dropped in and they had a very fine charcuterie plate on offer.

From snout, clockwise: lamb testa, country pate, lonza and lamb liver pate:


I've eaten headcheese maybe once before. I hate to admit it, but the idea makes me a little uneasy. It's not even so much the animal parts; it's the way it's usually all held together (in my imagination, anyway)...that gooey gelatinousness Mike G mentions upthread. Given what I had read about Mado, however, it seemed like a fine place to try and move beyond my comfort zone. Mado's lamb testa was spectacular--nothing gelatinous that I could detect. The flavor of the meat was mild in a really lovely way, complimented by fresh rosemary, so I was actually grateful for the lack of garnishes and other accoutrements on the piggy board. With the headcheese, Mado won my trust.

My other favorite, which came as a surprise, was the lamb liver pate. I could see the comparison to canned meat that ronnie_surburan makes above (to the lamb pate he had), but for me the association is limited to texture. Having grown up occasionally eating canned meat, and, in particular, canned liver spread, the airy texture of the lamb liver pate did make think immediately of my childhood. However, the flavor of the lamb pate was much brighter, almost sweeter than I expected. It was entirely new to me, and for that I enjoyed it.

Both the country pate and lonza were solidly satisfying.

Overall, my Mado experience made me realize that I need more charcuterie in my life. If I could more often work from home and take a leisurely lunch, I'd make regular visits to Mado and just have them choose what to feed me. From just my one meal, I got a sense of a simplicity in their food that's new and really inspiring.

I really enjoyed the Charcuterie plate. Enough where I went back today to see what was new.

I had the coppa, lomo, wild boar confit terrine, and the country pate with pistachios. After the Publican charcuterie plate earlier this week, I was even more impressed with Mado's. (Note that the Publican Charcuterie plate was no slouch, just not as porcine). Some things that I appreciate even more now, besides the Sprecher Root Beer, is the country bread that accompanied.

Chef Levitt has his stuff together when he gets his hands on a pig and it is great to see such a great craftsperson so close to home.