Regarding the flan - my flan didn't quite look like that (I believe it was billed as a creme caramel, as well). It didn't set up as tall and bulged out at the bottom; it was, for lack of a better word, a flaccid cross between a flan and a creme, which probably accounts for why I didn't care for the texture. I still feel like that oversized tart crust is odd, and its crisp texture makes it difficult to scoop a bite of flan (or creme caramel) and the crust (you kind of have to cut both separately). Personally, I'd omit the tart shell out as I didn't think it added anything but texture to a dish. (While we're at it, I'd also omit the nuts; not the sort of texture I want in a flan-type dessert, but maybe I'm a purist.)

aschie30 wrote:I still feel like that oversized tart crust is odd, and its crisp texture makes it difficult to scoop a bite of flan (or creme caramel) and the crust (you kind of have to cut both separately).

I could see how it'd be difficult to cut both. I didn't even attempt that. I ate the crème caramel with a fork and just snapped off pieces of crust with my fingers. It would have been harder to snap off if the crust was completely filled with crème caramel.

aschie30 wrote:Personally, I'd omit the tart shell out as I didn't think it added anything but texture to a dish.

I'd maybe agree with you if it were a more standard crust, but the buckwheat seemed to be really deliberate flavor-wise. It was almost too crisp for me, but in this dessert buckwheat seemed to exist only to be matched with coffee, cocoa nibs and hazelnuts. I perhaps need more distance from our meal tonight, but I might even say the combination was brilliant.

happy_stomach wrote:And so there we were just after 5pm this evening—me and Mama happy_stomach at one table and at the one other occupied table a certain Chicago celebrity chef.

So we were sitting there in the northwest corner of the room, critiquing said celebrity chef's fine dining restaurant, when I looked up and saw him. It was nice to see him.

To add a few notes:

-The pig ear salad is, as noted above, pretty wet; it could use a textural contrast to that. Still, the flavor is impeachable: unctuous pork meat, sweet squash, herbaceous greens.
-the farm egg bruschetta is pretty near perfect.
-The arugula salad with couscous is a really simple, really lovely dish, with nice bitter(greens), nutty (almonds), and acidic (lemon vinagrette) notes.
-The trout with brown butter on top of corn/succotash was not the best variation in Mado's history--for me, the early version with romesco or the one stuffed with pork belly are the paragons--but was lovingly cooked over charcoal; the corn-succotash blend underneath was pretty incredible.
-I had the beef heart, which was smoky and intensely meaty. Unlike the shot above, the dish was composed, with the cornbread used as a log and the beef, onions, and arugula on top--somewhat awkward to eat.
-the chicken was about as good as can be expected for a simple half-chicken dish.

Dessert was, to be expected, very good: the surprise was the apple tart, which had just the right touch of cinnamon. The peach/pistachio crisp was fine, though the peaches were a little overcooked.

Always glad to support a place like this.

If you're going to give a celebrity top billing in a post - ahead of any of your food descriptions - you have to at least say who it is, and ideally tell us who he or she is dating. That's the first rule in the LTHForum, aka E! Entertainment Weekly manual.

Kennyz wrote:If you're going to give a celebrity top billing in a post - ahead of any of your food descriptions - you have to at least say who it is, and ideally tell us who he or she is dating. That's the first rule in the LTHForum, aka E! Entertainment Weekly manual.

The community spontaneously started to coyly respect privacy and speak in third person a few weeks back. Get with the times! Santander out.

Santander wrote:

Kennyz wrote:If you're going to give a celebrity top billing in a post - ahead of any of your food descriptions - you have to at least say who it is, and ideally tell us who he or she is dating. That's the first rule in the LTHForum, aka E! Entertainment Weekly manual.

The community spontaneously started to coyly respect privacy and speak in third person a few weeks back. Get with the times! Santander out.

As happy_stomach told Kennyz earlier, she's selling the celebrity-chef-at-Mado-on-a-Sunday-night story to US Weekly and therefore not sharing full details of the evening on LTH. It looks like she may now have to split any profit with chezbrad to keep him from revealing the identity of said celebrity chef. To that, happy_stomach says:

( )

I finally made it to Mado a few weeks ago on a Thursday night and I have to say I was rather dissapointed after reading all the rave reviews on here.

We started off with the shishito peppers fried in olive oil with sea salt and that was pretty good, but again it's a pepper not anything revolutionary. We also split the spicy greens with roasted pig head because how could you not order this here. I thought this dish was pretty good, I especially likes the sweetness of the peaches or nectarines, cannot remember exactly what was on the salad. The actual shredded pig was good, but the seasoning was a little off for me. There were only two dishes the night I went, we got there at 8:30, so maybe the porchetta and other fish and chicken dish was sold out, but I was so looking forward to the porchetta. I landed up ordering the hanger steak with polenta, which was like any other hanger steak that I've had, nothing out of the usual and my friend got the whitefish which I really did not like personally, it was too fishy for me. I mean, it was a good meal, but I honestly was expecting so much more from what I read on here and thru other reviews. I wouldn't go back if someone from out of town requested to go. Maybe it was an off night, maybe b/c the porchetta was sold out I didn't feel like I had anything else to order.

Do you mean there were only two main dishes to choose from? Usually there are five or six. That seems really surprising.

I agree that the shishito peppers aren't revolutionary, but I had never heard of these and thought they tasted great. I thought their preparation really showcased the pepper.

Shaggywillis wrote:There were only two dishes the night I went, we got there at 8:30, so maybe the porchetta and other fish and chicken dish was sold out, but I was so looking forward to the porchetta.
...
Maybe it was an off night, maybe b/c the porchetta was sold out I didn't feel like I had anything else to order.

That's too bad you had a disappointing experience. Just a note about porchetta at Mado. First, I can't tell from your post, but you do know that porchetta isn't always on the menu, right? I've joked a little about porchetta in this thread just because I enjoy it so much, and my mom would order it every time she dined at Mado if she could (creature of habit she is), but I think it's very telling that she--not the easiest woman to please food-wise--has been very happy with all her meals there, including the 3-4 meals sans porchetta.

If you are expecting to see porchetta on the menu (should you give Mado one more try), maybe you see Rob tweet about it or hear from somewhere else that porchetta is supposed to be available the night you dine, I would simply call and ask them to save you one (or two), especially if that's the only thing you want to eat. They're always happy to do that with porchetta and, I think, really anything else on the menu.

Shaggywillis wrote:I finally made it to Mado a few weeks ago on a Thursday night and I have to say I was rather dissapointed after reading all the rave reviews on here.

We started off with the shishito peppers fried in olive oil with sea salt and that was pretty good, but again it's a pepper not anything revolutionary. We also split the spicy greens with roasted pig head because how could you not order this here. I thought this dish was pretty good, I especially likes the sweetness of the peaches or nectarines, cannot remember exactly what was on the salad. The actual shredded pig was good, but the seasoning was a little off for me. There were only two dishes the night I went, we got there at 8:30, so maybe the porchetta and other fish and chicken dish was sold out, but I was so looking forward to the porchetta. I landed up ordering the hanger steak with polenta, which was like any other hanger steak that I've had, nothing out of the usual and my friend got the whitefish which I really did not like personally, it was too fishy for me. I mean, it was a good meal, but I honestly was expecting so much more from what I read on here and thru other reviews. I wouldn't go back if someone from out of town requested to go. Maybe it was an off night, maybe b/c the porchetta was sold out I didn't feel like I had anything else to order.

My first meal at Mado was pretty average, and I too didn't get the hype in this thread. Since then I've been three more times and all were better than my first meal. I would say that one of those meals reached the heights that others in this thread have described (the other two visits were still quite good). All of that being said, I still love Mado and would recommend that you give it another shot.

Let me start out by saying that I had dinner at Mado twice this past weekend. I had a good friend in town on Friday who wanted to share a great meal and had some very specific requests around beer he can't get back in Virginia. Mado's BYOB policy saved the day - food I love with the beer I chose to bring.

On Sunday I was back at Mado for my first family dinner there, the mutton dinner. Mmm... mutton!

Rob and Allie give an introduction


Mutton Charcuterie Selection

There was mutton ham, mutton pate, mutton liver pate and mutton chorizo. Accompaniments included house-based bread and pickled peppers.

Mutton ham and pate

I tried a good bit of all of the charcuterie selections. All were quite good, though light on muttony flavor. The liver pate (not pictured) - an addition to the posted menu - was very good, though a bit heavy on what seemed like nutmeg.

Acorn squash with crispy mutton shank

I've been big on hard squashes this Fall, so this dish hit a sweet spot for me - perfectly tender (but not mushy) squash with crispy bits of mutton. Crispy bits make everything better.

Mutton empanadas

Ours were perfectly hot, light and crisp, which is impressive given how many empanadas they must have fried up in short order. Though tasty on their own, some sort of sauce might have been nice.

Grilled flatbread with smoked melrose pepper puree, mutton belly and harissa

This was a clear winner at our table. The harissa had fantastic heat to it, the belly was rich, the pepper puree formed a solid flavor foundation - it all came together.

Garganelli with mutton ragu

Rich meaty ragu - slightly oily in a very good way - and al dente garganelli with nice ridges to hold the sauce.

Holy flaming lardo, batman!

Rob's sous chef took a large hunk of house-cured lardo, set it ablaze over their wood grill, and then basted the rotating mutton legs with hot lardo drippings!

Mutton leg

And out came the main event! Until this point, everyone had been talking about how mild the mutton flavor was in a lot of the dishes. The ragu had a distinct mutton flavor, but still didn't scream mutton!. These slices of rotisserie mutton leg didn't leave you with any question what you were eating - rich, gamey, delicious mutton.

Not pictured was a couscous with preserved lemon, which was a great counter-balance (both in its light texture and the citrusy flavor).

Pear tart

Last but not least was a pear tart made by Allie. Her desserts continue to blow me away and this tart was no exception. The quenelle was some sort of, perhaps, lighted creme fraiche? Tangy and creamy, it did the trick!

This was my first family dinner at Mado and definitely won't be my last.

-Dan

Beautiful. Really wanted to go to this but had neither money nor willing dining companion. Are these family-style dinners held quite frequently?

BryanZ wrote:Beautiful. Really wanted to go to this but had neither money nor willing dining companion. Are these family-style dinners held quite frequently?

Mado took the summer off from having the family dinners - - Sunday was the first one in months. But, last spring, I'd say they were hosting a dinner every month or two.

Thanks for the great photos, Dan - - a great way to remember that wonderful meal. For me, the highlights were the flatbread, the pasta, and the dessert.

Ronna

Sounds like Vettel would agree with the new GNR: Three stars for Mado in this morning's Trib.

Well-deserved.

Ronna

I was sad to miss the mutton family dinner, but happy that some remnants were still on the menu tonight. Mutton chorizo had fantastic flavor, though I agree that mutton was not the predominent taste. Mutton pate, on the hand, I found terrifically gamey - the essence of the animal. Salt crystals sprinkled atop really helped it shine. Roast chicken was as good as ever, with sweet, buttery cabbage that I liked very much as well. I told Rob to scold Allie for removing both the rice pudding and the yogurt pudding from the menu - probably my two favorite things there. Chocolate cream pie was wonderful, but I still miss my whiter desserts.

Kennyz wrote:I told Rob to scold Allie for removing both the rice pudding and the yogurt pudding from the menu - probably my two favorite things there. Chocolate cream pie was wonderful, but I still miss my whiter desserts.

Rob didn't insist you have the maple-pear-butter tart? Last night he declared it his favorite of all time of Allie's desserts, gave me its full history. There was no room to resist. I love their chocolate cream pie, but the pear tart was magnificent following mutton leg.

happy_stomach wrote:

Kennyz wrote:I told Rob to scold Allie for removing both the rice pudding and the yogurt pudding from the menu - probably my two favorite things there. Chocolate cream pie was wonderful, but I still miss my whiter desserts.

Rob didn't insist you have the maple-pear-butter tart? Last night he declared it his favorite of all time of Allie's desserts, gave me its full history. There was no room to resist. I love their chocolate cream pie, but the pear tart was magnificent following mutton leg.

not quite insist, though he did sing its praises loudly. I'm sure the pear tart's great, but it's not much whiter than the chocolate pie.

I could use some advice on how to answer the 'So, how was everything?' question.

I had my second meal at mado on Halloween and really enjoyed the atmosphere and the pleasant, fast and professional service. We got some brussels sprouts with bacon; a small penne with pork, rapini and a cheese I forget; and some 'spicy' greens, whitefish and ham over white beans, in a brothy sauce, which came with a tomato-spread crostone (I forget the spread, too--sorry!).

Here's where I faltered: Everything was prepared really nicely--crisp textures, great temperature, the crostone was awesome. The problem was that none of the three dishes was well-seasoned. I might have sugar-coated it too much when I described everything as 'subtle.' Our server picked up on that and asked, "... in a good way?", and I said we might want some salt to make the flavors pop a little more. She happily obliged and we added the salt, but still there just was not much taste to the dishes, overall. The meats were nice and salty, but it did not spread over into the sprouts, greens, broth or beans. There just ended up being nothing to them beyond their texture. The most taste the pasta had came from the cheese; its pork was also subtly flavored.

So when our server asked us if things were okay at the end of the meal, I just dumbly nodded my head, because I felt like I would just come off as lacking tastebuds, thinking that nothing had flavor. My previous meal here was not like that; everything was fantastic. And I feel fairly confident that anyone else who tasted our dishes would have agreed that they were not much seasoned. But I guess I didn't know if the appropriate thing to do was to reassert this, after having added salt, or to just chalk it up to bad luck with what we ordered that night and let it be.

What would you have done in such a situation? I'm not an overall assertive person anyway, but I would like to give the chefs and servers my honest comments if they really want to know when they are asking 'How was everything?'. At the same time, I didn't want to look like I was fishing for some kind of compensation, either.

i<3pizza wrote:What would you have done in such a situation? I'm not an overall assertive person anyway, but I would like to give the chefs and servers my honest comments if they really want to know when they are asking 'How was everything?'. At the same time, I didn't want to look like I was fishing for some kind of compensation, either.

Since you already noted the salt issue, I probably wouldn't have brought it up again at the end of the meal. Or, perhaps say something in a very casual tone..."Everything was good, but the the flavors were so much more mellow than the last time I was here."

Darren72 wrote:

i<3pizza wrote:What would you have done in such a situation? I'm not an overall assertive person anyway, but I would like to give the chefs and servers my honest comments if they really want to know when they are asking 'How was everything?'. At the same time, I didn't want to look like I was fishing for some kind of compensation, either.

...Or, perhaps say something in a very casual tone..."Everything was good, but the the flavors were so much more mellow than the last time I was here."

I think this is a great suggestion. I, too, am horrible when it comes to answering the "How is everything?" question. Mado may make a more honest person out of me though. When Rob Leavitt comes out to ask me what I think of the food, I pretty much always say something very positive out of habit (and/or cowardice). However, I've never had anything bad at Mado (I tend toward under-seasoning myself so salt there hasn't been an issue for me), so my "good" or "great" hasn't ever been entirely dishonest. Other reasons I have a hard time with the "How is everything?" question are that, in general, I like to collect my thoughts before sharing them, and I'm usually not sure how much a wait person or chef wants to hear when they ask me that question. Since I need the processing time and have never been known for brevity (in speech or writing), I guess I figure that "good" is the best way to go, especially if I'm dining with non-foodies who may not want to spend the rest of the meal analyzing (or hearing me analyze) said meal.

With Mado specifically, I know that Rob reads/has read my posts on LTH. He almost always brings up comments I've made here when I'm talking with him at the restaurant, not really to challenge anything I've said (though he has provided helpful explanations of certain dishes after the fact), but I think more to let me know that he knows what my food preferences are, which of course I very much appreciate. (One exception is that, because of comments I think I made earlier in this thread, Rob may never again give me beans with porchetta; I'm trying to convince him that my disappointment with that combination was an isolated incident. I really do want to try beans again... )

So, yes, I can answer "good" to "How is everything?" and know that Rob will likely get my detailed thoughts later on LTH. I don't think knowing this audience has tempered the way I think and write about what I eat at Mado. I try always to be critical--yes, I often gush, but I also try to lay plain things I think did not work--and I get the sense that Rob and team appreciate it. As I eat there more, especially on slower weeknights when Rob has some time to talk, I think I'm able to work out my thoughts about the food more on the spot because I'm not rushed and because I'm talking to someone who knows where I'm coming from and what I like. With every visit to Mado, I feel like I get a better sense of how much Rob loves the food he makes (ask him about this salami-making adventures!)--an enthusiasm that is refreshing and disarming.

Leek & I had high hopes for Mado that were thoroughly dashed. Antipasti beets & brussels sprouts were ok but would have been better without the sauces. At that point they would have been julienned beets & brussels sprouts. Nothing exciting about that. Chicken could have come from Jewel, and that is was oversalted was the only feature that kept it from being simply boring. The side squash tasted vaguely fermented. The pork loin part of the porchetta was on the mealy side, again leading me to question the source of their meats. Desserts were average. The only saving grace was BYOB so at least we had a great bottle of wine.

Sadly it seems we still live in a GNR desert.

Considering the volume of positive comments made by LTHers, I suggest making another trip before writing them off.

Not all restaurants are for all people. I do get excited about things like raw, julienned brussels sprouts and beets, and Mado's simple roast chicken which others call boring, but it certainly doesn't surprise me that there are people looking for something else in a restaurant. I'm not sure I agree with garcho that you should give it another shot - it just sounds like Mado isn't for you. Do you like Chaise Lounge? Also in the neighborhood, and serving similarly well-sourced ingredients in preparations that are perhaps more to your liking. I like Chaise Lounge.

leekman wrote:Leek & I had high hopes for Mado that were thoroughly dashed. Antipasti beets & brussels sprouts were ok but would have been better without the sauces. At that point they would have been julienned beets & brussels sprouts. Nothing exciting about that. Chicken could have come from Jewel, and that is was oversalted was the only feature that kept it from being simply boring. The side squash tasted vaguely fermented. The pork loin part of the porchetta was on the mealy side, again leading me to question the source of their meats. Desserts were average. The only saving grace was BYOB so at least we had a great bottle of wine.

Sadly it seems we still live in a GNR desert.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds it odd that you've been a member for two years and waited until you found a restaurant you hate to make your first post...and so much so that you had to make a new thread. It just seems malicious.

I respect your opinion entirely, but your delivery really urks me.

As to the meat sourcing comment, all I can say is that I met their most used farmer, and I don't question for a second that he was the guy who raised the wild boar I enjoyed. But then again who knows...maybe they just paid some bum on the street that they met on their way back from Jewel to say that he was their farmer.

Sweetbread wrote:I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds it odd that you've been a member for two years and waited until you found a restaurant you hate to make your first post...and so much so that you had to make a new thread. It just seems malicious.

Leekman is the husband of longtime poster, leek, and a fixture at many an LTH event. I'm sure many of his opinions regarding restaurants were expressed by leek over the years; I'm guessing that, for whatever reason, he felt the need to draft his own this time. I don't find it strange at all.

As for Mado, I agree with Kenny that it's not for everyone.

Sweetbread is right that my delivery could have been better. Also Leek has now showed me how to efficiently find an appropriate thread into which to post.
Mado was just named a GNR as the sort of restaurant that I am into, hence being so disappointed by the meal was a huge surprise. We just got back from Istanbul where (with the exception of a couple of meals that impressed neither of us) we were eating fresh, well sourced and well prepared dishes all week. Including raw julienned vegetables and lamb head (not together). We go to The Bristol near us frequently and really enjoy that. We haven't been to Chaise Lounge in a while - probably ought to give it a try.

I think Mado is a great restaurant precisely because it isn't for everyone. I go to Mado to eat food that is hard to find at other restaurants. By definition its appeal is limited. Also, it's entirely possible that they had an off night, or that leekman ordered dishes that were prepared in a way that doesn't work for him. I have definitely eaten things there that I didn't love (I wasn't crazy about the chicken myself). However, they offer so many great and unique dishes, that I am always excited to visit and see what they have on the menu. I just read the menu for the upcoming family dinner, to me, that menu alone makes this restaurant great.

our next family dinner at mado
will feature beef!
sunday, december 6, 2009
beginning at 6pm

charcuterie
bresaola
smoked salami
beef shank terrine
antipasti
braciole
carpaccio
corned beef tongue bruschetta
gratuitous
poutine
pasta
tagliatelle al ragú

entrée
steak and kidney pie

dessert
mincemeat pie

I finally made my first trip to Mado last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was just my wife and I, so we didn't get to try quite as many things as I would have liked, but just about everything we had was great. We ended up just ordering several things and splitting them all.

We had the charcuterie plate (country pate, copa and soppressata), beets with ras el hanout creme fraice and pistachios, pig head salad and a flatbread with white bean puree, smoked trout and pickled radishes. It would be hard to pick a winner between the charcuterie, beets and salad. All three were really really good. The flatbread was a bit of a miss. Each part individually was really good (the smoked trout was especially nice - lightly smoked and still tender) but somehow the whole was less than the sum of its parts.

We had the porchetta as an entree. We got just one between the two of us, and even then had a hard time finishing it. It was really really good, but it was a lot of fatty meat to sit down and eat at once. I'm definitely glad we ordered it, but also definitely glad we were splitting it.

For dessert we had the pear and brown butter tart and the coffee creme caramel. We both preferred the creme caramel over the pear tart (which is not saying anything bad about the pear tart - it was quite good also.) There was no tart crust with the creme caramel (as discussed upthread).

Overall I really enjoyed the evening and want to get back soon. It was one of the best meals I've had recently.

I had a so-so dinner at Mado a while back, but I'm definitely willing to concede it may have been an off night for me or the restaurant. I'm considering making a reservation for the next family dinner.

I made my reservation for the family dinner. Hope to meet some LTHers there!