For as long as I can remember our family has been eating lutefisk and lefse around the holiday season. When I was young it was always at Grandma’s house, where she had spent days making lefse and soaking the lutefisk before the big dinner. Now that my Grandmother has passed away, my family still enjoys this ritual at one (or more if I am lucky) of the local churches around the area. The lutefisk dinner is a major fundraiser for those organizations that put it on. People come from all around for this once a year event. You purchase your tickets and then wait in the pews till your number is called. Seating is usually family style and you quickly make friends as your passing the pitchers of melted butter around the table. Members of the congregation are working hard preparing and serving the meal. For those who have yet to acquire a taste for lutefisk (or fish jello as my son likes to call it), there is usually ham or meatballs to satisfy. When you throw in the mash potatoes, Cole slaw and cranberries you have the makings of great meal. To top things off, there is always a slice of pie.

If you have never tried a lutefisk dinner, I encourage you to do so this season. Below is a list of the various dates and locations of lutefisk dinners in southern Wisconsin. I am not sure I have all of them listed so if you know of additions to this list, please be sure to comment below.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to pass the butter.

October 24, 2009

• Son’s of Norway Idun Lodge
  2262 Winnebago Street in Madison, WI
  (608) 837-8335
  11:00am – 6:00pm
  Meatballs (for the faint of heart) potatoes, rutabagas, lefse, sweet soup, and more. Adult (13 & up) $16, Youth (5 – 12) $7

November 6, 2009

• Lakeside Lutheren Church
  located at the corner of Mandrake Road and Northport Drive (WI Highway 113)
  (608)-244-6181
  serving the public from 11:00 am until 8:00 pm

November 7, 2009

• Bonnet Prairie Lutheran Church
  two miles south of Rio, N3694 Old F Road
  (920) 992-3200
• Western Koshkonong Lutheran Church
  2633 Church St, Cottage Grove, WI 53527-8616
  (608) 873-6744 or (608) 873-7148
  Serving Times 11:30AM 12:45PM 4:00PM 5:15PM & 6:30PM, Tickets $14.00 in advance and $15.00 for walk ups.
• Barneveld Lutheran Church
  505 Swiss Lane Barneveld 53537
  (608) 924-8621
  Serving: 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Adults: $ 15.00 Children 12 & under: $ 7.00

November 14, 2009

• Son’s of Norway Nordland Lodge
  418 W. Milwaukee St., Janesville, WI 53511
  (608) 365-1369
  11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
• Christ Lutheran Church
  220 S. Main St., DeForest
  (608) 846-4719
  11 a.m. to 7 p.m., adults $15, $7 for children 6 to 12, under 6 free (2008 prices)

December 5, 2009

• St. Olaf Lutheran Church
  W653 Roosevelt Road, Rubicon, WI  53078
  (920) 474-7042
  Serving 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

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Update:  A first look at Kickshaw (restaurant review) can be found here.

Kickshaw American Cuisine is opening in Fitchburg.  Located on McKee Road in the building that most recently housed Good Times, and previous to that housed Fitch’s, Kickshaw’s perpetual menu is focused on American Cuisine with a Global influence.  However, they will also provide a rotating menu that features more adventurous selections created with local, seasonal cuisine.

Kickshaw is purported to open on October 5th.  We’re interested in how this goes.  The space was beautiful, and was definitely not suited to children’s arcade games as was the focus for Good Times.  It could seemingly be one of the nicer places in that area.

We’ve heard some unusual background that seems a touch odd, but we’re going to withhold some of that until we find out more.  As always, if you have info you’d like to share, contact us, or leave a comment below.

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For $25, choose one item in each course and with a glass of Capital Oktoberfest Beer, or Wollersheim Dry Riesling Wine.

Appetizer
German Meatballs
Warm Potato Salad
Goulasch Soup

Second Course
Wienerschnitzle
Beef Rouladen
Bavarian Sampler

Dessert
Apple Strudel
Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake
Linzer Torte

Or, try the Stable Grill Oktoberfest Menu, being served Monday thru Saturday. $20 includes a three course Oktoberfest Dinner with three shorty Oktoberfest Beers.

Appetizer & Beer
German Meatballs
Capital Oktoberfest

Entree & Beer
Bavarian Sampler
New Glarus Staghorn Oktoberfest

Dessert & Beer
Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake
Tyranena Gemuetlichkeit Oktoberfest

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We have now been to the 1855 Saloon and Grill five times and believe that we have experienced enough to even out any reviews that we may have made after each individual trip.

We’ll start with the first time that we went to the 1855.  We had heard that this was a very popular and very crowded new place, and so we decided to go shortly after they opened, for lunch, under relatively stressless staff circumstances.  Our experience was very positive.  We arrived at around 11:15 AM on a Saturday, and by 11:30 the place was packed.  We ordered a caesar salad with sliced beef filet, bleu cheese, eggs and red onion, as well as a panini melt, consisting of “rustic bread, roasted turkey, capocollo ham, pepperoni, crispy bacon, pepper jack cheese and tomatoes”. 

We left very satisfied with both the service and the food, and we eagerly anticipated another return to experience dinner.  And so, obviously, we returned for dinner.  On our first return visit, we arrived by 5:30 on a Wednesday evening.  We were again seated immediately, but within minutes of arrival a waiting list began to form.  The service suffered from the influx of diners, yet it was still adequate.  On this visit, we ordered the Pesto-brushed salmon grill and the Rustic loaded filet. 

Dinners are served with bread and with two butters.  One is your average butter, the other is a roasted vegetable sun-dried tomato butter, which is above average.  The rustic loaded filet was described as “a beef filet cutlet stuffed with prosciutto, sausage, pepperoni, tomatoes, Parmesan, spinach and mozzarella, served with mixed raviolis and a tomato cream sauce”.  And that is exactly what it was.  This time, the salmon did disappoint, being charred and dried out with a very strong fish taste.  The filet, however, was again “adequate”.

On subsequent visits, we’ve asked more people to tag along to get their impressions as well.  On those visits, various diners tried the Prime Rib (Saturday evening special ), filet with crab cakes, steak with beer battered shrimp, shrimp toasted with almonds and cocunut, and an assortment of cheeseburgers.  Again, the food was very adequate, if not spectacular.  On the other hand, with the menu being very moderately priced, spectacular probably should not be an expectation.

The 1855 Saloon and Grill is owned by the same owners of Tru’s in Cambridge.  You will find many similarities in the menus between these two restaurants.  The formulas for both restaurants become obvious fairly quickly.  While on the surface the menus seem almost overwhelming due to selections, those with a discerning eye will find that many of the items are basically the same dish, with minor modifications.  Unique recipe items are used time and time again in various dishes, giving a superficial plethora of flavors.  In reality, peppers, Parmesan, artichokes, prosciutto, bacon and spinach are used in several dishes anchored by different meats to offer seemingly endless options.

Don’t get us wrong - that isn’t a criticism.  It shows a practical creativity that will allow these restaurants to stand out, and yet still charge very reasonable prices.

The main quibble that we have with the 1855 is with their service.  The staff is very young, and very inexperienced.  There is no professional service to speak of, just youthful workers making their way through, apparently, high school.  A recent visit, unfortunately seated in the vicinity of the server stations and kitchen, provided us an indepth understanding on where the staff stood with American Idol contestants.  It also allowed us to chuckle at flashbacks created by overhearing the very childish flirting techniques of high school aged teenagers.  After listening to the rambunctious teenage banter coming from the kitchen window area, you couldn’t pay us enough to return to that awkward age of false bravado aimed at covering teenage insecurity.

But perhaps the most perplexing moment dealing with the 1855 staff came when we ordered a bottle of wine (Seghesio Sangiovese) to have with our dinner.  Our very nice, yet very young and green server asked us if we wanted that “to go”.  This is a question that we haven’t yet figured out.  Needless to say, we clarified our request and asked to have it served with dinner.

We like the 1855 Saloon and Grill for what it is;  a solid restaurant in an area desperately needing such a thing.  As such, one can overlook the hiring compromises that the owners have clearly needed to make, while applauding the crafty yet practical creativity that went into making the menu interesting, and yet still affordable.

1855 Saloon and Grill
218 South Main Street
Cottage Grove, WI  (608) 839-3700

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We tried a couple of Mushroom and Swiss burgers along with the BLT club. Both sandwiches were well prepared and the waffle fries were crisp and nicely seasoned. I regret to say we did not sample any of the ice cream offerings that day. It was too cold and my diet wouldn’t allow for it.

If you’re travelling down Hwy 14 south of Madison, you should consider a detour through Oregon and a stop at BrouxNellie’s. I think you will like it.

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Picasso’s of Mcfarland

4706 Farwell St

McFarland, WI 53558

608-579-1200

Hours:
Sunday, Tues-Thu 4-9pm
Friday – Saturday  4-10pm
Closed Monday

 See more info here.

As previously reported, Angelo’s in McFarland has closed.  The good news is that the restaurant will not stay empty for long.  Picasso’s will be opening a new location in the building soon.  This should upgrade the McFarland dining scene considerably.  The Picasso’s off of Verona Road serves up good pizza and creative entrees, and we anticipate that this new location will follow suit.

Hopefully the villagers will support this new venture.

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Having said that, it was exciting and heartening to catch wind of the fact that the building will not remain empty for long.  Rumor has it that an established Madison area restaurant is already making plans to take the place over.  We consider this restaurant to be a true hidden treasure in Madison, and we look forward to the opening of their second location… hopefully very soon!

Watch this space as it becomes official!

[where: 4706 Farwell Street, McFarland, Wi]

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Hours:  Wednesday – Saturday 5:00 – 9:30

A short trek from Madison, nestled in the hills of Green County just 5 minutes south of New Glarus, awaits the Dining Room at 209 Main, a restaurant that makes the trip well worthwhile.

We first ran into David “Wave” Kasprzak at a cooking exhibition held at the Orange Tree Imports.  He was friendly and real, and he cooked in a way that was refreshing – I hate to use the term “fusion” because it has become so trendy, but Wave was fearless in his combination of ethnic flavors and influences, combining culinary styles with the blink of an eye.   Wave and his wife Jane Sybers opened the restaurant in 1996, and Asian, Southwestern, and Mexican flavors are found running through the dishes at The Dining Room, and all to good effect.

A recent Saturday night found us at The Dining Room at 209 Main, eagerly awaiting our dinner.  We’ve been here before, and we know the unique experience that was ahead.  We started our meal with two appetizers – Cornmeal Crusted Portabella Mushroom with pickled ginger, peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce ($10) and Grilled Sausage Trio with creamy sauerkraut and refrigerator pickles ($12).  Both were tremendous, but for uniqueness, the mushrooms won any appetizer contest that may have been ocurring at the table.

Entrees included Grilled Beef Tenderloin Filet with worchestershire sauce, blue cheese cream, fresh asparagus and mashed potatoes ($28), Ravioli stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and shitake mushrooms served with seared spinach, roasted red pepper broth and garlic oil ($20), Cornmeal and Habanero Encrusted Pork Cutlets with pablano cream sauce, cheddar grits, and sweet pepper tortilla salad ($23), and the Mixed Grill of lamb tbone, flat iron steak, and pork tenderloin medallions with a red wine horseradish reduction sauce, mashed potatoes and asparagus ($28).

There was no doubt that the Pork Cutlets won the table’s entree contest.  The cornmeal and habanero added a crunchy, spicy crust to the ample cutlets, with the pablano cream sauce adding to the mild heat.  The cheddar grits provided a very robust backdrop to the meat and the sauce, more than adequately standing up to the flavors.

That is not to say that the beef tenderloin filet didn’t win praise from the diners.  A very nice cut of meat, decoratively placed on a bed of potatoes and surrounded artfully by the accompanying sauces, it is one of the better, more interesting upscale filets that you will find within driving distance of Madison.

The desserts were works of art.  They consisted of Sticky Toffee Pudding with Roasted Pecans ($6),  and Chocolate Tart with Raspberry Sauce ($6).  And of course we ordered the Cheese Course, consisting of Hooks Seven Year Cheddar with croutons, seed mustard and sliced apples ($8).  Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a weakness for any cheese coming from Hooks, a local Artisanal cheesemaker.

We heartily recommend The Dining Room at 209 Main.  Take the short drive in the fall, as the trees turn their colors, enjoy the scenery, and be prepared for one of the best meals that you will partake of in the Madison area.

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