The Contingent will invade MadCity on May 2, 2010!

X1


Just FYI - Wunderground says Madison'll be around 70 degrees, with a 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms, so bring your umbrellas and wellies!

The forecast has improved somewhat, at least in terms of rain.  Now it's sounding like there might be some Saturday night but it should be dry by midday Sunday, with a high in the mid 60s.
 
 

JRPfeff


11:30 - Pan & Pan, for those who can get there early and want to try a Mexican bakery/taqueria.  We can enjoy the Madison A to Z experience with Nichole & JM.

I searched the web and came up with this cryptic message from a person known only as Paul R.  No more, no less...just "get the torta".
 
Brad

Sorry as I will not be able to make.  Was waiting to last minute in case previous plans fell through.  Have a good time...looking forward to the pictures!

I contacted my friend who lives in Madison to see if she'd be available to meet up with us somewhere and she suggested that if we're interested in cheese (um, yes, we are!) Brennan's has a better cheese selection than Woodman's does.  Not sure where it is in relation to everywhere else we're going, but I'm just passing along the info to whoever's making these decisions and is more familiar with the geography of Madison.

If it's nowhere near where we're going to be (and I know its vicinity to Pan & Pan is what's probably drawing us to the Woodman's anyway), then maybe on the next Madison trip.

abe_,

The Brennan's on University is fairly close to our route if anyone really needs some cheese.  But there is also one in Brookfield - RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO KOPP'S - that you could hit on Smoke Day.

Jim

Re:Brennans vs Woodmans
 
Apples and oranges these two. Your friend is absolutely correct. Brennans has a fantastic cheese variety but with few bargains.
Woodmans is more of a huge supermarket with very low prices. You probably won't find a triple cream French Brie but you might find a reasonable aged Cheddar. Totally different stores. Both Brennans are west of Lake Mendota. There is a Brennans in Milwaukee's Brookfield area not far from a Kopps if you want to check it out someday. I'd say it is somewhat like a larger  Trader Joes if that helps.

Also a Brennan's in Monroe, not far from Baumgartner's.

Buddy

I see that while near one another, our first stop is actually two stops. I take it the plan is to meet inside Pan + Pan at 11:30. At 12:30 we're to meet at the Capitol @ State? The rest seems to be mapped out pretty well, meeting again at Asian Midway Foods at 4 before heading to Fat Jacks at 4:30 for a group meal. No adult Tonka Toys
Do I have this right? Since my mom lives near the Capitol, we'll pick her up after the first stop but I wanted to give her a firm time for that pick-up.

LOVE Brennan's.

Thanks for the PM, Brad. I will not be able to make it tomorrow. I expect a full report & pictures.

If anyone wants to meet for gelato on their way home, Divino Gelato in downtown Waukesha is open until 7pm tomorrow, text me by 6.

See you all at Smoke Day!

MFL - That's the general idea.  I think Woodman's will be good for forming carpools for the single and twofer drivers.  We plan to shop there at the end of the day, since Woodman's is not far from Fat Jack's.

s_d - Those outstanding warrants can be a pain.  Hope to see you soon.

Jim

JRPfeff
s_d - Those outstanding warrants can be a pain.  Hope to see you soon.

Jim

The ankle bracelet tases me if I go into a different area code.

MAKE WITH THE PICS, PPL!!!! I DIDNT WORK LIKE A SLAVE TODAY NOT TO SEE SOME FOOD PORN!!!!!

I love it when you get irritable.

Sorry kiddo, no pics from me.  But I will tell you we had a glorious day for wandering State Street.  It was quite the adventure.  Occasionally we broke off into smaller groups, sometimes reuniting into a larger one.

At one point the main group was camped out at Himal Chuli for Himalayan food while Brad Olson and Carolina Bob walked up the street for fried chicken at Nick's Diner.

It was great fun to roam the street, picking and choosing your favorites, occasionally bumping into other Contingent members also roaming.  Sometimes we'd hook up, sometimes not.  It all culminated with ice cream from The Daily Scoop, consumed while sitting on the UW Student Union terrace, overlooking Lake Mendota, watching the sailboats on a perfect late spring day.

And then we all went and had Barbecue at Fat Jack's.

Seriously, sorry you weren't with us.  You were missed.

Buddy

Hi y'all! Thanks for having JM and me along. Here are our pics from Pan & Pan - we're so new to the forum it rejects my link, but basically flickr dot com/gp/jumble/43x849 should work.

And if you're ever back in Madison... well, you know where to find us! Take care.

Nichole

jumble, you have to use a pictures "properties" URL, not the page URL. Here's one of yours; a sweet filled with pineapple jam:
 

 
oh and welcome to Roadfood. We usually aren't nasty here.

Had a great time.
Sorry I missed the chicken at Nick's, though, and the Vietnamese.

Great meeting the incredibly friendly Madison A to Z people. Hi, Jumble!

It was a good day until we had to bail out early because the 15-year-old didn't have a set of house keys.  Good thing we got to Fat Jack's about 45 minutes before everybody else and were able to have dinner before our unexpected departure.

I really liked the crust on Nick's fried chicken.  Irisarbor described it as shatteringly crisp and that's a perfect description.  Plus it was a 4-piece plate which made it really easy to split among 4 people.

At Ian's pizza I had a simple pepperoni and mushroom slice and it was good, especially the crust.  Others will have to comment on the mac 'n' cheese pizza although based on what I heard I think it was well-received.  Quijote mentioned that Ian's also has a restaurant in Milwaukee and a little research revealed that it's a 4-store mini-chain with the original shop on Frances St. in Madison and another place in the Wrigleyville section of Chicago.

JRPfeff said that the carnitas at Pan & Pan were very good so that's how I started my day (I seem to be working backwards here), and he wasn't wrong.  I ordered mine without onions and knocked off a little of the cilantro (I like it in small doses), and after adding some heat with the green salsa served on the side they really hit the spot.

And after some shaky forecasts earlier the weather turned out to be pretty decent after all, which made walking around just as enjoyable as stopping for snacks.

Brad

I'll second the motion on the carnitas at Pan & Pan.  We arrived late (natch), missing most of the rest of the group.  Before leaving to catch up with everyone, I noticed the specials board listing the carnitas tacos for a buck a pop.  I ordered two tacos for the four of us (myself, Mrs. Roadhouse abe_froeman, and Mr. Maki) to split, dining "al trunko".

The tacos were fantastic!  Big juicy chunks of tender inside and crusty outside roast pig meat with a sprinkling of fresh chopped onions and cilantro.  Pure, perfect simplicity.  The tacos came with a cup of salsa verde, which I usually love, but it was completely unnecessary in this case.

Buddy

Thanks, JRPfeff, for pulling this excursion together! It was great to see so many Roadfooders, including the Yellodeers and the Jumbles. The carnitas taco at Pan & Pan was delicious, the onion dumplings (Kadi) at Himal Chuli were exquisite, had a tasty Maple Cashew ice cream at Babcock's, and enjoyed the Pork Dinner at Fat Jack's. The BBQ leftovers were enough for dinner tonight: great stuff with a green salad, curried sweet potato oven fries, and a couple of dollops of Roadhouse Texas Tango sauce.

Like X1, I wish I had been able to get to Nick's, but hey....can't eat everything. I hope to get back to Madison in the coming weeks, and if I do, I'll make a stop for fried chicken.

Stricken_D,

We missed you.  Here is some of what we ate.

Himalayan stuff from Himul Chuli.



More Himalayan.



And more.  Momocha in the back, Sietan Kabab up front.



I love natural light.  I get all my best food pics when in the sunshine.

The food was colorful and is very popular in Madison.  But the flavors were different, and just didn't taste like something we would expect. We don't get it.

Architectural detail.




We then moseyed down to Rising Sons Deli for Thai & Laotian food.  We started with beef jerky.  It was deep fried and served hot - very tasty.  Sorry about the photo, we ate three of them before I was reminded to take a picture.



This is the Garlic Pork main course dinner. 



Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup.  Huge! Spicy! Very good!



Pretty glass.

Gorgeous photos JRP!  Thanks again for all your prep work in making this happen.

Buddy

Welcome to Roadfood, jumble, guess I forgot to put a smiley next to the capital letters.   It's all tongue in cheek & THANK YOU for all the pics. I missed you guys too, but am glad to live vicariously through you.

MFL, which stops did you make? What were your favorites? X1? Iris? Pam?

JRP--don't worry about the beef jerky, ask X1 about the key lime cheesecake who almost didn't get its picture taken.

Carolina Bob, I know you love to take pics...  *taps toe* 

That was the most fun I've had in a long time. State St was quite the adventure with lots of window shopping and people watching and food browsing/grazing. I was way digging it.

Thanks Nichole and Jim for your pictures!!! I WAY did not take enough pics. I was not paying enough attention and missed so many shots. Please everyone that brought your camera and is willing to share either post here or PM me. I have almost no shots of Contingent people and outside buildings!? I need lessons.

Starting here: Gyp shared his tongue with me at Pan & Pan. It tasted like chuck. (Yes, there are so many jokes here. Feel free! ) This was the first time I had beef tongue, and I was surprised that it was very tender. I expected the meat to be tougher. I suspect it was braised for a long time, in fact, it tasted very much like a pot roast to me (I usually make pot roast out of a hunk of chuck, hence my previous joke).  Unfortunately, even though I liked the texture I found it bland. Lots of cilantro, but not much else. I would not order that again from Pan & Pan.

Here are the Lengua Tacos that Gyp shared with me. Thanks Gyp!



The condiments helped, but still, I wasn't all that impressed.



My FAVORITE place was Himal Chuli. Never had Nepalese food before, but just walking in the door you were hit with aroma of the spices. I tried to take pictures of the menu, but only one really turned out well, luckily it was the one that featured what I ordered! Got me a big ol' bowl of Tuk-Pa.



It's a spicy, veggie soup, and is one of the best things I've eaten in a long time. Complex, warm, hint of sour, and (sorry ... corn alert) it is like being hugged.



I ordered mine with momocha which are lil' dumplings, they were wonderful, and whole wheat Roti. Anyone know what those momocha were stuffed with? I forgot to ask.




Sorry I bailed on you guys before Fat Jacks, but I was p.o.o.p.e.d. Thanks JRPfeff for the ride to my car, all the work you put into this, thanks MilwFoodlovers for the "on-the-house-special" of ice cream at Daily Scoop, and thanks to everyone for good company and a fantastic day.

-- Pam

We want to thank everyone for welcoming us to this Eat and Greet.  The food was great, but the people were better.  What a great group.  Really impressive folk!  Looking forward to another chance to meet......thanks

I didn’t take a lot of pictures this time around, but here are a few….
 
The display cases at Pan & Pan have traditional Mexican pastries such as conchas and pasteles, as well as good ol’ yankee items such as doughnuts:
 

 

 
Tacos filled with carnitas (or carnitas wrapped around corn tortillas) were selling for $1.00 each, but it took a long time for me to get the one I ordered. So, here’s a picture of Gyp’s tacos:
 

 
The onion dumplings I had at Himal Chuli were delicious, and the sauce was a blend of thin yogurt, turmeric, and many other spices:
 

 
Here are a couple of photos of my pork dinner at Fat Jack’s….
 

 

 
Delicious food and great people! It was great to see you all, and I hope those of you who couldn’t go this time around can make the next one.
 
 

Good to meet you and your wife, yellodeere.  We all enjoyed your company.  Sorry we missed your farewell before we all made it down to the Daily Scoop.

You missed some great ice cream and some pretty good 'Que, too.

See you again real soon,

Buddy

So work is interfering with my posting activities....
We really enjoyed our weekend!
We were sorry also to miss the opporunity to say a proper good bye and happy trails to Yellodeere and the Mrs., and hope we see you at more events soon.
 
As some of you know we started the weekend a day early in Montello at the Moosefest-
On the way we saw a pink elephant and knew that any weekend that starts with a pink elepahnt is going to be good...

 
In Montello we had an amazing ribeye steak sandwich for $3.50 at the Granit Falls Supper club:

 
And how can you go to a moosefest and not buy a moose hat?

 
The festival featured helicopter rides- it was very cool to see one so close up.

 
Montello used to quarry granite, and they have converted the old quarry to a waterfall park- it's very pretty-

 

 
But after enough silliness, it was time to head to Madison.

 
As luck would have it we were at the same hotel as yellodeere and wife, and after a nice relaxing and refreshing hot tub soak we all went to Erins Snug for dinner. I couldn't manage any pix because the light were very dim, and I didn't want to use the flash.  The yellodeere had steak and shrimp which they really enjoyed.  Hubs had a shepards pie, I really enjoyed a monster of a loaded baked potato, keeping it light in anticipation of the big day ahead.
 
We met up with everyone at Pan & Pan- enjoyed the carnitas taco that has been pictured before as well as a yummy frosty horchata drink.
Rolled on to State street where this sign caught my eye (and heart)

 
Hubs and I shared a slice of Ians mac n cheese pizza

 
I'm not usually a big pizza fan, but I really liked this one, reminded me of a NY slice, with the puffy outer edge, a very comfort foody feeling YUM.

 
I joined Bob and Brad at Nicks for a frosty brew and a "shatteringly crisp" chicken wing.
The perfect morsel.

 
After a leisurely stroll down the rest of State we ended up at the daily scoop where lots of folks were waiting for an ice cream fix

 
Mine was pineapple cake and mocha machiatto- (have I mentioned Ice cream is my weak point?)

 
We went thru the old time Rathskeller to eat out on the beautiful terrace facing the lake

 
Here the outside of the Rathskeller

 
Then as we strolled bak to the cars we passed some boys playing

 
On to Fat Jacks for BBQ and as we arrived what do we see but a Cheetos car! You don't see that everyday!

 
Here is slim Frank going into Fat Jacks (tee hee)

 
Frank had the BBQ chicken special- it was very good

 
I had the spare ribs which I though were nice and peppery and very respectable for restaurant BBQ.

 
On our drive home we passed another interesting food-themed car...

 
And then somehow right around bluemound road, we ended up here for take out.....
(have I mentioned ice cream is my weak point?)

 
All in all a wonderful fun weekend.
Thanks so much to JRPfeff for all the advance legwork and planning.
Can't wait for the next get together!
 

irisarbor

 
On our drive home we passed another interesting food-themed car...

 
 
All in all a wonderful fun weekend.
Thanks so much to JRPfeff for all the advance legwork and planning.
Can't wait for the next get together!
 

Elaine,

I saw that car and instantly recognized it, but couldn't figure out why.  When I finally got to the Tony Maronni's logo I knew why.  Maronni's is 5 minutes from home and is our new go-to pizza joint, we go at least every other week.  They had a photo of that car on the counter when I picked up my order on Friday.  Small world.

Tony Maronni's is a good locally owned shop.  We bought some certificates in a radio promotion and now are in their loyalty program.  Thin crust with first rate sauce and toppings.  They even do deep dish, probably the best on this side of the border.

I appreciate all the kind words on the Madison trip.  Getting this set up was fun, and Bobbi & I enjoyed doing it.

Jim

Thanks for the pictures everybody. It was great to see old friends and to make some new ones too.

Jim,
  We are sorry that we missed out on the fun. All too well we know of the work that goes into making all the arrangements for one of these get-togethers, and a multi-day version takes even more coordination. Congratulations on a fine job. Everything I have read of this gathering is very positive !!!

Mayor Al

I just got a "LINK" to this in the MAY/24/2010 Newsletter...
WTF ??
 I am a FORMER "PRO CHEF" that moved back HOME in '05...
 I volunteer as a "Madison Ambassador",and also act as a "CVB Rep." for visitors,and those interested in doing BUSINESS in Madison.
  I lead "TOURS" at Farmer's Market...and will be taking a group to "BRAT FEST"...
 MADISON is the "CULINARY EQUIVALENT" to CHICAGO,The TWIN CITIES,or ANY other "MAJOR CITY" in The Mid-West !
  ALWAYS NEW "FOODIE  THANGZ" happening !
Feel free to get in touch to start something "REAL" that everyone can enjoy...
"CHEF DANIEL"

Sorry we missed you Chef Daniel.  Don't be shy about joining any of the Chicago-Milwaukee Contingent events.

Don't be bringing up Brat Fest this soon.  We haven't even made it through Smoke Day.

Welcome to Roadfood,

Jim

JRP,

I think chefdan is referring to this Brat Fest, held annually in Madison, in the Hillsdale(?) Mall, not the one we hold in your yard.  In the past they have even done a Barbecue Sauce Taste-Off in which Roadhouse Bar-B-Que Sauce has performed well on numerous occasions.

Buddy

Close, Buddy.  It used to be at Hilldale Mall but moved to the Willow Island/Alliant Center location a couple of years ago.

Brad

Brad,

Thanks for the correction.  Change of venue noted.

Buddy

I know about the thing in Madison.  All Johnsonville - yummo!

Hi all - JM and I just posted our Pan & Pan review: madisonatoz dot com/2010/05/pan-pan.html. Still don't know what that mystery pineapple confection was. ;)