| I'm a kid in a candy shop here in Madison. I don't know what to do first. Should it be a squash curry at Lao Laan Xang, some beer at the Great Dane, or perhaps a walk through the arboretum? Then there's Willy St Coop (the natural foods cooperative), Bandung (an Indonesian restaurant), Hempen Goods (a hemp clothing shop), or even A Woman's Touch (one of the top sex shops in the country). But right now, I'm sitting at Ground Zero coffee on Willy St, and I'm face to face with chef Tory Miller, Executive Chef of Madison's finest restaurant, L'Etoile.
Well, not personally. He's on the cover of Madison magazine. I saw him there as I ordered my coffee and went, "Hey, I know that guy!" The best game in town is trying to find Tory at the farmers' market to see what he's buying. L'Etoile commits to serving seasonal, local food year round (yes, even in Madison's bitter cold winters) and Tory's a regular at the farmers' market. I'm proud to say that I buy the same carrots that he serves at L'Etoile. Or used to anyway, back when I lived here.
L'Etoile was founded back in the 1970s - you know, before Farm to Table was "cool." Tory wasn't in Madison then - the visionary behind L'Etoile was Odessa Piper, but the restaurant's certainly in good hands with Tory. And while L'Etoile may have been the first, it's certainly not the only restaurant in town that serves local food. There's also Harvest (American cuisine) and The Old Fashioned (Wisconsin cuisine), both on the same block as L'Etoile. Madison magazine also recognizes Osteria Papavero (Italian), Lombardino's (Italian), The Dardenelles (Mediterranean), Restaurant Magnus (Scandinavian), Restaurant Muramoto (Japanese), Marigold Cafe (Brunch), and Sardine (American).
Many of these restaurants will break the bank. When I lived in Madison, L'Etoile and Harvest were reserved for special occasions, like my birthday or when someone else was paying. The Old Fashioned is much more affordable, as is The Dardenelles lunch menu. Also, on a sad note, even with conscientious chefs, I noticed that some of these restaurants serve severely overfished species of fish, like cod. That's a shame when even the supposedly good guys are doing bad things. |
