Quick Hitters: Pisans, Le Chardonnay, Saigon Restaurant, Maharaja Restaurant

It's very hard to review a resaturant if you don't order a few dishes and an appetizer. With that in mind, I've been doing a lot of eating lately, but not full dinners, so here's a few quick hits on the places I've been.

Le Chardonnay
320 W Johnson St

*****

Can All-You-Can-Eat be classy? It is at Le Chardonnay, a charming french restaurant, just off State Street. The restaurant is famous for its splurging specials on Tuesday and Thursdays, where for $18.95, you can have all the mussles drenched in beautiful cream and savory sauces you can eat. What more is there to say? The food is excellent, the service is pleasent, and the atmosphere is dark and inviting. Pig out and feel good about it.

Bottom Line: Mussels, Mussels, Mussels.


Maharaja Restaurant (Lunch Buffet)
6713 Odana Road

*****

We dropped in on the Maharaja for their Saturday Lunch Buffet. Buffets are the best and worst in dining out, especially with an ethnic food like Indian. It gave us a great chance to try a lot of indian dishes which we wouldn't normally order. The variety is strong, with a number of appitizers, soups, main courses and desserts to try. There's so much food, not much sticks out individually, but the place can definatally cook.

On the down side, several of the appitizers were cold- which is a big detractor. We were also halfway through our meal by the time we were served nan, another head-scratcher.

At 11 bucks for the weekend buffet it's still a deal, but only if you're really hungry. The decor is very plain, with average tables spread across two big rooms.

Bottom Line: A lot of Indian food, most of it pretty good.


Saigon Restaurant
6602 Odana Rd.

Rating: *****

Saigon Restaurant is one of the only true Vietnamese Restaurants in town and it shows. Walk through the door on a weekend night and there's likely to be a line five to six people deep. A quick scan of the crowd shows why the place is such a hit: it draws a huge customer base from Madison's Asian community.

The restaurant seems to be a touch understaffed. We wait for about 5-10 minutes more than we should have had to, while they get around to cleaning up empty tables and getting us seated. However, everything moves pretty fast after that. The menu is loaded with exactly what we are looking for: the Vietnamese Noodle soup known as Pho. Noticably missing are the Vietnamese Sandwitches which make other Vietnamese joints a home run.

Quickly after ordering, our spring roll appitizers are brought out. Ugh, not good. Perhaps they aren't fresh, but there seems to be no flavor here, despite a yummy peanut sauce. Fortunatly, the pho is better. While not the best I've ever had, the soup is warm and welcome on a cold Wisconsin night.

Bottom Line: You want Pho in Madison, you gotta go here.


Piasans
131 W Wilson St

*****
Piasans is about an much of a Madison institution as a restaurant can be. It over looks Lake Menona, just above John Nolan Drive. Walking into it, it feels like a restaurant that's been around awhile, despite the fact it recently moved. There are a maze of hallways, which lead to cozy, warm-feeling dining areas. Order a drink, they bring you a beer in a mug so frosty, it looks right out of a commerical. Though I went at lunch time, one can easily imagine this place packed on a Saturday night, with crowds of college kids and Badger fans packed around tables, talking loudly and having a ball.

The food is another matter. Once again, another restaurant cannot seem to give any life to pasta and sauce. At some point, I'm starting to think its a Me problem: why does every italian place taste the same. Everything seems to be on a continium between Prego-at-home (so very boring) and the Olive Garden (so very fattening), with Piasans falling more towards the former. They do serve a decent, albiet iceberg, salad, and the bread is fine. I will say their sandwitches are massive and look pretty mouth-watering- I'd order that next time.

Bottom Line: Go for the atmosphere and the huge sandwitches. Have a beer too!

Lao Laan-Xang- 1146 Williamson St.

This indie Loatian hotspot bosts two locals and very high rankings in Madison magazines "Best of Madison" issue, but I can't quite see what all the fuss is about.

Rating: **1/2 out of 5 (So-So)

Food: With Laos being sandwitched between Vietnam and Thailand, I figured the menu might be an interesting fusion of what I've come to expect from both Thai and Vietnamese restaurants here in the U.S. However, Lao Laan-Xang's fare seems to come straight from it's western neighbor. Dishes are very heavy, with pad Thai-sh and curry specialties.

We stareted with an appetizer sampler, because they came well recommended (the crab rangoon especially). Everything came out tasting overly fried, and very boring. The crab rangoon which other web reviewers raved about was not to be found. These tasted like deep fried cream cheese balls- with no crab in sight. The one appetizer that stood out was the Pork Wontons, which were filled with a vibrant, delicious ground pork and herb mixture. A cucumber salad which came with the sampler was moderatly fresh tasting, but ultimately overpowered by the vinigary dressing.

Dinner was extremely so-so, considering my high expectations. We ordered the Tuesday Special: a vegtable curry with optional meat (we got chicken). The curry was nicely flavored, not too spicy, with nice surprises, including butternut squash. My two dining companions thought it was really tasty, but I thought the amount of coconut milk made it too thick and too sweet. Next was a noodle dish, Khua Mee, which must be Lao for Pad Thai, because that's exactly what it looked like and tasted like. Overall, very average. None of the dishes had a lot of flavor when ordered at the mildist heat. It also felt like we got a bit jipped on the meat portions.

Service: For a nearly empty restaurant, the service was a little haphazard. Very slow at first, and not great with the details.

Atmosphere: The decor and size fit its location in the funky Willy neighborhood. We loved the color scheme: a rich red that made the place feel somewhat cozy. Still, the rest of the place feels kind of cheep. All the plates and glasses were plastic (including the tea pot for the tea we ordered), and the tables and chairs are nothing special. Probably a better place for take out, than to dine in.

Cost: ($$) The appetizer sampler was a bit spendy and most main dishes range between $10-$12. With none of us drinking any more than tea, we had two dishes, appetizers and tea for under 40 bucks.

La Mestiza- 6644 Odana Rd.

Mexican food is one of the most common "ethnic" foods around, and like many ethnic food types that have been around for a while (italian comes to mind) it has drifted into a rut. Go to most mexican food restaurants and what will you get? A huge plate of refried beans, rice and something wrapped in a tortilla, covered with cheese and grease. Now somethimes that's great, but a lot of times you want something just a hair more sophisticated. Finally, I've found in it Madison.

Rating: ***** (Fantastic)

Food: (Dinner) Right from the beginning you know it's going to be good. You sit down, and are presented with homemade tortilla chips and two kinds of salsa. The chips are super light and crispy. One type of salsa is a very smoky, very spicy red sauce; the other is a mild, tomatilla based salsa that is so flavorful. When it comes to the main course, La Mestiza doesn't have your typical mexican menu. Surprise, there are no burritos on the menu(!) and only a few tacos and enchaladas. Instead there are a lot of special dishes, particularly from the Oaxacan region of Mexico, where some of the best mexican restaurant cuisine I've tried comes from. I had the Cochinta Pibil: a beautiful serving of cirtus juice-soaked pork with pickeled red onions, served with rice and tortillas. The pork was so succulient and flavorful, despite being quite mild. Tortillas are homemade and a little chewy but not bad. My dining companion had the three taco appitizer, which she willingly shared with me. The Carne Asada tacos were amazing, the pork less so, and the chicken was downright dull. One other note: the Friday night special was a shoulder of pork, which I saw from afar: it looked amazing.

Service: The wait staff was first rate: very friendly, very attentive, and willing to talk. And not just at our table, but the other servers at the other tables were genually more friendly than I've seen at any restaurant in a long time.

Atmosphere: You would expect La Mestiza to be in the Willy neighborhood, or somewhere more funky, but it's in a strip mall on Odana Road. The restaurant is fairly small, with booths along the wall and tables in the middle. However, the walls are brightly painted in shades of orange, with some art on the walls, keeping the atmosphere bright and lively.

Cost: ($$$) Dishes are more expensive than you might expect to pay, with entrees between $12.50 and $15.00.

Web: http://www.lamestiza.net/

Bluephies-2701 Monroe St

Once again, breakfast is on the menu. This time we're on Monroe Street at a place that takes an extravagant view of breakfast.



Rating:***** (Over-Indulgent)

Food: (Brunch) The Bluephies breakfast menu is heavy on two of the top ways to gorge yourself before Noon: French Toast and Eggs Benedict. We tried both. The Eggs Benedict is only slightly satisfying. The hollandaise- which more or less makes the meal- was not as flavorful as I've had other places. The side of potatoes was nice, but a bit greasy. The Bananas Foster French Toast was all that you might expect. It's a sugar explosion of bananas cooked in oil served on thick sourdough slices and drizzled in a mixture of syrup and caramel. Needless to say, it's pretty much happiness on a plate. I will say though that not getting the syrup on the side is a big pain- if you go, see if they will give it to you separate so you can control your portions. Also, I wish they served with with a little fruit or yogurt, so you have something to temper the sugar bomb between bites.

The menu also includes a selection of traditional egg dishes, scramblers, breakfast burritos and beignets. No oatmeal or granola to be found.

Service: No complaints. Wait staff was friendly and mostly attentive, until we needed the check, but they let us talk for about a half an hour afterwards, with no hassle.

Atmosphere: Bright, open and airy, the modern layout of the building is pleasing on a sunny day. There are at least two big dinning rooms, with booths around the edges and some tables. The restaurant is not very old, so it is in great shape. For being as big and open as it is, I don't remember it being very noisy, though that may change with students back in town.

Cost: $ (All items under $10)

Web: http://www.foodfightinc.com/pdf/bluephiesbrunch.pdf

Lazy Jane's Cafe- 1358 Williamson St

Second forray onto Willy is all about breakfast. While it may be the most important meal of the day, frankly, picking a great breakfast restaurant isn't all that important. Let's be honest;Most places serve about the same food. You're really looking for good combinations, excellent baked goods, and not paying an arm and a leg for what ammounts to a shot glass of orange juice. Lazy Jane's has all that, in a cozy, relaxed atmosphere.

Rating:***** (Satisfying)

Food: I hear their scones are awesome. Their waffles look phenominal. The eggs, potatoes, sausage, and toast I had... slightly above average. The potatoes were the star; greasy dollar size, soft red potatoes (or were they yellow?) with diced onions peppers and herbs. Really, very yummy. Eggs and sausage: eh.. can you really go wrong here? Toast was a very nice wheat berry that reminded me of the great bread from my sentimental favorite breakfast spot, the Otis Cafe.
The menu is pretty basic, with several egg/omlet, potato toast, meat combo options, waffles, oatmeal, granola and a small bakery counter with the afformentioned scones. Portions are medium sized.
My food sidekick commented that her vegi frittata was so-so. Personally, I try to keep broccoli as far away from breakfast as possible.

Service: At Lazy Jane's, you wait in line to place your order, then grab a seat. No table service. We were there late on a Sunday morning when it was moderately packed. I'd bet there are many days when school is in session that the wait could be 30-45 minutes long. Getting your order is a kind of game, where the cooks scream out the name of the person on the ticket, and you strain your ears to determine if the car crash of vowels and consinents coming out of their mouth sounds remotely like yours.

Atmosphere: The two story cafe plays well to its neighborhood, with a predictibly ecclectic array of 70's plates, mismatched silverware, and probably a thousand knick-nacks. Some bench seating is on the lower level, while upstairs boasts more tables and chairs. All in all, its a very pleasing place to enjoy good breakfast food, talk with friends, and wish Sunday morning could be about 12 hours longer.

Cost: $. Most items 8 bucks or less.

Wasabi - 449 State Street

Back on State Street, asking the question: "Can I find great sushi in the Midwest?" Maybe it's the raw fish, the high price tags or the sheer possibilities for Japanese goodness, but stakes are very high when I go out for sushi. There is always average sushi around. Just pop into any Whole Foods, or other high-end grocery store, and you can walk away with a California in the time it takes to spell sashimi. But if I'm going out for sushi, I have pretty high expectations. My tastes are very singular: I'm looking for fantastic rolls. Originally, I looked down on sushi rolls, thinking they masked the true taste of marvelous fish flesh. However, unless you've got just way to much money to spend, the array of nigiri available is just too small and grows very tiresome. However, endless supplies of rolls are available and each restaurant will have a selection of at least three or more house specialties, making each new restaurant a chance to find that perfect package, wrapped up in seaweed and rice.

Rating: ***** (oh-so-average)

Food: We started with a seaweed salad with "real crab". Bad news before the crab even hit my mouth: very fishy smelling. Once chewed upon it was confirmed, none of the beautiful flavor you expect when you pay extra for crustations. The rest of the salad was limp. Seaweed, cucumbers, and sesame seeds, in a very bland soy sauce/vinegar dressing. Not a winner. For the main course, we skipped the usual Japanese Restaurant offerings and went straight for the sushi menu. There are a handful of specialty rolls to choose from, and an average selection of other rolls and nigri pieces. The clear winner was the Badger Roll with fish (sorry I forgot what kinds), a tempura coating and a spicy sauce on top. We all loved it. A eye-pleasing entry was the Geisha roll, a pretty-in-pink package featuring tuna, spicy greens, and a special sauce. While it looked great, this geisha did not take any one at the table to new levels of pleasure. Other rolls were very average, though the fish tasted quite fresh. Fellow diners who tried the Nigiri thought it was quite good. Service: Our waitress was uber-friendly up front, but quickly fell flat. We had so much trouble flagging her down on multiple occasions, and she didn't even hear us when we yelled to get her attention. A good wait staff should at least send their eyes over to your table once every few minutes, to visually see if you are okay.

Atmosphere: Wasabi has much more of a lunch-place feel, than an actual dining room. While there's a lot of natural light, tables are very ordinary, and fairly cramped together. Some outside seating is available along a walkway. Semi-noisy.

Cost: ($$) Rolls and nigiri were fairly priced, soups and salads were perhaps a bit high.

Maza Restaurant- 558 State St

My first big foray into State Street is a quiet, Afghani/Persian food restaurant. Serves lunch and dinner, with vegetarian, chicken, beef, lamb and seafood making up the focus areas.

Rating: *****(Solid, if lacking pizazz)

Food: Persian-type cuisine always excites you right away with amazing smells that tantalize up until the moment they hit your mouth, then seem to mostly fall flat, rattling around in the mix of taste buds, saliva, and nose nerves that decides what tastes good to me. The food at Maza started out very strong. An appetizer sampler came out featuring hummus, a yogurt sauce, and cilantro chutney, pakowra (which is a mix of lightly fried vegetables) and bulani (a fried potato and leak dumpling). No complaints here. All three sauces were wonderful: The hummus was strong (full-bodied, if you will) and had the perfect amount of seasoning, while the cilantro chutney and yogurt sauce combined for a nice mix of spicy and mild. Both fried items were not overdone, but highlighted their respective ingredients, and the nahn served with it all was warm and tasted freshly made. Those were the definite high notes. Dinner started with a pleasing salad with a mild dressing of Persian spices (soup was also an option). For the main course, I chose Lamb Kabuli Palow- with chunks of roasted lamb, basmati rice and carrots, raisins and almonds. I have no doubt it was well prepared. The lamb was well cooked, and tender, the rice was aromatic, and the added ingredients had a nice coating of sweet spices, featuring coriander. However, the end result is.. kinda boring. Like many other middle-eastern restaurants, the final course seems too dry, lacking in a big finish. While sampling friends dishes, the reviews are the same: interesting flavors, but something is missing for a western audience.
(Side note: sharing my leftovers with Jen the next day, they were better than the night before. The flavor of the lamb seemed to soak into the rice more, and vice versa.

Service: We arrived at the end of the dinner hour, to a mostly empty restaurant, and a sleepy-looking waitress. Not a lot of attentiveness, but we most definitely not pressured to hustle out so they could close up.

Atmosphere: There are chairs and tables lining each wall of this long rectangular dining area, which goes perpendicular to the street. Lighting is soft and low, and it is definitely not noisy. I would call it medium romantic.

Cost: $$ 1/2. No entrees under $8, but all come with soup or salad and nahn.

Website: None