Saturday, July 5, 2008

Java Cat- 3918 Monona Dr

A moderately-funky coffee house, with a bigger-than-average bakery section and a huge gelato case. We were there for the gelato, so I can't tell you about the coffee.

Review: ***** (Heavenly!)


Food: It's hard to be impartial, since any kind of ice cream is a beautiful thing, especially on a beautiful day in July, but the gelato at Java Cat makes you want to want to run to the capitol and back, just so you can burn enough calories to justify more. There were at least 14 flavors (I forgot to count) and each looked progressively more delicious. Rather than making the "monumental disaster" of choosing the wrong flavor (I don't think that's even possible), our group was allowed to taste multiple gateways to gelato bliss, before settling on that perfect one. Even then, most people chose two flavors, to put in their small cup.

I sampled 5 flavors, all which were good, a few were other-worldly. Cinnamon Cheesecake literally took the cake as my personal favorite, edging out other tasty treats like Cake Batter, Coffee-Toffee and Key Lime Pie. All of the flavors had small amounts of mix-ins, like pie crusts, berries, or (as in the case of Coffee-Toffee) even espresso bean pieces. I'm told varieties change regularly, so who knows what frozen goodness is there now, as we speak. They also make gelato cakes, which is enough to make anyone wish their birthday was a little closer than it is.

I didn't sample, but the items in the bakery case looked just as good- especially the brownies!

Service: The servers very-politely put up with our requests for multiple samples, and multiple flavors per dish.

Atmosphere: A small range of tables, from tall to regular, and even a child's size table. There are comfy chairs too, and a good-sized patio with chairs and tables. Decor, as the name suggests, is centered around cats.

Cost: $. Small dishes start at more than $3, with large dishes hitting over $6. Still, that's about the going rate at high end ice cream chains like Cold Stone or Ben & Jerry's.

Website: http://www.javacatcoffee.com/

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

the chocolate croissants are AMAZING by the way. better than cafe soleil on the square and half the price!