Samba

So last night some friends and I went to Samba, Madison’s local Brazilian Steakhouse.

We sat down and ordered some drinks. I was in the mood for something different so I ordered the Garnacha wine, a mild red wine that I actually really liked. It was their featured wine which is why I ordered it, I don’t know that much about wine. After that we got to hit their salad bar. The salad bar was a little too classy for me as about half the things are items I didn’t care for or didn’t know what they were. Everything was clearly labeled which was a plus and I found plenty to eat. They also had garlic mashed potatoes (superb) and a soup. They bring these little cheesy rolls to your table as well and those things are awesome. They were made with a white and a parmesan cheese and were fresh baked. Not many things finer than fresh-baked cheese bread. Then it was time to eat. They were serving 6 cuts of meat last night. Of the 6, I enjoyed 2 (the top sirloin and the linguica sausage) didn’t mind another (the flank steak) and 3 weren’t great (two chicken dishes and the lamb.) One of the chicken dishes and the flank steak were a sweet jerk style, others loved it but I don’t like jerk food. The barbeque chicken wasn’t prepared well and was a little rough. The lamb was better than I thought and was the best prepared of them all, I am just not a lamb guy. The top sirloin was a fine steakhouse style cut and marinade, pretty much perfect. But the linguica was the star. It was similar to a polish sausage but with a different flavor that was spicy. It was my favorite. Which is why I am scared to go back. The meats rotate but I’d miss the sausage if it weren’t there.

I opted against having dessert though. Much like their food, the desserts were on the pricey side and I decided just being normally full would trump being stuffed. Samba is a winner. The ambiance is cool and it looks like you are walking into some place in Vegas…but in downtown Madison. It is a pricey so for me a once a year type place but worthy. I can see why people are not only naming it the best new restaurant but also the best restaurant in Madison period. While I wouldn’t go that far (there are a couple places I’d rather go) it is definitely worthy.

But life is not all about eating out. Throwing a party? Here’s an idea for a dish! :)

Visit your local restaurant…

While I most commonly eat at inexpensive places I am not a local fine restaurant hater. In fact there are many local restaurants I love. That is why I support local restaurant week.

This year I’ll be participating twice, once at Quivey’s Grove because Fitchburg is my city and then once at Samba (I’ve never been.) Sunday was Quivey’s Time. 8oz kobe beef cheeseburgers get me every time. I’ve only ever been to Quivey’s for the fish fry (one of the best) so this would be interesting. How would a place not known for burgers do serving a burger.

First things first, I ran into Shiroma, always a good start. Since it is restaurant week you get a beginning course and I chose the salad. I use the word salad loosely because it was basically raisins and apples smothered in bleu cheese. Jess had the stuffed mushrooms and thought they were good. Then the burgers came. It was pretty moist (the way kobe beef is) but Jess’ medium well and my medium rare were basically the same. It was a good burger but I could tell that Quivey’s is not a burger place. could tell the meat was special but it wasn’t prepared well. It wasn’t bad by any means and I enjoyed it but it could’ve been better. The restaurant thing rocks the most though when you get the dessert. I normally am too cheap for dessert and I usually order something big so I don’t want it anyway. But the turtle pie was fantastic. For $15 the meal was complete and worthwhile!

In other news, today is the grand opening of Sonic and it has literally been the talk of the town. I am trying not to buy into the hype too much as I’ve eaten at Sonic a lot. Don’t get me wrong, it is great and everyone will love it, I just don’t feel the need to rush down there when it is packed beyond belief. If you want an approved meal, go at breakfast for a sausage toaster (mine without egg) which is the best tasting food on the menu. Round it out with tots (even if you aren’t a tot person, just because you can) and get one of the best things ever, large java chiller with caramel and hazelnut both. I’d like to welcome Sonic to the neighborhood; I think you will be a huge success!

Mark's 2008 Year in Food!

What better way to introduce a new blog than to start with my annual year in food. So I now present to you, my 2008, Year in Food! This year welcomed in some great newcomers and seemed to be an above average year food wise. Factor in that in November my wife who had been a vegetarian for 16 years had a change in heart and decided we should eat lots of Arbys! Here are the stats:
I ate out 268 times this year. Several of those were during work and personal travel but I believe that is a modern-era low number. Not included were catered events (Saris Gala, work functions) and exclusively coffee stops (McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Barriques.) I did include pizza delivery and pick-up. Here are the top 5:
Taco Bell: 24
McDonalds: 17
Papa Johns: 11
Abuelos: 10
Chilis: 10

Restaurant of the year: This was an easy decision. Bandit Burrito in the suburbs of Des Moines is the single best place I ate this year. They make the world’s best burrito hands down. Best tortillas, cheese, rice, shredded beef and sour cream (w/ chipotle spices) in the game. Add in double the topping choices of Qdoba or Chipotle and you have the world’s best burrito. Honorable mention: Empire Burger, Breckenridge, CO; Mother Bear’s, Bloomington, IN; Burger Bar, Las Vegas, NV.

(Bandit Burrito!)

(Top 5 burger- Empire Burger)

(Mother Bear's Pizza- World's Best!)

Disappointment of the year: Tia Rosa, Mesa, AZ. Despite being hyped by no less than 4 people (Kyle, Tracy, Mom & Dad) Tia Rosa wasn’t very good at all. The flavors were bland, the portions and prices seemed ok but even their chips and salsa weren’t very good. Of course I got the whole “you must not know what real Mexican is” but to that I say…if this is real Mexican give me something else. Plus I could’ve lost my In’N Out virginity instead. Other disappointments include: Bucatini Trattoria which replaces the local Macaroni Grill with high prices, small portions and bad food and Five Guys burgers (very average) and they use something called extra-heavy mayo, gross. Fatburger is overrated for sure!

(Tia Rosa- Lots of smiles...before I eat)

Comeback of the year:
Sonic- After writing it off last year, they come up with the Java Chiller which is one of the best items on the menu and my favorite coffee drink (even more than the McDonalds Mocha.) They have the best breakfast in the game and while much of their food is overrated they have some decent lunch-time items.
Goat of the year:
Abuelos- Taking the worlds best nachos and changing the format was ok. I could cope. Then they added the world’s worst cheese sauce to totally ruin them. While I think they are available without cheese sauce and I’ll try that next time, it’s just not the same anymore. (Tim Horton’s is definitely second, they do everything worse than Dunkin Donuts and will need to evolve coffee-wise to stay relevant.)

(Dunkin Donuts is always the choice when it comes to donuts!)

2008’s best cities for food: Janesville, WI; Bloomington, IN, Las Vegas, NV.

(Bloomington, IN- home of the Copper Cup!)

Notes:
-I ate at the Fudd twice this year…but once was in an airport, for breakfast!
-Subway’s $5 footlongs make that a viable option. They had pricing issues for the past 10 years but they are back on track and helping get other sub places on track.
-I wish we had a local Taco Del Mar. Great burritos and great pricing. I’d trade Chipotle for it.
-Thank god for expense accounts. $22 kobe cheeseburger at the Burger Bar in Las Vegas was one of the top 3 burgers I’ve ever had.
-Madison needs some good ol’ sit down chain mexican food. And not Pedros. A Chevy’s would totally rule.
-Potbelly cookies are the world’s best. I can’t even complain that they are now $1.09 instead of $.99.
-I tried the best burger in Cleveland (Heck’s Café) and in Phoenix (Delux) and both were ok. The best burger in Madison (Dotty’s) blows both away. You can pass on the Plaza burger.

(Delux Burger- Really good, just not great)

(The Plaza Burger)
-If anyone offers you real swiss cheese fondue…pass. We shared it 4 ways and while 2 people claimed to like it, we still had leftovers.
-I ate at Portilos this year. I think everyone should try an Italian beef and cake shake. My life feels more complete.
-Raisin’ Canes is underrated. Not sure what to think but I know I’d eat there a few times a year if we had one locally.

(My only Waffle House this year- Phoenix, AZ)

(Empire Burger- World's Best Nachos, sorry Abuelos)

Check out the archives. 2007 2006

Thanks for reading. Please post comments and feedback and tell me where I am right and wrong and offer any rankings you have.