Eating in Madison A to Z

Emian's European Bakery & Deli

Update: Emian's closed and reopened as El Bolillo.

In a word: Ideal truancy or lunch option.

The specs: #0156
Address, hours & details via Isthmus;

JM ate the ham and cheese croissant with an apple juice.
Nichole ate the curry chicken salad sandwich.
We split a chocolate croissant.
The bill was $12, or $6/person.
JM gave Emian's an A-; Nichole gave Emian's an A (see our grading rubric).

What a great place - spacious & bright, with good food and friendly people. We couldn't ask for more in a bakery or small cafe. Neither can the students of Monona Grove High School, just down the street. It was quiet at 5pm when we arrived, but at 3 it was packed, according to the nice guy who fixed our order.

Both sandwiches were fresh and well-made. JM's ham and cheese croissant came from the bakery case and yet was tasty. The only thing that he could have improved on was the cheese, which was not bad, but swiss leaves him a little unfulfilled with respect to cheeses.

It was nice to see milk in the drinks cooler as well. We split a chocolate croissant ("pain au chocolat, sweetie") which would have complemented a cool moo juice well. We declared MyCroissant Outlook to be chocolatey and eventually succumbed to MyCroissant Excess. (Say it, it's almost funny.)

Ella's Deli

In a word: Kosher Carnival.

The specs: #0155
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; Madison Originals profile; reviews at Yelp, Ruppert Food Blog, Cap Times, Madison Fish Fry, collected at del.icio.us; photoessay at Shiv/Shill/Shine; official web site;

Latest Ella's Deli news and reviews at del.icio.us

Amanda ate the matzo ball soup.
Carlos ate the guacamole burger.
Emo ate some fries and drank a lot of lemonade.
JM ate the BBQ burger.
Nichole ate some other kind of burger.
Sabi ate 2 kids' mac and cheeses.
The bill was $50, or $8.33/person, plus tip (kids eat free on Mondays).
JM gave Ella's an A-; Nichole gave Ella's a B+; Sabi gave Ella's an A- (see our grading rubric).

Ella's is kind of a blur, but we think they like it that way. Check out the fantastic fried dill pickles over octopus:

The whirling Ferris wheel:

And the allure of the train scene (pictures courtesy Emo, age 3):

Few places have menus that can be described as "epic," but Ella's qualifies. There's enough breadth there to justify a whole 'nother blog. But we're only a few mortals, and only sampled a few dishes.

Amanda gave props to the matzo ball soup. JM likewise endorsed the BBQ burger and the v. good fries, and of the macaroni and cheese, Sabi (4) said, "It tastes like nacho sauce. I really like it a lot. It's so good."

On the other hand, Carlos' burger was a "tragedy", rare to the point of moo-ing. He was happily able to fill up on chili fries, and said the guacamole is great.

Emo, who would have been content to watch the model train course around the track forever, was heard to say, "ABCDE Ella, silly," and enjoyed the lemonade. One of the best things about Ella's is crushed ice in the drinks - Amanda especially wishes this would catch on.

The carnival atmosphere of Ella's can make or break an evening out, however. Carlos said he loves the tables and toys everywhere, but it can get too noisy. Sabi, who is a quasi-regular with her grandma, said, "If there's one thing I don't like in a restaurant, it's bad behavior." We're guessing she might see a lot of that from the restaurant's shortest patrons, but we didn't let that get us down.

Electric Earth

In a word: Earthy but not electrifying.

The specs: #0154
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Yelp, Isthmus, Cap Times,

Latest Electric Earth news and reviews at del.icio.us

JM ate the hot ham and cheese sandwich with a cup of soup and a Nantucket Nectars lemonade.
Nichole ate the hot veggie sandwich with a cup of soup and a coffee.
The bill was $18, or $9/person, plus tip.
JM gave Electric Earth a C+; Nichole gave Electric Earth a B- (see our grading rubric).

Electric Earth on West Wash is a good place to spend your bus layover, instead of at the Greyhound station. Situated as it is near the terminal and a U-Haul rental place, it exudes a sort of migratory appeal.

As for the food, it somehow didn't gel. Nichole's veggie sandwich was light on fillings given the price, and featured both roasted red pepper and raw green pepper, an odd combination. The coffee, as well as the soup, were disappointingly weak. A little more salt would have gone a long way for the latter (but not the latte).

JM enjoyed his hot ham and cheese sandwich a lot, but so much of his feeling is that this is just another coffee shop with food.  He found the whole experience oddly uncomfortable. He'd like to add the erudite comment that the cold couscous-grape-craisin salad was wack. True, dat.

Eldorado Grill

In a word: Upscale Southwest comes down home on the near east side.

The specs: #0153
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews by the Madison Packard, Taco Addiction, Madison Date Night, Christopher Robin, Yelp, Cap Times, Madison Brunch, World of Flavors; Kevin Tubb's website; official web site;

Latest Eldorado Grill news and reviews at del.icio.us

JM ate the green chili chicken enchilada.
Nichole ate the spinach enchiladas with coffee.
The bill was $23, or $11.50/person, plus tip.
JM gave Eldorado Grill a B; Nichole gave Eldorado Grill an A- (see our grading rubric).

Eldorado Grill gets a lot of good press as one of Madison's Food Fight restaurants, and it's well-deserved. What struck us, though, was how much more chichi it was than Hubbard St., which, being in posh Middleton, suffers some slings and arrows from Willy St. partisans (and vice versa). Anyway, it's not about that, it's all about the food.

Nichole's spinach enchiladas were amazing in their fried and creamy goodness (thanks for the tip, Lorraine!). The hashbrowns were seasoned perfectly & the green olives in the salsa was a nice twist. The coffee was good and strong. The vegetarian empanadas also came highly recommended - we'll just have to go back.

JM, on the other hand, was underwhelmed. His chicken enchilada had TOO MANY BEANS, according to our notes. But then, Nichole thought the notes also said, "Undead lick to my drawers," when they mean "Would like to try dinner." 

JM can stand here all day and be insulted for his handwriting, but he'd rather point out that he'd had a bad bean experience at Bluephie's and that their menu seems to have matured and diversified; he hopes Eldorado's will do the same.

This is a gloomy exterior shot - there's a lovelier nighttime pic over at flickr. Eldorado's insides are gorgeous, lovingly restored industrial space, and y'all should give it a try.

Einstein Bros. Bagels

In a word: Have we mentioned that Madison has a lot of bagel places?  We have? Oh, then nothing new is contained in this capsule.

The specs: #0152
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; review at the Culinary Adventures of Jahboh and Tossy; official web site;

JM ate the bacon egg & cheese frittata on a plain bagel with a cute little apple juice.
Nichole ate the cheese & egg frittata on a wheat bagel with a coffee.
The bill was $10, or $5/person, plus tip.
JM and Nichole both gave Einstein Bros. a B- (see our grading rubric).

It was an uneventful breakfast at a chain place, except when Nichole spilled JM's apple juice. She was trying to admire the adorable little round bottle when it rolled out of her hands.

Not much to say, really, except that Einstein Bros. bagels are too smushy. They almost shouldn't be called bagels. On the other hand, their "darn good" coffee is, actually, very good, and very hot, and the bottomless cup is a plus.

Edo Sushi Bar and Buffet

update: Edo Sushi Bar and Buffet is closed.

In a word: Go for the tall pirate ship, stay for the short bill.

The specs: #0151
Comments in a sushi thread at madison.com.

JM, John and Nichole all ate at the buffet.
The bill was $22, or $7.33/person, plus tip.
JM gave Edo Sushi Bar and Buffet  a B-; Nichole gave Edo Sushi Bar and Buffet  a C+; John Edo Sushi Bar and Buffet a D (if you have discriminating tastes) and an A if not (see our grading rubric).

The dining room at Edo, though packed, was eerily quiet as customers ate with feverish intensity. It wasn't super clean. And there was this blacklit painting of - Holland?

As for the eats, there were lots of choices and even some fancy stuff like crab legs. The buffet included over 12 different entrees, 3 soups, and a soft serve machine.  Our consensus was that the food was good (even sometimes very good), not great, but the low price really made up the difference.  Sure, it wasn't the best crab rangoon, but, at these prices, it was much better than it could have been.

Nichole found the hot and sour soup rather good, but the miso was just a cloudy broth with one huge floating piece of seaweed in the tureen. The hot tea went straight from weak to bitter. The "peanut chicken" was almost certainly creamy peanut butter over off-brand Shake 'n' Bake, or a very good facsimile thereof.

On the other hand, most of the other meat dishes were superior. The spring rolls were crispy and fresh. The sushi was no better than it should be for a buffet, but definitely topped, say, Chin-Mi's. John opined, "I'll come back. Oh yes, for crab legs, I'll come back!" and "I'm glad I don't live closer to this place, or I'd eat here all the time."

In summary, we agreed the low price was the best part. That, and the pirate ship.

Update 4/20/06: It seems Edo is closed.