Eating in Madison A to Z: Game Time Sports Bar and Grill

In a word: New sports bar-same old, same old.

The specs: #0352
Address, hours & details via Isthmus, reviews at Madison Fish Fry, collected at del.icio.us;

JM ate the nachos with a lemonade.
Nichole ate the cheeseburger with a diet Pepsi.
The bill was $15, or $7.50/person, plus tip.
JM and Nichole both gave Game Time Sports Bar and Grill a B+ (see our grading rubric).

Word to the wise: the regulars at Game Time use the back door.

This crossroads tavern eighthway to Sauk Prairie is clean inside and out, and its spartan interior seems to have been recently refurbished. HDTVs lined the walls and made for easy ESPN viewing. We were greeted warmly as we headed to the single regular table among the high-tops. The bartender came over right away to take our drink order and tell us about the day's specials. When she returned (with JM's weak, but not overly sour, lemonade - one free refill clearly marked on the menu) we asked about soup, which unfortunately for us is only offered in winter. Emil's brand pizza didn't appeal much, so we settled on nachos and a burger.

JM liked the nachos, which came in regular (pictured) and large sizes. Festive and salad-like, it looked to him like the best thing on the menu, if a little pricey and definitely messy. The chip-to-topping ratio skewed heavily towards the toppings, though JM ended up giving most of the jalapeños and black olives to Nichole.

Nichole's cheeseburger was fine. With thanks to Kate for her burger rating guide:

Bun: lightly buttered and toasted split-top white.
Meat: handmade patty tasting primarily of pleasant flame-broiling, but not much taste beyond the initial char.
Bun/meat ratio: just a hair more bun than absolutely necessary.
Cheese: nondescript Cheddar (American and Swiss also offered).
Misc.: served with leaf lettuce, a slice of ripe tomato, a pile of sharp white onions, and a crunchy if bruised pickle spear. Brown mustard and ketchup were available in immaculately clean squeeze bottles with the nozzle tips cut precisely for laser-like application of condiments. The burger itself rated about a 6.5 of 10 overall.

There's not a single vegetarian entree on the menu (wait... is a giant pretzel an entree?), though we bet they could be talked into holding the meat on the grilled ham & cheese.

This, btw, is the Build Your Own Bloody Mary Bar. Other than this unusual feature and the fact that, had there been any smokers in the small space it would have quickly gotten unbearable, we could see Adrian Monk having a good time in this clean and bright tavern.