Grandview Cafe
In a word: Stop by when you are at the Monona Terrace.
The specs: #0308
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; review at Isthmus; official web site.
JM ate the gourmet pizza with mascarpone, bacon, mushrooms, and caramelized onions and an apple juice.
Nichole ate the orchard salad and a cappuccino.
The bill was $19, or $9.50/person, plus tip.
JM gave Grandview Cafe a B+; Nichole gave Grandview Cafe an A- (see our grading rubric).
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This was our grand view on a foggy solstice morning. As we approached what's essentially a counter with a few tables set up in the vicinity, the woman staffing the cafe exclaimed joyfully, "Customers!" It didn't take long to choose our meal from the (v. v.) short menu encased in plexiglass on the counter, but the barista/server fixed our drinks as JM debated what kind of pizza to get, and Nichole weighed the merits of chorizo puff pastry vs. stuffed mushrooms and in the end wussed out and got a salad.
This pizza, unlike other "gourmet" pizzas we have known, was quite palatable. JM just found the combination of flavors a little odd. The biggest drawback was that some of the toppings seemed to have not heated through. It is very disconcerting to place a hot piece of pizza in your mouth and bite into a below room temperature mushroom. But the overall idea of the pizza was still quite sound.
The salad was pretty deluxe for the surroundings, if not the price. Gorgonzola, walnuts and a not-too-sweet dressing topped the standard spring greens, which were piled high and had the right ratio of toppings to base. The only incongruous bit was the grocery-variety red delicious apples - the freshness of the rest of the ingredients, and the proximity to the great hall where the early winter farmer's market is held, almost had Nichole expecting a snappy, sweet local apple with character, but no such luck.
Basically, compared to other convention center food we've experienced (greasy pizza at $4/slice, institutional burgers with deadly fries, "smoothies" of unknown Jersey provenance), the fare at Grandview kicks butt.
Unknown Jersey provenance? Shoot. Maybe I can help out with that.
Posted by: Samantha | January 17, 2008 at 01:11 AM