Mickey's Tavern

In a word: No slouch on the food front.

The specs: #0384
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Madison Brunch, Isthmus, Yelp, Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee, Madison Magazine, Cap Times;

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Angela ate the eggs Benedict with coffee and a Mimosa.
JM ate the breakfast scramble.
Nichole ate the breakfast quesadilla with coffee and a mini Bloody Mary.
The bill was about $30, or $10/person, plus tip.
Nichole gave Mickey's an A-; Angela and JM gave Mickey's a B+ (see our grading rubric).

Mickey's shrewd management saw the Madison smoking ban coming and figured rather than railing against fate, they'd diversify. They added eats to their service, including the brunch which we tried. We can recommend it. Mickey's has definitely retained that funky east side swagger (and the plaster gnome, and even some of the menus with the "kickass" penguins). Our server greeted us warmly with a "help yourself to coffee" and came around fast to take our orders. Angela noted with admiration that her headband and belt matched.

Naturally, we expected good things from the drinks at Mickey's. We weren't disappointed. The mimosa was strong, only wanting for a little more pulp and body. The mini Bloody Mary was still substantial, well garnished & spicy. The free! coffee was better than regular restaurant stuff and approaching coffee house quality.

The breakfast quesadilla was super. Crosshatched with grill marks that added smoky flavor, the flour tortilla was crispy and fresh and held up to the bonanza of eggs, cheese and vegetables inside. The salsa on the side was also flavorful and had a nice bite to it.

The classic eggs Benedict was yummy overall and very filling. Two poached eggs, Canadian bacon and Hollandaise with a generous dash of paprika on English muffins made the grade. The potatoes in particular were great, though the dish could have used some balance from vegetables - maybe mushrooms or peppers or something green.

JM appreciated the green stuff that added a little zest to his plate, therefore. His overall impression of the meal was that the scramble was a good litmus test for Mickey's. It was solid and well-constructed but failed to catch his attention via his tastebuds. Unlike Angela, he figured the potatoes needed something - in this case a lot of ketchup. (For the more fire-inclined Mickey's has Sriracha and other good sauces on hand.) The taters  weren't bad, just a little dry, and might have overpopulated his plate. 

While the main dining room was empty when we arrived, within a little while a crowd was building. Mickey's deserves the attention.

Comments

[bekee]

glad you enjoyed it! i'll let the chef know. :)

[kat]

I wonder if you were there on an off-potato day. We went early this afternoon and the potatoes were perfectly cooked - nice and creamy. Needed a little salt, but I'd rather they need salt than be too salty.

[Kyle]

My beef with the potatoes (sample size is poor - 1 - but still) is that they're VERY oily. They don't look as wet in the pic above, but for me they were in a puddle.

Actually, so was my scramble. Everything left a puddle. Hm.

[mikec]

I ate there for brunch two weeks ago. The scramble was fine but the eggs benedict was terrible. The cook must have mistakenly added twice the amount of lemon to the sauce. Put me down as a grade B and D.