Roxbury Tavern

In a word: Cognitive dissonance was never so sweet.

The specs: #0560  
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Yelp, Helene's Spleen, ; fan page on Facebook; official web site.

Latest Roxbury Tavern news and reviews

JM ate the French toast and a lemonade.
Nichole ate the blueberry pancakes and a coffee.
The bill was $20, or $10/person, plus tip and ketchup.
JM and Nichole gave Roxbury Tavern an A (see our grading rubric).

If it's Terabithia territory out in eastern Sauk County, the Roxbury is where Leslie Burke's parents would eat. It's not your typical Wisconsin tavern (no fear, there's still a bar). It's quirky, spotlessly clean, and laid-back.

The menu is diverse, with weeknights dedicated to Cajun, Mexican and Italian. We'd call it eclectic in the old sense of being the best in a wide range of categories, but we'd need to go back and verify that it's all it's cracked up to be. We made ours a Sunday brunch, where the pancakes and French toast shone and the service was friendly.

JM's lemonade was good: not outstanding, but solid. The coffee from Lodi Roasters was a light-ish roast. When JM saw the jars of specialty ketchup, made in-house, he pointed out that even he could tell that any place that knows its way around a tomato like that ought to do a good Bloody Mary - a reason to go back. We bought a jar each of garlic and jalapeño, and both have gone great on our scrambled eggs and burgers at home.

The French toast was excellent. The two ample slices had a caramelized flavor reminiscent of s'mores. Each side was merely dipped in egg batter, not appearing to have been soaked long, and served with plenty of butter. Little sweet clouds of batter and butter. Mmm mmm.

The blueberry pancakes were crisp outside, especially the edges, and creamy inside with small, flavorful berries. Ditto the sausage links, which were perfectly browned. The syrup was real maple, of course, and we shared the small fruit plate of cantaloupe and strawberries that came with JM's breakfast.

Nichole admits an irrational affinity for the place just because Sam I Am, the late mascot, bears a resemblance to the old family dog Sheltie (sic), right down to the mismatched eyes. That's no reason to love a restaurant, but it's a good enough reason to fall for one.

Pro tip: if you park across the street, go parallel, not diagonal, to the curb. Main street's not that wide.

Comments

[catwoman5]

We love the Sunday brunches here - have been many times. We weren't nearly as crazy about the dinner, but then, we only went (for dinner) once, and it might have just been what we ordered.

[Elizabeth]

I ate there for the first time last week. I had the veggie burger; Todd had the meat burger. The veggie burger appeared to be homemade. The buns tasted good, too. I am so sick of the spongy excuses for burger buns that so many restaurants use. Todd though his burger was good, but he likes the burgers he makes with meat from Black Earth Meats better.

The french fries were really good. Caveat: I thought the fries were great at the last three places I had French fries (Dexter's, Jac's & Roxbury). Maybe I have just started to really love French fries. The chips were OK, but they were nothing special.

I will have to try breakfast. We are nearby every weekend.

[Amanda]

I love the Roxbury Tavern (or, as the locals call it, "The Rox")! My mom lives near there, and everything I've ever eaten there has been delicious!

[Leslie]

Mmmm...I need to go there!

[Tracey]

Roxbury is in Dane County. Their mailing address is Sauk City (which is in Sauk County).