Sujeo

In a word: You go to Sujeo.

The specs: #01069  
10 N. Livingston St., 53703
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JM ate the dandan noodles with a lemonade.
Marijka ate the squash curry with a cocktail.
Nichole ate the Korean fried chicken with a limeade.
Ryan ate the pastrami pho.
We split some cheese curds and got two ice creams. The bill was $100, or $25/person, plus tip.
Marijka, Nichole and Ryan gave Sujeo an A; JM gave Sujeo an A- (see our grading rubric).

A cold winter's evening was made all the brighter by a trip to the near East side's Sujeo - another in the Tory Miller empire.  We both liked Graze and L'Etoile; we would be surprised to walk away from this meal unhappy.  Sujeo's concept is Asian noodle dishes prepared with a hearty Midwestern feel.  Indeed, hearty would be a good word to describe all that we got there.

Ryan and Marijka had already been to Sujeo a few times (they had pointed out that cooktop booths seem to have been unnecessary for the way that Sujeo developed after initial design). They had a couple of favorites that they enjoyed including the appetizer of delicious cheese curds. Marijka contends that these are the best cheese curds in Madison and, with OSS having closed, were having a hard time arguing that point. The squash curry really is one of the better vegetarian meals to be had at this level of quality and the curry is offered in just the perfect quantity and well-balanced across the dish. Ryan's pastrami pho is just the kind of fusion cuisine that Miller is famous for. The portion was ample and both dishes were sent home for an additional lunch portion later. Remember this when you think of the bill.

Nichole's three pieces of Korean fried chicken, though, were things of beauty. Gigantic pieces, fried with a juicy, crispy skin. In truth, there is little way to do this chicken justice with words - it recalls nothing so much as Chicken Unlimited, but with Korean spices. It was a wonderful portion and reheated pretty well. JM was the only the CPC member of the day, having polished off his dandan noodles during the meal (his only gripe is that is was a little on the small side) -- it was nicely spicy and did a great job providing internal heat to contrast the cold wind outside.

That said, even a cold night cannot stop the soft serve action at Sujeo.  Nichole and Marijka each got one of the two flavors on offer (Mexican chocolate and Farmers Market Raspberry), it was hard to say which one was better at its goal, since fruit and chocolate ice creams have different purposes.  Both, however, were available with sprinkles... so there's that.

For four people, the bill came in at $100, which is fine given that it was more like seven meals of high quality (three sets of leftovers) PLUS cheese curds and ice cream. Sujeo heralds the rise of the East Washington corridor (of Festival Foods and shiny new Epicserf condos), which will be nice and add tons of value to the city.  A true jewel.