Disappointed in T Sushi

Last Sunday, we were wandering around State St. looking for a place to eat. A new sushi place called T Sushi caught our eye  and so we decided to try it out. WRONG MOVE. Aaahh.. 

I don't know how long this restaurant has been opened because I have not been to downtown in awhile but boy it's so disappointing. There were only five tables in the restaurant so anyone would think that they are capable of providing an acceptable customer service. There were two waitstaff, a hostess who also busses tables, a bartender, three sushi guys and a guy in the kitchen doing whatever it is he's doing. Pretty fine day huh?! 

So we ordered drinks. Even if we waited for our drinks by roughly 10 minutes after we ordered it, it was still the best part of our customer experience. Not because the drinks stood out but because it was less worse than everything else.

We ordered immediately when our waitress came back.  And then we waited.. and waited.. and waited.. and friggin waited! It's not even the worst part. Thew worst part was that the food was actually ready. It's sitting on the table waiting to be picked up by someone.

While the manager or owner or whoever was in charge was sipping his coffee by the bar. 

Oblivious to the fact that there were hungry people in the restaurant and tons of food waiting to be expedited. Unbelievable.

After 35 minutes of waiting, food finally came. I'm not gonna say a lot about it because it's mediocre. The 'volcano' (center) was too spicy that all you can taste were the sauces in it. It overpowered the flavors of everything else. The other two were bland. Period. 

It seems to me that you haven't quite figured it out just yet. I hope customer service improves soon. Takara, across the street has a very impressive menu and already has a local following. Sushi Muramoto which is a few blocks away has all you can eat sushi nights, an awesome menu and is frequented by all types of crowd even during Monday night. Sushi competition is tough in downtown. It takes more than fancy chandeliers to lure the crowd. 

Valentine's Day Prix Fixe Menu

Valentine's day is just around the corner. My favorite restaurants in Madison has finally released their Valentine's day prix fixe menu. 

Melting Pot, known for their elaborate fondue dinner service came up with this fabulous five course dinner menu for $70/ person. If you are planning to celebrate with a group of friends, Melting Pot provides a special Valentine offer. For a four-five person party, dinner will be priced at $60 per person while if there are six or more, dinner will be at $55 per person. Good deal!

Graze Pub, known for serving locally grown food came up with a more affordable three course dinner menu for only $30 per person.       

and of course last but not the least, Eno Vino. I love this restaurant to death. [Check out my restaurant review here.] Reading their Valentine's menu makes me hungry. They will just have two seating on the 14th so I'm almost sure that reservations are necessary. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta make phone calls and restaurant reservations. 

Madison Winter Restaurant Week

When you live in a tropical country such as the Philippines, you dream of white Christmas. However, if you live in Wisconsin and you have this as your view for at least five months, it's depressing. Seriously. 

Cabin fever is starting to set in because I'm stuck at home with nothing to do. There's just so much I can do in Madison during the winter time and the idea of a three hour drive to Chicago during the winter doesn't really sit well with me. Good thing Madison is holding a Winter Restaurant Week starting today until January 27th. 

Food lovers such as me can indulge in the finest local culinary offerings of over forty restaurants in the city. All the participating restaurants [except for Samba] will have a special three course prix-fixed dinner menu for only $25. Samba, on the other hand will continue to offer their Brazilian steak buffet for $25 as well. Some of the restaurants had also prepared a three course prix-fixed lunch menu for only $15. What a steal! 

Here's a sample menu of a $15 lunch menu in Johnny Delmonico's.

Capitol Chophouse has an awesome dinner menu.

Maybe I'll try these restaurants later today. I hope they have open spots for tonight. 

For a complete restaurant listing, visit the Madison Magazine's website.

Eno Vino Date Night

Eno Vino Wine bar and Bistro is a precious gem tucked away in one corner of Madison. It's now one of my favorite! The soft light and warm colors immediately sets the mood of anyone who comes here. The tapas menu is to die for! Don't forget the extensive wine selection which is really impressive. 

Eno Vino is a tapas style bar. A lot of the dishes are meant to be shared. You can order it one at a time while enjoying your wine. Perfect place for spending time with your family, friends and loved ones. Nobody is in a hurry. Interesting conversations, good glass of wine, terrific food and a serene atmosphere with people you love equates to a perfect night. 

Start of with a glass of wine to set the mood. I really like how they present their wine list in an Ipad2. Very tech-savvy!

We paired wine with a cheese course. We had brie, gouda and manchego with prosciutto. Their cheese plate is served with marinated olives, fresh fruits, spiced pecans, crackers and crostini. Cheese and wine! This pair always leaves me yearning for more.

After the cheese, we had braised short ribs set on top of polenta cakes, served with roasted garlic and pearl onion confit and drizzled with poblano fondue. A feast of flavors in one dish. The meat was so tender that my grandma will not need her dentures to devour this dish. The combination of different flavors in every bite was just awesome. I can't remember how many times I sighed and uttered the word YUM throughout the entire evening.  

As they say, save the best for last. For our third dish, we had the Hudson valley foie gras set on top of toasted almond puff and pineapple gastrique then sprinkled with peppered bacon. Every bite was a feast in my palate. The exquisite flavor of foie gras, the crisp almond puff and that delicious crunchy sound, the sweetness of pineapple and a hint of saltiness brought by the bacon, the fusion of flavors was incredibly satisfying. I have to stop myself from wanting another order because I remembered PETA's campaign against eating foie gras. 

We're already full after the third plate. But the glutton in me insisted that we should have dessert. So we ordered churros which were set on top of sliced bananas, drizzled with white and black chocolate syrup and dusted with cinnamon. Don't forget the strawberries. Ooh. We finished everything off this plate even though we can hardly breathe. For sure this would be perfect with a cup of hot coco on the side. Instead I opted for coffee and Peter tried the $20 ice wine. It's so sweet (and expensive!) you would almost think you're sipping honey. 

Gaining five pounds after this dinner doesn't sound so bad after all. =)