Cardamomomom

On the recommendation of an Indian co-worker, I talked a friend into taking dinner with me at Thalaivas in Middleton. OK, in truth it did not take much convincing to get her to try out this new restaurant - new to both of us.

We arrived just after they opened for dinner and we had the place to ourselves for a short time.

I liked the umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. Aside from the TV blaring Indian music videos, they were the lone decorative element that spoke of the Asian subcontinent. For reasons unknown to me, a sperm whale adorned the bar.

While I may not understand why it was there, I appreciated the presence of the rather incongruous aquatic mammal.

The menus were like hardcover books. Opening mine, I discovered that the pages were all glossy. 

Such fanciness! Any change to the menu means an expensive re-do of the menus.

On offer were some Chinese selections in addition to Indian which seemed mainly to be southern Indian. An odd combination. I was impressed that the kids menu was free of hot dogs and chicken tenders and instead consisted of a trio of dosas.

We started with soups. My companion ordered the Sweet Corn Veg variety

while I went with the Kozhi Milagu Saaru. 

Her soup was light, slightly sweet, and delicious while mine was richer, slightly smoky, and delicious.

For the main course she went with Parotta with Lamb Curry, parotta being a layered flat bread.

I went with Tandoori Chicken. 

Both were tasty, very tasty indeed.

For dessert we had rice kheer.

It's basically just rice pudding but the cardamom adds an extra dimension of lusciousness.

My companion and I agreed that Thalaivas was delicious and will likely be back the next time there are errands to run on the west side.

Longtable

Earlier this week I had dinner with friends at Longtable Beer Cafe. It had been a while since I'd been there.

I began with a can of McFleshman's English Pale in preparation for flying across the ocean and enjoying pints of cellar temperature ales.

It was quite tasty with herbal-floral notes from the hops instead of tasting like Hawaiian Punch.

The brisket salad was good.

The brisket was tasty but needed more smokiness. More jalapeno would have been nice too.

My second brew was a fine rauchbier. 

The beer cheddar soup was good too. Tasted from scratch instead of from Cisco.

One of my companions had a German-style pils from Working Draft, Hindsight. I love the stuff and his discerning palate enjoyed it. 

Tasty food & beer plus bonus points for having Schlenkerla rauchbier on offer and additional bonus points for having not 1, not 2, but 3 flavors of Schlenkerla. Plus the company was great.

Rauchbier Notification

I discovered last night that Longtable Beer Cafe carries 3 varieties of Schlenkera. Mmm...

A brace of meals

A couple recent meals.

First comes one from Kutty Leaf, a newish Indian restaurant here in Madison on the far northeast side. According to a Wisconsin State Journal article that resides behind a paywall, "kutty" is Tamil for small. My companion ordered Chicken 65 to begin our meal.

It was right out of the fryer hot. Tasty too. I think those are lime leaves atop the pile of chicken pieces. Why yes, I did eat them.

Although it bills itself as a South Indian kitchen, there was a North Indian curry on offer and, for whatever reason, it piqued my palate. And so I ordered the Kadai Chicken curry. 

While I wish it had had a bit more heat to it, I found it very good. It had a more earthy flavor than the curries I am used to. I'm not sure what gave it that taste. It didn't have the more sprightly flavors of fenugreek and fennel.

The next day I asked my Indian co-worker if he had ever eaten at Kutty Leaf and, if so, what his impressions were. He had indeed eaten there (I think the Indian folks in town are tired of having to go to Chicagoland for the good stuff and try every new Indian restaurant in hope that it has a marked degree of authenticity) and gave it an overall mediocre rating but felt that there were a few items they do well.

He remarked that the Andhra style Chicken 65 and poori with Aloo Masala were good while the chitti punugulu, a common breakfast dish, he helpfully noted, was the real deal. Duly noted.

My conversation with my co-worker happened at Imperial Garden in Middleton. For lunch I had the Lettuce Wraps with tofu but before that was a bowl of hot and sour soup.

The soup was not particularly impressive as it was neither particularly hot nor sour. Edible, to be sure, but on the bland side. My co-worker from China also ordered the hot and sour soup and was surprised to find shredded pork in it. 

Although billed as an appetizer, there was more than enough to the wraps to make a meal. The tofu had a nice grilled-soy taste to it and I generously applied hot mustard leftover from the dumplings. I enjoyed being able to use my hands in eating them instead of utensils.

My Chinese co-worker ordered the Mongolian beef (or was it chicken?) and said it was very good. She offered some to me as meals back at home were always shared. I, in turn, offered her a lettuce leaf and free reign over the tofu.

Hopefully my next meal report shall be of a home cooked one.