In a word: Reliably, but not outstandingly,

In a word: Fishy. The specs: #0545   Address, hours & details via Isthmus ; reviews at , EatDrinkMadison ; official web site  (Warning: It will sound like you are boiling your computer in oil as of press time). JM ate the Create-Your-Own-Feast with garlic shrimp scampi and crab legs with a lemonade. John ate the peach-bourbon BBQ shrimp and scallops. Lindsay ate the Maui Luau shrimp and salmon with a white wine. Nichole ate the Caesar salad with grilled shrimp and a Cosmo. The bill was $38 (thanks, Lindsay!) JM gave Red Lobster a B-; John and Nichole gave Red Lobster a C+. We went into Red Lobster with low expectations. So low, in fact, we’d already come up with a scathingly funny* five-word review by the time we walked in the door. By the time we left, we’d changed our minds just a wee bit: enough to decide Red Lobster was worth writing up for real, and also that, should anyone suggest Red Lobster for a group outing in the future, we wouldn’t cop an adolescent ‘tude about going. Besides, Lindsay was an infinitely good sport, not to mention dedicated to her profession, to let us drag her here for an interview . So here goes. The cheese biscuits were as addictive as they ought to be, and were very salty and rich, but only moderately flaky. A standard iceberg mix salad was fresh and unassuming – nary a brown edge or chewy crouton to be found. The garlic shrimp scampi had the home-field advantage with JM in that the simple, just-garlic-butter-and-shrimp treatment is his personal preference, and too often (usually in McFarland: see Beach House and the Greenie ) scampi is bulked up with noodles. It’s harder to mess up simple ingredients, so this was decent. The crab legs were full of (surprise) delicious crab meat.  He’s had better and he’s had easier to eat, but these legs were just fine. From left: John’s bacon-wrapped scallops in peach BBQ sauce met with approval. Lindsay’s salmon was quite good, flaky and moist, though the rice had that processed look that comes from boil-in-bag cuisine. Finally, the shrimp on the Caesar salad were surprisingly fresh-tasting, though the appealing grilled preparation added a lot. By the time the molten cookie dessert had rolled around, we had, as reported, heard five renditions of “Happy Birthday” and were generally in as a fine a mood as the rest of the diners, though we outlasted most of them as the parking lot was full upon arrival and nearly empty upon departure. So, as it turns out, company and context end up informing our opinions strongly, as usual; we wouldn’t really pick Red Lobster, but even for big-box mall dining, it wasn’t that bad. *To us. At the time. OK, it probably wasn’t that funny at all. And besides, we might use it later.

In a word: Lima to eaters. The specs: #0544   Address, hours & details via Isthmus ; reviews at 5929 , , Yelp , Fearful Symmetries , Isthmus ; video review by W1RLD ; listing at Eat Drink Madison ; official web site , Facebook . JM, Jennifer and John ate the lomo saltado, with a sangria and a soda. Nichole ate the ceviche pescado with a chicha morada. Skip ate the brocheta de lomito with a chicha morada. The bill was $38 plus tip. Skip gave Pollo Inka an A; Jennifer, John, and Nichole gave Pollo Inka a B+; JM gave Pollo Inka a B. First things first: we didn’t get the pollo at Pollo Inka because all of us had either had it or read a lot about it. We hear it’s OK. The beverages were a mixed bag. The sangria was very light and hit the spot; likewise the iced chicha morada was very quaffable, lighter in color and flavor than what we had at Inka Heritage. The biggest disappointment (or most ingenious business decision) was the $1.50 can of Roundy’s (?!) root beer that had JM gnashing his teeth. Despite the glass of ice that sometimes implies bottomless soda, we dared not ask for a refill. We’d never seen salchipapa before, but we’d come back just to split a plate of this fantastic(al) stuff. It’s hot dogs, on a bed of lettuce, atop fries, lashed with bright orange and purple sauces. The fries were nothing special (a shame, since they underpin nearly every dish on the menu). The hot dogs, though, had a great snappy skin. We could have done without the lettuce, which quickly wilted, but the sauces were super. Orange “golf” sauce ( salsa golf ) was tangy and 1000-islandish; the purple sauce was made of olives and we want that recipe badly.  The ceviche came mixto with an assortment of crustaceans or pescado with just tilapia (Nichole’s choice). The dressing/cooking liquid was bright with lime flavor and also lots of peppery spice, though the fish itself was rubbery. Corn niblets, mellow red onion slices and very soft (not to say overcooked) sweet potatoes filled out the appetizer. The presentation on a half-shell was pretty. Pollo Inka’s simple take on the classic beef, tomato, and onion stir-fry was more like lomo salado , heh. It was beyond salty from the soy sauce in the marinade. Yet everyone joined the clean plate and high blood pressure club anyway, because the tender meat was just that good and the long-grain white rice and thick fries were perfect for sopping up the surplus. Skip’s beef skewers were nice and rare, and lightly seasoned on a bed of the near-ubiquitous french fries. The side salad of shredded lettuce, avocado, cucumbers, and tomato probably made his plate the most balanced on the table. Pollo Inka suffers the same problems with decor and layout that JM noticed when it was Oliva (which has since moved next door). If only Pollo Inka had a patio – we can think of worse ways to spend a summer night.

In a word: Good and Better. The specs: #0543   Address, hours & details via Isthmus ; reviews Isthmus , Fearful Symmetries 12/9/09 and 2/16/10 , listing at Eat Drink Madison ; Roadfood forum report (picking up after the visit). JM ate the chorizo burrito. Nichole ate tacos with carnitas and lengua. We got a polvoron, a donut, and a roll filled with pineapple jam. The bill was $13. JM gave Pan y Pan a B+; Nichole gave Pan y Pan an A-. Pan y Pan was a party. Joining us on our visit were Lindsay from Forkful and about a dozen folks from the Roadfood forum who had arranged a road trip to Madison for a day of scouting out hidden gems and “dining a la trunk.” We had a blast. The former Popeye’s space by Woodman’s East was perfectly suited to a crowd, especially since this place mostly does a brisk carry-out trade. We each ordered some stuff of our own but basically held a potluck in the dining room (which probably drove off a regular customer or two, unfortunately). We came to the conclusion that for each item on offer, there may be somewhere else in Madison doing it better – say, La Concha for bakery, Taqueria Guadalajara (so we hear) for tacos, Lucky Seven for burritos – but Pan y Pan is no slouch. The tacos were super. Carnitas was on special for $1 per, but a lengua taco was still only $2. Each used two fresh, soft yet supple tortillas and vibrant onions, cilantro, and lime. A pureed, smoky red salsa added a gentle heat. The carnitas was on the slightly dry side, but very tender, and the lengua kissed right back with a slow-cooked-roast-like flavor. JM’s burrito was huge, of course. The chorizo was gritty but provided a pretty good flavor, though the amount of beans were a mite oppressive. The salsa provided was hot and peppery. The overall experience was a little soft in the middle, but ultimately very satisfying. Next, the bakery. The chocolate donut was heaven. The adorable piggy-shaped polvoron, a dry, plain cookie, went great in horchata and in the next day’s coffee. The last item, whose name escaped us, was a pair of biscuit-like semicircular rolls stuck together with pineapple jam and custard, and liberally coated in confectioner’s sugar. Utter rush. The food was good, but Nichole remembers especially fondly a conversation with a Roadfoodie retiree who’d come up from Iowa with her husband. After swapping stories of great barbecue, we got to talking about how her forum friends had become friends in “real” life as well. She summed it up saying “all this about the online networking is fine and everything, but it goes much deeper than that.” She had no idea how refreshing that sounded to these ears fatigued equally by internet hype and hysteria, and for that we say thank you, Mrs. yellodeere, wherever you are.

In a word: Pizza in Stoughton and it’s pizza! The specs: #0542   Address, hours & details via Isthmus ; reviews at , listing at Eat Drink Madison ; official web site , Facebook . JM, Kate, Mark and Nichole ate the Caesar salad, BBQ pork sandwich, Venetian, Dragon, and Taco pizzas, cheese bread and a couple fountain drinks. The bill was about $50. Kate gave Page Street Pizza an A; Mark and Nichole gave Page Street Pizza an A-; JM gave Page Street Pizza a B+. Our local hosts Kate and Mark call Page Street their go-to carryout pizza place. It would probably be ours too if we were denizens of the land of Syttende Mai. The dining room is small, kind of shabby, and really needs some blinds in the west-facing window, but the eats were quirkly good. Cheese bread and a Caesar salad started us off. They were out of anchovies, which broadened the salad’s appeal, but we should have skipped the salad altogether – it was no great shakes. On the other hand, the cheese bread looked good enough that someone beat the shutter (see above) for a corner piece. Turns out it’s made fluffier than the pizza crusts, and is topped with plenty of stringy cheese. For once, we weren’t totally burned by ordering a non-eponymous food item, in this case, a BBQ pork sandwich at a pizza joint. JM thought the sandwich would have been an A except for the whiter than white overmanufactured bun, but Nichole found the sauce and meat to be too sticky and congealed. The from-a-bag seasoned potato wedges were cold and ended up bypassing our tastebuds. The pizzas at Page Street are distinguished by a great thin, yet not crackery, crust with wide edges, good toppings, and very little drippy grease. We all chose specialty pies: Dragon: spicy sauce, pepperoni, roasted red peppers, and pepperoncini. On Mark’s experienced advice, we skipped the jalapeños, which turned out to be wise as it was plenty spicy from whatever peppery essences they had used in the sauce. Venetian: sausage, artichoke hearts, and roasted red peppers. We skipped the default pepperoncini. The homemade sausage was very good on this one, and the vegetables were very flavorful and not too damply heavy. Taco: “Sinaloa” sauce (refried beans and salsa), chicken (beef was an option), cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and tortilla chips (i.e. Doritos), with salsa and sour cream on the side. So wrong, yet so right, though the Doritos betrayed a bit of ”open bag” chewiness.  In Stoughton, pizza options don’t run from soup to nuts as they do in MadCity proper, and a delish slice from Page Street can be just the thing. And we’d go back to carry out the Italian beef or a calzone, or even just a sausage pizza. 

In a word: A confederacy of mediocrity. The specs: #0541   Address, hours & details via Isthmus ; reviews at Yelp , 77 Square , Ruppert Food Blog ; listing at EatDrinkMadison ; JM ate the shrimp and pork special. Nichole ate the orange beef with hot and sour soup. We got some egg rolls and crab rangoon. The bill was $31 plus tip. JM and Nichole both gave Lee’s Garden a B. When we visited Lee’s Garden, formerly Hong Kong Cafe West, there was a whiteboard advertising a special Chinese menu “coming soon.” The new menu may already be what’s cooking by now; we found a pretty standard Chinese takeout place with no surprises.   Our customary rangoon had a light, whipped cream cheese filling but their wrappers, and that of the egg roll, were unpleasantly gummy. The hot and sour soup was a generous serving with a peppery broth and spicy-hot tofu pieces. We opened up the orange beef to find a diced green onion garnish that suddenly made dinner feel 125% classier. The fresh, lightly steamed broccoli helped too. The dish itself was quite sweet and we were left wondering what had warranted the “hot!” asterisk that had accompanied its description on the menu. JM’s pork and shrimp BBQ was much better, with a distinct five-spice flavor, tons of pea pods, corn, and carrots. That’s all we’ve got on Lee. We don’t know exactly what justified a name change, but if you’ve tried the new menu, holler.

In a word: Madison's worst-kept secret. The specs: #0539   Address, hours & details via Isthmus ;  reviews at 77 Square  and again ,  The Wandering Cuisine , life and puppies , Ruppert Food Blog , Isthmus , AV Club , Eat Drink Madison , Yelp , Madison Beer Review , , Madison Foodie ; preview at Isthmus  and 77 Square ; chatter at TDPForum ; official web site and reviews . JM ate the pork belly mac and cheese. Nichole ate the Reuben with a Lakefront Brewery Fixed Gear red. Paula ate the Brussels sprout salad with an Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen. The bill was $47 plus tip. JM gave Coopers Tavern a B+; Nichole gave Coopers Tavern a B-; Paula gave Coopers Tavern an A. Coopers has been packed at dinnertime every time we've seen it. Is it because the Square needs a  midrange comfort food outlet? The lure of the real snug in the back of the room? The extensive beer list, the Food Fight affiliation, or the truly warm hospitality of its tireless owner? Probably all of this and more. But on our visit, three months into Coopers' tenure, we felt the place creaking under the weight of its own popularity, and food and service were somewhat worse for overwear. Picking a Saturday night at 6:30 was our own dang fault, sure, and we did get in sooner than promised (not like it was a burden to catch up on Baconfest and other news with Nichole's DCFM Info Booth buddy). However, Paula never got the club soda she requested, and we missed out on the bone marrow app we ordered. And the din, good heavens.  Pish, tosh, let's get to the food we did eat. JM's pork belly mac and cheese was a bit sad. The noodles seemed like they'd sat out under a lamp too long and were crusty on top, which left JM with little patience for a somewhat tough bit of otherwise tasty pork belly and a decent, yet bitter ,cheese sauce. JM and Paula were both disappointed in the sourdough baguette, which was of the gum-tearing-up variety. Paula let Nichole order her own favorite dish, the Reuben, and opted for the Brussels sprout salad. The sprouts were large, cut into quarters, and only very lightly steamed if they'd been cooked at all. A bed of romaine mix in a creamy garlic dressing “paired perfectly with the bite of the sprouts,” said Paula, but the bacon and blue cheese were both were pretty mild and didn't have quite the effect she thought they would. She'd order the salad again, but perhaps hold the croutons, which seemed to be made from bits of the same machete-like baguette. The Reuben is made with excellent house-corned beef , and the cheese and beer slaw and bread all add up to more than the sum of their parts. Even knowing all that, and knowing the zeal this sandwich has inspired in many a Madisonian, Nichole's going to nail up her 95 theses for Quivey's Riley Reuben on this one.  There's more on Coopers' menu we'd love to try – namely the beet salad and chicken curry (thanks to Kyle, Nichole's already sampled the grilled cheese, which was good if blander than expected). We wish we could go back when they weren't so crowded, because this hardly feels like it was the optimal circumstance. Then again, Coopers sans crowd seems pretty unlikely.

In a word: Novel but not notable. The specs: #0538

In a word: A sign of good things to come. The specs: #0537   Address, hours & details via Isthmus ; reviews at  Isthmus , Badger Herald , 77 Square , EatDrinkMadison blog,  Yelp , , Beer Advocate ; opening at Badger Herald , threads at The Daily Page Forum  once and twice , listing at EatDrinkMadison ; official web site , Facebook . JM ate the two meat combo with ribs and ham, mac and cheese, and coleslaw and a lemonade. Nichole ate the sausage combo with collard greens, sweet potato salad, and a Lake Louie Big Slick Stout. The bill was $34 plus tip. JM and Nichole both gave Brickhouse BBQ an A-. BBQ has its adherents hither and yon and, while we would claim no title relative to others in our midwestern cohort, we do know from good meats. Brickhouse, then, offers a thoroughly tasty implementation of the slow-cooked meat phenom that seems to us like a re-importation of BBQ via the coasts. Their website mentions Memphis, but our man from Tennessee has never mentioned this particular style of meat prep. All speculating aside: it tastes good. The brick house itself is a barn. Three stories of expansive dining rooms with large tables suggest it handles game day/weekend/Freak Fest/Obama-rally-afterparty crowds well, but when we were there, most seats were empty save those on the rooftop patio. Shielded from direct sun, it was high enough up to avoid all that rat-race noise down on Gorham, and the view of the capitol dome wasn't bad. We got our drinks and a plate of sauces in advance. Spoons and ramekins triggered a spate of tasting (we blame the National Mustard Museum ). Of the three, the mustard BBQ was truly the standout. The basic house BBQ was more sweet than smoke, and the vinegar-based sauce had a smokiness we liked, too. Despite liberal sampling, we had plenty of sauce left for our dinners, in case anyone was wondering. These ribs were the gnawable kind, none too tender but not bad. JM liked the grilled ham quite a bit, which we attribute to its being from Jordandal Farms (our favorite). He was expecting the also-grilled pineapple salsa to have more than just pineapple in it, especially given that the cornbread and sweet potato salad had been gussied up with chopped peppers and onion. There were probably four wieners' worth in the sausage combo. The Cajun links were tender, with a kick, while the smoked sausages had a snappier skin. The whole dish benefited from pickled bell peppers and more mustard BBQ sauce. As for the sides: Cole slaw: eh. Sweet potato salad: cool and liberally dressed, with chipotle, cilantro, onion, and more diced peppers. Mac and cheese: Cavatappi curls in a mild, sweet-ish sauce that toed the line between fake-smooth and too gritty. Jalapeño cornbread: moist. Nichole had to steal JM's since she didn't get a slice but he didn't really mind. Collard greens: not overcooked, with more grilled ham diced on top rather than boiled in. It wasn't a bad value, either: our two entrees yielded two dinners plus three bag lunches (with a couple tortillas and carrot sticks thrown in). Brickhouse may not be what you're expecting, but it is good.

Q is over. Are you surprised? Our favorite Q was Quivey's Grove . We thought giving out any more plaudits would be unfair to, say, letter S, and would just reinforce the Midwestern Nice grading curve we're stuck on. Please allow us a brief PSA: We know we're incredibly lucky to eat as well as we do, let alone as conspicuously as we have, these last six years. At the same time, area food pantries have seen their use nearly double (hat tip to Skip ). We'd like to encourage anyone in a position to help increase food stability to do so. As always, thank you for reading and commenting. You make it fabulous around here. Our grades thus far: Nichole JM A 226 42% 209 39% B 227 43% 274 51% C 68 13% 49 9% D 12 2% 3 1% F 2 0% 0 0% GPA by first letter: 1st Pass Cumulative A 3.11 3.31 B 3.15 3.18 C 3.25 3.24 D 3.20 3.29 E 3.03 3.08 F 3.24 3.23 G 3.21 3.27 H 3.16 3.23 I 3.40 3.32 J 3.13 3.14 K 3.08 3.15 L 3.23 3.30 M 3.32 3.27 N 3.15 3.15 O 3.23 3.24 P 3.09 3.09 Q 3.39 n/a