Great Dane Pub - Burger Test

After a looong hiatus, this blog starts to pick up again.  One deterrent has been my goal to stay "beef-free" in 2012.

Dropping beef altogether wasn't really the goal - just a major decline in how much red meat I was eating.  I succumbed to the blood pressure medication a few years ago.  I'm still trying to stay off any cholesterol meds.  So far, so good.

This week I might have eaten my last burger on purpose.  Not because it was great.  Just the opposite, actually.

The Great Dane Pub has terrific food and even better beer.  I can count on their menu items being fresh, creative, and flavorful.  So, on this nice summer day, my buddy Rich and I decided to grab a brew and some lunch.

My friend Steve popped his head in my office earlier that day to say, "you know, it has been a long time since we have had a burger."  Or something along those lines.  I told him that the timing was serendipity, since we were on our way to the Great Dane!  We also grabbed Chris, and some regular reviewers for the Taste Test Madison Blog were ready to eat!

I ordered a basic pub burger, which was a 1/3 pound ground chuck patty with sliced onion, tomato, lettuce, and pickle.  I added some sharp cheddar and asked for it to be medium rare. (Click photo for a better view.)

The bun was dense and flavorful.  I generally like a softer bun, but this was fine.  I only really noticed for the first bite or two.

The meat was a bit leaner than I expected in a ground chuck, and it was cooked more on the medium side.  That's understandable, but made for a slight disappointment.  The flavor of the burger was fine, and all of the condiments could be distinguished when assembled.  A lot of the taste came from the ketchup and mustard I added, however.

Now I digress to the most wonderful part of my meal . . . the fried plantains.  Seriously, these are meaty chunks of plantain, fried so you get a slight crunch at the edges along with a little carmalization.  The mild tropical flavor matches the heavy texture to create a truly delicious side.  I recommend it wholly.

Steve and Rich also ordered burgers.  Rich chose a different cheese, and Steve went without.  Chris juked the crowd and ordered the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich instead.

Ratings for the Great Dane Burger:
Steve - 6 out of 10
Rich - 5 out of 10
John - 6 out of 10

As I sat back and relaxed after dining, I realized that this might be the last burger I eat for a long while.  It just wasn't something that I would crave, and I'm starting to wonder how my palate might have changed because I have stayed away from beef for so long.

So, we'll crank back up with Payday Taco reviews moving forward.  Plus, I have an interest in short blog posts about donuts in and around Madison.  (I am part of a podcast that takes a few minutes to review donuts as it is).

But the next foundation for this blog will be Fried Chicken.   Mmm.  Gotta grab a Harold's menu now!

Back on Track at the Oakcrest Tavern

It took a silent auction to get us back on the right track!

The company I work for holds an annual auction, with proceeds to benefit a fund for employees going through hardship. It's a great cause, and it has already helped people in ways they did not expect.
For the Silent Auction, my friend Rich and I put ourselves up for bid: A lunch at the Oakcrest Tavern in Madison, Wisconsin, along with a blog post of our experience. Here we go:

The auction was won by Greg, who happens to also know Rich from a "previous life" when he was a line-cook at the Come Back In in Madison. Rich was a weekend AM bartender in those days. We reminisced about some good old days, but mainly about some really screwed up things that also made them some "borderline" old days.

Burgers were ordered: Greg and Rich ordered Bacon Cheeseburgers and I ordered a Cheeseburger with Cheddar. First impressions were generally favorable - a typical tavern burger, as expected.

The bun was a bit slight for the beef that it was holding. Because of the juices from the burger, the bun bottom was quickly soggy and messy to hold. Greg (being a baker by trade) cited the bun as his first suggestion for improvement.

The beef was of good quality, seemingly a ground chuck for good fat content. All the burgers were cooked exactly as ordered. The meat was excellent, although it was not seasoned at all. Condiments added any additional flavors.

Overall, I rated my burger a 7 1/2, Rich rated his burger an 8 (with high marks due to the quality of meat), and Greg gave it a score of 7 (with his lowered marks for the bun).

Aside - my daughter Leah had the grilled cheese, which she gave a score of 9 1/2!

Burger Time #4 - Plaza Tavern

This time, we hit a Madison standby - the Plaza Tavern.

If you have spent any time in Madison, chances are good that you have a Plaza story or two. If you were born here, you likely took your first drink in this establishment. Assume what you will with that statement.

Also, though, you will have had experience with the famous Plaza Burger. Generally, it is a slight burger (about the size of a standard McDonald's hamburger) with a very soft bun. The Plaza part is the special Plaza sauce that they put on the burger. It is so special that the previous owner wouldn't disclose the recipe to the buyers until after the closing went through on the business.

The best guess that I have for Plaza Sauce is thinned sour cream with a little dill and a LOT of salt. Salt is the prevailing flavor, which probably contributes to the loyalty by those who love it! The burger is a decent ground chuck with a fairly thin patty and nice bun. Overall, a pretty good sandwich. Not filling, but certainly enough.

Reviews from long-time fans put the rating at 7 out of 10. I also give it a 7 out of 10.

Payday Tacos #9 - The Best Yet!

Today's payday tacos have set the bar for all other tacos! They are made to order by Olivia, a native of Mexico who has lived in Madison for several years!

Olivia brought in her homemade salsa along with pork and items to make some terrific tacos.

THIS is the taco experience that the "authentic" restaurants hope to capture. When, if you are in Mexico, a taco is a quick staple. A stuffed corn tortilla made on the go as a terrific snack. They are best eaten out of somebody's kitchen or even out of a taco truck on a side street.

I made a nice shredded pork carnitas taco on a soft corn tortilla with rice, pinto beans, and handmade salsa. YES!

Rating out of 10: this one's a 10!

Payday Tacos #8 - Heaven is Great

Payday Tacos called for trying some place new. "Taco Heaven" has been open for a few months on West Johnson in Madison.

A friend of mine recommended it highly. Mainly because he is able to get a Hot Dog and a Taco in the same basket. There certainly is something to be said for that, but it's firm rooting in USA cuisine has kept me from trying it until now.

The menu is quite diverse, and tacos can come in several ways - American style with lettuce, cheese, and sour cream and Mexican style with chopped onion and salsa. There is a wide variety of tortilla, too: soft corn, fried corn, soft flour, and fried flour. I haven't seen a fried flour shelled taco since Taco Bell had its infamous "Taco Lights" in the mid-1980s. It piqued my interest enough to get one.

I ordered a fried flour with seasoned ground beef. It was naughty. It was not too greasy. The flavor was pretty good. But I wouldn't order that one again. It was more of a "say you did it" kind of thing for me.

But the tacos I bought in all seriousness were just right. I ordered chicken tacos "Mexican style" on soft corn tortillas. They came rightly double-shelled. The tortillas were just right and held firm with the taco. The meat was juicy, but not so much that the tortilla shredded. The meat was surprisingly not greasy. The salsa was fresh with a mild bite. I did need to add some hot sauce, and that made a great taco better.

Best of all, I thought, was the construction. Value is important, but too many places load it up so that the taco is too hard to eat. This was just the right amount of meat to tortilla. These were just the way I like them.

I was sorry that I couldn't get the carnitas (they had equipment trouble that made them 86 shredded beef and pork carnitas), but the chicken filled in nicely. I'm just hoping they add a fish to the roster someday. Then they just might make it to a 10.

My girlfriend ordered the Veggie Quesadilla. The fillings were generous, including a heap of black beans and cheese. The item was cooked in the fryer, though, which was a deduct for her. She's not a fan of fried food, and she was hoping for a traditionally grilled quesadilla. She gave the insides a high rating, but wouldn't order it again because of the shell. It was more like a flat chimichanga.

I ordered the right thing, though. I give it a 9 out of 10. This is in the lead so far, which is a shock because I walked in expecting to "pan" the place. Just goes to show you: you don't know what you don't know!

Tacos #7 - In Paradise

Payday tacos got changed up this week . . . to a place that doesn't specialize in Mexican food at all: Cheeseburger In Paradise.

We resisted this restaurant for quite a while, not really being fans of Jimmy Buffet and thinking it to be another chain dropped into a semi-urban area. Well, we aren't wrong with those assumptions, but this has still become a fast favorite because the atmosphere and offering makes it right. There's something great about an open air tiki bar that gives you that tropical attitude.

We ate at the bar, and I saw they had fish tacos on the menu.

The dish fit the environment very well. I ordered the fish grilled. The tacos were on soft flour tortillas with cabbage and a pineapple salsa. There was a spicy sort of cream sauce served on the side, which provided just the right spicy kick to offset the sweetness of the salsa. Overall it was a nice dish that I would recommend to anyone . . . provided that there were some natural and warm breezes moving by wherever you were sitting.

The bonus was that we only heard the "Cheeseburger in Paradise" song once! It's fine, but we have been there before when it seems like it came on all the time.

A great atmosphere, friendly service, and a pretty good dish made for a rating of 8 out of 10 on their fish tacos!

Payday Tacos #6 - El Burrito Loco

The weather is nice in Madison (relatively so), so it's time to hit some of the street carts that get set up downtown and on campus. Today we visited El Burrito Loco, a cart that is usually stationed at the southwest corner of MLK and Main on the Capitol Square.

I ordered two tacos - one chicken, one beans - on soft shells. Mild salsa on the chicken, hot salsa on the beans. Let's see how we do!

We didn't do so well.

The taco shells were a little steamed when they should have been seared off. It made for a shell that fell apart, especially with the BEEF taco I received. I'm sure there was a communication gap, and they heard "beef" instead of "beans," even though I stated beans at two occasions. Generally, I can go with the flow . . . we'll see how the beef is, then.

Turns out, bad. First of all, the beef is steamed and largely unseasoned. The combo of steamed ground beef and shells that don't have a char or sear on them is a fall-apart mess. The photo shows the taco when I first pulled it out of the styrofoam container (sure glad I didn't buy this on Earth Day!).

Construction of the tacos started with 2 corn shells, a fairly generous portion of meat, shredded iceberg lettuce, a bit of shredded mild cheddar (their other dishes used either chihuahua or queso quesadilla) and salsa.

The chicken taco was much better, but still had too much iceberg lettuce to taste like much more than lettuce with some salsa and mild cheddar.

The salsas were pretty good, although it was very lightly applied to the beef taco. That was a shame, since it really needed it.

Overall, I wish I'd have saved the calories (ouch).

My rating -

Chicken taco: 5 out of 10

Beef Taco: 3 out of 10