new and old

One of the hard things about trying to enjoy all that Madison has to offer is deciding if you want to try something new or stick with what works. This past Monday we went with both and.

We headed over toward the Willy street neighborhood where we dream of owning a home if only it were closer to work and we could actually afford that area. It is amazing the cost of homes in an area with such a hippie feel ... ah, to be a rich hippie. So instead of lusting over what we can not have, we headed over to Monty’s Blue Plate to get some food we could have.

Neither of us had been there since our college days but we both arrived with fond memories and high expectations. Monty’s seems perfect as a neighborhood or high school date hangout. The décor and sounds of a busy diner give off a comfortable, come as you are feel. So far so good.

We quickly ordered our food; Mary got the chicken in a pie and I asked for the salmon cakes. The service was friendly although the server seemed a bit stretched by the number of tables he had to cover. When the food arrived, our "A" experience dropped a couple of letter grades. The food was luke-warm and tasted as though it had been sitting under a heating lamp for far too long. It was a race to get it down before it became too cold. The gravy over the chicken in a pie overwhelmed the dish and the rice with the salmon cakes was crunchy, from either sitting out too long or being undercooked.

We were especially bummed by the less than stellar food since our memories recalled something much better. Besides, word of mouth about this place has always been good. Still, despite the disappointing meal, we decided to have dessert there since we couldn’t think of anything else close by and pie is hard to pass up. We ordered a slice of the pecan pie and a cup of coffee - both of both were better than dinner.

We then headed over to The Weary Traveler which has become one of our favorite places. Upon entering we were reminded why we love this place: good beer selection, great lighting and good service. For the remainder of the night we worked our way through a pitcher of Bell’s Oberon and played Rummikub. (For $100 dollars please leave a comment on how to correctly pronounce this game.)