Ruth's Chris Steak House

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Blackened Sea Scallops over Cheesy Polenta Cakes (Ruth's Spring Classics Menu)

Drown in deliciousness with Ruth's Chris Jumbo Sea Scallops seared with blackening seasoning served over polenta cakes and drizzled with garlic butter and a red pepper pesto.  You'll fall in love with your first bite and each bite after will make you melt from the sweet tender, most perfect scallops ever cooked.  The red pesto adds great flavor, sweetening the dish and complimenting the scallops at the same time.  A great textural balance with a smooth pesto, plump meaty scallops, and moist creamy yet crispy polenta cakes.  Amazing scallop dish!

Spicy Lobster

Tried of winter?  Bring "July's heat" to you with the Spicy Lobster appetizer.  Succulent lobster, lightly fried, tossed in a spicy cream sauce with a tangy cucumber salad; this dish brings sweet & spicy fireworks to your mouth.  The cucumber salad with cilantro adds brightness and balances the dish.

Mandarin & Crispy Prosciutto Salad (Ruth's Spring Classics Menu)

Arugula salad tossed with dried cherries, sliced red onions, mandarin orange segments and sweet bacon vinaigrette topped with parmesan shavings and crispy prosciutto pieces.  You get an amazing balance flavor of warm smoky, sweet, and tangy.

Filet & Lobster Tail Rockefeller (Ruth's Spring Classics Menu)

A six-ounce filet prepared to your liking served with a four-ounce lobster tail topped with a Rockefeller mix of garlic butter, yellow onion and creamed spinach.  The lobster is plump and tender and rich with all deliciousness from the Rockefeller mixture.  The filet is sooo good, you need nothing more than the minimal seasoning sprinkled on; a true steak.

Chocolate Sin Cake & Fresh Berries (Ruth's Spring Classics Menu)

Rich and sinful flourless chocolate cake with a hint of espresso.  Step in to the dark side and loose yourself in the thick creamy chocolate.  Fortunately, fresh berries and a smooth light milky sauce breaks the evil trance yet pull you into another state of tasty pleasure.

ruthschris.com
2137 Deming Way  Middleton, WI 53562
(608) 828-7884

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Luigi's - Inexpensive Italian Bistro, Delizioso!

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Lasagna

Molten cheese oozes and surrounds this massive traditional meat lasagna.  Ricotta, mozzarella, sausage, and tomato sauce layer nicely and bring comfort with every bite.  This is lasagna done right; meaty, creamy, and saucy with every flavor distributed evenly.  I know the next time I crave for lasagna, I'll be at Luigi's getting mine!

Dough Knots

Artichoke & Mushroom Crostini

Aside from pasta, salads, pizza, and paninis, Luigi's offers a few other things such as their Dough Knots which are tied pizza dough, baked and tossed with herbed parmesan cheese and the Artichoke & Mushroom Crostini which contains roasted artichokes, mushrooms, roasted red peppers and goat cheese.  These simple appetizer size dishes have great flavors and are a great way to start.  Most involves bread though it won't spoil your appetite.  The crispy yet moist bread actually has a light tenderness to it, just enough to give the other ingredients extra texture without losing flavor.

Meatball Pasta

I know you see only three meatballs in this dish, though trust me, it's more than you can handle.  These meatballs are almost baseball size; hand-rolled, slow-cooked in Luigi's tomato sauce with corkscrew pasta, and baked with mozzarella cheese.  Unfortunately it came out a bit dry with minimal cheese and sauce, moisture and texture differences.  I would try it again only because I believe this was baked in the oven a little too long on accident and dried up the sauce and cheese, and harden the pasta.

Chicken Parm Panini

I'm not much of a sandwich person, but this - I can eat this every day!  The meaty moist tender grilled chicken brings you back to comfort and the additional flavor with the pepperoni and provolone pulls you in for more.  Though what amazed me most is the bread that cradles the deliciousness and heightens each bite through an amazing texture of moistness and crispiness to this panini that already has it going on.

Fuhgeddaboudit Thin Crust Pizza

Fuh-ged-da-boud-it!  When ordering this, you almost want to turn your hand palms up, put your fingertips together and pretend your a good fella.  The Fuhgeddaboutit pizza is made with classic cornmeal dusted thin crust pizza and is dolled up with tomato sauce, Italian meats, red onions, olives and mozzarella with arugula.  Like many other Luigi's pizza, the ingredients and toppings are unique and delicious.  My only comment is that I would have enjoyed it more if each slice held most of the toppings.  There were a few slices that didn't get all the awesome toppings.

I'll be going to Luigi's again for Italian when I'm looking for something tasty and affordable.  I mean, how can I not go back when there's the "hey yo" and "bada bing" pizzas I still need to try and also the "yeah buddy" panini.  Check it out!

http://luigismadison.com/
515 South Midvale Blvd, Madison WI, 53711
(608)661-7663

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Amy's Cafe

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The Badrider

Flavorful with lots going on; the Badrider is a blackened burger with bacon, bleu cheese, red onions, romaine and tomato.  You get some tanginess, sharpness and a bite back from a burger that is generously seasoned with all the right spices.  Sides must be ordered separately but what's a burger without its counter part.  And at Amy's you can partner your burger with "sexy fries."  Listed on the menu, you can order plain, garlic Parmesan or Cajun.  To make your fries sexy, Amy's Cafe mixes both garlic Parmesan and Cajun seasoning.  I don't know why they call it sexy but my interpretation is that garlic Parmesan and Cajun is a pair you can't turn away from.

BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger

Sweet and delicious, the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger wows the taste buds with bacon, pepperjack, BBQ sauce and onion rings.  Sounds simple and similar to other burgers found anywhere, yet it goes beyond expectation with it's yummy sauciness.  Every bite has a pack of the candy glaze BBQ, ooey gooey cheese, crunchy sweet fried onion ring and savory bacon.  Every component complements and makes you want another mouthful of this saucy burger.

Irish Nachos 

The Irish Nachos is made with waffle fries, Colby-jack, bacon, tomato, green onion with sour cream and salsa (jalapenos additional 75 cent).  Instead of nachos with tortilla, thick crispy waffle fries are placed at the bottom of the dish.  The thick waffle and bacon are the highlights of this starter  though once the sprinkled on bacon is gone a mild flavor of cheese fries resumes.  I was looking forward to the Irish Nacho, though the familiar taste was nothing more than just a loaded potato dish in a different arrangement.  Not bad for an order of loaded waffle fries, but pretty weak for Irish Nachos.

Cheese Steak

I truly have a hard time finding a good tasting cheesesteak in Madison.  I have not been to Philly and don't have "authentic" comparison, I just rate base on taste and unfortunately, I haven't come across a good cheesesteak in Madison.  Amy's Cafe cheesesteak just tastes like all others I've had and they seem to be the same with poor qualities: inconsistent bites (some bites are mild, most bites are way too salty); not enough mushroom, onions, and peppers; and the bread to stuffing ratio is always off where you get mostly bread.  If anyone knows of a great cheesesteak in Madison, please e-mail me.


amyscafe.com
414 West Gilman Street, Madison, WI 53703

(608) 255-8172 ‎

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