Posts Tagged ‘east side’

Surge Delivery Cafe

Sunday, December 18th, 2011

Surge Delivery Cafe is a simple sandwich shop on Atwood Avenue. That’s too bad, too, because the name and interior decor make it a perfect fit for an Internet Cafe/coffee shop.

And why add “delivery” to the name? Surge wants to be “the only place in town that will bring you a breakfast sandwich and a mocha.” In that case, it probably should have picked a location closer to more offices, such as downtown or American Family Parkway.

Anyways, on to the food. Sandwiches come with your choice of bread, including ciabatta roll and whole wheat wrap; hot ($3.89), cold ($3.89) or salad ($4.09) form; and optional protein, such as $1 for turkey or ham.

I tried the Zeus’ Fuel (olive tapenade, tomato, red onion, spinach, feta, cucumber, red pepper dressing) with steak and a whole wheat wrap (hot). That combination of vegetables just did not work out. Even removing the cucumbers, which I normally like, probably would have helped this experiment gone awry.

Meanwhile, the Solar Flare (romaine, tomato, red onion, cucumber, avocado, cheddar, alfalfa sprouts, ranch dressing) wasn’t much better. I ordered the sandwich hot, but the chicken I added to it was cold. Overall, it tasted like a chicken Caesar sandwich mixed with every item on a salad bar–in other words, no direction.

The only saving grace to this meal was that I felt like I was eating fairly healthy. But as I alluded to, I think Surge went overboard with the vegetables.

Surge Delivery Cafe is open every day for breakfast and lunch. It also offers catering.

Stalzy’s Deli

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

Hey Stalzy’s Deli: will you please open a second location downtown? I truly believe there’s a market for your presence around the Capitol. Ever since Jacobson Deli closed its shop across from the Bartell Theatre a few years ago, that deli niche hasn’t been filled yet (sorry Merchant, you don’t quite fit the bill).

In fact, Stalzy’s says on its website that it opened to “buff out Madison’s deli deficiencies.” To that, I say, great job so far.

When I stopped in at Stalzy’s, which took over for the space once occupied by Africana on Atwood Avenue, I was tempted to stock up on some cured meats. Instead, I concentrated on the sandwiches.

Both the Classic Club and the Stalzy’s Triple were quite nice. When Stalzy’s first opened in May, people complained on its Facebook page about the lack of meat on the sandwiches (sounds like Full of Bull). However, that problem has obviously been rectified, as both sandwiches I tried had generous portions.

The latter, which I somehow managed to finish despite its size (see photo), had corned beef, pastrami, turkey pastrami, swiss cheese and coleslaw. I thought it was dynamite, but I wouldn’t order it again only because it cost $15. The Classic Club, which featured turkey, bacon, cheddar, lettuce and tomato, was slightly easier to swallow (pun intended) at $12.

Just for the heck of it, I tried the House Burger ($6) as well, and I thought it was juicy and tasty. You also can double and triple the number of patties, and the sandwich comes with American cheese and fried onions preloaded.

Stalzy’s also serves various sausages, reubens and “the best pastrami in town,” according to my server. You can dine in or carryout, and there’s a parking lot adjacent to the building. Just beware: no credit cards are accepted.

bd’s closing is HuHot’s gain

Friday, July 16th, 2010

And then there were two.

A little more than a year ago, Madison suddenly found itself with three stir-fry restaurants spread throughout the city–Flat Top Grill at Hilldale, HuHot Mongolian Grill on the far west side and bd’s Mongolian Grill near East Towne. But now bd’s has closed, and HuHot is there to swoop in.

According to a brand ambassador from Appetize, which owns HuHot, “We are looking to help these patrons redeem a bit of their (gift card) money and experience our restaurant. We are also looking to help employ a number of bd’s employees who have suddenly lost their jobs.”

Regarding the first point, HuHot will accept bd’s gift cards from now until further notice. That means dollar for dollar up to $20 and $0.50 for every dollar over $20 (up to $100). So, a $20 gift card is worth $20 and a $100 gift card is worth $60.

That’s a nice business tactic by HuHot, whom I applaud for also trying to hire some people who just lost their jobs.

    Urban Air TryaTaste

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