Cadre, Madison, WI

I don't know about you, but it feels like we're all a little more comfortable venturing out and doing things we used to do without thinking about it too much. If you follow this blog, you know that for me that's trying new places. I did just that this weekend and had a new-to-me place all picked out... but when I arrived it was too busy to seat me in a timely manner (I can get hangry).

So, I checked Google and recalled a few places I'd seen on the way to the first choice. Cadre happened to be about 1/2 a block away and Google told me it was a "French-inspired" bistro and rated at 4.5/5.0 stars, a good sign in my general experience. I popped in and easily grabbed a seat at their well-appointed bar, yet another good sign.

They convinced me further with a good selection of NA (non-alcoholic) beers, which is not that common in most places in WI, as you can probably imagine. And once I chose a new beer and got a look at the menu, I knew I would be staying for a full meal.   

Athletic Brewing's All Out Stout... (yeah, I'm "athletic"...)

Since it was a crisp night in the single digits, I thought the Beef Bourguignon looked perfect. And frankly, it was. It's not a huge plate of food like a typical American place, but it was so delicious and well-done, I didn't mind. Plus, that leaves room for dessert!

Slow-braised Beef (like a short rib), Brussel Sprouts, kale, Lion's Mane mushrooms, carrots, and beauty heart radishes on a bed of Pomme Puree...

After wolfing that down, I took a look at their compact dessert menu and chose the warm-spiced cake. It was also flavor-full, but not ginormous like you'd get at the Cheese Cake Factory or something. Perfect for me...

Going out on this night was a great little taste (pun intended) of feeling normal again. While their service was quite slow and they are now adding 20% to all checks for their staff, it was still a very good place to be on a cold winter's night. I would most-assuredly go back. 

Note: I don't know many places restaurant or not, that have perfect staff levels and no issues with service. Maybe A Pig in a Fur Coat if I had to choose one. This general service issue seems like something we're all going to get used to pretty quickly, whether we want to or not.

Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras, Morgan Hill, CA

You know summer is starting to heat up when the first county fair, festival, eating thing starts opening in your neck of the woods. Well, here in Morgan Hill, that's the Msuhroom Mardi Gras. I understand it occurs every Memorial weekend, and this year was no different. What a mish-mosh of people, food, vendors, and entertainment. I'd go back in a heartbeat, and in fact did go back the next day for some other food options.

For the wine aficionado...

Don't forget the kids...

Now, let's a take a look at what's noramlly near and dear to my heart, er, stomach, the food. This is merely a small sample of what was on offer at this fair. In fact, they had two food courts...

You HAVE to try the TriTip cut of meat in NorCal. I've even Googled what it is already. Basically, it's the bottom of a sirloin. It's delicious. When grilled over open fire, with wood smoke, it's amazing.

Foot-long brat?

I think these snow-cone stands are genius...

Let the kids have at it themselves... and at kid-level too...

Stuffed mushrooms, less so...

These looked very impressive...

Finally, I couldn't help but notice and abundance of certain kinds of shops... like the hat in the top of the post. There must have been about 6+ straw hat vendors all over this festival. I mean, I guess they take their sun expeosure seriously here, fair enough.

One thing I could not understand was the toe-ring stands - yes plural. I'm not kidding...