Althouse: "When one orders an organic field greens salad in Madison..."

August 22, 2011

"When one orders an organic field greens salad in Madison..."

"... one does not expect it to arrive in a basket woven of fried shoestring potatoes topped with tiny white mushrooms and yuzu foam."

34 comments:

Ron said...: yuzu foam? Isn't that for your shoes?; 8/22/11, 8:36 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Organic field greens salad?

Nuh-uh, they're supposed to be "Feeding The Masses On Unicorn Ribs."

I swear, since the elections, Wisconsin Democrats can't do ANYTHING right,...; 8/22/11, 8:39 AM
Henry said...: Why wouldn't you?; 8/22/11, 8:46 AM
Scott M said...: Aren't all salads technically organic?; 8/22/11, 8:49 AM
John Burgess said...: Foam? Really? That so 2005. But I guess that Madison is off the beaten (or is that 'eaten'?) track, caught in a bit of a gustatorial time warp.; 8/22/11, 8:52 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I find "foam" an unappetizing word. In relation to food... I picture spittle.

But... we've eaten at the restaurant in question -- Steenbock's -- and we love it!; 8/22/11, 8:54 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Foam? Really? That so 2005. But I guess that Madison is off the beaten (or is that 'eaten'?) track, caught in a bit of a gustatorial time warp."

All food is from the past.

Sometimes this restaurant does historical menus. It did the 11-course meal from the Titanic and some menu from Alexander the Great.; 8/22/11, 8:56 AM
John Burgess said...: Well, historical menus might whet my appetite. Replicating a meal from Delmonico's circa 1890 would be interesting. That of the Siege of Paris would be interesting, but maybe less appetizing.

In fact, the latter might be (WV) squingish.; 8/22/11, 9:02 AM
lohwoman said...: Too bad the picture of the salad is not quite in focus.; 8/22/11, 9:04 AM
ndspinelli said...: I've never found a restaurant in Madison that I love, a few I like but none I love. When folks ask me where to go in Madison for good Italian I tell them to go to the airport. Then get on a flight to NY, Boston, or SF; 8/22/11, 9:18 AM
Known Unknown said...: That "salad' looks disgusting.

There's a more common name for field greens: weeds.; 8/22/11, 9:21 AM
Michael said...: I have been struggling these many months to find a word to describe the citizens of your state as they display themselves through the topics of this blog. And I have it, finally.

Hicks.; 8/22/11, 9:21 AM
Rabel said...: Cool.
Click on one of the photos in the article and it will take you to the author's flicker photo stream.
There, over to the right, you will see the (possible) source of those "short ribs."; 8/22/11, 9:38 AM
prairie wind said...: I find "foam" an unappetizing word. In relation to food... I picture spittle.

That was my reaction, too. And then when I see the word 'spittle' anywhere near food, I think of Jesse Jackson. Am I wrong, or didn't he talk about spitting on the salads of white people?; 8/22/11, 9:48 AM
prairie wind said...: I never order a salad with Italian dressing.; 8/22/11, 9:49 AM
SGT Ted said...: Organic is such a scam and organic fans can be so tedious.; 8/22/11, 10:03 AM
prairie wind said...: Yes, Ted, and even more so when they call themselves 'locavores.' Because that makes them better people.; 8/22/11, 10:06 AM
Andrea said...: The word "locavore" makes me think of a cannibal that eats his neighbors.; 8/22/11, 10:19 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "I've never found a restaurant in Madison that I love, a few I like but none I love. When folks ask me where to go in Madison for good Italian I tell them to go to the airport. Then get on a flight to NY, Boston, or SF"

Where they can also find better comedians.; 8/22/11, 10:23 AM
Pastafarian said...: From the article: "There's also foie gras on the menu, but it's from Au Bon Canard, so it's OK."

Because they have a website where they explain how it's all very artisanal and the owner is an actual Frenchman, and he's gentle with the ducks and coos soothingly to them in French while he shoves the tube down their throat for force-feeding.

By the way, I love foie gras, and I don't have to assuage my guilt by deluding myself into some fairy tale of an idyllic French farm. They do a great job with foie gras, and all sorts of glands and organs and whatnot, at my now-favorite restaurant, Joseph Decuis, in little Roanoke, Indiana.

It's expensive, but you get more food than this. $40 for a soup and salad, when the salad is about 1 ounce of greens? Uh huh.; 8/22/11, 10:24 AM
William said...: Ketchup is the perfect complement for fried potatoes. But it is our nature to wish to push beyond perfection and to try the yuzu foam.; 8/22/11, 10:49 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Sometimes this restaurant does historical menus.

That would be fun and interesting.

I collect old cookbooks for the recipes and also because they are an interesting look into society in the past.

For instance. Veal was common and not all that expensive. Salmon also.

52 Sunday Dinners; 8/22/11, 10:50 AM
edutcher said...: When you say foam, I think of something out of a aerosol can.

Ann Althouse said...

All food is from the past.

Sometimes this restaurant does historical menus. It did the 11-course meal from the Titanic ...

Anything associated with sinking by the bow fills me with trepidation.; 8/22/11, 10:53 AM
Calypso Facto said...: Michael drones:I have been struggling these many months to find a word to describe the citizens of your state ...

And I (as someone who has lived in NY, San Fran, Europe, and yes, even that pinnacle of worldliness you inhabit, the South) have struggled mightily to ignore your pursed-lip condescension through the protest, architecture, and food blogs. If Ann's portrayal of Wisconsin causes your Holiness of Effete Tastes to avoid deigning to grace us with your presence in Wisconsin, I'd say she has done us a great favor.; 8/22/11, 10:55 AM
GPE said...: " The beers on tap are excellent, hyperlocal microbrews..."

What in blue blazes is a "hyperlocal microbrew"? Was it brewed at the table next to yours?; 8/22/11, 11:45 AM
Wince said...: Yuzu foam and mushroom caps?

Looks like something Titus might be interested in eating.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.; 8/22/11, 11:52 AM
MamaM said...: Yuckzu foam for me. Having lived near a meadow, organic greens covered with foam brings to mind spittlebugs,; 8/22/11, 12:04 PM
Triangle Man said...: When folks ask me where to go in Madison for good Italian I tell them to go to the airport. Then get on a flight to NY, Boston, or SF.

Chicago is right down the road has has restaurants to equal or beat any of the others. If you want to save the drive then Lombardino's is solid.; 8/22/11, 12:06 PM
Triangle Man said...: Hicks.

@Michael

You struggled for months to come up with "hicks"? My family was referring to themselves this way more than thirty years ago. You're not very perceptive.; 8/22/11, 12:08 PM
Triangle Man said...: Historical meals

If you're interested in historical cooking The Virginia House-Wife [Cookbook] is fascinating. The Kindle edition is free.; 8/22/11, 12:10 PM
vnjagvet said...: The restaurant looks like its fun and interesting. The review seemed smug, tedious and pretentious.; 8/22/11, 12:24 PM
ndspinelli said...: Triangle Man, Lombardinos is pedestrian. Chicago has some decent Italian restaurants. But again; NY, Boston and SF are the top 3 cities. After that Philly, much of NJ[excluding the Pinelands..the most hilarious episode of The Sopranos was shot there] and finally Pittsburgh. But, I'm not going to debate you. I've come to realize just how provincial Cheeseheads are and NOTHING will change that.; 8/22/11, 2:33 PM
Methadras said...: The beers on tap are excellent, hyperlocal microbrews

What does hyperlocal mean, they brewed it right there under your table? What the shit?; 8/22/11, 11:51 PM
nichole said...: Hyperlocal is a thing.; 12/8/11, 4:16 PM