Wine Spectator – September 30, 2019

SEPT. 30, 2019 • WINE SPECTATOR 51

Traditional Wisconsin supper clubs have undergone a big revival.

Madison’s Tornado Steak House, just off the Capitol square, is a

local favorite for soaking up the low-light date-night atmosphere.

Its wine list is concise, with about 35 reds for pairing with meat.

Wine lovers open to an outstanding beer experience would do

well to check out Brasserie V, a wood-paneled Belgian-themed

neighborhood gastropub featuring 26 selections on tap and more

than 200 in bottle. It serves an appropriate menu of gourmet pub

grub and cheese plates featuring Wisconsin producers such as Bleu

Mont, Hook’s, Landmark and Uplands.

Fromagination, also on the square, provides one-stop gourmet

shopping for cheese lovers; a relatively small space, it has an ex-

pansive feel. Tastefully framed by a slate-toned wooden storefront

and interior details, it stocks 80 to 100 cheeses at a given time

(80% from Wisconsin) and offers a wide variety of accompaniments

and extras such as tastings and raclettes.

For lodging, the recommendations are the Edgewater, a stately

lakefront 1940s art deco hotel, renovated in 2014, with timeless

charm and modern amenities, including a spa; the 10-room Man-

sion Hill Inn, a stone German Romanesque Revival landmark

nearby, providing bespoke service in an elegant and exclusive set-

ting; and Hotel Red, a modern boutique hotel across from the uni-

versity’s football stadium.

TOURING THE DRIFTLESS

D

riving west and northwest from Madison, you enter the

Driftless Area, which belies the Midwest’s reputation for

featureless—and seemingly endless—flat plains. Once off

four-lane state blacktops and on to lettered county roads in the

leipäjuusto or juustoleipä (Finnish bread cheese), represented by

Brunkow’s Brun-uusto and Carr Valley’s Bread Cheese. They can

take a lot of heat without melting, and deliver all the flavors of a

grilled cheese sandwich without the bread.

Also worth a taste are the many flavored cheeses whose add-ons

are capable of truly elevating the ordinary. A Maple Leaf Monterey

Jack with leeks and morels is one good example. For those partial

to heat and spice, there’s Roth’s Sriracha Gouda. And speaking of

gouda, Marieke’s extensive array of flavor-added cheeses reflects

an age-old tradition in its maker’s native Holland.

A CAPITAL VISIT

A

mong the Midwest’s iconic university towns, Madison can

boast a strong locavore culture centering on the State

Capitol. First stop, on Saturday mornings, from mid-April

to mid-November, is the Dane County Farmers’ Market. (There’s

also a smaller Wednesday market and an indoor one during win-

ter.) Get there early: By mid-morning, the crowd is thick.

A key for cheese aficionados is the market’s “producers only” pol-

icy—proprietors must be present at their booths—which guarantees

an opportunity to meet and greet a handful of the state’s leading

cheese artisans, among them Larry and Clara Hedrich of LaClare

Family Creamery, the Hook family (Hook’s Cheese Co.), Willi

Lehner (Bleu Mont Dairy) and Felix Thalhammer (Capri Cheese).

For gourmets and enophiles, Madison’s top dining spot is L’Etoile,

known as the Chez Panisse of the Midwest. Founded by farm-to-

table pioneer Odessa Piper in 1976, it moved to a modern glass-

walled space with a view of the Capitol in 2010. (Piper sold the

restaurant to current chef Tory Miller and retired in 2005.) Michael

Kwas, wine director since 1993, dovetails L’Etoile’s well-selected

list—over 500 bottles, with an artisan bent, featuring Grüner Velt-

liners, Rieslings and Pinot Noirs—with Miller’s cuisine, which in-

corporates local cheeses such as Bleu Mont Bandaged Cheddar,

Murphy’s cottage cheese and Roelli’s Red Rock.

Where to Visit

Dane County Farmers’

Market

On the Capitol square

Website dcfm.org

(^1) Fromagination
12 S. Carroll St.
Telephone (608) 255-2430
Website fromagination.com
Where to Eat
Brasserie V
1923 Monroe St.
Telephone (608) 255-8500
Website brasseriev.com
L’Etoile
1 S. Pinckney St., Ste. 107
Telephone (608) 251-0500
Website letoile-restaurant.com
Tornado Steak House
116 S. Hamilton St.
Telephone (608) 256-3570
Website tornadosteakhouse.com
Where to Stay
The Edgewater Hotel
1001 Wisconsin Ave.
Telephone (608) 535-8200
Website theedgewater.com
Hotel Red
1501 Monroe St.
Telephone (608) 819-8228
Website hotelred.com
Mansion Hill Inn
424 N. Pinckney St.
Telephone (608) 255-0172
Website mansionhillinn.com
MADISON ATTRACTIONS
Cottage cheese, osetra and blini at L’Etoile