Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery

Short Summary:  A versatile east-side kitchen putting out tasty dishes from a variety of cultures and styles -- with cupcakes for afters!

Location:  2827 Atwood Avenue, Madison, WI 53704

Since we ate on the west side last week, we thought we'd pick an Atwood eatery for our next review.  Daisy's was the first that came to mind:  a perennial favorite that varies its menu regularly, making it an enjoyable surprise every time around. 

Cupcakes on the Center Stage

They're right there in the name -- cupcakes are front and center at Daisy's.  With cupcakes majorly in-fashion and cafes offering them popping up all over Madison, Daisy's does a good job staying ahead of the curve.  Traditionalists can still find staples like chocolate-frosted-in-chocolate, but Daisy's isn't afraid to experiment.  Banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting caught my attention in particular on our first visit (though I haven't been lucky enough to find it since). 

Solid Entrees; Small Portions

We'll get the bad news out of the way up front:  Daisy's can be a little short on portions.  They're not one of those "tiny scrap of meat on an artistic white plate" sorts of joints, but I wouldn't go when you're absolutely starving. 

The entrees are tasty and varied, with a wide range of options to choose from.  Dinner items we liked included the Daisy Cassoulet and the Daisy Pesto Pasta; the meat loafs are all delicious but definite portion-size offenders. 

Breakfast and lunch are worth an extra trip.  The strata -- an egg casserole dish -- makes a nice alternative to other restaurants' diner-staple omlettes (but you can get an omlette too, if you want).  The sandwiches are good, if ordinary, and they make a nice excuse to have another cupcake.

A Nod to the Drinks List

Our authors are divided on the drinks list right now, but we're all willing to give them a nod for effort.  Try the Whoopsie-Daisy (we might have misspelled Whoopsie there?) for a tartly-sweet treat.  The heavy agave nectar focus puzzled some of us, but it's nice to see some variety in a drink list.  The restaurant also has a full coffee bar. 

Daisy's also has one of the better websites we've seen among Madison restaurants, so stop by for more details!

Pasqual's at Hilldale

Short Summary:  Comfortably familiar Southwestern food done better than you're used to, with a gorgeous and well-stocked tequila bar to round the experience out.

Location:  670 North Midvale Boulevard, Madison, WI 53705

In a town full of exotic fusions and hipper-than-thou concept restaurants it's sometimes worth your while to step back onto the beaten path.  Pasqual's at Hilldale doesn't have much at a glance to recommend it to food snobs:  the menu is safely Midwesternized Southwestern food, and it's located at the tail end of a shopping mall.  But for all that it's a good place for a casual evening out, and dear enough to our hearts to be the first official RRRM review.

Challenge-Free Eating

Nothing on the Pasqual's menu is going to be a huge surprise, though they do play around with small twists on the familiar cheese-and-bean smothered staples.  It's comfortable, familiar Southwestern cuisine as we understand it in our most Americanized hearts -- burritos, enchiladas; quesadillas.

The good news is that it's all done well.  The ingredients are quality and they're prepared quickly and well.  Portions are ample, and there's enough flavor in each individual ingredient that you can tell the difference between one type of meat in your burrito and another -- it's not all drowned out in a thick sauce or plasticy cheese-melt.

For the more adventurous Pasqual's does throw in a few "twists" on the conventional fare (they have a very good jerk chicken burrito with cucumber garlic yogurt sauce, perfect on a hot summer day), but for the most part you're best off sticking with the staples done right.  Start with guacamole and chips and go from there into one of the burritos or enchiladas, or try a fajita plate if you're starving.

While You're at It, a Drink

No review of the Pasqual's at Hilldale would be complete without a nod to the tequila bar, which may be one of the best in the country.  Recently expanded, the bar area has plenty of room, great servers, and a couple hundred tequilas to choose from.  Try a flight of three, if you've never experienced it as more than the lick-shoot-suck stuff of college memory.  The drink might surprise you.

Mondays and Tuesdays are half-price margaritas, which I've always found to be well-mixed and strong enough to actually taste of tequlia, rather than limeade.