The Summer 2009 edition of Madison Restaurant Week starts on July 26th and goes through July 31st this year.
The idea behind Madison Restaurant Week is that diners get to experience great dining at interesting restaurants for a relatively small cash outlay. For $25 (or $15 for the places sponsoring lunches) diners can try a special 3-course fixed price menu (ex. drinks and tax) at some of the top restaurants in Madison.
We generally approach Restaurant Week in Madison as a way to either sample the menus of places we haven’t been before and want to try, or to revisit old favorites that are doing something interesting on their menus.
Madison Magazine is one of the key sponsors of the event and has a list of the participating restaurants on their site.
Since this is generally a pretty popular event in Madison, previous experience recommends looking over the Restaurant Week menus of the participating establishments and then making reservations at those places you’re interested in. Since it’s a short week and popular spots fill up quick, making plans ahead of time is key.
After reviewing all the menus, here are some of the highlights of what we consider the most intriguing offerings for this summer’s event:
Blue Marlin – Grilled Ahi Tuna appetizer and the Pan Fried Soft Shell Crab with Cilantro and Lime Rice.
Capitol Chop House – Heirloom Tomato Sampler appetizer and the Slow Roasted Willow Creek Farm Pork with Polenta and SarVecchio cheese.
Lombardinos – Chilled Pea Soup as an appetizer and Wood Grilled Norwegian Salmon as an entree.
Osteria Papavero – Antipasto di Pesce, followed by Grilled Mako Shark with Eggplant Caponata.
Samba Brazilian Grill – the whole Samba experience of an all-you-can-eat salad bar and grilled carne for $25.
And there is a lot more great choices out there as well, but with such a short time for Restaurant Week, the key is to focus and to make your reservations early.