The turkey on sourdough with the meal deal chips. Pickle, please?
Sometimes all you want is a quiet place to sit down for lunch with a friend and get a decent sandwich. A while back a friend suggested meeting at the new (or new-ish; it opened in November) Stella’s Bakery and Cafe on Regent Street — and it, to use a 21st century cliche, checked off all the boxes. It’s inexpensive. There’s dependable free two-hour parking, especially if you’re willing to walk around the block from Orchard Street. You can hear your own conversation. And you can leave with a loaf of fresh-baked bread.
Stella’s, of course, has been around since 1988, rising to Madison icon status through its hot and spicy cheese bread at the Dane County Farmers’ Market. That bread, a sweet brioche-like loaf, is layered with veins of monterey jack and provolone cheese and if you buy it at the right time, the whole thing is kind of steamy and gooey and chances are good that you will not make it home from the market with any of it left in the bag. The bakery also sells empanadas as well as other pastries and breads. Now, with the establishment of a sit-down cafe, Stella’s breads have become the basis for a selection of sandwiches…