Gray skies are gonna clear up
When the news makes me want to cry (or scream), stories like the one Addalie Viscarra wrote about the friendly young couple behind Jinx Coffee warm me up like a Jinx Latte (white chocolate, hazelnut and smoked salt). I feel hopeful for the brothers at Taj Indian, carrying on their parents’ legacy on Park Street, and the brother-sister team behind Eloura, a Mediterranean/ East Asian fusion spot opening downtown.
As I chatted with Ali Muldrow on WORT’s “A Public Affair” earlier this week, I was reminded of how much Madison food lovers have to look forward to this year. I’m very excited for chef David Utterback’s omakase sushi pop-up on Monday at Fairchild. I can’t wait for Ahan’s new bar, for Friends Applaud in Bay Creek, for whatever new thing the Lallande/Bloom Bake Shop folks have planned on Monroe Street.
Next week I am flying to Minneapolis for a series of dinners with friends. I’ll give some long hugs as we support the independent restaurants in a city going through a rage-inducing, heartbreaking moment in history. For some levity, I’ll share my favorite restaurant review of 2025 — a wildly funny takedown of Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes’ steakhouse, 1587 Prime, by my friend Liz Cook, a Kansas City food writer. And we’ll eat a lot of pasta at Bar La Grassa, still comforting after all these years…