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| - I resisted coming to Hollander for a few months as I know them from Milwaukee. Benelux is one of our favorites, but the Hollander in Tosa is a dog, and I figured they were going to reproduce themselves in Madison. My other half pushed me into trying the Hollander last Saturday. I knew it would be a zoo, as a new place on the weekends is bound to be overrun. I was not mistaken, although they managed us very well. However, I discovered that, because it was their "brunch" time, I could not get Moules Frites as a menu item. Any other time but then.
OK, but the choice of what to serve is certainly theirs. We were nicely served. I can't even remember the waiter's name, but he was personable and not rushed. Beers were good.
Now for the rest. Wife is a frites fan. We don't do deep fried at home, but she loves good French fries, always tested against some we ate from a roadside truck outside Verdun, which are her definition of perfect. These were not. It is an unfortunate fact of life that most fries here in the US originate in Idaho as some great fat squooshy things. The cottage fries on my plate were the same thing. A little bit of crisp on the outside and a whole lot of mashed potatoes in the middle. Our restauranteurs should learn about the firm varieties available from their local locavore purveyors (try German Butterballs or other more dense varieties). The Chef from Gray's does buy from some of them, as I have seen him in the market.
As I couldn't order the mussels, I decided for a classic Eggs Benedict. The English muffin was perfect as were the poached eggs. The Hollandaise sauce, however, probably came out of a bag for fast prep. It was tasteless and about as synthetic as you can get without becoming poisonous.
We want Hollander to succeed. Their music was fortunately not of the head banger variety we have experienced at their counterpart, and we wish them the best. Work on the frites, and next time we will come in the middle of the week in the dead of winter when most of the public is hiding.
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