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| - This was our third visit to L'Etoile and our first in the elegant new roomy space. I think they have improved, as this was the most memorable meal yet. Nice windows. The amuse bouche raita-like cold soup with asparagus and pumpkin seeds was OK. The beef tongue salad was very good, very deeply-flavored, and the octopus salad was also nice, the big chunks of octopus surprisingly tender (brined, according to the server). Midcourse was the boudin blanc, basically a house-made bratwurst redolent of morels and ramps, nestled in creamy truffled potato mash and drizzled with a mustardy brown sauce. The truffle shavings option was an awesome add. My wife had the salmon in broth with various vegetables, and I had the brined sliced pork chop, kind of like ham, with a tasty little savory flan and a slice of pheasant pate. Went well with a Malbec. Dessert was a berry cheesecake. We always enjoy this restaurant and view it as a special occasion, which you have to, as it's pretty pricey. But you never feel ripped off. Everything is lovingly crafted and presented, very professional, and of course supportive of artisan producers. (Don't even try to compare it to the Immigrant Restaurant in Kohler, similarly priced but an emperor with no clothes located in a windowless basement.) Worth a trip to Madison which is a nice town.
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