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| - .Merchant has a great location in a reasonably convenient place near Capitol Square. I also liked the interior as it is convenient and comfortable. Staff is also upbeat and can't be blamed for any shortcomings. Madison, however, is not New Glarus and needs to be met at a higher standard. I am reminded of a comment a friend from Ireland used recently, "It lacks something". I know that it is focused on specialty hard liquor drinks for the kid set and is probably jammed on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. However, we were there on Sunday. I tried to order the moule frites, but they only had enough for part of our table. I did, however, get to try them. Merchant needs to visit Bistro V to see how moule frites are supposed to be done. Both quality and quantity were lacking. My companion asked for some of the advertised Rhubarb jelly to go with her selection. It was touted as "from the farm market". Well, Ms. Chef, you had better check out the locally grown product more carefully, as this stuff could have been grape squeezings or almost any other fruit base, as it was totally characterless. I used to make stuff like this out of whatever came to hand years ago, and I could never tell the source either.
For potential visitors, check out the menu before you go and then call ahead to see if they will actually have your choice. Offerings need both updating and a broader selection in my opinion.
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