| rev:text
| - A friend and I attended The Wise during Restaurant Week. It was my friend's pick, and I admittedly had not heard of the restaurant before this. First, I was pleasantly surprised with how easy (and FREE) it was to park at the HotelRED on a weekday evening. The restaurant is located off the lobby and has a super modern feel to it. Everything is appropriately RED, black and white. It's very sleek and modern - which, quite frankly is not my style. I felt a little out of place in my cardigan and Chucks. The table we sat at was bar height, which was fine but the chair style wasn't one that would allow one to hang a purse over it, so both my friend and I were a bit stumped as to where to put our bags. The restaurant and bar were nearly empty at 7 pm on a weeknight.
Our server was very friendly and attentive. We ordered cheese curds as an appetizer in addition to our three course Restaurant Week meal. I have to say - I've had a lot of cheese curds in my day, and these were just not good The cheese tasted cheap - I can't even explain it better than that. It wasn't like I was just underwhelmed by them, I actually didn't like them. I've always said I've never met a cheese curd I didn't like. Now I have. I opted to try a mixed drink called "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy." I mean - who can resist a name like that?! I know nearly nothing about mixed drinks, so in my totally uneducated opinion, it was pretty good. ;)
My first course was a carrot salad that included oranges, and some super good puffed rice (whose name I cannot remember). The salad was the best part of my entire dinner. I'm not historically a salad lover, but this was incredible. The mix of ingredients worked so well together. I assumed the carrots would be raw, but they were cooked to a perfect firmness. The dressing was light and complimented the salad. And, it was visually gorgeous. Sooo pretty.
My entree was a beet and goat cheese ravioli. I was a bit unsure what to expect, but the actual pasta was made with beets (it was pink!) and filled with goat cheese. Red and golden beets were included in the meal. It had good flavor, well cooked beets, decent sauce. i definitely wasn't wowed by the pasta, but I wasn't unhappy either.
For dessert, I chose the lemon tart. It had a nice strong lemon flavor and good texture. It was a pretty tiny piece. ;) My friend and I discussed that the meal overall was fine, but it just didn't quite seem like a $35 meal, especially when you consider that had I ordered the exact items (or similar) outside of Restaurant Week it actually would have cost less. It feels a little wrong - come during Restaurant Week and pay MORE than you usually would? Overall, my experience was fine. Not great. Not awful. I don't know that I would ever choose to go back. The atmosphere just seems wrong in Madison - like they are trying a bit too hard. I really wish that Yelp would allow half stars - because this is definitely a 3.5 for me...however I just can't bring myself to round up this time.
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