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| - I've been to the Edgewater twice now for food/drinks, and, living on Langdon Street, I want to give the place the benefit of the doubt because having such a beautiful restaurant/facility practically next door is exciting. And yet, both times I have been underwhelmed.
The service is very formal, which may be a good thing depending on your taste, but from my perspective, tends of come off as stiff and just a little bit classist.
More importantly, the food is nothing but a let-down. Madison is a foodie paradise. With destination restaurants such as L'Etoile, innovative gastropubs like Merchant, and local ingredients galore, the Statehouse cannot expect to compete if it continues on its current path. My bother and I ordered the duck confit poutine ($10). The fries were clearly frozen, the duck was dry, and the cheese seemed extremely processed. There was also a small (imperceptible until it was in my mouth) bone left in the duck meat. My brother ordered the bourbon burger ($12)--although we're 95% sure he received the bacon cheeseburger instead--medium rare, and received a dry, overcooked (no pink to be found in that patty) basic bacon cheeseburger. I, not having high hopes, ordered the grilled cheese sandwich ($9) which was actually very tasty but, come on, how do you screw that one up?
All in all, other reviewers are right on the nose when they say that the Edgewater and Statehouse are beautiful, but the service is stiff and still working out some kinks and the food is mediocre at best, and certainly not worth the price, even if you factor in the ambiance. I have high hopes that the Statehouse will work through these growing pains and begin to invest in high quality ingredients and attention to detail. If not, the restaurant will not survive in the Madison dining community.
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