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| - While my love affair with Madison breweries continues at Next Door, a different, sadder story happened with the macaroni and cheese.
The bartender was awesome. It helps that I came in around 1pm on a weekday, so I really had him all to myself to discuss Next Door brews, Madison in general, and entertain myself while I waited for One Barrel to open. He offered tastes of anything I wanted, handed over some cool stickers, and gave me a wooden token good for a free beer next time I'm there. Five stars and two eager thumbs up.
The beer was fantastic as well, I tried the Kaleidospoke pale ale (fitting as I had ridden my bike there) and the Luminous IPA. Both were excellent and did a good job of balancing the hop-forward flavors important to the style of beer with making sure that they are flavorful and not *just* hoppy.
I ordered the beet salad and the mac-and-cheese. The beet salad was fresh, well-presented, and I really liked the gorgonzola cream they made. It allowed me to add a little schmear to each and every bite, rather than crumbles which limit how many I have.
While the beets, beer, and bartender would keep me coming back again and again, the macaroni and cheese caused me to write a Facebook status claiming I will never order it at a restaurant again. It's just hard being so in love with it and having it end up disappointing each and every time. Here, the pasta was overcooked, the sauce was runny, and the breadcrumbs weren't quite golden brown and delicious. Also, I never know why people use a non-rigate pasta for a cream-based sauce.
Don't let the macaroni and cheese fool you, this is definitely a place to come to. Again and again.
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