I lived in Madison for 8 years until 2002, and Vientiane Palace was one of my favorite restaurants. I was very happy to see that it was still around one my first trip back to the city in 13 years. Nothing much has changed. It's not a fancy place. In fact, it's kind of dark. But the food is still very tasty - I had the whole fried basil with chicken. I hope it will still be there when I return again.