"2013-01-15T00:00:00"^^ . "I knew things were off to a good start days before my dinner. On a (tipsy) whim, I emailed the chef and asked if he could set up a tasting menu with pairings for us. Within 30 minutes I got a yes. \n\nFast forward to Saturday. We arrive and are taken back to the dining room: gorgeous, modern and very inviting. The server walked us through our 7 course menu and the pairings and made sure we didn't want to switch anything out. \n\nI'll spare you the details of every dish, but most of the tasting came from the current dinner menu in tasting sized portions. \n\nAlmost every dish was plated with great attention to detail and some were quite playful - beet salad w/ hazelnut soil was gorgeous and mimicked beets growing out of the ground. As expected, service was attentive and professional. Swapping out silverware between courses would have been nice, but everything else was flawless. \n\nThis was easily one of the best meals I've had in Madison and a great value as well. Our 7 courses plus (generous) wine pairings ran $100 a head. Considering this place is on par with the other fine dining in Madison, that's a steal. \n\nI was bummed to see the restaurant so empty on a Saturday (us and one other table). Yeah, the location is odd (in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery) but that shouldn't discourage you from going. The parking sitch is weird: you can try to find a street spot or park in a University ramp. Just remember to give your server your parking ticket and they'll take care of it."^^ . "0"^^ . . "5"^^ . "2"^^ . . "3"^^ . .