The Cap Times • 8th June 2022

Harassment on State: Botanist Social staff describe a disturbing pattern

Seven former employees of the seven-month-old Botanist Social on State Street describe an ongoing, unchecked pattern of harassment at the downtown nightspot. “The Botanist is like a pretty little Venus flytrap,” Erika Pedersen said. “This industry is permeated with men who have money and means to do whatever they want, until women like us say something.”

The Cap Times • 5th June 2022

Capital City Theatre's 'Great Comet' is a Russian barn burner

The tightly swirling action of “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” feels like being dropped in the middle of a cyclone. Dancers leap on tables and into each other’s arms, fighting and falling just inches from audience knees. Be prepared to swivel in your seat and let the story sweep you up.

The Cap Times • 11th May 2022

How Madison delivers: The rise of the ghost kitchen

For years, one of the best places to open a new restaurant was next to another restaurant. Then a global pandemic tossed everyone into the fryer, flipped some hot trends and threw others in the trash. Now, the best location for a new restaurant might be no location at all.

The Cap Times • 30th April 2022

The party's on at Madison Opera's rowdy 'Orpheus in the Underworld'

Jacques Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld” is about fun, mocking classical authors, art and mythology, and a bunch of jokes we don’t totally get 160-some years later.

The Cap Times • 10th April 2022

The Ready Set is ready for date night and play dates in Oregon

Nobody wants to think too hard about Brussels sprouts and bacon, or steamed mussels with fennel and pepperoni, or pastry chef Jean Torija’s beautiful, quad-stacked, cream cheese-frosted red velvet cake. We can just eat them and be happy.

The Cap Times • 30th March 2022

Wisconsin invests in small-scale butchers as demand for local meat rises

Small-scale Wisconsin farmers and the communities they serve need people with butchery skills, particularly in rural areas. A recent infusion of federal and state money directed to meat processors and butchers aims to address a persistent gap between farm and table.

The Cap Times • 21st March 2022

Six years in the making, Bandit Tacos opens in historic Madison depot

Bandit essentially takes the place of Porter, a coffee shop that opened in the fall of 2016. The space next to The Harvey House and Motorless Motion Bicycles now seats 60 on a glassed-in platform with panels that will open in summer.

The Cap Times • 10th March 2022

Madison restaurants fight COVID 'hangover' as federal funding stalls

To stay viable through the pandemic, restaurants deferred rent payments. They took out loans and shelled out money for masks, gloves, to-go boxes and bags. Supply chain issues pushed up costs. Wages needed to rise. “Politicians are looking at it like, ‘Businesses are bouncing back. Why do they need us to give them money now?’” said Tory Miller, who with Dianne Christensen owns L’Etoile and Graze in Madison. “People need to understand that so many of us aren’t out of it. We are really hurting still.”

Feast and Field • 7th March 2022

Are women the future of farming? The Female Farmer Project thinks so

Audra Mulkern is a Washington-based documentary photographer, podcaster and researcher who founded the Female Farmer Project, a multi-platform documentary project that chronicles the rise of women working in agriculture around the world.

The Cap Times • 16th February 2022

Find birria to bubble tea at the Global Market & Food Hall

Some 18 months after Global Market opened (eight months later than planned) in a former Babies “R” Us, diners are still discovering it for the first time. That a 46,000-square-foot space, Madison’s equivalent to an H Mart or Mitsuwa, could fly under the city’s culinary radar is, perhaps, a symptom of opening during a global pandemic.

Feast and Field • 13th January 2022

Joy in a jar: Big Spoon Roasters’ nut butters celebrate a sustainable mission

Big Spoon Roasters president Mark Overbay has a list of 40 nut butter ideas he’s working on at any given time. These go beyond the Durham, North Carolina company’s rich lineup of nut butters, which already includes almond butter blended with chai spices, espresso, Fiji ginger and toasted coconut. What about pistachios? Figs? Pineapple and lime? That’s where the R&D club comes in.

The Cap Times • 15th December 2021

‘Madison Chefs’ tells stories of culinary change in Wisconsin's capital

“Madison Chefs: Stories of Food, Farms, and People” highlights nine local chefs who re-imagined what Wisconsin food could be, from New Jersey-influenced farm-focused pizza to Wisconsin-style bibimbap.

The Cap Times • 7th December 2021

Casetta Kitchen pop-up Lady Bird goes live on Saturday nights

Seanna Whalen and chef Nick Larke operate Lady Bird Dinner Parties, a pop-up operating out of Casetta Kitchen and Counter Saturday nights since mid-October. Lady Bird serves one five-course menu for one price ($50) to about two dozen guests.

The Cap Times • 3rd December 2021

New Farwell Gallery showcases 40 artists in McFarland

Farwell Gallery features work by some 40 artists in a variety of media, including glass-on-glass mosaic pieces by owner Kristin Ellis. She lives close enough to the gallery to walk there.

The Cap Times • 24th November 2021

Meet five Latinx artists changing the face of Madison

CultivARTE is one of several initiatives working to increase recognition, representation and funds for artists who live in Dane County and identify, broadly, as Latinx.

The Cap Times • 17th November 2021

Carrie Coon gets under your skin in Steppenwolf's 'Bug'

Few things are so distressing to the mind as a threat that’s menacing and unseen. “Bug,” now at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre through Dec. 12, builds a sense of unease and dissociation gradually.

The Cap Times • 12th November 2021

'The Wisconsin Supper Clubs Story' is a trip back in time

“The Wisconsin Supper Clubs Story,” subtitled “an Illustrated History, with Relish,” explores the supper club’s origin story myth and the colorful history of Wisconsin dining establishments still proud of long-ago mob ties.

Feast and Field • 26th October 2021

The hottest cocktail trends of 2021

This past year has shifted and amplified trends in how, what and where people drink. These types of changes are being seen throughout the entire industry, not just a select few brands. Here’s a look at how shopping at your local liquor store may look different these days.

The Capital Times • 4th October 2021

Restaurant review: Dine in the depot at superb Harvey House

The Harvey House, according to national and local media, aimed to “elevate,” “update” and “reinvent” the beloved form. For Wisconsin’s true believers, this begged a few questions.

The Capital Times • 29th September 2021

Out of service: What will it take to bring back Madison's restaurant workers?

After 18 months of closures and pivots, food service establishments around Dane County are reeling from pandemic burnout. The effects are visible everywhere.