Burger and Brew

I love FOOD so what I am going to say next is a surprise. I am unsure about going to Food Festivals. Why? Well, first of all portion sizes tend to be smaller than what you would get for the same price normally. The event space tends to be super packed. There is usually too much going on. That said the foodie in me wins and I tend to go to some festivals anyway. So this year M, and I decided to go to the Burger and Brew in Middleton.

Compare to most food event's Burger and Brew is very well priced at $30/ per entry. Also unlike most food festivals two people can share a ticket! One ticket gets you four pours of beer or soda, and three burgers. You can buy more "pours" at the event. You can use two "pours" for a dessert. The burgers we had were really good but greatly varied in size. They were more "sliders" than burgers. The beers I tried were quite good. The desserts were okay nothing special. And the only soda options  were locally brewed which was cool but unfortunately the taste really disappointed. One big CON was that even if you had tickets you had to wait in line about 20 minutes to get it, And when you did get in- there was NO where to sit. It was really frustrating trying to juggle a glass, and a burger while trying to eat . I feel like need a wave system or something. Yet overall I think the Burger and Brew fest was worth the money. I will definitely attend events by Reap Food Group in the future. If I do go to Burger and Brew again, I will go EARLY!! As a date too- it was great. Nice to get outside.We bought two tickets and shared it with another couple. Great double date idea.

Thrifty Tuesdays

Dates for most people is a weekend affair. That is true for us as well. But in the summer when weekends get full quickly between weddings, grill outs, parties, etc. It is nice to get a quick date in during the week to relax and enjoy. If it is affordable then it gets extra points. And, that's what thrifty Tuesdays is all about!!

Metcalfe's Market has what they call the "Tuesday Night Run." Members (anyone can be a member by signing up online) get 10% off every Tuesday night including on their hot food bar which is yummy!!! In addition to that- the second Tuesday of every month they have tastings for specialty food all over the store. Tuesday nights is fantastic night to make Metcalfe's part of your date night and because it's a gourmet store you have many options.


A couple of options are as follows:
1) You could go on the second Tuesday night sample some free food, and then head to Barnes and Nobles next door (West Side) and wander together- It's Free!!
2) You could buy some gourmet cheese and wine, and have small picnic.
3) Buy fancy ingredients, and make a nice dinner at home together. If you have kid's send them to to movies!!
4) Do a cliche, which M and I often do on Tuesdays- Dinner, and a Movie!!

We usually get food from the hot bar which we either "take-out" and eat at home, or eat in their little cafe (On the West Side Metcalfes- they let you eat in the cafe,not sure about Midvale). I recommend Metcalfe's Chinese food it is really good American- Chinese. Follow it up with a movie at Point Cinemas for $5 Tuesdays. Marcus currently runs specials where every movie is $5 all day on Tuesdays at all their theaters including the Ultra Screen. I would recommend buying tickets EARLY for popular movies.

Overall, Tuesday nights are a great night to get a date in and run an errand to the grocery store. Two birds with one stone! We do it often, and enjoy ourselves. It's not something path-breaking but it's fun. It is super affordable- it is a date night for under $25!!

Note: The image above belongs to Metcalfes. No copyright infringement is intended. Neither Marcus nor Metcalfe's has paid me in anyway. These offers are up to the businesses they can stop it at any time. Metcalfes is ending Tuesday Night Run in October. 

A Bassett Street Brunch And Macarons

This is the first in the series of our dates : Brunch and a Cooking Class!

For some reason nights and evenings have capitalized "dating." Poor days!It's like one cannot be excited and romantic during it. Well this first date definitely breaks that mold. Morning and afternoon dates are especially great on Sunday, so you can still go to bed on time starting the week fresh? Just kidding... that did not happen but we did have the date on Sunday. Part of the date was impromptu, and  the other part had been booked a week in advance.

We started by heading over to Bassett Street Brunch Club, a place we have enjoyed in the past, and did this time too!! We decided on Bassett Street because we had a gift certificate that sweetened the deal. Definitely recommend the Fried Chicken with Biscuits. This is a good entree to split if that is your thing. We did not this time but might in the future. They also have donuts. In Madison given the reputed Greenbush I was skeptical. But these were good! M especially likes the Maple Bacon Donut.

After filling up with brunch,we headed to Orange Tree Imports to learn how to make some macarons. In addition to being a gourmet food store, they do cooking demo classes. We love macrons (and had heard they are temperamental) so why not have a professional show us how to make it? We did book this class in advance. I came across it while looking for something else. Unfortunately, at that time the class was all booked up. I put us on the wait list and two spots opened up the previous weekend. And so the wheels were put in motion for this date. While the class was informative and useful, it was not what I expected. It's more like an extended demo, and there was minimal hands on cooking. So that was a tad disappointing. But learning, and eating macarons was pretty cool.
 

Overall  I think as a date: brunch, and a cooking class is a pretty solid option. Would I say this particular class? Not sure, I did learn, and the instructor was good. But it was quite pricey at $80. 00 for two people. And without an hands on experience- not really worth it in my opinion. The brunch was reasonable I think it was about 30 something with beverages, and an appetizer. And it was yummy. But together this put the date in the $100 + category which is expensive for us. And not really a possibility to do often. But something to consider is this can be adapted to be cheaper if done differently?A cheaper spot for brunch, and  
may be a cheaper class? Or a Free Demo at a Grocery Store? It can!! So it is something we will change up, and do again.

So would I recommend; Basset Street: Yes, Orange Tree Imports Cooking Class- May be, it depends on what you are looking for, and Brunch and a Cooking Class as a date? Yes!

The Quest For the Perfect Masala Chai

"Chai"( Hindi) or "Cha" (Marathi and Mandarin) simply means TEA.

In India tea is preferred with milk. So Chai is a black or red tea with milk.  Chai can be more elaborate and then is referred to differently, like Masala Chai (tea steeped with various spices which Americans commonly associate with "Chai tea"), or Adhrak Chai (Ginger Chai, the milk is steeped with ginger)

Growing up I was not a fan Chai in all its forms. A ritual in India of sorts is in the afternoon, you have Chai, and a snack. The Indian tea time if you will although South India substitutes filter coffee. A favorite thing to do is to dip Parle- G (a slight sweet biscuit/ American cookie) in chai. I ate the biscuit dipped in tea left the Chai. 

Later in life I discovered I love plain tea. Black, and Green tea equals great. Much later I discovered I also adore Masala Chai, it takes plain Chai and makes it absolutely delightful.

Unfortunately, I still have not discovered the perfect Masala Chai Recipe. My parents are not big on Masala Chai so my normal solution of ask "Mom" with Indian food is sort of a fail. M and I, often experiment with Chai Recipes, we  have had some good, some bad but nothing great.

So when we want good Masala Chai we go to Indian Restaurants. Our favorite for Chai here in Madison, WI is Dhaba! We also find most coffee shops' Chai to be not very good. Surprisingly Dunkin' Donuts has a Vanilla Chai, which is pretty decent. Its not really a true Masala Chai, but good in it's own way.

So a goal for this summer is to find my go to "masala chai" recipe.