Book smart
Gwen Evans, university relations specialist, University Communications, “Madison Restaurant Guide,” Jones Books, 2003. Available in local bookstores.
Evans’ compendium of Madison area restaurants satisfies an appetite expressed for years to bookstore employees around town. The volume organizes the eateries geographically, so an east sider in search of a travel adventure can pick an establishment west of Midvale Boulevard. The pithy descriptions of menus, ambience and prices include whether bar service, carry out, vegetarian entrees and children’s menus are available — not to mention carousel rides in season, cowboy boots for sale and wasps’ nests on display.
Special-section “side dishes” (get it?) highlight brew pubs, restaurants with Mediterranean or Thai fare, plus those known for the good ol’ standbys of burgers, pizza, fish fry or ice cream.
With at least eight Thai establishments in town, Madison may have a high per capita ratio of that Southeast Asia cuisine. Evans suggests the prevalence of Thai restaurants may be due to UW–Madison having the largest number of Thai alumni in the United States, a valued relationship that prompted the donation of the Thai Pavilion now open at Olbrich Botanical Gardens.
To research the book, Evans says she went to all the restaurants to examine menus, look around the space, and talk to an employee if available. She carefully planned her itinerary to make efficient use of her time and to avoid the lunch and dinner rush.
While Evans has eaten at all the restaurants during her lifelong residency in Madison, she did not dine at each one again specifically for the book. And, she confesses, “I haven’t been to every Michael’s Frozen Custard yet.”
Evans will appear on the Wisconsin Public Radio program, “Higher Ground with Jonathan Overby” on WHA-AM 970 on Saturday, Jan. 17, 7-9:30 p.m.
This new feature highlights a book published in 2002 or 2003 by a faculty or staff. To submit a tome, send an e-mail to wisweek@news.wisc.edu. Include author’s name, job title, department, research interests; book’s title, publisher and publication year; plus a 100- to 150-word summary.