2010 Vacation/Travel Supplement

‘A slice of heaven’ awaits visitors to scenic Madison

If you’re ever in Madison, stop in The Attic, a sandwich, dessert and gift shop that offers “a slice of heaven”—Dutch apple pie with caramel icing. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)

By John Shaughnessy

MADISON—In a moment, I will tell you about one of the best pies I have ever tasted.

And I will share my thoughts on two unusual dishes that I experienced for the first time—mashed potato salad and pickled watermelon rinds. (Road trip restaurant review alert)

But I want to start this restaurant review with a strange confession.

For the first time in my life, when the friendly waitress set my lunch in front of me at the Key West Shrimp House, I did something that I’ve never done before.

I pulled out a camera and took a picture of my meal.

Apparently, taking a photo of the food is something you have to do for a restaurant review—even if it seems strange, embarrassing and exactly the opposite of everything I learned while growing up in a large Catholic family where your first move is to protect your plate of food from your siblings.

As you can see from one of the photos that accompany this review, it is a decent if not great picture of my meal of coconut shrimp and onion strings. That’s also my review of this dish—decent but not great.

The coconut shrimp is a “house specialty” according to the menu, which partially describes it as “shrimp dipped in a light liquid, rolled in chopped coconut and almonds, then carefully fried.”

Undoubtedly, it’s enjoyed by many diners at the Key West Shrimp House, but the coating overwhelmed the shrimp for me and left me wishing that I had followed the waitress’ recommendation of the seafood chowder.

She also recommended the catfish and the double-baked potato.

Still, there was the nice view of the Ohio River in early spring from my table in the back of the restaurant. And the bountiful salad bar had more than the usual share of selections, including the not-so-usual offerings of pickled watermelon rinds and mashed potato salad.

The watermelon rinds fall among the list of foods I’m willing to try at least once in life and move on, but the mashed potato salad is a delicious treat with a twist that kept calling me back to the salad bar—a call I answered twice—well, OK—three times.

From there, I needed a walk along the river to burn a few calories and justify my next food stop in this community that proclaims itself as “The Prettiest Small Town in the Midwest.”

The river definitely provides a beautiful backdrop for a town that offers many reasons to visit, including the Madison Regatta around the Fourth of July and the Chautauqua Art Festival in late September.

If you do make the trip, stop by The Attic, a sandwich, dessert and gift shop on Madison’s tree-lined main street that offers one of the best pies I’ve ever tasted.

My co-worker, Annette Danielson, tipped me off to The Attic and its Dutch apple pie with homemade caramel icing.

While the smiling lady behind the counter warmed a slice for me, she described the thick layer of caramel icing atop the juicy apple pie as “just like your grandmother used to make.”

The phrase “a slice of heaven” can be overused, but it fits this pie. Just know that it’s so rich that if you finish a piece, you’ll be on a sugar high. Bring a friend and share.

Before my trip to Madison to interview Father John Meyer, I asked for a restaurant recommendation from the priest who is the pastor of Prince of Peace Parish in Madison and Most Sorrowful Mother of God Parish in Vevay.

One of the suggestions he made was The Red Pepper Deli and Café, which is owned by Prince of Peace parishioners John and Lori Heitz.

The Red Pepper has been converted from a former gas station to a colorful, inviting café, and was filled with lunch customers enjoying wraps, paninis, grinders and signature sandwiches, such as “The Miss Madison”—“roasted turkey breast, cucumber cream cheese, red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise and mustard on Eurograin wheat.”

Father Meyer recommends the pesto turkey panini—“fresh pesto, mozzarella, red onions, tomatoes, grilled on Italian white bread.”

The food looked good, but my full feeling and sugar buzz from the pie lingered.

By the way, if you’re one of those people who like to look at photos of food from restaurants, there are some nice shots on The Red Pepper’s Web site at www.redpepperdelicafe.com. I didn’t take them. †

(Related story: Oldenburg restaurant is official stop on Chicken Trail U.S.A.)