Restaurant week: Sardine

Last week, Justin and I ventured out with a couple of friends to sample one of Madison's finest restaurants, Sardine, during the semi-annual Restaurant Week.  During this week, many of the city's favorite haunts pull out a prix fixe menu, and for $25 you can get a first course, entree, and dessert. It's not necessarily the best deal (especially since you can get dinner for two, including tax and tip, at most of our favorite places), but it feels good to take part in this community-wide (or at least the part of the community that can afford fine dining) event that honors our city's diverse foodscape.

Over my dinner of:

• Salad of mixed greens and bibb lettuce, shaved shallots, crispy chickpeas, beets and sieved egg in a champagne tarragon vinaigrette
• Camembert crouquettes, sauté of winter greens, crimini mushrooms, butternut squash, brandied cherries and a coarse mustard-cider sauce (oh how that list of flavorful accompaniments get me!); and
• Lemon meringue tart

...we discussed what it is about this "community" aspect of Restaurant Week that makes us want to take part, to indulge, to reinforce traditions. We would certainly not eat at Sardine with any regularity if they offered this sort of prix fixe menu on a daily basis. Rather, it's the sense of participating in some larger Madison goings-on that makes it feel so vibrant and good to support this community of food.