Bargain hunting: Madison menus' best bang for the buck
The Village Bar burger keeps it cheap, fatty, and tasty.
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Locals looking for a simple meal at a reasonable price often find themselves in a Goldilocks-like situation: either spending too much money for something "upscale" or settling for something scary-cheap. The A.V. Club checked out both sides of the quality/cost spectrum to find a happy medium.
A bowl of soup
A highly accessible formula—anyone can theoretically cook chopped onions, carrots, and celery in a pot with butter, broth, and black pepper—soups are often weirdly unbalanced.
Too low: Ramen noodles are 15 cents per packet at Woodman’s Grocery (3817 Milwaukee St., 608-244-6630), but hidden within each noodle brick and flavor pouch are more chemicals than a sample from the water table below Dow headquarters.
Too high: The seafood-based Parihuela soup at Pollo Inka (754 N. High Point Rd., 608-833-4287) is $16 even at lunch. Calling it an "aphrodisiac" is a corny justification for the price.
Just right: Aromatic pho at Saigon Noodle (6754 Odana Rd., 608-827-9120) is only $6.95, yet provides a chicken soup-like medicinal infusion that can seemingly cure whatever’s ailing you.
A sandwich
As the (false, but cute) story goes, the Earl of Sandwich devised a clever method for eating at the card table: Stuff meat and cheese between two slices of bread. The sky was the limit after that.
Too low: Attractive at $3.35, "Slim" sandwiches at Jimmy John's (527 State St., 608-251-6789) are unfortunately too slim to be filling and too bland to be appealing, even at that price point.
Too high: The roasted vegetable sandwich at La Brioche True Food (2862 University Ave., 608-233-3388) is a nice piece of work, but at $8 ($11 for dinner), it'll empty your wallet while filling your stomach.
Just right: Build your own sandwich at Copper Gable Café (317 N. Bassett St., 608-819-0036) for $4.95, and get it heated up for $6. Choice and value rarely come together so beautifully.
A cheeseburger
The iconic American meal has been subjected to brutal distortion at the hands of mustache-twirling profiteers and aspiring chefs alike.
Too low: The $1 McDonald's (1102 Regent St., 608-257-1102) Double Cheeseburger is a disturbingly cheap sandwich guaranteed to destroy any diet.
Too high: A $15.95 Zander's (118 State St., 608-280-9999) burger smashes beef together with turkey, carnitas, bacon, and three cheeses. It blows right through the bounds of gimmicky to become scary.
Just right: The $3.75 Village Bar (3801 Mineral Point Rd., 608-233-9956) cheeseburger leverages a well-seasoned grill and quality beef to strike the perfect equilibrium of price, quality, and fat content.
