Slumming in reverse: How to crash fancy restaurants via small plates
Adam Powell
Fresco's lamb sliders and grilled asparagus appetizer.
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The time-honored "foodie" tradition of ordering appetizers and drinks to "sample the wares" at upscale restaurants works like a loophole for people without upscale paychecks. Simply be very polite, look a bit daft or confused, and mention drinks, appetizers, and checking out the menu—optionally mumbling the words "table, if you have it"—and you're in. (Be sure to tip well, though. It's the grease that turns the wheels for all of us.) The A.V. Club found some uppity spots in Madison to try this useful maneuver.
Fresco
A spacious restaurant layout with lobby, bar, and balcony makes it pretty easy to nab a spot at Fresco, even on a Saturday night. If you're really broke but want a drink anyway (against your better judgment while perched high above State Street), Fresco serves a terrific bloody mary that comes with a miniature skewered salad laid across the top. For actual appetizers, the Bibb wedge salad, grilled asparagus on toast topped with poached egg, and especially the lamb sliders (think White Castle, but with tender lamb and beets) are all fine ways to table-scrap Fresco's locally grown/gourmet aesthetic for under $10.
Lombardino's
A table at Lombardino's is more difficult to arrange, but the long bar is an exciting place for a snack. The fried calamari costs $10, and the Caesar (with lemon-anchovy vinaigrette and kalamata tapenade) and house salad (with fresh fennel and Italian parsley) are $6 and $5, respectively. One of each along with a glass of wine equals a fine meal for two. Or fill up on equally fancy greenery like the chilled spring-pea soup ($6) or an iceberg salad with chickpeas, salami, and Niçoise olives ($8). If these sound a tad plain at first, they're exquisitely prepared, so you should feel a twinge of a shame when the check arrives.
Tornado Room
The Tornado's hash browns, meant to accompany the high-end steakhouse's filet mignon but available as a side, make for a quick, restorative snack of perfectly seared, buttery, shredded spuds in preparation for a night at Genna's, or the State Street bars. The late-night menu here, available daily from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., fills out with baskets of French fries and onion rings, but if you're a little hungrier, the steak sandwich with horseradish and onions has plenty of kick.
Johnny Delmonico's
At Johnny Delmonico's, you can go broke just looking at the scotch list, and don't even bother trying to get a table. Just sit at the bar and order the thinly sliced beef Carpaccio ($10) with the steakhouse salad—a giant wedge of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese and fried onions. If you're with a date and feeling expansive even on a meager budget, add the bacon-wrapped fresh sea scallops with haystack potatoes and mustard.
Harvest
Harvest offers smaller appetizers than these other places, but all are modestly priced and amazing, except for the field-greens salad. Roasted beets with hazelnuts and blue cheese ($8) offer a provocative series of muffled taste explosions. The robust steamed Manila clams with chorizo and cannellini beans ($10) are also superb. One caveat: It's very difficult to just sidle in. Your best bet is to make reservations "to pair appetizers with wine." They'll understand.
