But they fill other spots on the menu with Sparks’ seasonal creations. Items like the roasted chicken thighs with serrano peppers and toasted focaccia croutons, and the spaghetti with shrimp and arugula are staples. But I guess that’s a good thing for this business,” she reflects. When Sparks, the architect of this menu, isn’t cooking, he’s reading about cooking, Ferris says. Nothing is overly fussy, but every dish has an unexpected touch, like the finely chopped hard-boiled egg sprinkled over the ricotta ravioli. We’re talking apple, Manchego and chive salad pappardelle in gorgonzola cream and butter-poached halibut with sweet pea relish. La Crosse native Joan Ferris and partner Jay Sparks – known for their long tenure at the prominent D’Amico restaurant empire in the Twin Cities – opened an elegant but unaffected space, serving dishes they’d want to eat at home, Ferris says. With its velvet curtains, plush upholstered seating and gentle lighting, this 6-year-old in the historic La Crosse downtown represents amour on various levels – the love the owners have for each other, for the industry they’ve worked in for decades and, simply, for food. It wasn’t serving its farm-driven food menu (which ranges from smorrebrod open-face sandwiches to grilled hanger steak) when I visited but offered some well-made cocktails like the sidecar, French 75 and, of course, old fashioned.Ģ19 S. Supporting locally grown food is part of the ethos here, too, so look for seasonal produce in the veggie hash, braised greens and squash in the creamy grits bowl and a breakfast sandwich topped with dressed greens, pickled vegetables and salsa verde.Ĭhristened just as I was visiting, S&T is a friendly, comfortable bar/deli to grab a drink and a nosh. The diner with a soul – and a cute name – is a great breakfast joint. Main St., 60 Wonderstate Coffee Photo by Ray Siler Maybe Lately’s Stop in for a pour-over and a slice of cinnamon-streusel coffeecake or salted chocolate chunk cookie.ģ02 S. With a farm-supporting focus, the motto is “Sourcing Coffee for the Collective Good.” Speaking of good, the Italian/French dark roast, Big Dipper, is rich and velvety smooth. This spot – transformed from a 1940s gas station – is known as much for its design aesthetic (modern, airy, intimate) as its brew. Court St., Viroqua, 60 Driftless Café’s Harmony Valley kohlrabi “carpaccio” with preserved lemon vinaigrette, San Daniele prosciutto and za’atar almonds Photo by Lindsay Moeģ more worthy stops in Viroqua Wonderstate Coffee Dining at Driftless brings both the thrill of the unexpected and a feeling that, even as a diner, you’re part of something bigger.Įntrées $26-$38. But apple season is almost here, and the restaurant will weave them into dishes of all types – sandwiches to sauces. Ruthie’s favorite time of year was a few months ago, when the first clean, crisp shoots of asparagus emerged. Another star was the duck breast, pan-roasted and served with potato succotash and currant gastrique. For dinner, there was a knockout beef and pork kofta shish kebab with Nanking cherry and mulberry sauce and canoe-harvest wild rice pilaf. Chef Kastman gives her cooking a Mediterranean flair, seen on lunch menu items like the crisp-tender Istanbul fried walleye sandwich with pickled red onions, mint salad and sumac vinaigrette. As such, you will see a very different menu in August. The dinner menu is printed fresh each day, its selections dependent on what farmers are bringing to their door. And I found it to be charming and sincere, a place where they let the food do the talking. I’ve had Driftless on my list of gotta-get-to’s for such a long time. Because of the demands of Luke’s other job – host of the PBS show “Wisconsin Foodie” – the kitchen is overseen now by executive chef Mary Kastman and sous chef Trevor Davis. “We use ingredients from our neighbors and friends. He also hoped to help the farmers and food artisans thrive. Owners Luke and Ruthie Zahm moved to rural Wisconsin from Madison, where Luke was a chef, because here he had access to the best, freshest ingredients. Driftless Café quickly became the darling of Wisco cuisine. Nine years ago, this unassuming much-more-than-a-café in downtown Viroqua opened its doors with an ambitious mission: to showcase the farms in surrounding Vernon County, an area known for organic agriculture but not for a booming restaurant scene. Some of the state’s most stunning topography surrounds these western Wisconsin hotspots, but that’s just a side dish to the entrée of seasonal, farm-focused cuisine.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |