You’ll Come for Cupcakes, but You’ll Stay for Dinner
Bill Livick
Special to the Gazette
MADISON
For a restaurant that’s billed as a “cupcakery,” the Daisy Cafe and Cupcakery certainly does more than deliver devilishly good cupcakes. The cafe, which opened on Atwood Avenue about two years ago, serves fresh, mostly locally produced fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s all done in a homey, comfortable atmosphere with good service at great prices.
Our most recent visit to the cafe for dinner was a first. We’d already had pleasant experiences for breakfast and lunch, and dinner did not disappoint.
The light and airy dining room is composed of mismatched antique tables and chairs, with art that further suggests a homegrown operation. There’s a contemporary feel about the place, including a front sitting area with comfy chairs and a sofa for customers who simply want a coffee or tea to go with their cupcake.
We were there for dinner and so held the cakes at bay until dessert. Instead, a friend and I started our meal with a glass of cabernet sauvignon ($7 per glass) as we ordered the first two items listed on the dinner menu: the fish fry ($10) and the cassoulet ($15)—a classic, slow-cooked French stew.
The fish was terrific, consisting of a cod filet coated with seasoned panko breadcrumbs and pan-fried. Crispy on the outside and with just a fraction of the grease that comes with deep frying, this fish was firm, moist and surprisingly flavorful for cod. We especially liked the breadcrumb batter. The fish came on a plate with delicious garlic-parmesan mashed potatoes, a colorful veggie slaw and house-made tartar sauce.
We were equally pleased with the cassoulet, a large bowl of savory, satisfying stew containing pulled duck, smoked sausage, bacon and seasoned white beans in a rich broth. The duck was extraordinarily tender and flavorful in a broth with hints of garlic and tomato. The smoky sausage and white beans added both flavor and texture to make this a truly satisfying dish, which was served with a crusty sourdough.
Another cafe specialty is meatloaf ($10), which is offered in five variations: ground beef and bacon, chicken and gorgonzola, turkey, pesto and feta, chorizo and pepper jack, and the no-meat loaf, which combines basmati rice with cashews, mushrooms, green bell peppers, carrots and onions.
The turkey, sun-dried tomato, pesto and feta meatloaf, with steamed carrots, sugar snap peas and roasted potatoes, is a favorite that we’ve ordered several times. The vegetables are always perfectly cooked and the roasted potatoes are tasty. The meatloaf is served in a small globe shape vs. slices of traditional loaf, offering a balance of savory flavors complementing the ground turkey.
For breakfast, I’d recommend the strata ($8), the cafe’s signature egg casserole dish, which is offered sweet or savory: French toast style, apples and cinnamon, crimini mushroom and Gruyere or house-made chorizo and pepper jack. Our favorite is with crimini mushrooms, Gruyere cheese, pesto and toasted bread cubes served hot in a small ceramic bowl.
For dessert—or as a snack any time—you’ll want to taste the cafe’s cupcakes ($2.50 each). You can go to the cafe’s website—daisycafeandcupcakery.com—to see them being made. They’re made with all natural flavors and colors and baked from scratch every day. The cafe boasts of more than 300 flavor combinations. The cakes themselves are moist and airy, each topped with a swirl of Swiss meringue buttercream that virtually evaporates on the palate.
Breakfast and lunch is served daily from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Dinner is served from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and includes a host of burgers, salads and soups.
As mentioned, service is friendly and fast, and there is plenty of room to park in the cafe’s lot. This is one little gem of a restaurant that’s worth going out your way to find.