I’d heard a lot about Madison’s infamous brunch over the past year, so it was exciting to get a shot at it. The only setback was that we couldn’t get a table (for eleven people) until two-thirty in the afternoon. Which then meant that many items (food & drinks) were sold out, including orange juice (oddly, for a brunch establishment). Noted, I suppose, to come (much) earlier.
Either way, the country-fried wagyu steak (with chorizo gravy) and the chicken waffle sandwich were still available, so I ordered them:
The wagyu beef was an interesting “refinement” to the classic dish, and it was nice to have quality meat underneath the breading. Wagyu beef is an oversold concept, at least in China, but whatever the case, despite the chorizo gravy and seasoning in the crust and the deep-frying (all of which I signed up for), the beef still came through. The chicken waffle sandwich was somewhat disappointing, although the chicken and the waffles (separately) were quite tasty. I guess I’d been conditioned to that particular combination having a lot of (1) butter, (2) hot sauce, and (3) syrup, so I was hoping for crispier and sweeter.
In Madison’s defense, I didn’t exactly go for what I thought might’ve been the best dishes on the menu (as in, I skipped over the eggs and the french toast). And I ordered two of the heaviest things. But in my defense, I’m a fat kid at heart (and a little around the midsection) so, you know, I DO WHUT I WANT.
I also had a bite of a few other dishes (that other people ordered): the pancake soufflé (which, really, was just cornbread in a cast-iron skillet), banana french toast (picture courtesy of my friend Fanny), and (not pictured) homemade sausage & potato pancake french fries, which was our friend Dan’s individual order that we mistook for the duck fat fries (which we also ordered, for the table) and therefore of which we subsequently ate half. As much as I appreciated the effort, the Southern revival portion of the Madison brunch menu was just a bit underwhelming. The french toast, however, was delicious. The few bites I had made me wish I’d gone more traditional in my ordering. Apparently the poached eggs were quite tasty as well.
Alas, there’s always next time. And hopefully some of the more soul food-driven dishes will be updated or improved by then, or else I guess I’ll have to have some that phenomenal french toast. Tough life.
House of Hao's 