I had a morning meeting in Madison and decided to head up the night before and I spent the night in a hotel in Middleton on Madison's northwest side. I was looking for a place to eat that had an interesting food menu and a good selection of craft beers to choose from. I found a place on line that sounded like it fit the bill - Craftsman Table and Tap. It wasn't far from the hotel, so I took off to find the place for dinner.
Craftsman Table & Tap is part of the Food Fight Restaurant Group that was established in the early 1990's by restaurateur Monty Schiro and realtor/developer Peder Moren. Schiro had a long history in the restaurant business starting as a dishwasher in his early teens at a restaurant in Madison eventually working his way up the ladder as a bus boy, a waiter and was a restaurant manager by the age of 21. After graduating college with a degree in art history, Schiro moved to Minneapolis. Like many people who get a degree in college, they usually end up doing something else in life. The restaurant business was deep in Monty Schiro's blood and he opened his first restaurant at the age of 24 in the Twin Cities.
Schiro eventually moved back to Madison and managed a location of the popular local chain Ovens of Brittany for about nine years. But suddenly finding himself in his mid-30's, he was wanting to run his own place again. In 1990, Schiro started his first Madison area restaurant and his one restaurant soon became four independent eateries. In 1994, he was looking for a place to put a new concept, Monty's Blue Plate Diner. Schiro met Peder Moren who was showing a property that was an old gas station. The two struck a deal and they eventually combined forces for future expansion of the Food Fight Restaurant Group. Schiro had also studied architecture in college and he designed the floor plan, interior and exterior motifs in many of the restaurants.
In early 2012, Food Fight opened Craftsman Table and Tap, a European-style restaurant that specialized in upscale rustic comfort food with a great craft beer selection. Today, there are 20 restaurants under the Food Fight Restaurant Group umbrella in the greater Madison area. In addition to Monty's and Craftsman Table, Food Fight also oversees restaurants such as Steenbock's on Orchard, The Cooper's Tavern, Johnny Delmonico's Steakhouse, Fresco, and Eldorado Grill,
Craftsman Table and Tap is located in a complex of retail businesses and restaurants at the corner of Century Ave. and Donna Dr. in Middleton. (see map) There's a parking lot behind the place and it was full when I pulled in around 6 p.m. that evening. However, one car was leaving on my second trip through the lot, so I was able to pull in there.
The decor inside Craftsman Table and Tap is sort of a contemporary industrial motif. Large windows let in natural light and the high exposed ceiling gave it a bit of a hollow sound with the many conversations going on in the place.
I ended up seated at the bar and I was greeted by Ismael, one of the bartenders. He gave me a food menu and pointed out the list of about 18 beers they had on tap on the wall near where I was seated. I ended up getting a Moxee Gold IPA from the Stone Brewing Co. near San Diego. They also had a handful of craft beers and ciders available in bottles, as well.
Looking through the food menu I found a number of shared plate appetizers, soups and salads, burgers, sandwiches and a handful of entrees that are served after 5 p.m. A few things caught my eye, literally. A guy seated near me got the Southern-fried chicken breast sandwich and it was huge! The coating on the chicken breast sitting opened-faced on a brioche bun looked delicious. The guy who ordered it commented to the person he was seated with, "This is two meals!"
On the other side of me, three people were seated together and they had ordered a shared plate of the Prince Edward Island mussels that they had on special that evening. The meaty mussels were swimming in a garlic butter sauce and they made my mouth water. One of the people also got a cup of chili that looked pretty good, as well. (I also found out after my visit that Craftsman Table and Tap are somewhat famous for the cheese curds they serve.)
I really didn't know what I wanted to eat that evening. The grilled chicken and applewood-smoked bacon was interesting to me. I considered the Swiss cheese and mushroom burger, as well as the reuben sandwich. I even thought about getting the tuna melt sandwich for awhile.
I had been on the road a lot lately and I was just sort of wishy-washy about what to order that evening. I ordered up one of the specials they had that evening - the braised pot roast. It was served with a side of Yukon gold mashed potatoes and grilled Brussels sprouts. The braised beef was tender and pulled apart easily. I could cut it with a fork with very little problem. I had a few bites of the potatoes, but I was pretty impressed with the grilled Brussels sprouts. I don't like Brussels sprouts all that much, but sometimes my wife will toast some in the oven or pan fry them at home and I like them much better than steamed. These sprouts were actually very good. It was a good comfort meal that I needed at a time where I was getting into sort of a food funk from eating out so much on the road.
I was impressed enough with my visit to Craftsman Table and Tap in Middleton. They had a number of interesting items on the menu - both food and beer on tap - as well as some good specials, like the braised pot roast that I had. It was a good, hearty, "stick-to-your-ribs" kind of a meal that was a spot-hitter for me. It was a comfortable place and the bartender was attentive and quick on helping me with any small request I had. Craftsman Table and Tap is a nice little neighborhood place that featured a number of upscale comfort food offerings.
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