Spring has sprung""? Not yet, but spring is springing, or trying to at least. Personally, I am excited, because now that we are officially in April I know that it will only snow one more time, and it is time for fresh spring food. The Farmer's Market will be here in a few short weeks.
Although Madison's wet emergence into spring is painfully obvious, you may not have realized what a fabulously fresh market-to-table city we are eating in. Spring means strawberries and rhubarb, but also the most irresistible of all their collaborations - strawberry-rhubarb pie. This is why you need to get down to Knickerbocker Place for the Bluephies dessert experience.
The smooth, sour but sweet and buttery crunch combination can only be made better by a generous scoop of real vanilla ice cream. Plus, the owners revamped the restauant with a new bar area last summer.
If you are going for lunch or dinner, their menu has something for everyone. Soup, chili, salad, sandwiches, fajitas, noodles, fish, chicken and risotto - they have it all. I recommend the chicken chili, perfect for a wet drippy spring day.
The crab cakes are another great choice. Although a more expensive items, the perfect balance of spicy sharpness and crab's natural buttery flavor makes it worth the extra couple of dollars. You can opt for the crab cake sandwich instead, but nearly everything is delicious.
The wide range does not mean a bunch of mediocore dishes, but rather bite after bite of solid, seasonally minded food. Obviously I am seriously advocating the strawberry-rhubarb pie, but if you are eyeing other items in the bakery case, stay away from the ""eruptions"": they are a rare miss for Bluephies' desserts, which are almost all baked in the restaurant.
I've been sitting at College Library for over an hour now, and I'm just now beginning to dry off, but the sun is breaking through the clouds over the lake. Take advantage of the weather and celebrate Madison spring with a friend, a date, your mom, whoever, at Bluephie's in Knickerbocker Place on Monroe Street.
