Madison A to Z - focus downtown #2

May finds us back to the Isthmus and eating at some fine places, highlighted below in our semiannual downtown roundup.

Our best downtown meal since November's picks was, without question, Café Soleil in the lower level of L'Etoile. The locally produced cheeses add a great depth to the menu. The Café serves up a great little breakfast or lunch and takes thorough care with its choices. Nichole's been back since our December visit for a half sandwich and coffee, a memorable lunch on the Square for well under $10.

We've had a lot of questions about the best salad bar downtown. Our choice has got to be Dayton Street Cafe. The salad bar is as complete as one could hope, with gorgeous veggies (some organic) and several kinds of soup, plus a taco bar and great bread. If you've got to hurry back to your cubie, takeout in a generous container is also available. The burgers are good, too.

Finally, looking back on downtown places we've given the thumbs up to, Ben & Jerry's ice cream rises near the top. They offer great, if a little overpriced, ice cream. We're with Dane101 when it comes to recommending local joints like Chocolate Shoppe over chains, but ice cream is ice cream.

Next month: more on the near east side.