Since Sucre opened two months ago, the square’s newest sweetspot has generated a fair amount of buzz. The patisserie presents downtown Madison with a different way of thinking about dessert, and a different way of thinking about business. Owner Punky Egan has transformed a former fast food joint into a Euro-chic cafe-- complete with environmentally friendly touches such as low VOC paint, locally forested sugar maple flooring, and takeout containers made of cornstarch-- with the help of employees who visibly share her passion for the sweet life.

Josh Wright, Sucre’s manager and pastry chef, earned his culinary degree at MATC and after stints at L’Etoile and Harvest, he headed out to California to hone his craft. He tells me in a slightly sheepish tone, "I left the week after my wedding, and I was gone for a year and a half." The time was well spent; Wright was at esteemed culinary school Le Cordon Bleu for a year and then worked for five months as a "stage" (chefspeak for "apprentice") under renowned pastry expert Elizabeth Falkner at Citizen Cake, a San Francisco patisserie/bar/eatery dubbed "The Pastry Chef’s Restaurant." Upon returning, Wright felt he owed his teachers a debt of gratitude. He wanted the freedom to share what he learned, and when the opportunity to work alongside MATC instructor Punky Egan at her new downtown space arose, Wright was the perfect candidate.

You know, Madison is a town of DIYers. Everyone is always pursuing some sort of "project" and enlisting others' help and dollar bills for the sake of Doing it My Way. With the advent (invent, revent?) of the Project Lodge space on Johnson (and my recent visit to a rock show there, that was, actually, pretty awesome) I thought about how I, as an inbiber of libations, might be able to assist in this concept of DIY...and it dawned on me, simply...you know what the DIY version of a cocktail at a bar is? B-Y-O-B. I mean, for real. And since there is such a nice population of created spaces for arts, crafts and rock and roll, I thought I might share with y'all how to, in the spirit of self-assurance, never get caught sober at a non-bar event.

Madness, madness.

I’ve been going to Bockfest for years now. Back in my day, before these damned cellular telephones, facsimile machines, and lava lamps, one could actually sit in the biergarten and drink bock in a leisurely manner. As the years have gone by, the crowd has swelled larger and larger. Good for Capital, I suppose... but midway through an hour-long wait for beer, trapped in the middle of a sea of people, I began to curse the tides of progress.

After this soul-crushing winter, perhaps it was the first bright hint of decent weather that caused the event to resemble a tick about to pop. Gates opened at 11:00 and beer didn’t flow until noon. By that time, the crowds were solidly packed around the various dispensing locations. My friends and I staked out a promising location and waited.

Do y'all know that Mickey's (you know, the bar right next to the Yahara river, on the East Side) was the first bar I ever went to, the first time I came to Madison? I remember that I had no idea that there was a "rest" of the bar. I thought it was only the first room---which, really, wasn't my fault, because the people I was visiting brought me to the bar, and they themselves had no idea that it had back rooms. When I moved to Madison, about a year or so after that, I went to Mickey's soon after, and realized there was a Ms. Pacman machine, and I was pretty much sold. Over the next almost 5 years, I've developed a rapport with Mickey's that I can only describe as akin to that of an older brother you have that you love to death, but is sort of a d-bag. Like, that one Christmas, he actually bought you that Emperor Tomato Ketchup record, and it was totally awesome, but then, most of the time, he's calling and asking you for money, or showing up at your apartment at 3 a.m. because he left his keys at the bar when he got thrown out.

Seen on Craiglist missed connections this morning:

To the three people who screwed my friend Jose out of $200: I hope you enjoyed the ridiculous amount of appetizers, drinks and entrees you enjoyed last night at El Dorado. Your server Jose, who makes $2.33 per hour in wages, has to pay for it because you didn't. He actually lost money during his 6 hour shift, and when he works tonight, he will still be making up for your selfishness. By the way, nice timing, rent was due yesterday and he needed his tips to pay it. Now tack on a $40 late fee and you have cost him $240.

See what happens when we skip writing Breakfast Links in the morning, Team Dane101? We miss exciting things like Free Pancake Day! Yep, today is Free Pancake Day at IHOP from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., but because we waited so long to discover this information by not trolling our typical morning routine of websites we have to decide - free pancakes for dinner or free Barack Obama? Tough decision. Everyone loves pancakes (I think). IHOP is offering the free pancakes in an attempt to raise $750,000 for the Children's Miracle Fund. The nearest IHOP is at 4614 E. Washington Avenue. Based on the line already forming at the Kohl Center (to the right of Gate B) in anticipation of Obama's 8 p.m. speech, maybe if you get turned away you can go drown your sorrow in syrup.

Restaurant week comes to a close today, and by all accounts, it was well-attended. I participated twice this week: dinner at Harvest Wednesday evening, and lunch at Ocean Grill Thursday afternoon.

Between the five of us out for dinner Wednesday evening, we covered most of the $25 prix fixe menu at Harvest, except the minestrone option in the first course. The green salad was a mix of tender greens and a well-balanced walnut vinaigrette dressing. The marinated squid, citrus, and black olive salad was surprising and unique, combining tangy seafood with fennel, grapefruit and salty black olives. The main courses were elegantly presented and, while not terribly adventurous, were well-executed.

Oh, yeah, I know that the new year is, like, already here. I mean, I understand that in order for me to do some sort of "Look Back" to 2007, I probably should not have waited until the 3rd week of January, but let me level with you; for the past month or two I have been a crazy person. Taking remedial classes, applying to graduate school, interviewing for a grown-up job--I mean, damn. It's been busy. And so, after being absconded with by my editor-in-chief during the fanTAStic Furthermore Brew-Ha-Ha last weekend, I've decided to get back on the horse, and start out with a brief reminiscing of how this past year proved to be a true test of my abilities; both as a socialite and drinker, and how, for yet another year, I have emerged victorious and stomach-pump free.

Here is a list of my favorite drunken moments from my favorite "watering holes" from 2007, in no particular order, because, to be honest, I can't really remember when they happened.

A couple of Wednesdays ago, my housemates and I staged a tasting of sparkling wines, each of us supplying a different wine from a different region – excluding French Champagne. I left work that evening, stopped at Steve’s Liquor and Whole Foods and walked in my front door just in time to see my roommate pull out the same bottle of wine I had purchased 20 minutes earlier! Accommodating as he is, he agreed to head back to Steve’s and swap for a different bottle. We ended up with four different sparkling wines for the evening: Paringa Sparkling Shiraz, Adriano Adami Garbel Prosecco, Chandon Blanc de Noirs, and Argyle Brut sparkling wine.

I was browsing Craigslist - Madison today and I came across this story. Apparently not everyone is feeling the holiday spirit.

Just got back to madison from up north and had a funny experience at a culvers on the way home. One of the counter guys had an accent and this lady just had a meltdown. She was probably like 50 years old, business lady type, and she was with an older man who was old enough to be her dad.

So it was taking a pretty long time for just two people and a different register opened up next to the lady and the hispanic kid who was taking her order. As I moved up beside her she started to get louder and more animated and then she loudly snapped "get me somebody who speaks english" or something along those lines. The kid was really nice and just says "Maam, I do speak english, I just don't understand what you're asking for" (again, paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it). And that was true, he definitely had an accent but he wasn't at all hard to understand. Before this started he asked us if we were ready to order when we were checking out the menu, and he explained what was on a sundae for my girl. Obiously spoke pretty fluent english.

Fiscal year 2007 was an eventful year for the Willy Street Co-op. A new store location was selected and building plans were drawn up, a major reworking of their website was developed, and the Co-op was reclassified as an "Extra Large" store (up from "Large") by the National Cooperative Grocers Association. In addition, a new purchasing agreement with their largest natural foods supplier was negotiated which will result in lower prices for members.

The financial report showed solid growth with sales increasing 4.24% year over year. Sales growth for FY 2006 was 9.83% and 13.74% for FY 2005. Finance Manager Gene Hahn noted that this indicates that, while strong, sales growth is beginning to slow down at their current location. Net income was $181,000 on sales of $15,131,773. Other financial highlights include $1,239,601 held in cash, an increase of $457,178 since last year which should put the Co-op in a strong position to support the expansion plans.

The Beaujolais Nouveau is here! Today marks the first day the 2007 Beaujolais is available – a cause for celebration in some circles. However, a few of us may roll our eyes in boredom and distaste, and a few more may shrug our shoulders and ask, "Bo-jo what, now?"

Made from the Gamay grape, the French Beaujolais Nouveau is the most famous example of a "vin de primeur" – a wine that is made to consume just a few weeks after the grape harvest. Thus the name "nouveau," or "new." Traditionally, the Beaujolais region celebrated this mid-November new-wine event to herald the end of the harvest, and it was not until after WWII that the wine was even available to those outside the Beaujolais region. As the rules relaxed, winemakers in the area realized the commercial potential of a folksy tradition and began to aggressively market Beaujolais Nouveau. Heavy-hitter Georges Duboeuf even staged a race to bring the first bottles of the season to Paris. By the 1980’s the trend reached the United States. Years of enthusiasm and advertising led to a surge in demand, and consequently a surge in mediocre, low-budg, bubble-gummy red wines.

Holy crap... Kirby made a pale ale.

Capital Brewery’s U.S. Pale Ale hit store shelves last Monday, though it’s been on tap out at Capital’s bier garten for a few months. And I’m not complaining by any means – heavens, no. It’s just somewhat unexpected. Hell, even Capital as much as admits it. “Like you, we never expected to discover this beauty of a drink,” reads the blurb on the six-pack. “But here it is. Unexpected. Humble. Disarming.” Well, I’ll be damned.

See, here’s the thing: Capital is known for its German-style beers. Just check out this nugget from Capital’s website: “Wisconsin has a great heritage of being a lager beer-producing state. We wanted to carry on this tradition by producing beers with a strong German stylistic emphasis.” Those beers include brewmaster Kirby Nelson’s Bavarian Lager, Oktoberfest, Maibock, Blonde Dopplebock, and my oft remarked-upon personal favorite, Autumnal Fire.

On Monday I welcomed the fresh chilliness of winter because to me chilly weather means chili in my stomach. I looked forward to heading up to Real Chili for some soul warming food this week. However, the wax and wane of State Street restaurants continues and Real Chili is the most recent victim of the wane. A notice posted on the door announces they have closed up shop. I blame myself - I just don't eat chili in the summer.

So now what do we do without Real Chili? Thankfully, Blunt Rapture, unhappy with the chili served by the restaurant when it first opened two years ago, provided a review of other chili options for dane101 readers. We are more than happy to reprint it at this time:

On Saturday morning, as Badger fans tried to find somewhere in town with the Big Ten Network so they could watch the game, Madison triumphantly set the record for biggest calzone in the world at 19-feet 4-inches in length, 29-inches in width and more than 100 pounds. The feat was accomplished at the newly opened Lovshack on State Street, Madison's second calzone joint to open in less than 30 days. On hand to make sure the calzone met the standards of Guinness World Records were Madison mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Madison Weights and Measures Inspector Cindy Lease. The calzone took roughly 35 minutes to pass through the oven typically suited for one small calzone at a time (we have photos of the process below).