🍸 You have to try these Madison supper clubs

🐻‍❄️ Will Nora the Polar Bear Become a Mom This Year?

• Nora, the 10-year-old polar bear who arrived at Henry Vilas Zoo in January, is settling into her new home and mated with the zoo’s male polar bear Siku in February. Zoo officials say there’s about a 10% to 12% chance that she gets pregnant this year, which would result in the zoo’s first polar bear cub in its 115-year history.
• As Barry Adams chronicled in the Wisconsin State Journal, Nora’s journey to Madison is already a miracle. She was abandoned by her mother five days after birth at the Columbus Zoo and raised by a team of keepers.
• Nora has also been taking part in scientific studies aimed at both helping polar bears in zoos and in the wild. [ 🔒WSJ, YouTube]

🏠 Ten Bedrooms Is Too Many for Regent Street

• Madison’s Landmarks Commission rejected a plan for a Regent Street homeowner to replace his detached garage with a 10-bedroom, two-unit accessory dwelling unit (ADU).
• The city has been loosening restrictions on ADUs or so-called “granny flats” in an attempt to increase housing in the city, and if the property was located in a different neighborhood it might not need rezoning.
• But the property is located behind Camp Randall in the historic University Heights neighborhood, which means the commission has to approve it. Neighbors complained that the project is too big and too visible.
• Some context: ADUs have become more popular in recent years after the city loosened restrictions around them as part of its work to address Madison’s housing crisis.[ 🔒WSJ, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

🧑‍🍳 Kettle Black Kitchen on Monroe WIll Close and Retool

• The owners of Kettle Black Kitchen restaurant will close the Monroe Street restaurant on May 10 to focus on creating a new restaurant in the space called begonia. (with a lower-case “b” and a period).
• Owners Sara Anderson and Executive Chef Christopher Lund, who took over the restaurant in August 2024, are planning to renovate the space, including adding a full bar. An opening date for the new concept has not yet been announced.
• While some Kettle Black favorites and the restaurant’s made-from-scratch focus will live on in the new restaurant, Anderson and Lund said begonia. will have a modern Latin menu with unexpected flavors. [Instagram]

Every Wisconsin resident thinks they know what a supper club is. But ask them to define it, or tell you whether a restaurant does or doesn’t qualify, and it might spark a serious debate.

To help settle the arguments, former Madison Magazine editor-in-chief Andrea Behling asked her readers to come up with a list of “essential supper club criteria.”

City Cast Madison podcast host Bianca Martin talked to Behling about what readers came up with, from French onion soup to wood paneling.

Here’s a list of Madison-area restaurants that definitely qualify for supper club status.

Tornado Steak House

Behling wrote that she knew within the first few seconds of entering this iconic restaurant that it qualified as a supper club. Hit the restaurant for a perfectly cooked ribeye or a shrimp cocktail, or crowd at the bar for the perfect martini.

Toby’s Supper Club

A step inside this far east side spot is like a trip back in time, from the complimentary relish tray and bread bowls to the cheese curds “fried until the cheese screams to escape.” The key lime pie martini is the club’s signature cocktail.

Rex’s Innkeeper

The Waunakee supper club has stayed in the family for decades, with son Austin Andres taking over for his late father Rex. The Innkeeper is a particular favorite for special occasion banquets and large groups, including upcoming Easter and Mother’s Day banquets.

Maple Tree Supper Club

For over 40 years, the McFarland restaurant has embodied the essentials of the supper club experience, from a full salad bar to prime rib specials.

At City Cast Madison, we like to let you know about organizations doing good work, businesses you should check out, and people making the city just a little better.

Now it’s our members’ turn! City Cast Madison Neighbors send us their Neighborhood Shoutouts, and we amplify them in the newsletter and on the podcast!

📣 Kristin L. wanted to get you hungry for Lovely’s Take Home Chef! “Shouting out my own Lovely’s Take Home Chef...fresh, locally sourced meals made weekly for busy families who still want to eat well.”

📣 Deb N. wanted you to hear about Listen to Your Mother! “After a 9-year hiatus, Listen to Your Mother returns to the Madison area - on Mother's Day - with a well-crafted 90-minute journey of diverse true stories about motherhood.”

And welcome to our newest City Cast Madison Neighbors, Kari L. and Andrew P.! Join them and support our work as a member, and the next Neighborhood Shoutout may come from YOU! 🫵