Schiavos' Typical Attention to Detail Sets Café Continental Brunch Apart

Jennifer Sereno
Wisconsin State Journal

If you enjoy dining out in Madison, you've likely already heard about or sampled the elegant dinners at Cafe Continental.

The bistro-style restaurant, opened in June by Nick Schiavo with help from parents Antonio and Rosemarie Schiavo, serves Italian cuisine in a restored King Street building that dates to 1858. A successor to Antonio's, which the family previously operated on South Park Street, it's quickly established a strong reputation for a dinner menu that ranges from goat-cheese stuffed prosciutto pillows to braised veal shanks.

A recent visit for brunch at Cafe Continental proved the reputation is well-deserved. Often working together in the kitchen, Nick and Rosemarie get the details right -- from orchestrating the beautiful presentation of food to making sure the bacon stays hot.

The setting is lovely, too.

With its burgundy, gold and dark wood accents, the restaurant welcomes diners warmly on chilly Sunday mornings. The 17 tables are well-appointed with white linen and china bearing a Sicilian crest.

Don't spend too much time gazing out the dazzling windows at the passersby on King Street, though. The menu deserves your full attention.

Among Cafe Continental's brunch choices: grilled pork and apple Benedict; lamb sausage frittata; glazed fresh fruit and custard tart; penne primavera with a saute of yellow squash, eggplant and red bell pepper; and a grilled fontina, prosciutto and roasted pepper sandwich.

This is not brunch for the faint of palate!

For those who prefer sweeter fare, the menu offers several varieties of French toast, biscotti and muffins. There's also mini cannoli, creme brulee and chocolate truffle espresso ice cream.

While a fresh fruit platter and pastry tray would make fine additions to the lineup, it's the savory dishes at which the kitchen excels.

On our recent visit, we started with orange juice ($1.75), pulp-less and served in generous quantity.

My husband ordered the crab cakes Benedict ($6.99), two beautifully browned cakes served on English muffin halves topped with poached eggs, grilled asparagus spears and citrus hollandaise sauce. Served with a choice of cheese grits or roasted potatoes on the side, the dish was stunning.

The asparagus was perfectly cooked, and the crab cakes were well-seasoned and moist inside. The hollandaise -- with lemon, lime and orange accents -- was drizzled over all, adding a zesty flavor. And the kitchen faithfully followed my husband's request to hold the eggs.

The accompanying roasted potatoes were crispy on the outside and flavored with rosemary, oregano and paprika. Nick said he uses Yukon Gold potatoes, which have a slightly yellow appearance and are more flavorful than other varieties.

His purveyor is Golden Produce of Madison, which also supplies the restaurant with other specialty items from Chicago.

I chose the pastina risotto and grilled shrimp ($8.29), served in a roasted pepper puree. Unlike a true risotto made with Arborio rice, the tiny pastina pasta held up firmly in the red sauce, offering a distinctive texture.

The four grilled shrimp on top were served with tails on -- a bit of an inconvenience -- but nice for dipping in the smooth, slightly sweet puree.

We also split an order of Frangelican French Toast ($4.99), three slices of diagonally sliced baguette sweetened by Frangelico liqueur. With a handful of toasted hazelnuts and a light sprinkling of powdered sugar, the tender dish hardly needed the maple-flavored syrup on the side.

At Cafe Continental, even the bacon ($2) deserves mention. Smoked with apple wood, our four lean slices arrived piping hot.

Given the labor-intensive nature of the specialties, and the demanding pace of the brunch, which runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., it would be easy for quality to suffer. Thanks to the attentiveness of the Schiavos, who make it a point to be involved in all aspects of the business, the service and the selection instead set new standards.

Bottom line: An adventurous brunch that's beautifully executed. And parking is plentiful nearby.