Continental Still Satisfies

Chris Martell
Wisconsin State Journal

Cafe Continental has been open four years, which is a relative eternity in Madison's unstable restaurant business. At this point, it would be hard to find anyone who doesn't consider the King Street restaurant a success.

The numerous construction delays in the renovation of the 1858 building that was once a tack shop, once housed The Capital Times, and was most recently 20th Century Books, may have been frustrating to everyone concerned. But the results are worth the wait.

It's easy to see how steak joints make it work, since grilling and serving a steak is not labor-intensive, and people seem willing to pay huge sums for big slabs of beef. But Cafe Continental serves a wide range of labor-intensive and skill-intensive food, and uses lots of scarce, fresh and perishable ingredients. And does it in extremely tight space.

Owner Nick Schiavo, who seems to live at his restaurant, is part of the reason: It's the "Cheers" syndrome. It's bustling but comfortable, and a popular spot for business lunches and dinners. The old New York decor, with its lovely zinc bar, has universal appeal despite high noise levels.

The menu is a model of how to feed a wide range of people without losing focus. For the vegetarian who doesn't have much money, there's the traditional Sicilian spaghetti or pizza. For the adventurous, there are things like ostrich tenderloin in a reduced Madeira sauce with portobello and cremini mushrooms. And there are steaks with simple touches, like gorgonzola butter topping or Sicilian bread crumbs, that make them special. Most of the menu has Sicilian origins, though there are French, Cajun and other influences.

The thin-crusted, fine-pored Italian bread, still yeasty smelling, is a great way to start, dipped in olive oil flecked with red and black pepper, with freshly grated Parmesan.

The gorgonzola, tomato and onion salad, $7, is more than enough for two people, and it arrived on two plates without our having to ask. Crisp greens, very ripe tomatoes, plenty of pungent cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette with some bite made it memorable.

The penne paradiso, $13, contains one of the most sublime Italian flavor combinations: prosciutto, peas and cremini mushrooms in a reduced cream sauce. There wasn't a lot of prosciutto, or mushrooms for that matter, but it was enough to infuse every bite with flavor, and the penne was firm but tender.

Polenta, the Italian version of cornmeal mush, is served here in four versions. The polenta con funghi, $13, consisted of a firm, grilled slab of flavorful polenta with a garlicky tomato sauce and a few mushrooms, eggplant and bits of fresh mozzarella. It was lush tasting, and quite a bit better than a written description of it sounds.

Service that had been fine throughout ended with a thud, when a pizza Margherita (tomato sauce with basil, mozzarella and tomato, $10) we had ordered to take home arrived upside down and our dinner leftovers were accidentally tossed out instead of boxed. Still, we left as happy with our food and the atmosphere as we had many times before.

Bottom line: A tiny, urbane restaurant with a menu that has broad appeal, and food that is consistently well-prepared. It's not the best place for children because of its cramped quarters, but there are vegetarian entrees.