March 11, 2011

The Food Idea: Dotty Dumpling's Dowry



Most couples have a song special to them. This is almost universally known as "our song," the song that plays at that perfect moment, striking a mood that lifts the collective spirit and brings about a feeling of togetherness and romance in the duo. While we have songs we like to think of as tailor-made for us, "our song" is slowly being replaced by "our burger joint," Dotty Dumpling's Dowry.

Dotty Dumpling's Dowry (or just Dotty's, for short) is a burger-and-fries style restaurant with a solid foundation in the woodwork of Madison, WI. Based on the extraordinary yelp reviews (I feel like I use that phrase in excess), we checked this place out about three months ago for the first time. Our first impression was that the food was flat out incredible, and our opinion of the restaurant's quality has only improved since. The burgers are, in as appropriate words as I can muster, the proverbial bomb-diggidy. After our three visits, we've begun honing in on our meat-sandwiches of choice: The Melting Pot (a Smörgåsbord of cheese, meat and garlic) and the Gladiator (pretty much the same idea but with onions) for Clara and me respectively.


A cross-section of Dotty's "California Burger"

The food is all reasonably priced as well, leaving money in our university-standard budgets for other essentials, like food for the other six days of the week. A burger will generally run you about $7, and the fries (or any other side order) tends to be around $4 for enough for two or three people. Oh man, oh man- the fries. I haven't even mentioned the fries yet! Okay, so, brace yourself. I might just geek out here a little bit.

Dotty's. Fries. Are. Great.

Not just good, these fries are 110%, giant tiger mascot-worthy Great. Crispy but not without substance, always freshly fried, and good with whatever you want to put on them (we've had great success with the English Garlic sauce they prominently advertise). Furthermore, as an amateur chili-cheese-fry connoisseur, I will gladly place Dotty's chili-cheese-fries among the greatest ever to grace my taste buds.

Look how legit those fries are. Just look at them!

Above all else, Dotty Dumpling's Dowry is reliable. It's casual (but not too casual), it's consistently delicious, it's fast, and it's cost effective. In the end, though, all these factors are nothing compared to why I really love this place: because it's ours.

The Concert Idea: GIRL TALK!!!

Wow. Just wow. About a month ago, I bought Max and I tickets to the Girl Talk concert (for our 3-month). It was originally scheduled at the Majestic, but was later moved to the Alliant Energy Center to accommodate a larger crowd. This past Monday was the concert and Max and I went with our friend Alex. This was my first electronic/techno/rave concert and it was insane. So much fun. So many people. So much sweat.

The concert started at 7:30 pm, but we got there around 8:30, and Girl Talk came on stage around 9:30. We caught the end of the second opener (Max Tundra I believe?), who was alright, but I was not feeling it. I was pumped for Girl Talk though, and same with everyone else in the venue. Boy, did he not disappoint. I was dancing the entire time (with Max), Max kept nudging us closer to the front, Girl Talk improvised (and didn't just play everything straight off his albums), I was smushed against the crowd, people smelled like butt, I was too short to see everything on stage, everyone was drenched in sweat, and the list goes on. It was crazy. I had a blast.

Definitely going to more raves in the future! If you get the chance to see Girl Talk, I would highly recommend it. Insist, even.

Check out these pictures I took at the concert:


There were large balls bouncing around above the crowd. (Really!)


There were screens hanging above the stage and the effect was amazing.


Confetti!!!

We were pretty close to the front...


My favorite picture of all. Not taken on a camera and taken on my iphone, surprisingly. (Apple continues to amaze me everyday.)