September 12, 2014

"Some developers are launching rental buildings with high-end culinary amenities, aimed at younger residents who grew up with the foodie movement."

The Wall Street Journal reports, and the part about Madison jumped out at me:
In Madison, Wis., Otto Gebhardt said he took a risk developing the Constellation, a 218-unit apartment building in a "non-glamorous" stretch just east of the state capitol and the University of Wisconsin. But he gambled on the area because the building is just a short walk from the city's restaurant hub and the Dane County Farmers' Market, one of the largest in the country. To burnish the building's foodie credentials, he turned down high-paying commercial tenants in lieu of a local gourmet coffee shop and a craft cocktail bar, he said. In late August, Madison's best-known chef, Tory Miller, opened a 2,700-square-foot Asian restaurant, Sujeo, in the building.
Have you gone to Sujeo yet? And here's the website for the Constellation, where you can get a look at what the "non-glamorous" side of Madison.

43 comments:

tim in vermont said...

The Hipsters have great restaurants.

Original Mike said...

I think ""non-glamorous" is a fair description of that stretch of East Wash. Nice views, though.

MadisonMan said...

Caribou Coffee is local and gourmet? I've not been there, but isn't it a Twin Cities chain? (That is the coffee shop in the Constellation, isn't it?)

I thought Constellation went up there because it's near the new Park. Non-glamorous as an adjective suggests there are glamorous parts of Madison. Not sure where those are.

PB said...

A skilled cook/chef doesn't need a fancy kitchen. Most of these "foodies" would be surprised at the simplicity of most top-end restaurant kitchens.

They'd also be surprised at the behavior and attitudes of the kitchen and wait staff towards the customer such that they would dine out less. A lot less.

MadisonMan said...

Oh. Cargo, not Caribou. NVM.

Anonymous said...

One of the many problems state capitals ,with the major state university in them, struggle with.

See Austin, Columbus, etc.

Hagar said...

In other news, the White House grounds were shut down yesterday while the Secret Service removed a man in shorts from the premises.

Tibore said...

Does Madison have it's own entry in "Stuff White People Like"?

Keep in mind this is gentle teasing, not bilious hate. Given a chance, I'd love to live a short walk from a varied and diverse restaurant hub and good food shopping. I'd take a condo like that in a heartbeat.

rehajm said...

aimed at younger residents who grew up with the foodie movement

In their haste to eschew the Gerber culture, they’d unwittingly created a culinary monster, one who demanded an amuse-bouche from the chef at the start of every meal.

It's really quite impressive in the midst of bad policy and stagnation how this generation has created successful careers and lifestyles for themselves in culinary arts. When life gives you lemons make lemonade.

Lavender-Basil Lemonade with homemade basil infused syrup, Hendricks Gin and a splash of St. Germain.

MadisonMan said...

See Austin, Columbus, etc.

OSU is a fair piece from the State Capitol (which is a butt-ugly building, IMO). There's very little near the Ohio Capitol, as I recall, that is worth sticking around for.

lgv said...

I didn't see any high-end culinary amenities in the actual apartments. There were no kitchen photos. I'm not sure what that would entail anyway.

Deep fryer? Anti-griddle? Pizza oven? Ice cream maker with compressor?

Ann Althouse said...

"Given a chance, I'd love to live a short walk from a varied and diverse restaurant hub and good food shopping. I'd take a condo like that in a heartbeat."

You can't have a condo. It's rental, which I think is a way to encourage a younger crowd.

If it were a condo, it might be a great investment because that area of town has been underdeveloped and should become more residential, with more downtown amenities, as time passes.

Guildofcannonballs said...

I know someone who lives on the 8th floor.

Nice place.

Gas station across the street has fresh cheese curds. The squeaky kind.

show me one socialist success in world history said...

Curds and gas. I bet they do squeak.

MadisonMan said...

There is a picture of a kitchen in the WSJ article link. Not too special, IMO. I do like that the 2-BR Penthouse in Madison rents for $2K/month, vs. a Studio in Manhattan for $3.25K/month.

But they also discuss a house in California with a separate kitchen just for making sausage. Yeah, that's real handy. (eyeroll).

I wouldn't mind an out-door pizza oven. Maybe I can make one with all the bricks we have in the back yard.

TosaGuy said...

No financing available for condos, but there is for high-end rentals. Give it a few years and they will convert to condos when that market bounces back.

William said...

What is a craft cocktail bar? Do they distill their own vodka from locally grown potatoes?

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Foodie movement?

Movement?

Oh, please.

Another sort of movement comes to mind and, yes, it starts with food.

gerry said...

If it were a condo, it might be a great investment because that area of town has been underdeveloped and should become more residential, with more downtown amenities, as time passes.

But will it remain as white as the rest of Madison?

David said...

I would say that the non glamorous part of Madison is the part where kids are going to school and not getting educated. Madison has become one giant snooty suburb dressed up in PC concerns. Why not just admit what you are, Madison, and merge with Waukesha?

Peter said...

It does have nice views, and lots of things within walk/bike distance. But "Under 10 minute drive to:" seems a stretch, unless you're driving at 3AM.

Not that I can imagine paying that much to live there, but if you really like hi-rise living in a walkable neighborhood it does look nice.

Original Mike said...

"Why not just admit what you are, Madison, and merge with Waukesha?"

We wanted to, but Walker wouldn't build the train.

Ambrose said...

Journalists always seem so surprised when market forces work as predicted.

"Wait, how can this be? Are there regulations requiring culinary amenities?"

MadisonMan said...

Walker wouldn't build the train.

But there's now (limited) train service to Chicago, and I think it looks like a pretty good deal, and might try it out.

Link.

Danno said...

The EVP Coffee on East Washington is my favorite Madison coffee place, so I doubt I would visit the Constellation just for coffee. And for reference, fresh curds do squeak, and it has nothing to do with gasoline. My daughter worked at the Capitol Centre Market until she moved to Ann Arbor recently, and I would always have her buy their fresh cheese curds for this reason.

Ann Althouse said...

I was just eating fresh cheese curds and they were very squeaky.

Thursday is "curdsday" at Whole Foods.

MadisonMan said...

I only get curds from the Farmers Market (or from a cheese factory).

There really is nothing more depressing and defeating than curds that don't squeak. Might as well throw your money out the window.

MadisonMan said...

For coffee (when I'm drinking it, currently I'm off caffeine), I like either Indie on Regent or Crescendo on Monroe where Eureka Joe's used to be.

But I'm going out of town tomorrow, out 151 past Sun Prairie, so maybe I'll stop and try Cargo. (Did they used to be on Willy right next to Eldorados?)

Danno said...

Madison Man, I like Indie too. I have never tried Crescendo, but I see it must be close to Trader Joes on Monroe. Maybe next visit. In fact, the Whole Foods that Althouse goes to (for curds) has a pretty decent cup of coffee at the coffee/pastry counter near the front of the store, and some tables to use if you want to drink it there.

gerry said...

I hope those curds aren't getting armed by anyone.

rhhardin said...

My own home has a microwave and a toaster.

tim in vermont said...

Putin(Poutine in French) and Curds, maybe the world is starting to make sense after all? And the answer is the perfect food for after ice fishing in February.

Titus said...

I live in a hood with fab restaurants, clubs, shopping, whole foods, dry cleaning, etc.

It's really expensive too so there-you pay for those amenities beyotches.

I rarely drive. I hate driving-the traffic, bikes, ubers etc is just so stressful.

tits.

Titus said...

That area of Madison is not fab. Isn't there like a horrible little strip mall with a Pizza Pit? Horrror.

Spiros Pappas said...

You have no idea how gross tenants are. The trend cited by the Professor is more about getting these losers to stop cooking in their apartments. Once these jerks start cooking, their places get filthy (they never clean) and roach infested and, of course, more prone to fires. These people are young, white, college-educated and practically helpless. And the women are worse. Call me old-fashioned, but there is something more off about dirty female.

FullMoon said...

Woked at a restaurant as a teenager, still love their food and remember some of the specific lingo.

Cheese on 24, sir?
Cheese 18!!
Yes, sir!, Cheese on doubles, sir?
Cheese12!
Yes, sir!
Was in the best shape of my life.I attribute it to the free on the job cuisine

The Crack Emcee said...

I am currently in one of the foodie capitals of the world and the entire experience is an abomination. Extremely overpriced, with no identifiable American character to speak of, especially in regards to blacks. (This guy's putting an Asian restaurant in, right?) Those that embrace it are cultish, ignoring the grating pomposity that accompanies the mysticism of "organic" somehow having meaning.

It is so un-American in concept, to charge more for leaving things out, I will never succumb.

$22.00 for fried chicken?

White folks have lost their collective minds.

Again,...

Ann Althouse said...

"White folks have lost their collective minds."

But you moved there. Recently. Take responsibility.

southcentralpa said...

"And here's the website for the Constellation, where you can get a look at what the 'non-glamorous' side of Madison."

Something is missing from this sentence. Or perhaps you meant to delete the "what" and didn't.

southcentralpa said...

Thread killah... :-)

The Crack Emcee said...

Ann Althouse,

"But you moved there. Recently. Take responsibility."

Two things:

1) I'm leaving, in a few days, once I clear up some white-made nonsense.

2) A choice between the ghetto or someplace whites have made nice - for themselves - but others with money can partake?

Man, white people don't "get" the choices they leave blacks at all.

You act like everything is a choice and not a circumstance whites have made for us.

It's truly insane,....

The Crack Emcee said...

"Take responsibility."

Whenever whites pay reparations, they'll finally live up to those words they find so inspiring to admonish others with - which they've NEVER lived up to themselves by any stretch of the imagination.

The fact they never have makes them hypocrites of the highest order, of course, but nevermind all that,...

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.