In a world where dietary advice seems to shift constantly, certain core principles of healthy eating remain steadfast. These include prioritizing whole, unprocessed foods, consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables daily, and practicing moderation in portion sizes. While navigating restaurant menus can sometimes feel like a minefield of hidden ingredients and oversized servings, Madison, WI, offers a diverse array of dining establishments committed to providing both delicious and health-conscious options. This article explores some of the best healthy restaurants in Madison, highlighting their unique offerings and commitment to fresh, wholesome ingredients.
Otto's Restaurant and Bar: Mediterranean Flavors with a Focus on Freshness
Otto's Restaurant and Bar provides beautifully prepared food and healthy, satisfying meals. The restaurant’s main courses emphasize Mediterranean-style grilled seafood and meats served with generous portions of sautéed fresh vegetables. Specialty favorites include grilled salmon in grape leaves and a lemon-currant vinaigrette with sautéed spinach and roasted potatoes, grilled New Zealand lamb chops with roasted red potatoes, French green beans, and an almond-mint pesto, and a spinach-artichoke pasta with fresh spinach, roasted sweet red peppers, mushrooms, artichokes, and feta cheese in a light lemony cream sauce. Otto's entree salads combine fresh berries, shaved vegetables, and mixed greens with Greek or Italian cheeses and grilled meat or seafood, all tossed in unique house-prepared vinaigrettes. The warm farmhouse atmosphere, linen tablecloths, and excellent service complement the high-quality cuisine. Chef Karl Granburg's tasting menu provides three courses built on the same Mediterranean flavors as the regular menu but changes regularly with what the market and season offer.
Himal Chuli: A Taste of Nepal in a Peaceful Setting
Himal Chuli offers a serene dining experience with a focus on healthy, flavorful Nepalese cuisine. The restaurant's open kitchen exudes a sense of calm, where daily Himalayan specialties are prepared with care. While meat eaters can enjoy dishes featuring lamb, beef, or chicken simmered in delicately spiced sauces, the restaurant truly shines with its vegetarian options. The daily tarkaris, stews of vegetables and legumes fragrant with turmeric, coriander, fresh garlic, and ginger, are a must-try. Two freshly made tarkaris are offered each day, served with a choice of jasmine or brown rice, or the Nepalese flatbread called roti. A cup of dal, a thin, tasty bean soup, completes the nourishing meal.
Mediterranean Café: A Madison Institution with North African Flair
Mediterranean Café is a cheerfully noisy place that has become a Madison institution. Owner and chef Fayal Belakhdar prides himself on providing lovingly prepared meals with high-quality ingredients at low prices. The restaurant's counter service allows diners to choose from an array of specials that derive from the cuisines of North Africa, Greece, Italy, and southern France. The spinach pie, a generous slice thick with spinach and feta cheese, served with a refreshingly crisp and tart Greek salad and rice pilaf, is a popular choice. Another great health-conscious choice is Zidane's couscous, a stew of thick-cut vegetables and chickpeas served over whole-wheat couscous. Although satisfying as a vegetarian dish, you can add chunks of white-meat chicken or slices of rotisserie-style lamb and beef. Outstanding freshly prepared soups, with two selections each day, one vegetarian and one chicken-based, are also available.
Hong Kong Wok: Noodle Soups Packed with Vegetables
Hong Kong Wok, located inside Hilldale Mall, offers Chinese noodle soups prepared with chicken broth, vegetables, small amounts of meat, and noodles. The wonton and fish meatball noodle soup features broccoli flowerets and bok choy, pork wontons, and tasty little balls of pressed white-flesh fish in a clean, flavorful broth garnished with fresh chopped scallion. Diners can choose from egg noodles, bean thread, ho fun, or rice noodles. Those who prefer can opt for just the wontons in soup with vegetables and noodles.
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The Green Owl Cafe: Vegetarian and Vegan Comfort Food
The Green Owl Cafe provides Madison with vegan comfort food. The Green Owl Cafe has aimed to provide Madison with the tastiest of heartwarming vegan comfort food, Since 2009, and as Madison’s longest-running completely vegetarian and vegan restaurant, we believe we have succeeded. The cafe offers a cozy and casual ambiance with counter service and roughly 30 seats for dine in; including a full-service bar with local beers and spirits and a seasonal patio. The goal at The Green Owl Cafe is to create dishes that bring all appetites and diets together for the same thing: a delicious meal. A macrobiotic plate, featuring brown rice, beans, steamed greens, seaweed, and winter squash, is available. This version comes with seasoned beans, steamed greens, and brown rice, drizzled with a lemon-miso-tahini sauce. The Green Owl offers a choice of soup or salad with the Basics Plate.
Monty's Blue Plate Diner: Vegan and Vegetarian Options for the Whole Family
Monty's Blue Plate Diner offers vegan options to satisfy healthy dining principles. At breakfast, try the homemade granola served with almond milk and bananas, or the tofu scrambler that includes spinach, mushrooms, onions, and celery, along with a dusting of turmeric and cumin. At lunch or dinner, you can substitute a walnut burger for any style of the meaty variety on the menu, or try the Heathen Vegan Shoplifter's Delight, a sandwich on sourdough French bread of portobello mushrooms, fried tempeh, red onion, and avocado in a lemon-tahini sauce. Monty's is a crowd-pleaser for every possible palate and persuasion about food, its primary concern in making sure what comes out of its kitchen is nothing less than delicious.
Forage: Flavorful and Healthy Bowls and Salads
Forage is for flavor-healthy food that’s as good for your taste buds as it is for your soul. Born in the heart of Madison, they pride themselves on local health-conscious food. They craft specialty salads, hearty grain bowls, and tasty soups crammed with mouth-watering, wholesome ingredients that keep you happy and satisfed all day long. For your next gathering, let us gather delicious and nutritious ingredients for a fresh and hearty spread. All from scratch.
L'Etoile and Graze: Farm-to-Table Cuisine
Tory Miller took his early passion for food to the French Culinary Institute, leading to jobs at several high-end restaurants in New York, including Eleven Madison Park and Judson Grill, before he arrived at L’Etoile to work as Odessa Piper’s Chef de Cuisine. Now, as the Executive Chef for L’Etoile and Graze, Tory is fulfilling his dream of taking local farm-raised ingredients to the next level. Owner Dianne Christensen became a co-proprietor in June of 2007. Passionate about food, she taught all her children to enhance their lives by cooking and eating wisely. As a key supporter of L’Etoile’s farm-to-school initiative (CHOW), she’s also helped make healthy eating a priority at Sherman Middle School.
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