Marigold Kitchen-118 S. Pinckney Madison,WI

Marigold Kitchen is a great place to enjoy fresh, organic food. The urban location and feel really makes this place rock! Madison is a very hip, intellectual, politically informed city, with a lot of like minded people. I think most them eat here. It really is ok if you are not pierced or have cool tats, you can still enjoy this place. They have a system of wait in line, order, take a number and wait for a seat. It really works. Each time I've been there I have not been standing holding my food waiting for a place to sit. I will say that the high-ceiling-ed open room does lend itself to a loud noise level.
The food is amazing good. First of all the Marigold potatoes are some of the best I have ever eaten. One item; French toast brioche drizzled with pastry cream, berry puree, seasonal berries, shaved almonds and pure maple syrup was some of the best French toast I have ever had. The ham, green onion, Gruyere cheese omelet was so good I ate every last bit of it. Very good coffee, not so good ice tea, in my opinion as it was all flavored. This is a great place to head to after the farmer's market in the square. I've been tempted to try their Bloody Mary's..next time. Diner23 gives Marigold Kitchen 3 organic and sustainable triangles for food.

Lux Bar 18 E. Bellevue Pl.

Lux Bar is a fun place to go. The food is good. It is similar to Hugo's (all owned by the Gibson's Restaurant network) menu but has a few extras and differences. We visited on a cold, windy Saturday afternoon. The place was packed. The customers sort of looked like "OK my hangover is almost gone..I think I need some food and a Bloody Mary" type crowd. Now there was college football on the TVs so I am sure that was a draw too. We like to sit in the bar, I have explained this in other reviews, so I will move on. We didn't have to wait long for our menus or our beverages. Lux has a great wine by the glass list. The beer on tap is good. I liked that they had a nice, average priced prosecco or champagne by the glass too. We ordered the Lux burger, some Gold Coasts sliders, a tuna melt on a lobster roll and some fries. All was very good. Upscale bar food. Can't beat that! The only problem is Lux Bar is NOISY! OM Goodness! As nice as the interior is, dark wood bar, big mirror and lots of windows, the huge open warehouse like space ends up being an echo chamber. I hate shouting at my table guests when I go out to eat (even if they irritate me : ) I would so go there again, if I was in the area. Lux is right next door to the Orginal Pancake House. Just an FYI. Oh, and we walked around (in the cold, windy weather) looking in nearby shop windows. All I am going to say is, I started to walk into one to browse..the reaction from the staff there was..I will use this quote "We have nothing here for you..Please leave". I guess cause I didn't pull up in a limo, I wasn't viewed as their kind of customer. : )