Daisy Café and Cupcakery
Bottomless Coffee
French Toast Strata (eggs, cream cheese, bread cubes, maple syrup) with oven roasted potatoes and fruit
Morning Bun
Lennie Small – Chocolate Bacon Bunny Face on Maple Buttercream Frosting, Baked Bean Cake with Coffee Filling
Carrot-Walnut Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Scarlett O’Hara – Buttermilk Hoopskirt Frosting on Red Velvet Cake with Pecan Filling
Santiago – Sea Salted Toffee Scale in Caramel Buttercream Frosting on Caramel Banana Cake with Banana Pudding Filling
Following up 4&20 with a few more pastries for the road the last stop on a recent trip to Madison was Daisy Café and Cuppcakery, a kitschy spot on Atwood Avenue where neither cuisine nor customer service experienced in-store was particularly remarkable, though ‘back-to-school’ themed cupcakes would later save the day. Undoubtedly a spot for locals with the former part of the phrase ‘shabby-chic’ best describing the décor it was to a luke-warm greeting from the restaurant’s lone server that I was greeted on entry and invited to seat myself that was precisely what I did, a minimal amount of effort expelled in re-filling both tepid coffee and water making me wish these things, too, were do-it-yourself. Eventually allowed to order, a pair of two-tops already well into their meals apparently too much for one to handle, it would not be long before my pastry arrived and proving far less impressive than the standard set by 4&20 most of the morning bun was discarded, a similar situation occurring in the strata – a mundane bellybomb of flavorless bread soaked in eggs with only the slightest bit of sweetness to be found. Utterly disappointed in the experience thus far it was only the presence of a man I presume to be the owner at the register and his interest in my Interpol T-shirt that prevented me from walking away with empty hands but after our short conversation I couldn’t help but invest in a few cupcakes, the carrot cake a bit heavy handed but all three of the filled $3.00 specials showing great flavors and innovation amidst cakes of a delicate crumb.
RECOMMENDED: With the Scarlett O’Hara expectedly delicious it was actually the Lennie Small that shined brightest of the group, the smoky baked bean base melding well with the coffee cream as bacon amidst frosting delivered a sweet and salty finish.
AVOID: Admittedly preferring sweet to savory at breakfast I thought the strata was awful, and absolutely nothing like French Toast.
TIP: Open at 8:00am and featuring an “Award Winning” egg sandwich I’ve been told by others, including a server at dinner in Milwaukee, that not only is service usually better, but that the egg sandwich really is “that good.” Your Mileage May Vary.
http://daisycafeandcupcakery.com/
