Sanford
Pretzel Grissini
Local Trout Rillette, Capers, Dill
Multi-Grain Roll with salted butter
Grilled Pear and Roquefort Tart with Caramelized Onions and Walnuts
Fried Squash Blossoms with Zucchini and Dried Blueberry Caponata
Grilled Duck Breast with Grilled Peaches, Pickled Golden Raisins and Roasted Sunchokes, Sumac Spiced Yogurt
Banana Butterscotch Toffee Tart, Banana Rum Ice Cream
Blueberry Black Currant Clafoutis, Lemon Ice Cream
Double Espresso on Ice
Butter Cookie, Caramel Pecan Shortbread, Chocolate Chip Biscotti
Said by some to be the best restaurant in Wisconsin with dinner service six days per week in an old house on North Jackson Street Justin Aprahamian’s Sanford had long been on my culinary to-do list when I entered the low-lit space, and with service providing the most refined experience of my trip while the kitchen wowed with each plate it can only be said that Sanford is ‘destination’ dining in the least likely of space. Every bit the “white tablecloth” sort of space, with diners around me fitting a well-heeled demographic nearly twice my age, it was just after 6:30 that I entered the small restaurant and with my name soon located in the pen-and-paper register it was to a corner two-top that I was led, the plush upholstered seat nearly so comfortable as to lull one to sleep was the food on display not so eye catching and unique. Featuring a menu of seasonal dishes as well as the classics that helped put Sanford on the map it was largely with the latter that my meal would unfold and as pretzel grissini, an amuse, and then bread served to ready the palate it was in the restaurant’s signature tart that my meal truly began, the rich funk of melting blue cheese finding its balance in walnuts and sweet onions inside a buttery crust to be later revisited with equally impressive results. Focusing next on a seasonal item sold as ‘exquisite’ by my waiter it was in a trio of lightly fried squash blossoms atop sautéed zucchini and fruity gastrique that I next indulged and following this up with a substantial cut of lightly cooked duck I couldn’t help but swoon, the smoky sunchokes and sour yogurt proving an elegant juxtaposition to the sweetness of a late-summer peach. At this point already dreading a late-night drive back to Chicago and thus enjoying a double espresso served over ice I was entirely unable to decide which of Sanford’s two signature desserts I would most enjoy and subsequently opting for one of each my loyalties remain divided even today, the crackling-sugar topped clafoutis a textbook example while the elegant banana arrangement of bananas beneath soft toffee in a bed of butterscotch proved every bit as decadent as its ingredients would seem. Truly a special restaurant and one equally befitting both the young and the old it was finally with a trio of cookies that the night ended and although driving two-hours after dinner is never ideal there is no doubt in my mind I’d do it again, this sort of establishment far too rare in a world dominated by noisy gastropubs and multi-course tastings of modernist cuisine.
RECOMMENDED: The signature items were all deserving of their acclaim but if left to select only one it would be the Roquefort Tart – a ‘cheese course’ for the ages with elements of sweetness, funk, and smoke amidst textures aplenty.
AVOID: If anything on the table was less than impressive it was the grissini, an almost bitter finish that could have used a touch more salt or a bit less time in the oven.
TIP: Offering reservations only by phone and up to two months in advance suffice it to say that such a small dining room is likely to fill fast, my meal on a Thursday evening seeing each table seated at some point during my stay, though there was always at least one two-top available for a walk-ins as some groups dined far faster than others or only stopped in for appetizers and drinks.
