Bradbury’s
127 N Hamilton St.
Madison, WI
For an intro about how and why I am trying the cappuccinos of Madison, go here.
I’ve been to Bradbury’s many times before, but I decided it was time to do an official review. They are a very small shop on the corner of N Hamilton and Webster; this means that there are only a few tables and some additional stool seating along the window. That really is the only negative I can think of about the place; it can get crowded at times, especially during the Saturday farmer’s market on the nearby capitol square. The place also has a distinct ‘hipster’ vibe, though you certainly don’t feel left out if you aren’t all that ‘hip’. They also are very up front about their sustainability and fair trade practices, which I think is always a plus. There are two main categories of items on the menu: espresso drinks (where the espresso is highlighted rather than smothered by milk) and crepes.
I’ll start with the crepes and then move on to their cappuccino. Normally I don’t dwell too much on the food offerings of a coffee shop but the crepes at Bradbury’s are really excellent. They have a regurally changing menue composed of both ‘sweet’ and ‘savory’ crepes, many of them containing items from Wisconsin farms. Taryn met me there after work, so we ordered one ‘sweet’ and one ‘savory’ and shared (something I highly recommend, because an assortment of crepes is always a good thing). She ordered the neutella, banana, and choped almonds crepe; I got one with spinach, scrambled eggs, potatoes, and chedder cheese. Both were delicious in their respective ways.
On to the cappuccino. At Bradbury’s there are two cappuccino options; the 80z
cappuccino is what you typically get from places like starbucks, and the ‘classic cappuccino’ is a perfect 60z. It would be great if more places did things this way! The cappuccino itself was like a little piece of art; they consistently make their cappuccinos like the one in the picture. The foam was smooth, though there were some larger bubles (not as fine grained as at Mother Fool’s). The taste was excelent; it had the perfect espresso taste with nutty hints and a good amount of creme floating up to the top. I actually use the coffee they serve (Kikapoo coffee) at home when I make espresso drinks, so I can attest to the fact that they start out with very good coffee beans. It was also incredibly smooth, without any of the bitterness that turns some people off to classic cappuccinos. So, they have REALLY good cappuccinos; it’s as simple as that. Taryn’s chai latte was also very good though not as remarkable as the cappuccino. Here are the numbers for the cappuccino (all scores out of 5):
Presentation: 5
Smoothness: 5
Strength: 5
Complexity: 4.5
Foam: 4.5
Correctness: 5
Mean 4.83/5
SD: .26
So far, this gives Bradbury’s the best cappuccinos in Madison, followed up closely by Mother Fool’s. I don’t think anyone will be able to match them, but we shall certainly see!