Thursday, October 10, 2013

Brunch, Lunch, Dinner and More at Fitzgerald's {#ReviewCrew}

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Although here in Madison it doesn't take long to find a restaurant that serves up pretty much any form or ethnicity of food, there's one particular style that Wisconsinities are a bit extra proud of: the supper club.

I wasn't overly familiar with the term until I moved here, but over the years I've come to realize that it traditionally includes a few features. For instance, a supper club usually refers to an establishment that offers a fine dining experience in a casual environment, has a great selection of steaks and seafood, and, in general, has a high-class image yet offers affordable prices.

Add in being family-owned for 25 years, newly-remodeled, and the convenience of a drive-through window and you've got a restaurant overflowing with supper club tradition, Fitzgerald's.

fitzgeralds logo

Located on the west side of Madison (in Middleton), Fitzgerald's has long been noted for one of the area's best Friday Fish Fry, melt in your mouth prime rib and great steaks. Add in their large salad bar that accompanies most entrees, the tasty children's menu and the Fitzgerald's Pub and Lounge for Happy Hour, nightly drink specials and a wide variety of after-dinner drinks and there's something for everyone.

As I've long heard about the way that Fitzgerald's is a great location for anything from a romantic dinner for two to a small party for the gang at work to a large banquet, I knew that it would be able to satisfy my family as well.

Our only dilemma was whether to visit for dinner, to try the entrees, sandwiches, salad bar and more, or to go during Sunday Brunch, because who can resist all you can eat breakfast deliciousness?

Thanks to the affordability and discounts I was able to garner by using Restaurant.com, the answer was both!

fitzgerald's middleton

First up, dinner.

Arriving for our initial visit, we quickly learned that walking in the front door of Fitzgerald's leads you squarely into the Pub and Lounge...

fitzgerald's pub and lounge

...so be sure to enter on the side for dining!

Once over at the host stand, we were greeted by the first of many friendly Fitzgerald's staff that we encountered throughout our meal, and were led to a table.

The decor throughout Fitzgerald's is not at all like a chain restaurant, as it is instead reminiscent of a comfortable living room, and we did notice that the average age of the patrons was quite a bit higher than many of our typical dining establishments.

As we looked over the menu, I was pleased to see such a variety of options — steak, seafood, pork, chicken, pasta, sandwiches and more — as well as the soup and salad bar and children's menu.

fitzgerald's children's menu

Although a larger menu can often lead to a longer time making a decision, it also typically means everyone is happy being able to find something (or multiple choices) that they like!

As for us, our dinners ended up tasty and filling, as Little Sister B enjoyed her chicken strips from the children's menu, my husband complimented his french dip sandwich, and Big Sister E and I were able to return time and again to the soup and salad bar to fill up on fresh vegetables, fruit, cheese, homemade coleslaw, garlic bread and more. Yum!

Fitzgerald's review

After being pleased with our Fitzgerald's dinner, is it any wonder that we wanted to go back for Sunday Brunch?

When we returned a few weeks later, we found the dining room filled with quite a few more people and the buffet had grown four times as large as the soup and salad bar. There was some of just about everything that you could ask for to fill your plate!

Think I'm exaggerating? As I walked by the endless buffet (which included the full salad bar from lunch/dinner), my eyes grew at the scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, waffle sticks, french toast sticks, vegetables, casserole, pastries of all kinds, and more!

Fitzgerald's Sunday Brunch

But wait, there's more.

I loved finding that there was a special kids' table, just in case your child wasn't a fan of the breakfast items, where they could instead pick up things like small boxes of cereal, macaroni & cheese and mini corn dogs...

fitzgerald's children's buffet

...and that there was a nice little selection of milk and multiple juices included with the meal.

Fitzgerald's Sunday Brunch drinks

All that leaves is dessert, right?

Fitzgerald's doesn't skimp on those options in their Sunday Buffet either, as there were all shapes, sizes and colors of pies, cookies, brownies, cheesecake, a soft serve ice cream machine with all the toppings... I'm telling you, I could have eaten for days!

Fitzgerald's Sunday Brunch dessert
I could never get a very good photo of the dessert table because there were always people around it!

One issue that I've found is common at buffets is, of course, food running out. With people constantly coming back up to get more, there's always the disappointment when you find that the containers are empty. However, this didn't happen once during brunch at Fitzgerald's!

Each time any of the hot food items started to run even a little low, the kitchen would send out a fresh container and the pastries and desserts were constantly replenished. Add on that we had a friendly and helpful server and that, even with the number of patrons in the dining room, there was never a line for any of the stations, and we were all pretty happy (and full) campers.

fitzgerald's middleton review

All in all, everything from the thin sliced angus prime rib piled high on the french dip sandwich to the homemade coleslaw at the salad bar to the massive selection at the Sunday Brunch made our visits to Fitzgerald's positive for all of us. All of the staff that we interacted with were very pleasant and the overall atmosphere is a very small-town, family-friendly, warm-and-welcome feeling.

Considering how happy we all were with our various plates throughout both visits, I have no doubt that we'll be returning again!

For more information about Fitzgerald's, visit their website and connect with them on Facebook. To find out about all of the money-saving options that Restaurant.com has to offer in your area (or in an area that you are planning to visit), head over to Restaurant.com as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

As a member of the Restaurant.com Review Crew, I have been provided gift cards and compensation in order to facilitate my reviews. However, all thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I wish we had a place like that near me here in North West NY. I love the ambiance and the food looks delicious.

flairshare said...

This sounds awesome. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with Fitzgerald's. The sliced Angus prime rib would keep my husband coming back on a daily basis!

slehan said...

I'd love to try their Sunday Brunch - one meal would last me all day. I like the kids table for picky eaters.

slehan at juno dot com