Very disappointing. Caesar salad had two potato crisps instead of croutons and they tasted like two Ruffles potato chips. They also were generous and included one pepperoni in my salad. Literrally one slice of pepperoni. Veal scallopini was over cooked, dry, bland, difficult to cut and rubbery. Marsala sauce and mushroom and asparagus were good but pretty hard to screw up mushrooms and asparagus in wine sauce. Waiter was very gracious and brought me a Chilean sea bass crusted with potato and olive oil. It made the exterior of fish taste very dry. Once I was able to break through that crust the fish om the inside was delicious. Flaky, tender and seasoned perfectly. The fingerling potatoes were ok. Being a chocoholic i was hoping the Flourless chocolate cake Would redeem them. It did not.

negative

I haven't seen Monona Terrace so much as a tourist as a conference and wedding attendee. I've been there several times and I must conclude that there really is nothing terribly special about this place, aside from the beautiful semi-circular rooms that face Lake Monona. I have found myself noshing in that space with a bunch of strangers talking about economic development or education or some other topic of enlightened discussion. It's nice, but it's a conference center. It doesn't rise above its genre. The rooms where the majority of meetings take place at this conference center, however, are pretty terrible. Oddly shaped, poor acoustics, just ill suited for their purpose. One time I sat in a room shaped like a long rectangle trying to listen to a keynote speaker placed right in the middle of one of the long walls. Most people were left to crane their necks just to see the guy. The food wasn't really all of that either. Moreover, I find it rather humorous that Madison chose to call this a "conference and community center," when, like other conference centers, there is a person stationed at the entrance whose job it is to keep you out of there if you have no "official" reason to be there. Not very democratic for a "community center." One time I also attended a concert on the roof of the Monona Terrace. It was a nice setting, but the band was horrible. Almost unlistenably bad.

negative

I'm a total yoga noob, attending my first class about a year and a half ago. I viewed it as a great workout and break from my more typical training, involving mostly lifting a lot of heavy shit (i.e. weights) and some running. While I enjoyed it, nothing really resonated with me at the time. Spending the last year or so doing some pretty intense self reflection and major work on staying 'present' when faced with...well, life I guess, I decided it was time to bring yoga back into my world. Enter Urban Yoga. The location is perfect, (within walking distance from my building) the space is gorgeous and has a very calming feel to it. The staff seem to be genuine and all very helpful, and each class I've attended has felt incredibly comfortable, even for a fairly reserved person such as myself. The only time I felt uncomfortable was last night when I attended my first Ashtanga class. Actually, uncomfortable is an understatement. Prior to this I had only experienced the Urban Flow class and Core Vinyasa Flow. I immediately thought I was in over my head with all the Sanskrit Asana call outs, all with little to no explanation and I had a little bit of a panic attack moment. I'm dead serious when I say that I was just about to freak out, grab my mat and get the hell out of there when I accepted that my fear and feelings of inferiority were just that, mine. No one was laughing at the doofus in the corner all doe eyed and scared shitless. I took a deep breath (or many) and kept up the best I could. I'm glad I stayed because I left feeling great psychically and mentally and like I had taken a huge step to overcome an issue that has haunted me probably since birth, or at least chip away at a part of it. Studio Yoga is not cheap folks...anywhere, including Urban Yoga But the benefits I have personally received from continuing to make the effort to get up and go far outweigh the cost. Six months ago I would have walked right out of there and never come back out of feeling foolish and being embarrassed. Six months ago I would have been embarrassed to admit that I felt foolish and embarrassed. (sounds funny, but trust me, being that self aware is pure hell) Not yesterday. Not tomorrow either. I highly recommend Urban Yoga.

positive

it's ok... we went late at night after all the other options close by were closed, I liked that it's open 24hrs, but it doesn't make a difference when you have to wait for a seat in am empty restaurant, then wait 15-20 minutes for a server to come by with water and silverware. It took over an 1hr and a half from when we were seated for 2 people. I wouldn't go back unless i was starving and staying at caesars.
negative