Charlie’s Beat

“I came to Madison about 10 years ago, and I was literally like a day over 18 years old. I’m originally from the Indianapolis area, where I’d worked at several restaurants, ever since I was 14 years old. I’d also interned on a farm. So when I landed in Madison I was drawn toward the food business, and how I could express my interest in farm-to-table dining.

“I went out to Montana and worked on an organic produce farm for a year, then I came back to Madison and got a job at Rembrandt’s Wine bar when I was about 20 years old. When Bob Maile first started Rembrandt’s it was just serving wine, people might recall. But after a little while I approached Bob and offered to work up a food menu.

“Bob was open to trying, and he gave me complete freedom to build the food service the way I wanted. I started that from scratch, hired the staff, ran the food side, everything. We had a little garden behind the building where we would grow herbs and other ingredients. I think I averaged about 70 hours a week during those days!

“My next job was the garden manager at Lanthier Winery, all those flowers and plantings that surround the buildings down there by the river. Around that same time I started bartending some at Red Bicycle Hall and Off Broadway Taproom. It wasn’t long before I was cooking in the kitchen at the Taproom. And that’s when things started to get really interesting.

“Eventually I worked my way up to kitchen manager, and I asked Ryan if I could revamp the menu. He’s very hands off about that kind of thing, and again, just like Bob at Rembrandt’s, I was given complete freedom.”

Now, if you’re like me and you’ve been a long-time habitue of the Taproom, and JoeyG’s before that, you’ll have a very vivid memory of that moment five years ago when Gabby took full control of the food and started to impress her vision on the dining experience. All of a sudden, the food was original and fresh and playful and oh so flavorful. All of a sudden, something very special was happening at our favorite little watering hole!

“When it comes to food, I just want to be adventuresome and original,” continues Gabby. “My approach is, Let’s just try it! It almost always results in something fun and new and delicious.

I like food to be bright and colorful. I look for complementary flavors between savory and sweet. And presentation is super important.

“One of my other guiding principles is freshness and locally sourced ingredients. Any time I can go from the farm right to the table, that’s a plus on so many levels. All our burgers are Indiana-grown beef. We get our eggs from Nightfall Farm over in Crothersville. Jesse Ernst supplies a lot of produce in season. And Valley Spirit Farm over in Campbellsburg, Kentucky, has been a great source.

“As with anything as big and involved as running a restaurant, it’s not something you can do alone. I have a great crew and I couldn’t do it without them. I ask every one of them, do you love good food, and do you want to grow with me? That’s what matters most. I’m especially grateful for my right and left hand guys, Nicholas Stitzel who’s been with me for seen years. And Cameron Gandee, who’s been with me for six.

“As for the future, there’s a lot more we can do at the Taproom, the sky’s the limit really. But we are also working on getting the Broadway Tavern back open sometime this year. The menu is solidified there, and it’s going to have a big emphasis on fresh, scratch made dishes. It will be another fine dining option in Madison, so that’s very exciting.

“And there’s even one more secret project in the works that I can’t really say anything about, except to say it will be cool and weird and so much fun!”

If you’d like to keep up on Gabby’s eclectic and amazing food journey, she’s very active on Instagram, posting photos of her latest creations for the Taproom menu. Just go to off.broadway.taproom to keep up with all the colorful excitement.

{h4 style=”text-align: center;”}Hot Tip of the Week{/h4}

This weekend in Madison is chock-full of musical goodness (as are virtually all weekends in our amazing little music city). Two shows at Red Bicycle Hall (get your tickets at MadTixEvents.com). Two times to see Matt Red Moore play. Two times to see Joe & Deano play (once solo and once with Radio Face at the Taproom). Plus it’s the grand re-opening of our beloved Crawdaddy Music on Saturday, under new management. And I can tell you with authority that there will be lots of interesting and original musical magic coming out of that place in the months to come, just watch this space for details. And then, if all that weren’t enough to fill your plate, you can cap off the weekend with the talented and entertaining Jackson Bladen playing on Sunday at Rivertown Grill. Don’t let me hear you say you didn’t know what all was going on … you’ve been notified!

Charlie Rohlfing is a retired advertising man and partner in The Red Bicycle Hall music venue. Look for his distinctive fedora bobbing above the crowd, anywhere live local music is happening.

{h4 style=”text-align: center;”}This Week in Music{/h4}

Wednesday, March 27

The Central — Jam w/Jimmy

Rivertown Grill — Joe & Deano

Thursday, March 28

Rivertown Grill — Karaoke

1st Street Saloon — Open Mic

The Drake — Joe & Deano

Friday, March 29

Rivertown Grill — Bon DC (AC/DC)

1st Street Saloon — Matt Red Moore

The Central — Zach Hackney Band

Red Roaster — Kelly & Koren (6 p.m.)

Red Bicycle Hall — Guitar Summit

Saturday, March 30

The Central — The Albumists

1st Street Saloon — L&L Karaoke

Rivertown Grill — Strange Brew

Red Bicycle Hall — Joslyn & the Sweet Compression

Off Broadway Taproom — Radio Face

Crawdaddy Music — Grand Reopening (Noon to 7 p.m.)

Sunday, March 31

Rivertown Grill — Jackson Bladen