Out For Bloodies

Bluephies Restaurant & Vodkatorium in Madison, Wisconsin

After reading about the Top 15 Over the Top Bloody Marys from Eater.com, I was excited to see that three of the 15 were from Wisconsin (represent!); I had already been to two (AJ Bombers and Sobelman’s) and I made it a point to check out Bluephies the next time I was in Madison.

Then I remembered that, as luck would have it, I was traveling to Madison today for work. I convinced my coworker that we had to have dinner at Bluephies.

We arrived and were presented with two menus—the drink menu was larger than the food menu—and a long list of specials from our waitress. I immediately inquired about the bloodies. They have four different kinds, including a Bloody Mary flight which allows you to sample three of the four.

I chose the one with the most fixin’s, which also seemed to be their signature drink: The FAT BOY Bloody Mary (you’ll see why, read on).

Spice: Not very.

Mix: They use spiced tomato juice and typically include a bacon-infused vodka.

Chaser: None offered.

Fixin’s:  celery, jalapeno stuffed olives, cocktail onions, pickled asparagus,
pickled mushrooms, a strip of bacon,and string cheese 

Price: 8.75

After dinner, back in the car, I told my coworker that I wasn’t sure that Bluephies deserved to be on the top 15 list. And then I remembered that I had had to order it sans alcohol since we were on our way to our work function. That will usually make a big difference in the rating, especially since this one is typically made with bacon-infused vodka. Oh well, there will be more trips to Madison to find out! Had I been in it for the long haul,I likely would have ordered the flight to review here. On the other hand, the restaurant was odd—it had a very family-dining atmosphere, not at all what you’d expect from a place with the word “Vodkatorium” in its name (but maybe that’s because we got there at 5pm for the earlybird special). The food was also all over the board—everything from burgers and noodle bowls to meatloaf and enchiladas. I wouldn’t probably go out of my way to return, but if I ever find myself in the area, I just might give the bloody another go.

Cheers!