Cooks' Exchange: Avenue welcomes new executive chef

January 7 - What better way could there be to begin a new year than with good news? And it’s even better when it involves one of Madison’s longtime favorite restaurants and a recipe for comfort food on the heels of holiday sweets. Read More...

Praise for Avenue's Famous Fish Fry

There’s something fishy going on right about now. Communities across the country—especially in the Midwest and Northeast—have a deep-fried, pungent haze hanging over parish halls and churches on Friday nights. It’s the season of Lent and sacrifice, and Roman Catholics who abstain from eating meat on the fifth day of the week flock to dinners where fish is king. Read More...

Seven Weeks of Bread, Fish, and Breaded Fish

The first thing you notice about The Avenue Bar is the thick, succulent smell of frying fish. The second thing you notice is how crowded it is. Despite two very large dining rooms, this place is crammed with families and couples talking and fiercely enjoying their food with the intensity that comes from a week of restraint. Read More...

Let's Eat for $7.70: Thanksgiving happens year-round at the Avenue

November, 2011 - The hot turkey sandwich special at the Avenue is only notionally a sandwich. There are two slices of bread with food interposed between them, but under no circumstances would you want to actually pick it up in your hands. Bread choices are white, whole wheat or rye, but that choice is immaterial. The bread exists to provide a temporary armature for the real star of the meal: slabs of succulent turkey, both light and dark meat, all of it identifiably carved from a whole, roasted bird. Read More...

Food Fight, Inc. new owners of Avenue Bar; not much else has changed

October, 2011 - When the Zach family sold the venerable Avenue Bar to Food Fight, Inc., the new owners swore they wouldn't mess with success. The tradition includes strong cocktails and big portions. Sure, maybe they'd try to slip in a few more fresh fruits, vegetables and homemade sauces down the road, but they swear they won't try to make the 42-year-old landmark trendy. Read More...

With new owners, The Avenue true to its supper-club roots

August, 2011 - When it comes to the supper club-style and traditions of The Avenue Bar on East Washington Avenue, Monty Schiro is not inclined to mess with success. The homegrown restaurant magnate recently added the venerable and popular Avenue to his group’s portfolio of Food Fight properties, which include about a dozen pubs, diners and upscale eateries throughout the Madison area. Read More...

Doug Moe: Great moments in Avenue Bar history

May, 2011 - The Avenue Bar comes as close to a public utility as any restaurant ever has in Madison, so the pending ownership change announced last week is a big deal. The good news is that the Zach family is selling the East Washington Avenue landmark to the Food Fight Restaurant Group headed by Madison townie Monty Schiro, who knows better than to mess with it. Read More...

Biz Beat: Avenue Bar sold to Food Fight

April, 2011 - One of Madison's best-loved restaurants is changing ownership. The Avenue Bar is being sold to the Food Fight Restaurant Group, which owns a dozen other venues in the area. No sales details were released but the deal will close by June 1. Avenue Bar owners Paul and Claire Zach are selling the business, which was founded in the 1950s and has operated at the same location at 1128 East Washington Avenue since 1971. Read More...

Avenue Bar to join Food Fight empire

April, 2011 - The Avenue Bar, a longtime Madison institution, is to be purchased by Food Fight, a company that owns Monty's Blue Plate, Johnny Delmonico's, Hubbard Avenue Diner, and several other restaurants around the city. Read More…

Scott & Mike's Hammond Organ Nite is a delightful throwback

January, 2011 - After a cold and slushy walk, the low lights and warm wood paneling of the Avenue Bar, 1128 E. Washington Ave., feel as cozy as a grandma's living room. The walls are home to a dizzying mix of knickknacks and Badger paraphernalia. It is a Wednesday night, which means it is Scott & Mike's Hammond Organ Nite, a weekly nod to the supper clubs of the 1950s. Read More…

The Avenue's Strong Success Built Around Tradition

May, 2007 - Paul Zach was born with a restaurant smack dab in the deep end of his gene pool. Thirty-seven years ago his father, Skip, opened a one-room bar, the Avenue. Looking for a niche to set his business apart from others, Skip began offering a fish boil on Fridays -- served from the tops of the pool tables. Read More…