Restaurants in Madison

In 1971, Glenn Watson opened Stanlieo’s Sub Villa to bring Boston-style subs down South, topping them with cubed onions, pickles, and tomatoes, as well as salt and pepper, oregano, and oil. More than four decades later, the Watson family is still running the casual eatery, but today, they pile their freshly baked buns high at two locations. Fried pickles, mushrooms, and green tomatoes accompany steak subs out of the kitchen, and sandwich-smiths load up vegetarian subs with one of four vegetarian soy meats, as opposed to the Hormel meats they use for their regular subs and sculptures of Teddy Roosevelt. For those up to the challenge, the staff stuffs their famous Kitchen Sink sub with genoa and cotta salami, ham, turkey, roast beef, capicola, and pepperoni, as well as swiss, american, and provolone cheese in order to burst belts.

Though Clementines Restaurant began as a humble burger-and-malt shop, it has blossomed in the last 35 years into a fine-dining establishment. Voted best restaurant and best dessert at the NW Houston Chamber of Commerce's Epicurean Night 2012, Clementines Restaurant has proven its reputation. Chefs pack lunches of snapper Alexander topped with shrimp and crawfish in a white-wine cream sauce. For dinner they prepare seafood, steak, and veal specialties, as well as pollo dishes. Just as operas conclude with the main character eating cake, meals conclude with diners eating croissant bread pudding with english cream and old-fashioned shakes and malts. Much of this culinary goodness makes its way to Clementines’ catering and banquet menu; the private banquet room seats up to 77 for special events such as weddings, rehersal dinners, birthdays, business functions, and baby and bridal showers–menus can be customized for events. Additionally, the sound of live entertainment can be heard Wednesday through Saturday nights.

In 1938, J. Oliver Wintzell opened a tiny seafood joint on Dauphin Street in historic Mobile, Alabama. With room for just six customers to hop up on barstools and sample oysters prepared in three signature styles—“fried, stewed, or nude"—the eatery harbored modest ambitions and kept itself in check with walls strewn with Oliver’s homespun sayings. Oysters this great can’t remain a secret for long, though, and Wintzell’s Oyster House began to grow at such a rate that Oliver was compelled to expand to new locations throughout Alabama.

Despite the restaurant’s rapid growth, remarkably little has changed since those early days. Oliver’s wit and wisdom still covers the walls, and the menu still tempts with its stuffed crabs, USDA-certified steaks, and signature oysters. In keeping with the cozy atmosphere Oliver cultivated by necessity more than 70 years ago, shuckers stationed at the oyster bar chat with diners as they garnish half shells with hickory-smoked bacon and slap away the tentacles of sneaky krakens. Tom Bross of Delta Sky Magazine has some helpful words of advice for first-time visitors to the restaurant: "Let the Southern hospitality, laid-back tempo and maybe a cold one help you unwind."

Hibachi Express's chefs fry up popular Asian dishes using authentic Japanese cooking techniques. On piping-hot hibachi grills, they sauté scallops, pork chops, and crisp veggies while firing up noodles to create savory yaki-soba dishes or wigs for self-conscious shumai dumplings. They also whip up Japanese barbecue and lemon sauces to punch up the flavor of their crispy chicken and pork katsu and keep spoons gainfully employed in bowls of miso or hot-and-sour soup.

According to an article by John Hampton of Examiner.com, Rolo's opened in 1991 as homage to a train trip taken by Huntsville restaurateur Chuck, and his son, Rolo. Reportedly, the two were on the way to New Orleans for a football game, when Rolo looked to his father and said, "Trains keep attention for the kids and the grandparents." A light bulb went off in Chuck’s head––he would open a homestyle restaurant paying tribute to the train-riding days of yore. He'd call it Rolo's Cafe.

In a burst of whistles and chugs, a multicolored model train can be seen rounding a wooden track suspended high above the dining room. The locomotive circulates the aromas of lightly fried pond-raised catfish, juicy grilled steak, and housemade peach cobbler. Breakfast biscuits arrive to tables saturated in signature chocolate gravy for pairing with sugar-cured ham and fresh hush puppies. After polishing off a slow-smoked pork chop, patrons can make choo choo noises on train station-style wooden benches, or peruse the room's vintage train signs, framed articles, and photos of locomotives.