madison is not chicago

i've spent the last hour and a half writing reviews on yelp.com. it's ridiculously addictive. i logged in as a madisonian though i think most of my reviews are for chicago-area restaurants. i'm not sure how old yelp.com is, but i kind of hoped madisonians would have made more of a showing online.

no, i'm not about to start the old debate on whether or not chicago is cooler than madison, or whether madison is just another suburb of the windy city. no, no, none of that. obviously, chicago's got a bigger pool of potential reviewers than madison. but still, 6 reviews is the most that any madison restaurant is getting? people, c'mon!

i started in on my part today, reviewing favorites like cafe continental and harvest. i told jon about all the places i wanted to go - like magnus and l'etoile - and he laughed. so i have expensive taste. i like the flair of it. i like the drama. i like pretending to be something for a night, to be catered to, to own my own time.

i just bought season tickets to the madison symphony orchestra for the upcoming year, and i've got these great dreams of eating long and lavish dinners before climbing into a carriage (yes, my dreams are rather victorian) and being whisked away to a concert in my gorgeous ballgown. chicago's helped me believe that this fantasy can be reality. and i think that's part of the reason i want to leave it.

sure, madison doesn't have the number of ritzy restaurants that chicago does. it doesn't have the money. it doesn't have the $5 million condos on the lake. it doesn't have a magnificent mile (please, don't try to argue for state street). it doesn't have neighborhood after neighborhood of ethnic fare. it doesn't have galas every night of the week or celebrities stopping by to see oprah.

but when i think about moving up there this summer and what i'll do if (and when) i panic about being in a city with only one tapas bar (geez, i sound ridiculous), i want to remember what i do get and why madison appeals to me so much at this point in my life.

i've done the classy restaurant thing. i've been to so many places, spent so much money, had drinks, desserts, entrees, appetizers. you name it. and i've loved it. but i miss slow cooking at home. i miss making dinners with erin and laura. i miss the big farmers markets on the square. i miss looking forward to going out and not taking it for granted.

so i don't think i'm gonna pursue owning a restaurant like i originally thought. i kind of want to buy an old farmhouse now, with an apple orchard out back on acres of land and a big kitchen with sunlight and people constantly streaming in. i probably will never write a book. and i'll probably never be mayor. but ...

oh, who am i to say never?

i think i am going to like madison very much.