6625 Century Avenue Middleton, Wisconsin 53562-2225

(608) 831-5835 stamm@stammhouserestaurant.com

Isthmus

Madison's Favorites 2003
Eats
By Linda Falkenstein

Fish Fry
The Avenue Bar is hard to beat in this category, with its dual front: fried cod and a fish boil. The Stamm House has crowds hooked on its hand-battered ocean perch, while the Orpheum Grand Lobby Cafe has earned a devoted following for its bluegill fry.

1. Avenue Bar
2. Stamm House
3. Orpheum Grand Lobby Cafe

Stamm House
6625 Century Ave., 831-5835
I can’t vouch for anything else at this Middleton standby, but the Friday fish fry is worth the noisy crowd. The heap of hand- breaded, deep-fried ocean perch offers a sweet, nostalgic taste, and the coleslaw has a cold, fresh bite.

Madison Magazine

2002 Best of Madison - Food/Dining

Fish fry
Avenue Bar
Stamm House at Pheasant Branch
Nau-Ti-Gal

Wisconsin State Journal

Try Stamm House For Comfort

Monday, August 19, 2002
Chris Martell

Before the chicken and dumplings dinner at Stamm House was annointed "one of the best 100 things about restaurants" by Gourmet magazine last year, the Middleton restaurant was mainly known for its Friday night fish fries and its longevity.

It was built in 1847 as a stagecoach stop and over the years served as a hideout for runaway slaves in the Underground Railroad, as a hotel, tavern (and speakeasy during Prohibition) and as a post office. Since the 1940s, it has been a restaurant, and the pine-paneled dining room is reminiscent of that era.

The all-you-can-eat chicken and dumplings that so impressed the folks at Gourmet is served Sundays and Wednesdays for $8.75. All you can eat, in this case, is hardly needed because the first plateful is enough to stop almost anyone in their tracks. The dumplings are giant pillows of poached dough, smothered in a thick, salty gravy, and served in a tureen. Three pieces of moist, poached chicken are also doused in the white gravy.

Another of several versions of chicken served at Stamm House is breaded and deep fried, $6.95 for one-quarter of a chicken. The breading was thinly applied, and the chicken was slightly overcooked.                      

One of four steaks on the regular menu is whiskey pepper steak, $13.75, a New York strip that is glazed with an intense sauce. Wisely, most of the sauce is on the side, since it could overwhelm almost everything. The meat was OK, in terms of tenderness and flavor.

The Cajun baked halibut, $12.95, was also aggressively peppery. The fish was cooked well and had a nice aroma, but the spicy sauce mandated large glugs of water between bites.

The side dishes include a delicious green bean relish, simply made with crisp beans, chopped onions and mayonnaise. There was also a tart, chunky cranberry sauce and a sauce-heavy coleslaw and small iceberg lettuce dinner salads. Soup is offered instead of salad or slaw, and if they have the tomato soup with salmon, don't pass it up. The hashed brown potatoes, golden and a little oily, are also tasty.

The desserts, all $2.75, may be the best part of a Stamm House dinner. The key lime pie is exceptional, strong and tart with a densely packed graham-cracker crust. The Southern-style bread pudding is also worth a try. The bread is thoroughly soaked with a high-proof sweet syrup.

While there are a number of things that we found appealing here, including the atmosphere, service can be frustrating. The first visit on a Saturday night was merely slow. The second, on a Wednesday evening, was slow and incompetent. Our server not only forgot to bring things we needed, like plates, but capped things off by tossing our bill and credit card on the table like a Frisbee as she rushed to another table.

Still, this is a supremely warm and comfortable place when you want to, as Gourmet put it, enjoy a prairie supper.

Diner's scorecard

* Restaurant: Stamm House at Pheasant Branch.

* Location: 6625 Century Ave., Middleton.

* Phone: 831-5835.

* Reservations: Accepted.

* Specialties: Friday night fish fries, chicken and dumplings on Wednesdays and Sundays.

* Accessibility: Yes.

* Credit cards: Accepted.

* Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Monday 5 to 9 p.m. and Tuesday through Saturday at 10 p.m.

* Bottom line: Inexpensive regional specialties in a quaint, historic atmosphere.

Gourmet Magazine

"... Wisconsin's Stamm House has stubbornly retained its spare prairie menu right up to the present. Go on a Wednesday or Sunday for the chicken and dumplings dinner, served family style at tables with all the fixin's: coleslaw, green bean salad, cranberry sauce, and rolls. If you manage to finish the first giant tureen of rich gravy bobbing with tender chicken and airy whitebread dumplings, they'll be happy to bring you a second. And a third."

The Capital Times

Stamm House Hailed For Chicken, Dumplings
Friday, October 5, 2001
Bill Dunn

Middleton's Stamm House restaurant makes the pages of the October issue of Gourmet magazine in a feature called "100 Great Things About Restaurants."
The Stamm House, 6625 Century Ave., is mentioned for "remaining true to its roots" with its chicken and dumplings dinner. It's the only Wisconsin restaurant on the list of 100.

The dish, served family style on Wednesday and Sunday evenings, is all you can eat for $8.75, "although most people don't get past the first serving," says Jeff Bunge, co-owner with his wife, Donna Small, since 1995.

The recipe has been passed down from owner to owner since Stamm House opened in the 1940s, Bunge says. The only adjustment the couple has made is poaching the chicken instead of baking it.

They start with 60 pounds of whole chicken cut into eighths. The big-batch recipe requires seven gallons of stock and eight gallons of gravy. The dumplings are flour-based with eggs, baking powder and milk, then steamed and steeped in gravy.

"It's just good comfort food," Bunge says.

He has no clue how the dish came to Gourmet's attention. The only contact he's had with the magazine was a call from a fact-checker who verified the address and phone number.

"I'd really like to know who it was and when they were here," Bunge says, adding he's not complaining about the publicity.

"You just don't relate Gourmet magazine to Middleton, Wisconsin."

Capital Times

Stamm House Chicken And Dumplings Need More Of Its Tasty Gravy

Tuesday, May 2, 2000
Kathy Foster
Place: Stamm House

Address: 6625 Century Ave., Middleton

Phone: 831-5835

Hours: 4-9 p.m. Sun., 5-9 p.m. Mon., 5-10 p.m. Tue.-Sat.

As I entered the Stamm House, I didn't notice that you had to step up. I didn't, so I tripped and almost slid into the bar area on my belly. But then I caught myself and made a more graceful entrance.

I was there to try the chicken and dumplings, an all-you-can-eat Wednesday special for $7.95. As I waited, I chatted with Jeff Bunge, who's co-owned the restaurant with his wife, Donna Small, since 1995.

Jeff's father, Charles, had sent me a note, suggesting that I try the Wednesday special. When I told that to Jeff, he smiled and seemed a bit embarrassed. His father didn't tell him he contacted me. I thought it was a sweet thing to do.

I ordered all white meat (no extra charge) and went home with three chicken breasts, three dumplings, salad (you could opt for soup instead), bean relish, a side of cranberries, and a roll with two pats of butter. I split it with a friend.

Our biggest complaint was that there wasn't enough gravy. The poached, bone-in chicken was on the dry, dull side and would have fared better with more gravy on it.

The dumplings were light and fluffy, but again, there wasn't enough gravy -- which is homemade, smooth and tasty -- so they too seemed dry.

The salad of iceberg lettuce was crisp and fresh with slices of carrots, zucchini and a cherry tomato. I didn't order any salad dressing because I wanted to use my own fat-free concoction at home.

The bean relish, which Jeff says the Stamm House has been making forever, was quite good and is served cold. It was full of thin, crisp green beans, onions, spices and mayo.

The cranberry relish was tasty and tart.

Jeff says he gets a lot of to-go requests, especially on Friday nights for the fish fry, when the place is mobbed and people don't want to wait around in the smoky bar.