What’s there to do in Provo at night? Dance club The Madison, in the former Provo Craft building, provides several answers—and food options. The Center Street Bistro on the main floor serves burgers and sandwiches during the lunch hour, but dinner is where the culinary art really shines.
Chef Paul Kuhn, who comes to The Madison from the Oasis in Mesquite, Nev., has designed a menu of “comfort food with a twist”—upscale cuisine with a continental flair. One of my dining guests had the pasta of the day, with a buttery basil sauce and lightly breaded shrimp, which was delicate and savory. Another friend had the seared tuna, cooked perfectly with flavors that we couldn’t quite place, with spicy aioli that danced in our mouths.
Kuhn is the kind of chef who comes out to your table to ask how the food was. Unfortunately, my order for the rib-eye was taken without asking how I wanted it, and arrived well done; I like my red meat red. With the burgundy wine sauce and sauteed rosemary mushrooms, it was still tasty, and it turns out it was the server’s second night on the job. The chocolate-insanity dessert, meanwhile, was indeed insanely huge.
After 9 p.m., the tables are moved to make room for dance music and hip-hop, so you can work off all that food. With the Cowboys country-western bar on the third floor, and a separate karaoke room, The Madison is a little bit like Disneyland for drinkers. The building renovation has preserved the historical character of the site, with the original brickwork and wood flooring, and that also makes it a warm and inviting place to spend an evening. You might even forget you’re in Utah County.
THE MADISON
295 W. Center St., Provo
801-375-9000
TheMadisonProvo.com
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