Mickey's Tavern

1524 Williamson St., Madison, Wis., 251-9964

Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 5 out of 5 stars
Value: 4 out of 5 stars
Drinks: 4 out of 5 stars

Yes folks, it's true, Madison's super-tavern now serves brunch. My friend Amy shared the news with me about the new brunch service after checking it out last weekend. So we gathered a group of bloody mary lovers and checked it out on Sunday afternoon. I started with the bloody mary and it was pretty tasty, strong and served with a delicious salad bar of garnishes. My husband had a Jack and Coke (it was noon, after all) and let's just say that owner/bartender Jane Capito (also of Lazy Jane's) does not skimp on the hard stuff. Our entire group was in a more than festive mood after our hour-plus visit.

For food, I chose the gigantic breakfast burrito ($7.25). It was a lot of burrito, stuffed with eggs, black beans, red pepper, mushrooms and cheese. It was plainly served with sour cream and salsa. It was pretty good for tavern food, but other than the great mushroom flavor, it was just OK. I tried my husband's "World's Greatest Sandwich" ($6.95), which was a tasty egg sandwich with bacon, cheese, lettuce and tomato on sourdough bread. It came with a side of coleslaw, which I didn't try. Our companions had the tofu scramble ($6.95) and eggs benedict ($7.25), which they gave good reviews.

The most surprising and positive thing about brunch at Mickey's was the service. Jane was flanked by two friendly, fast servers. This sunny service during daylight hours made the brunch a fun, relaxing experience. I imagine brunch (served Saturday and Sunday) is going to take off once word gets out, so check it out while seats are still easy to find. Their brunch will definitely be my top choice for brunch with college buddies and a pre-Badgers football game stop.