In times of understaffing and a pandemic, a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and delayed dinner seven days a week is a rarity. And yet that’s what it is Blind Shot Social Club. it does. But if you think about the relentless daily operation of golf courses, it starts to make sense. The Blind Shot is probably one of the best club bars in the area – what fools call the 19th hole – and it’s not even connected to the golf course.
With five bookable golf simulator screens, Blind Shot is the kind of mid-century state-of-the-art clubhouse that Madison can’t get enough of these days. You’d be forgiven for a few lines with Caddyshack came to your mind as you sat down at the bar.
There’s a good chance you’ll spot any of the movie franchises there, as the drinks menu is a veritable Where’s Waldo and simple to find. The drinks are also nice and they have plenty of non-alcoholic options.
A perfect golf ball-sized appetizer, fried goat cheese balls are labeled as the house’s signature dish, and rightly so. They’re fried to a “golden-brown and delicious” standard, served in a totally playable raw salad.
If that doesn’t work, there’s always the monster wedge salad. Yes, a wedge, like a golf club. I try very strenuous not to rely on golf jokes, and Blind Shot doesn’t hang a lampshade on them either. Either way, this is indeed a solid wedge salad, enhanced with avocado slices.
Portions are typically generous, from a creamy pickle dip served with what feels like an entire packet of pretzel sticks the length of your little finger, to a dish of peppery, house-seasoned oyster crackers – “for snacking,” the menu says, as if all people needed tips on how to eat a snack.
Morning meals will give you plenty of nutritious calories to get you started. The bagel sandwich may be based on an unassuming bagel, but the amount of folded egg, turkey sausage, and herbed cream cheese more than makes up for it. The same goes for the Good Morning breakfast sandwich, which features bacon, arugula and Sriracha aioli on an English muffin. Don’t expect to eat any of these in the car on your way to work; these are sandwiches that are sure to punish the inattentive by bringing the ingredients to their knees.
I also tried the huevos rancheros burrito as a takeaway breakfast and found it to be good enough, but a little flat, and also curled strangely with open ends, like a taquito. But served on-site, their succulent dish takes it to another level, and the curly pieces of house-roasted pulled pork don’t get lost in a cloud of takeaway steam. The adorable silver dollar pancakes, ordered for 75 cents each, are a must-have — especially with a sparkling breakfast smoothie to cut through the sweetness of the maple syrup.
The extensive specials menu (which is frequently restarted) included a board of teriyaki-glazed salmon with rice in a hollowed-out pineapple half. The preparation is perfect, it has the right consistency and degree of doneness. Tiki food is not as common as tiki drinks. It’s crazy, but it works.
The Friday fish fry is the only specialty that holds up. The fish is zander, the dough is crispy, and there are plenty of fries. But these are destitute, cheesy chips with sugar and salt that convey too little of both.
The only exception to the portion trend was the shrimp roll sandwich, so diminutive that I admit I stifled a giggle when it was served. Although the tasty roll is filled with plenty of tender shrimp, it is decidedly petite.
However, good service and a good faith effort can sometimes strengthen a feeble spot, and Blind Shot has both. I certainly didn’t need an apology for the slight delay caused by ordering 20-something silver dollar pancakes from a nearby party, but I was offered one anyway. Play at your own pace, I say, and don’t let the next group rush you. I know I said I was done with golf jokes, but like Blind Shot, there’s something surprisingly irresistible about them.
177 S. Fair Oaks Ave.
608-230-5278
blindshotsocialclub.com
$3-24
8:00-22:00 Sunday-Thursday,
8 a.m. to midnight Friday-Saturday
