Items Selected:\nCharcuterie and Cheese - Carr Valley Mobay (sheep and goat), Hook's 15-yr Cheddar (cow), Hook's Little Boy Blue (cow), Willow Creek Pate de Campagne (Berkshire Pork, Chicken Liver, Cognac, Quatre Epices), Oxheart Farm's Salt Cured Pork Culatello with Sauce Grebiche, Garlic Ciabatta, Fig Toast, Bread and Butter Pickles, Tomato Jam\nPork Buns - pork belly, pickled vegetables, hoisin\nFried Cesar's Cheese Curds - vodka batter, house ranch\nSoft Pretzel - sea salt, house mustards, Widmer's cheese\nHickory Nut Bourbon-Caramel Pie \n\nLocated just steps from the capital and owned by the team behind L'Etoile, my dinner destination later that evening, it was to Graze that my lunch plans led me after a tour of Camp Randall Stadium and although expediting from the kitchen would prove oddly paced, at best, my meal in the sunbathed space left very little to be desired. Featuring a farm-fresh menu focused heavily on Wisconsin purveyors with floor-to-(20+foot)-ceiling windows offering wide views of the midday bustle outside it was near the rear of the restaurant that I opted for a shaded seat and with a menu of daily specials alongside several signatures a three-course meal of small plates was created, the service itself perfectly pleasant in offering up apologies for long delays from a kitchen that was dreadfully slow in preparing something as simple as a charcuterie board despite the restaurant being less than 1/3 full. Certainly not starving after a hearty breakfast it was after nearly thirty-five minutes that my selection of three cheeses and two meats with several house-made accoutrements arrived and with each item tallying $3-to-$3.50 aside from the ultra-aged cheddar I'll simply say the additional $5 surcharge was entirely worthwhile, a sharp bite to the golden wedge better than any I tasted in England and just inching out the pate de Campagne for best thing on the pig-shaped board. Having mentioned issues with the kitchen I was unfortunately only a quarter into the charcuterie when my three hot plates arrived and setting aside the cold board with a bit of annoyance I found even more frustration with the overcooked pork belly, a limp and flavorless bao doing little to improve the flavor as pickled cabbage dominated each bite. Moving past the buns to things far superior it was next in Graze's signature curds that I did partake and squeaky-as-hell with plenty of brine I greedily dipped each bite in ranch - a flavor I generally dislike adding an aromatic finish to each bite. No less impressed by a salty pretzel with delicate chew beneath a soft, golden top it was back to the charcuterie that I turned as plates were collected and opting for one of three desserts another long delay would transpire, the twenty minutes thankfully justified by a hot slice of pie loaded with nuts and molten caramel atop a crisp and buttery crust.
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