A Culinary Adventure, From Gardens and Markets to Restaurants and Home Kitchens
Jan 31, 2013
10:09 AM
Local FlavorA Nutty Experience
When I asked Julie Adriansjach, who co-owns Bandung and the Nutty Bar with her husband Pram, where she learned to bartend, she replied with the obvious—she’s from Wisconsin. Growing up, her parents loved to gather with friends and family around the bar in their house. Those years watching her parents mix drinks (and perhaps trying a few concoctions of her own) paid off. Now Julie and Pram offer a mix of cocktails in their bar, a spacious, welcoming and fun-spirited room just off of the dining area of Bandung, Madison’s only Indonesian restaurant.
The Nutty Bar hosts various weekly events, from tunes spun by local DJs and Trivia Mondays, to live Honky-Tonk and Brazilian music. Local art is exhibited on the wall, while small tables provide plenty of room for dancing, and to set down your delicious food and drink when you want to groove. The yellow walls, dark wood and soft recessed lights create an upbeat and tropical vibe. Julie and Pram’s midwest hospitality will make you feel right at home.
The drinks list is extensive, featuring everything from sidecars, martinis and caipirinhas, to local and imported beer by the bottle, a nice selection of wine and Gosling’s Ginger Beer (the best ever!). But it’s the specialty cocktails, such as the Dragon Cosmo made with dragon fruit infused vodka, that stand out. Their signature drink, the Nutty Coconut, is a concoction of coconut liqueur and juice, vanilla vodka and pandan simple syrup.
To really kick those wintertime blues, I suggest you try Julie’s recent creation, the Spice Island Bourbon. This drink is a tropical party in your mouth. Hints of nutmeg mix with the aroma of star anise and cinnamon in a mix of bourbon, hazelnut liqueur, cardamaro, allspice dram and a splash of ginger beer. Each sip leaves you with a warm feeling inside and out. And might even shake a new dance move out of you.
The Nutty Bar (at Bandung Indonesian Restaurant)
600 Williamson St.
255-6910, bandungrestaurant.com
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Hours:
Mon.–Wed: 5 p.m.–9 p.m.
Thur.–Sa.t: 5 p.m.–12 a.m.
Sun: 5 a.m.–9 p.m.
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Writing has always provided an anchor for my passions, which focus deeply on food, dance, environmental conservation and culture. I grew up “helping” my dad cultivate a prolific garden that produced too many radishes and watching my mom make almost all of our food from scratch, including horehound candy. Meanwhile I took my first African dance class in high school, which ignited my continuing quest to travel to West Africa, via Europe and South America, to study dance.
