Slice’s Bar & Grill, on Pennsylvania Avenue, near the old Oscar Mayer factory site, has a reputation for making one of the best bar burgers in town.
It’s well deserved, and the North Side bar has a sign on the wall showing that its meat is from Jenifer Street Market. That’s critical for customers who care about where their food comes from.

A group of loyal customers kept Slice’s Bar & Grill going the past two years, its owner said.
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Slice’s cheeseburger is available in ½-pound and ¼-pound versions, and at a time when prices are going up in many places, the menu shows burger prices crossed out and reduced: from $8.25 to $7.25 for the ½-pounder and from $7 to $6 for the ¼-pounder.
When I came in for lunch on a recent Friday, owner James “Slice” Krause was grilling burgers behind the bar, calmly handling a steady stream of dine-in and takeout orders.
Krause later told me that early in the pandemic meat prices went up dramatically and he reprinted his menus to reflect that. Prices settled down, but didn’t come all the way back, he said. When they became more manageable, he lowered his burger prices.
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Slice’s prices may go up again soon, Krause said. “Some of our stuff is going through the roof. Chicken is going nuts right now.”

Slice’s Bar & Grill is known for its burger.
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The burger was quite good, but wasn’t my favorite. The meat was high quality, as advertised, and the toasted bun didn’t dominate, which I appreciated. I chose pepper jack cheese and it was applied thick enough so it didn’t disappear into the meat like it does on some cheeseburgers.
It came with leaf lettuce, a slice of red tomato and grilled onions. Customers can also order onions raw. A pickle spear came on the side and I cut it up and put it inside the bun along with ketchup and mustard.

The potato salad is made by Terra O’Brien.
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The burger didn’t include a side, so I ordered the potato salad ($3), which Krause said is made by his girlfriend, Terra O’Brien. It’s good, but doesn’t taste homemade.

The chicken salad croissant sandwich.
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The chicken salad croissant ($5.75) was better, although I later learned the salad itself comes from a distributor. It’s a tad sweet, maybe from chopped sweet pickles. It had the right amount of mayo and the croissant was perfectly grilled.
As a side, I got a half order of french fries ($2.50), which were medium thick and unsalted. They come from a supplier and looked ordinary, but tasted fantastic.

The burrito pizza puff is described on the menu as a “giant pillow of happiness.”
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The burrito pizza puff ($3) was the perfect snack. The menu accurately describes it as a “giant pillow of happiness.” Its golden, deep-fried flaky shell yielded to cheese, tomato sauce and ground sausage. It’s unclear why “burrito” is in the name and Krause said that’s just what it says on the box.

The bean-heavy chili at Slice’s Bar & Grill.
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The chili ($3.75/$4.25) is referred to on the menu as “Slice’s secret recipe,” and the cup looked more like a bowl. Could it win a chili cook-off? No, but the flavor was fine. There were just too many beans for my taste.
A few weeks earlier, I showed up at Slice’s for its Friday fish fry, which also has some renown. Every seat was taken by 6 p.m., and my group didn’t want to wait, so we went elsewhere.
During my recent lunch I asked whether the fish fry was served then. The capable bartender who handled the lunch rush solo, said while the evening fish is beer battered (there’s also baked cod), what’s available by day is a four-piece order that comes to them battered. Krause said for the fish fry dinner he makes the batter himself.
Instead, for lunch, I tried to order the walleye fingers from the appetizer menu, but the bartender said they’re having trouble getting them. “I’m pretty sure we’ll never get them back,” Krause said. “They’ve been out for two years.”
Slice’s is also known for its goulash, which Krause makes every Thursday for his lunch special.
Krause has owned the place for 26 years, initially with Robert Bellamy when it was called Slice-N-Bullits.
Bellamy left in 2007, and Krause shortened the name to Slice’s. Before they owned their own place, Krause and Bellamy worked at the Caribou Tavern on East Johnson Street, where Bellamy was known as “Bullit.”
Krause, 53, was putting a knife back into its sheath, missed the sheath and the knife went through his hand, cutting some nerves. He was 22 then and didn’t go to the hospital, he said. He just taped it up.
“But every time somebody came in, it was, ‘What happened to your hand? What happened to your hand? What happened to your hand?’” he said. “One guy started calling me (Slice) and everybody else did.”
He said his hand healed in about two weeks, but he still can’t feel the side of one finger.
Krause works lunch Monday through Friday and cooks Sunday breakfast, but is training someone else for that shift, he said. His bartenders cook at dinner, except for on Fridays when he handles the fish fry.
While getting certain products during the pandemic has been “hit and miss” every week, Krause said business stayed steady. Bartenders lost hours when there was no drinking inside, but Slice’s did a lot of takeout.
“We had a lot of support,” he said. “We have a lot of loyal, old-time customers, so they took care of us.”

Before it was Slice’s Bar & Grill, the bar on Pennsylvania Avenue was Slice-N-Bullits.
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James “Slice” Krause has owned Slice’s Bar & Grill, which used to be Slice-N-Bullits, for 26 years.
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The 15 best-reviewed restaurants in the Wisconsin State Journal from 2021
Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery

Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery, 2827 Atwood Ave., opened in 2009 by Daryl Sisson and Kathy Brooks, did well in the warmer months by turning its parking lot into an outdoor cafe. One reason to visit the restaurant for brunch is its otherworldly smoked salmon and pesto omelet with cream cheese, which is served at all times. Another reason is its generous fish fry featuring panko-crusted cod, garlic-Parmesan potatoes, oven-roasted vegetables, homemade coleslaw and housemade tartar sauce. It’s also served any day, any time. Read the full review here.
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Wonderstate Coffee

Wonderstate Coffee, 27 W. Main St., which opened a year ago on the Capitol Square, not only has wonderful coffee, but offers an inspired menu with lots of healthy choices. The mushroom sandwich on a sweet-tasting, housemade brioche bun is a standout from a menu of standouts. Inside are sautéed oyster mushrooms, kale, baby Swiss, caramelized onions, an over-easy egg and miso aioli. Wonderstate also does well by its soups. Read the full review here.
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The Hilltop

The Hilltop, 4173 County Road P, Cross Plains, was founded in 1938, and has been a restaurant ever since, undergoing expansions along the way. Its 6-ounce, center-cut filet mignon with sautéed mushrooms and onions was the best steak my friend and I had ever had. As an appetizer, the dynamite shrimp are ridiculously addictive. I agreed with my friend who called her meal at The Hilltop “freakishly good.” Read the full review here.
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Takara Sushi Station

Takara Sushi Station, 696 S. Whitney Way, brings unlimited sushi and other items direct to booths with a conveyor belt system. Almost all of it was first-rate on a recent visit. Read the full review here.
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The Harvey House

The Harvey House, 644 W. Washington Ave., which opened in July, bills itself as a modern-day supper club, and its atmosphere, prices and service elevate it into the upper echelon of Madison dining. The restaurant even landed at No. 8 on Esquire magazine’s “Best New Restaurants in America, 2021.” The highlight of a recent meal was the Superior walleye that had a crisp crust made with an ingenious thin layer of buttery rye bread. Read the full review here.
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Oliva

Oliva, 751 High Point Road, which opened in 2008 at High Point and Old Sauk roads, is as good as ever. Chef/owner Mehmet Dayi goes heavy on the tomato sauce with fantastic results, making it hard to choose between his Mediterranean and Italian fare. It just depends on what you’re in the mood for. Service in the large dining room is excellent, even on busy nights when the staff is stretched thin. Read the full review here.
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Villa Tap

Villa Tap, 2302 Packers Ave., has such a popular fish fry that owner Chris “Chico” Warren shuts down his grill on Fridays, and adds an extra fryer for the Icelandic cod, walleye, lake perch, bluegill and jumbo shrimp. The cod dinner features three thick pieces of fish, hand-cut by Warren, that are lightly and flavorfully breaded, with no greasiness. Read the full review here.
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Kettle Black Kitchen

Kettle Black Kitchen, 1835 Monroe St., is an intimate, charming restaurant that opened in August in a spot that formerly housed Joon, Burgrito and Double S BBQ. Don’t miss chef/owner Brian Hamilton’s French onion soup, shrimp and grits cakes with bacon, and sour orange pie. Read full review here.
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Marigold Kitchen

Marigold Kitchen, 118 S. Pinckney St., reopened in July after it was closed for 16 months due to the pandemic. With its smart, cheery, urban feel and signature breakfast potatoes, the cafe has been a Madison favorite for 20 years, and its recent change in ownership has been seamless. New owners Kristy Blossom Heine and Clark Heine, who took over the business from John Gadau and Phillip Hurley, had lots of experience as Marigold employees. Read full review here.
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International Catering Collective

The International Catering Collective bus, 709 Atlas Ave., is parked in front of Gaylord Catering, offering some of the best, thickest clam chowder on Fridays. It’s loaded with potatoes, carrots and tender clams. While some clam chowders derive most of their flavor from cream, this one had much more going on. The Friday haddock is also first-rate. Read the full review here.
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D’Vino

D’Vino, 116 King St., which means “of wine,” is just the type of rustic Italian restaurant and wine bar King Street needed. Chef Dino Maniaci and Jason Hoke opened the restaurant in March of 2020. The tortellini con pesto with puffy cheese tortellini, an exceptional pesto cream sauce, and roasted tomatoes and asparagus cannot be beat. Read the full review here.
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Marquette Hotel Cafe

The Marquette Hotel Cafe, 414 S. Baldwin St., offers one of the most reasonably priced breakfasts in town with excellent coffee and amazing pastries, through a self-ordering system. The omelets, breakfast sandwiches and fruit cups prepared by former Manna Café kitchen manager, Chris Stephens, are all must-haves. Read the full review here.
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Hone

Hone, 708 1/4 E. Johnson St., in the former Forequarter space, was the most interesting new restaurant I got takeout from during the pandemic. Mike Parks, Hone’s owner, discovered many of the restaurant’s eclectic offerings during his nearly eight years in the United States Air Force. Don’t overlook the orange scallops, five perfectly seared specimens in a winning curry yogurt sauce. Read the full review here.
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Ancora Cafe + Bakery

Ancora Cafe + Bakery, 611 Sherman Ave., which opened in February in Maple Bluff, makes the loss of Manna Cafe easier to accept. The sundried and tomato & goat cheese scones are worth a visit on their own. Also enticing is the cafe’s egg & cheese sandwich on a tender brioche roll with pesto aioli, and its breakfast burrito with scrambled egg, sausage, cheddar, pico de gallo and salsa roja. Read the full review here.
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Louisianne’s Etc.

Louisianne’s Etc., 7464 Hubbard Ave., Middleton, has loyal customers that kept it going through the pandemic by getting carryout every week. The restaurant has stayed consistent over its 29 years because it has had the same head chef, Kevin Ostrand. He does great things with catfish and jambalaya. Vegetarians will be happy to discover the fettuccine with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and black olives sautéed with mushrooms in garlic butter and finished with sherry cream. Read the full review here.
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Read restaurant news at go.madison.com/restaurantnews.