Dining Delight Beyond the District

Last weekend, I went to visit my best friends at University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI.  I spent a lot of time with my friends from study abroad, who I always have the best time with and eat the best food with. My friend Rachel, who attends UW, told us she had wanted to try this cool Middle Eastern restaurant on State Street, which is the main street filled with restaurants, shopping, and more. The restaurant is called Husnus and it is a small store front towards the start of the street. 

When you walk in, you feel as though you are transported to a quaint, culturally stimulating eatery in Turkey(not that I have been, but this is what we imagined). Truly, it led my friends and I to find ourselves saying "it feels like we're not in America anymore." Anyway, Husnus has a cool story/philosophy behind it. It is the first authentic Turkish restaurant in Madison, WI that uses creative innovation in addition to traditional practices. According to their website, Husnu's  Restaurant is "the ideal place to experience not only the delights of a healthy and delicious meal but also the comfort of genuine hospitality." I could not agree with this more. I felt very at home in the establishment and would definitely describe it as an ideal place to seek a generously large and delicious meal.


I ordered a dish called Yogurtlu Patlican which consisted of sliced eggplant seasoned and generously topped with a thick yoghurt sauce. The dish came with a side of rice pilaf with raisins and other dried fruits mixed in as seen bellow:

The eggplant is perfectly grilled and draped with authentic yogurt sauce over a pile of flavorful lettuce. The eggplant itself was delicious, but combined with the interesting fusion of flavors in the rice pilaf, it was transformed from good to extraordinary. If you ever find yourself in Madison, WI, I would greatly recommend trying Husnus. You won't be disappointed!