Kaladi’s 2.0

Fish tacos, lamb gyros, Chicago dogs, and regional favorites in an industrial park? We knew we had to try Kaladi’s 2.0. Located on the southeastern side of Hudson between industrial plants and warehouses stands this eclectic eatery. At first glance it may be hard to believe that this place would boast such a diverse and delicious menu, but as we’ve learned, you can’t judge a restaurant by its building, but rather by its flavors.

According to the menu, the specialties offered include salad selections, deli sandwiches, burgers, breakfast, “Kaladi Klassics” - their spin on classic sandwiches, and the “Dog Pound” - featuring several hot dogs and polish sausages that Chicago would be proud of.

The atmostphere fell somewhere between fast food (seat yourself, order at the counter) and deli/bistro (nice tables and fun wall decor). The friendly service and warm welcome made us feel like guests in their home. 

With a menu overflowing with items we love to eat, ordering was not an easy process. After nearly a fortnight of deliberation Eric stepped up to the menu and ordered the Italian Panini, sliced garlic chicken breast with roasted red pepper, pepperoni, provolone cheese and marinara.

Andrea chose the Windy City Chili Dog, a hot dog smothered in chili and topped with cheese. We picked a Personal Pita Pizza for our girls to split. We were pleasantly surprised to find that all menu items came with homemade kettle chips and a beverage. They even threw in an extra beverage for our kids’ split plate. We substituted steak fries for the girls for a small fee.

The wait time wasn’t long, and soon our order was at our table. The portions were plenty and the flavors were full-bodied. The Panini was a little on the greasy side but worth every extra calorie. The Pita Pizza pleased the girls, and their steak fries were a hit all around the table.

Andrea wasn’t sure if her entree was a dog with chili, or chili that happened to have a hot dog in the vicinity. The generous portion of chili and cheese was an excellent beef and bean chili that was warm and hearty. It paired nicely with the all beef hot dog. 

Wether you’re looking for good, cheap or unique food, a place for your family or date night, Kaladi’s 2.0 is the place for you. Our bill came to $21.36, a steal for food that good. It truly is Hudson’s tastiest restaurant in an business park.

Kaladi’s 2.0

3250 Heiser Street

Hudson, WI 54016

www.kaladis2.com

715-531-1944

Carbone’s Pizza

We ventured to Hudson one November evening to see them “Light up the Night”, an annual event where Santa comes downtown, waves a jingle bell and lights all the Christmas lights. It’s Downtown Hudson’s salute to the beginning of the Christmas season. Along the way, we decided to stop for pizza. We chose Carbone’s Pizzeria. It had beckoned to us for some time, but was never quite what we were looking for. On this night, it was exactly what we wanted. This event was nearly six months ago, but there are some things about the restaurant that still stand out in our minds. 

At first glance, one may not be impressed with the restaurant as it’s storefront is lackluster, and only a few booths inside, but good food, good view and good service will soon change your mind, as we found out.

The menu included pizza, lasagna, salads and something called a pizza sandwich. With a name like that, the Christenson’s had to try it. Turns out a pizza sandwich is not quite a pizza, nor is it quite a calzone, but something in the middle. An open face calzone if you will. We ordered the original cheese sandwich for our girls to split and the “Meaty” for the adults. 

 

While waiting for our order, the children, well the adults too, were entertained by watching the pizzas being made through a window. The staff was quite friendly and didn’t mind the questions and excitement. Since we were all so engaged in watching the pizza progress, the wait didn’t seem long at all. Soon we were cutting in to our pizza sandwiches. 

The sandwiches arrived pre-split. A helpful detail that the staff saw to so we didn’t have to mess with it ourselves. They looked delicious so we dug right in. The first thing we noticed was the cheese. There was tons of it. Ooey gooey strings of fantastic cheese. Yum. The dough, sauce and other toppings complemented each other nicely. 

 

These two sandwiches proved to be just the right amount to fill our family up while leaving a little room for some Christmas goodies we were anticipating at the shops downtown. 

 

Total bill came to $15.83. Not bad for dinner and a show! Family friendly, and great tasting food. Another hit in the Hudson Pizzeria lineup.

Carbone’s Pizza

212 Locust St 

Hudson, WI 54016
(715) 386-8228

The Nova

Thirty-two years is a cause for celebration and that’s what brought us to the Nova last month. Andrea picked the spot for her birthday lunch, so all four Christensons made their way to this cozy little spot on the hill. 

The Nova is connected to the Historic Casanova Liquors and the owners say they wanted a place where they could showcase their wines while offering good food. We can’t speak for the wine, but we can brag about their cuisine. Although the Casanova Bottling Company dates back over a century, their menu is anything but dated, featuring a menu that changes with the season. The wide variety included appetizers, sandwiches, salads, entrees and desserts.

We arrived for a late lunch and as hoped, the restaurant was between rushes. We were promptly seated next to the fireplace; a welcome amenity on a snowy day. The atmosphere boasted a casual elegance with Tiffany lamps, suits of armor and wine-themed decor. On a nearby table were Hershey’s Kisses for a sweet indulgence while waiting for the main attraction.

 

Our waitress was polite and knowledgeable. She also was skilled at knowing just when to come to our table to offer her service, which we appreciated as we navigated the menu. She let us know about the kid’s pastas they had available, but didn’t have on the menu, and offered to split the mac ‘n cheese between the kids as it would be a large portion for just one small appetite.

 

We started with a wonderful appetizer of warmed brie over apples. It had some sort of yummy crunchy topping, was drizzled with honey and was served with bruschetta chips. If you go, you have to have this appetizer.

The birthday girl chose the Nova-dorf salad, the Nova’s take on a classic Waldorf salad. It was leafy greens, sliced apples, grapes, walnuts, and dried cherries tossed in a seasoned mayonnaise dressing. It is one of their signature salads, and with good reason. It was delightful. The herbed breadsticks it came with were also quite tasty.

Eric chose the Crab and Tuna Sandwich. A crab and tuna patty served on a bun with tomato and mayo. The sandwich exceeded expectation and was complemented well with plump red grapes and crispy kettle chips, making it a well balanced dish in texture and flavor.

The girls felt similar about their mac ‘n cheese as the healthy portion size was quickly consumed by both. Mom and Dad had a smidgen of entree envy after tasting the noodles and sauce.

 

Total cost for the meal, beverages and tip, $46.40. Overall, it was an experience worth repeating, and we are already plotting our next trip to the little wine bar cum restaurant on the side of a hill.

The Nova
236 Coulee Road
Hudson, WI 54016
715-386-5333 - thenovaofhudson.com

Cold Stone

One of our favorite places for ice cream is Cold Stone Creamery. If you’ve never been, here’s a short lesson. They have ice cream of various base flavors (from vanilla and chocolate to fun flavors such as cake batter or seasonal favorites like dark chocolate peppermint), and a multitude of “mix-ins” (candies, fruit, cookies and syrups). You pick your ice cream, then you pick your mix-ins and then they put it all on a “cold stone” (a slab of granite that is kept frozen, by some feat of engineering that is unknown to us) and mix it up until voila, super premium, delicious ice cream, made to order!

We stopped at the Hudson Cold Stone for a pick-me-up. It’s always tricky deciding what flavors to go for. Sweet Cream with Oreo’s mixed in? Cheesecake with raspberries? Mint with fudge? After long deliberation, we figured it out. Decadent dark chocolate with black cherries for Eric, Coffee ice cream with Heath bars mixed in for Andrea (a standard favorite) and Cotton Candy with chocolate chips for the kids.

It was a beautiful day so we decided to eat outside. The ice cream was as expected - absolutely fabulous! Cold Stone is always a winner. Eric’s combo of the dark chocolate and cherries will be going on the permanent roster, Andrea’s coffee/heath never disappoints and how can you go wrong with cotton candy AND chocolate chips. Two “Love It” scoop sizes, and two kid’s scoop sizes came to about $12. Yes, perhaps a little spendy for ice cream, but worth the splurge once in a while.

1005 Pearson Drive

Hudson, WI 54016
www.coldstonecreamery.com

Perkins

On a recent trip to Hudson we had difficulties selecting a place to eat. One by one a restaurant came into view and one by one we rejected it for various reasons. Too fussy, too pricey, too “bar-like”, not ANOTHER pizza place. Until finally we chose Perkins. It seemed perfect for our appetites, our budget, and our desire to have something that wasn’t fancy.

This particular restaurant fit the ideal Perkins mold perfectly. It was large, nicely decorated, clean, and smelled great. We were seated promptly in a spacious booth. The Perkins slogan is “Breakfast is just the beginning”, but for us, it was also the end. The end of deciding what to have that is. Each of us chose something from their breakfast fare. Eric picked the Florentine Benedict, Andrea chose the Border Grilled Chicken Omelette and we got an order of Rainbow Pancakes off the children’s menu for our kids to share.

As usual, after ordering it was time for a trip to the restrooms. The ladies’ room was clean, well stocked and had a changing table - our top three criteria for an A-plus rating! By the time we were done in the bathroom, and had time to play a little of the game on the children’s menu, our food was up.

Eric’s Florentine Benedict was made with Egg Beaters, Canadian bacon, spinach, sliced tomatoes and swiss cheese; and was served with fruit. Its robust flavor would never have let on that it was from their “Lite” menu, and was under 500 calories. A “diet” dish anyone is sure to enjoy.

Andrea’s Border Omelette was prepared with grilled chicken, Egg Beaters, green peppers, onions, tangy southwest sauce and sour cream; and was served with a slice of toast and fruit. (From their Lite menu: 410 calories) The omelette itself was quite good. Prepared well, with plenty of the promised veggies. The southwest sauce was a little more spicy than she prefers, but paired with the sour cream it worked out fine.

The pancakes for the kids came pre-split (kudos to the kitchen staff and server on that one!), and covered with loads of sprinkles and whipped cream. The girls loved it! The order came with bacon which wasn’t as well received (what are we doing wrong that our kids don’t like bacon?!), and ended with a cookie a-piece. One of our favorite parts of the whole meal was the kids' cups. They were real cups covered with a lid. What a bright idea!

All in all it was “just what the doctor ordered” that day. Simple, tasty food, cooked well, served with a smile, and didn’t break the bank. Total with drinks, taxes, and tip came to $31.

1040 Pearson Drive

Hudson, WI 54016

715-386-9441
www.perkinsrestaurants.com

Red’s Savoy Pizza

It’s not Chicago, it’s not New York City, but one glance through the restaurant section of the Hudson yellow pages shows there are many great pizza places in this fair Wisconsin city. Recently we sampled another one: Red’s Savoy Pizza. Although the storefront, found in a strip mall south of I-94, would not normally lend itself to the thought “fantastic pizza inside” what we found was indeed good enough to pit against anything the Windy City or Big Apple have to offer.

Given the tip to stop by some friends of ours, we decided to give it a try. When we entered the restaurant, we were greeted and given a menu. Being that it was the middle of the afternoon, we had the place to ourselves, and sat in a booth next to the window. We opened the pamphlet style menu and were pleased and surprised to find in-store coupons right inside. In addition to a wide variety of pizza offerings, they had a full complement of appetizers and multiple sandwich and pasta selections. Our decision was made when we noticed a coupon for a $.99 kids pizza with the purchase of any 14 inch.


We picked “Chicken Delight” for Mom and Dad, and cheese for the kids. After placing our order we made use of the game room, though we didn’t spend a single quarter as our kiddos are still young enough to think that “Demo Mode” is an actual game. Also, while waiting for our pie, we discovered we could choose which channel to watch on the multiple televisions, a bonus since we wanted something more wholesome than what was on when we walked in.


Just as the natives were getting restless, or 20 minutes later, our pizzas were ready. We had ordered the original thin crust as they had declared it to be their specialty. The Chicken Delight had olive oil in place of a red sauce and was also topped with chicken, obviously, mushrooms, onions and mozzarella cheese. Chicken pizza is never Eric’s favorite, but that did not stop him from eating more than his fair share. The crust was great, the spices and chicken were perfect and the cheese stretched from Wisconsin to New York. The cheese pizza was just as good and disappeared rapidly, as the girls and us enjoyed the red sauce and cheese.


Aside from the pizza, the highlight of the day was the quintessential pizzeria cup: an over-sized, blue, nubbly, plastic cup that makes the whole experience just that much more authentic. We left with our bellies full, our thirst quenched and with some pizza for later, all for under twenty-two bucks. We were happy for the recommendation and happier still that we followed it. We pass it on to you!

Red's Savoy Pizza
1830 Webster St
Hudson, WI 54016

Phone: 715-531-0500
redsavoypizzahudson.com

Mama Maria's Italian Restaurant

In search of a family friendly restaurant we traveled just north of Hudson to a little community called, ironically, North Hudson. There we found Mama Maria’s Italian Restaurant. As we turned in, the exterior seemed inviting to our hungry family of four. Deciding to go for it, we went inside.

Upon entering we quickly realized this wouldn’t be the casual dining experience we anticipated. Greeted warmly by the hostess and seated right away, we discovered a nicely decorated Italian restaurant complete with linen napkins, chandeliers and formal place settings. Before we had a chance to sit, our waitress welcomed us properly with a glass of ice water. Although they did provide kids menus and crayons without asking, Eric had to ask for booster seats for our girls.

After taking a deep breath and reorienting ourselves to a finer dining evening, we began perusing the menu. The children’s menu was reasonably priced with ample selection, including the “Just Noodles” with marinara our kids enjoy. The regular menu was filled with classic and classic twists on Italian favorites, ranging from ten bucks on up. Choosing just one was, once again, quite difficult. Eric and Andrea decided to share the Italian Sampler and have a little bit of three different dishes. Macy and Anna were more than happy to split their child’s size spaghetti. Our order barely made it to the kitchen before our table was filled with a warm bread basket, garlic butter and our salad. None of which lasted very long amidst four hungry Christensons.

With fresh ingredients and house made pasta, our menu warned us, there would be a wait. Sadly this turned out to be true; however it was worth our time. The two entrees proved to be just the right amount of food for all four of us. The spaghetti was generously sized for a child’s portion. The Italian Sampler included “A trio of our best! Canneloni topped with parmesan cream sauce, cheese ravioli with tomato meat sauce and tortellini alla fini.” and was truly a meal for two. Smooth cream sauce, and chunky tomato sauce tickled our taste buds. Each bite was wonderful. The spaghetti must have been good too as our children cleaned their plates in record time with no arguments.

The service was great, price was fair (two entrees, no drinks, plus tip: $25), and the food delicious. This would be a great spot for date night, family celebrations or business meetings.

800 6th St. North
Hudson, WI 54016
715-386-7949

www.mamamarias.com