The Blue Marlin
by Lisa Lathrop on 06/01/10 at 10:05 am
As featured in the August 2008 issue of Madison Originals Magazine.
The Blue Marlin has long been a favorite for seafood lovers seeking fine dining in a cozy, but comfortable setting. Today, the Hamilton Street establishment ranks among Madison’s top dining destinations. Three years ago, owner Chuck Taylor took the helm, committing to The Blue Marlin’s tradition of excellence.
Chuck was no newcomer to Madison’s dining scene. A Madison native, he entered the food and beverage realm more than 30 years ago. During the 1970s, he was a dedicated, fun-loving math teacher at Cherokee Middle School, inspiring kids in his class. In addition, he worked nights bartending and flipping burgers at the Laurel Tavern, and later Irish Waters. In 1980, he decided to purchase his own restaurant. Armed with several years of experience, a gregarious personality, and a large measure of charisma, Chuck purchased the former Grotto on State Street, transforming it into the Flamingo Restaurant and Bar, which quickly became a popular and lively campus gathering place.
This and the remainder of Chuck’s resume reflects his dedication to making his hometown a great city. He was a member of the Alcohol Licensing Revue Committee, a Convention and Visitor’s Bureau board member, was appointed to the governor’s Tourism Council, and is past president of its spin-off organization, Madison Festivals Inc. which owns rights to Taste of Madison, Mad City Marathon, and Kites on Ice. He has five children, and his wife, Dr. Joanne Taylor, is a pediatrician with Dean Health System.
During the Flamingo years, Chuck experienced a foreshadowing of his future at The Blue Marlin. He and Joanne traveled to Napa Valley on a wine tour set up by a local wine distributor. “We served a few wines at the Flamingo, but I was interested in learning more so I signed on to the tour. By the fourth vineyard, I was feeling guilty, and to justify my existence, I said that I owned The Blue Marlin. I knew the Berge brothers who owned it, and for years I had eaten dinner there every Wednesday and lunch every Friday.”
After 18 years, Chuck sold the Flamingo. His goal had been to bring better food to the college campus, but when the drinking age changed, so did his business. “Business went down because of it,” he says. A five-year run managing The Tavern League of Wisconsin followed, but three years ago, Chuck decided to re-enter the restaurant business world. The opportunity to purchase The Blue Marlin materialized as fortuitously as Chuck’s self-fulfilling prophecy had popped into his mind. “When the Berges were building their next restaurant empire, I was in one of the buildings under deconstruction. Another one of the brothers suggested that I buy The Blue Marlin. I hadn’t known it was for sale, but pursued it, and within a short time we closed the deal.”
At first, Chuck says he watched the restaurant’s operation and evaluated it. “The Blue Marlin had already earned an impressive reputation in the 1990s as the first restaurant to bring fresh fish and a good wine list to Madison. Today it offers nearly 80 wines from around the world with an emphasis on U.S. wines.”
“The Blue Marlin didn’t need improvement; it’s all been a natural progression while maintaining a commitment to continuing with quality products,” says Chuck, who claims the key to his restaurant’s success depends upon everyone involved. “I surround myself with capable employees; they are quality people. I rely on my kitchen and wait staff, who are friendly, knowledgeable, and often develop friendships with our repeat customers.” He adds, “My philosophy is to offer the best food minus the snob appeal.” That translates into fine dining in a casual atmosphere.
As the menu states, “The Blue Marlin offers fresh, innovative seafood with an emphasis on local, seasonal products.” To that accomplishment, Chuck credits executive chef Angelo Cattaneo, who masterminds an excellent variety of fish preparations along with unique presentations. Angelo is experienced in buying and selling seafood as well as its preparation. He previously worked in the meat and fish department at Whole Foods where he gained product expertise, and prior to coming on board at The Blue Marlin, he was employed at Sardine. Chuck shares, “Angelo’s culinary creativity was showcased last October when he was runner-up to Shinji Muramoto in Madison’s Dueling Chef competition.”
The menu brims with taste-tempting seafood selections. “We change the menu every two to three months, reflecting the seasonality of produce and fish that are available,” says Chuck. “In June we feature Copper River Salmon from Canada, and soft shell crabs from the East Coast are plentiful during June and July.” There are eight to ten fish choices and three or four varieties of shell fish. Appropriately, blue marlin is always on the menu. “Every couple of months, we change its preparation.”
Nightly, there’s a chef’s four-course tasting. “It’s so popular, we sometimes run out,” warns Chuck. “The chef’s tasting includes three kinds of seafood or shellfish (not on the menu) and dessert. We pair the four courses with special wine selections. Additionally, there is a succulent 10-ounce New York strip steak option for meat lovers, and a vegetarian option. Bouillabaisse, a signature entrée with mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops, crab meat, and fish in a roasted fennel-saffron-tomato broth, is perennially on the menu. “We are one of a few area restaurants serving live Maine lobster. We only take it off the menu when they go into dormancy and become prohibitively pricy.”
First course items include oysters, crab cakes, and gulf shrimp cocktail. And if you save room, The Blue Marlin’s original key lime pie or a featured homemade dessert make a perfect ending to a memorable meal. Ice creams are also made in-house, as well as sorbets concocted from unusual mixtures such as wasabi sorbet. “We buy local when we can and purchase from some of the Farmers’ Market vendors. Produce such as heirloom tomatoes, spinach, arugula, ramps, pattypan squash, and other unique vegetables as well as savory sauces draw rave reviews from diners who often beg for the recipes,” says Chuck.
With rising food prices, Chuck accepts the challenge of offering quality seafood that is still affordable. “The fun part is that it makes me look around and learn about fish we’ve never used, and to explore different textures and flavors.” He adds, “I truly appreciate the importance of an organization like Madison Originals at a time when there are so many restaurants in the area. Madison is lucky to have independent restaurants in such a wide variety of ethnic flavors. Madison is a great restaurant town.”
