When I was a 12-year-old mouth, I worked at Subway sandwiches. I remember the day we started selling vegetarian patties, only consumable with a heap of barbeque sauce. Then in college, one of my friends invited me to their vegetarian Thanksgiving, and I discovered why tofurky almost sounds like a swear. I don’t know if I’ve come a long way or if food has, but today’s vegetarian options are something I’ll not only order from time to time, but something I’ll actually crave. When it comes to some of Madison’s most beloved vegetarian options, look no further than its longest-running vegetarian restaurant, named after an animal you’re not allowed to eat.
Jennie Capellaro opened Green Owl Cafe in 2009. The restaurant found a lot of success over the next 10 years, as well as Erick Fruehling, a dishwasher who would work through the ranks as he attended school. Erick says, “I just really enjoyed working in that high-pace environment. The days go by really quick. There’s always something to do, and there’s plenty of room to experiment with food and try new things and new ideas.” To put his ambition to the test, Erick purchased Green Owl Cafe from Jennie in November 2019.
“One of the things that was a big goal of mine taking over was making sure we’re attractive to a wide variety of people,” says Erick. “Not pigeonholing ourselves into people with plant-based diets.” Too many times have I taken friends to restaurants that didn’t have anything on the menu they could eat, whether because of allergies, religious reasons, or ethics. Watching them pick apart a side salad while I enjoy my entrée tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth, which generally means I won’t be coming back when I’m with that person. Turning this situation on its head, a vegetarian can take their meat-eating friend to Green Owl, where anyone who goes in with a receptive mind leaves satisfied.
Take the Peanut Macrobowl: sweet potato, coconut quinoa, steamed kale, shredded carrots and cabbage, scallions, cilantro, and sesame seeds served with a ginger-peanut sauce. An ensemble of something that looks almost like fried rice and meets the palette with a melody of flavor harmonized by texture. If you like food, odds are you’ll like this.
And then there’s the House Burger. This thoughtful combination of jalapenos, caramelized onion, arugula, aioli, and cashew cheez sauce on a Stalzy’s roll does precisely what I have come to insist on when choosing vegetarian foods: it doesn’t pretend to be meat. Though Erick offers a Beyond burger for those who prefer it, numbers don’t lie. Erick says, “95 percent of the burgers we sell are with that house-made patty.”
For a smaller café, Erick will be the first to tell you the menu feels big. There’s wings, nachos, fries, four burgers, four wraps, another nine sandwiches, pasta, grain bowls, salads, and soups. Will Ferrell joked on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee that he “likes a place with a lot of items on a menu because you know they do them all beautifully.” But in this case, it’s true. Erick says, “It’s hard to have a lot of things. I think quality can go down if you stretch yourself too thin, but people really, really like options. We did a menu change this winter and definitely broke a few hearts.”
The success of making it all work when it feels like too much comes down having a great staff. Erick makes it a point to give the incredible people he has working for him the space they need to be creative, often encouraging them to run with their ideas. He’s found that letting go has made him happier.
Cara Mosley, described as the in-house savant of all things sweet, has been with Green Owl since it opened. When it comes to what pastries will be on the menu, Erick is happy to delegate it all to Cara. “She makes just amazing things. I don’t know how she does it. She’ll tell me I need this, this, and this for a dessert, so I’ll get it for her. She does a ton of really amazing cheesecakes. She’s been doing a lot of cupcakes. A wide variety of different types of cookies. We’ll do ice cream sandwiches in the summer, layer cakes; she can do pretty much anything.”
In true Wisconsin fashion, Green Owl also has a full bar, and in true Green Owl fashion, Erick has ensured the drink menu’s upkeep is in the hands of a more experienced mixologist. Heaven is the front-of-house and bar manager. She’s the one coming up with monthly drink specials to fit the theme of the food specials. To get the precise flavors she’s looking for, she’ll infuse liquors with strawberries or jalapenos and create syrups to smooth out or enhance the drink’s profile.
At the top of the cocktail menu is Green Owl’s Spicy Margarita, which combines the month’s rotating house syrup with a house-infused spicy tequila. With a little bit of lime and a glass rimmed with Tajin, this drink excites tastebuds in an experience where the reward outweighs the risk. Imbibers imbibe.
Along with some other great cocktails and beers, Heaven has concocted some NA cocktails to round out the menu, which is in line with the overall mission of Green Owl to leave no diner behind. Anyone who comes through the front door would be hard pressed to find a menu item that could be considered an afterthought.
During the warmer months, the city has granted Green Owl and its neighbors access to the street to set up patio furniture and string lights. “You’re kind of on this busy corner, so it’s good for people watching and just hanging out in the neighborhood,” says Erick. And since seating often fills up fast, Green Owl has started providing grab and go options. Simply swing by, pick something from the cooler, and be on your way.
This article could’ve focused on Erick and his Madison roots—he’s a graduate of Madison East, has worked in a handful of area restaurants, earned his botany degree at UW–Madison, and even played in a local band-—but he stresses that Green Owl is about all the people making it a success. Whatever the future holds, I’m confident Erick and his team will continue proving that great food is one of the simplest paths to a more inclusive world.
Kyle Jacobson is a writer who, when asked by a farmer what they should name their twin baby cows, responded, “Café and Calf B.”
Photographs by Eric Tadsen.
Green Owl Cafe
1970 Atwood Avenue
Madison, WI 53704
(608) 285-5290
greenowlcafe.com