Cap Times - Our breakfast food cart was reviewed in "Let's Eat: Ugly Apple food cart turns homely produce into homey breakfast," with our mini apple fritters singled out as the stars of the menu.
BRAVA Magazine - Laurel was featured in BRAVA's Women to Watch profile "Laurel Burleson: Foodie on a mission," highlighting our breakfast catering and commitment to reducing food waste.
City Cast Madison - Laurel appeared on the podcast episode titled "Where to Get Paczki in Madison This Mardi Gras" to talk about these traditional Polish pastries.
Wisconsin Public Radio - Laurel joined Wisconsin Today to share apple recipes and ideas for reducing food waste in "Wisconsin chef shares tips to ensure your apples don't go to waste."
Civic Media Mornings - Laurel joined Civic Media Mornings to talk about Paczki Day and the preparation behind our traditional Polish pastries.
WKOW 27 News - WKOW interviewed Laurel and Tyson about our Fat Tuesday paczki and food-waste mission in "Local cafe focuses on limiting food waste this Fat Tuesday."
NBC15 / WMTV - NBC15 interviewed Laurel about our breakfast food cart and use of local overstock produce in "Sweet success: Food cart community grows in Madison."
WORT 89.9 FM - Laurel appeared on WORT's Stuff Yer Face to discuss how we turn imperfect produce into breakfast and lunch for courthouse workers and downtown Madison.
Madison Magazine - Food Carts - Our food cart was recommended in "Cart Blanche: 15 food carts to hit up this summer," with praise for our seasonal fritters and use of local produce.
Madison Magazine - Sustainability - We were featured under "Never Pass on Seconds" in "Sustainability is an intention at these Madison eateries," highlighting our use of local overstock produce.
Isthmus - Isthmus featured our breakfast food cart in "Bringing breakfast back," exploring our early-morning menu and commitment to using local farmers' overstock produce.
In the fall, at the end of the season, I went to a farmer I work with for some squash and whatever else she could give me. I was expecting squash, garlic, potatoes, and maybe some Swiss chard. She sold me all of those things plus had some turnips, radishes and a lot of mustard greens. I haven't done a lot with mustard greens, eating or cooking. I have treated them like collard greens before, slow braising with bacon and cider, but these were tenderer than collards and really beautiful. She just had too many and not enough people wanted them at the market. I told her I didn't have a plan for them, but I would give it a shot.
I didn't necessarily think it would be easy, but starting my own food cart for Madison Wisconsin is not as easy as I thought, and I am not open yet! I officially open the Ugly Apple next week! The city of Madison website has tons of information but there was a lot I had to learn on my own. And there's a lot of doubt. The upside of the cart plan is the start up is about one tenth of what a new restaurant would cost and I can get up and running relatively quickly. It's still a lot of money though, and if you are going it alone (like I am) it is a lot of work. There are things I never thought I would have to learn about (like RV equipment and internet security) and lots of things I knew I'd have to know, but didn't realize the detail (like insurance, labor laws, and effective blog posting).
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