What’s Cookin’

As a current employee and the first customer in this place let me tell you it is EXCELLENT. Everything is done the right with no corners cut in the back or the front of this store. All of the food that comes out of here is made with the best and freshest ingredients and prepared to the best of standards. Give it a try, you won’t regret it.

This place is the perfect spot and a hidden gem. On the cool, sleepy side of Madison. You can enjoy a sit down breakfast or deli experience. Extremely clean. I used them for catering and Gayle accommodated all my requests. Also, lots of Paleo !

Place was clean and all staff were pleasant, they had recently implemented a new cash register/​checkout system so there were some kinks checking out (nothing to be negative about though) I would go back in a heart beat. I had the #5 (fresh mozzarella with fire roasted red peppers, tomatoes, hot cherry peppers and basil pesto) and it was great!

As good as this type of place gets, if you need a quick lunch or breakfast this place will satisfy.

Good food and has a great selection of Paleo foods. Very good service. Gayle is the owner and really goes out of her way to accommodate the customer.

Everything I’ve gotten here is really good.
I’ve tried all kinds of various things on their menu, and several take out prepackaged items.
Each and every time, it exceeded my expectations.

Came here for the first time today. Got a chicken barbeque on spinach wrap. The sandwich was delicious with a nice tangy bbq sauce, and the wrap was pretty darned stuffed-​i did not leave hungry.
Convenient location. Average prices. Good quality ingredients. Staff were quick and efficient despite the busy kitchen.
Will definitely come here again to try more of the menu.

My first visit to this place was today. My husband and I decided to try it out since we heard they offered a paleo selection. Upon walking in, I was alarmed by the smell of the place. When do you ever walk into a deli and not smell delicious food? This place smelled like plastic, mixed with paint. Gross. We stood in front of the counter for about 5 minutes before anyone even acknowledged we were there. Then it seemed like we were bothering the man that finally came over to help us, he greeted us with a «what do you want?». We both ordered the #3 which is a chipotle bbq grilled chicken sandwich and he quickly ran away. The entire time we were there some lady who I am just assuming was the owner or manager was screaming out orders to everybody else. «so and so, DO WE HAVE SAUCE?» WELL, WHERE DID ALL THE SAUCE GO? SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME WE DIDNT HAVE SAUCE?”. It was super annoying listening to this as we waited. Then the same über friendly gentleman that took our order plopped our mediocre sandwiches down on one of the tables. These sandwiches were the size of the happy meal cheese burgers. Seriously, they were the size of my fist. They tasted awful and even while we ate these awful sandwiches, the woman was still screaming about have 12 pizza orders and how she was understaffed and this and that… Lady listen, it is not professional at all to complain about everything going on at your business. Some things you should keep to yourself. Also, if you want people to come back to your crappy place you should try saying «hi and goodbye» It goes a long way.

Love this spot. It’s a deli but they’ve also got all the paleo stuff I like but never have time to make myself! So for both lunch or to pick something up on the way home they’re great.

I had patronized WCM once in the past 6 months as much as to indugle my curiosity as to what it was, deli, prepared meals, coffee shop? It was fine and Anne E and Joe C’s reviews pretty much sum it up. Nice people, nothing memorable or differentiated that set it apart or above other establishments nearby. That changed in September of this year (’13) when a Paleo Menu was introduced. I noticed a flyer at my CF gym annoucing the new menu. I have now been ⁴⁄₅ times for paleo sandwiches, snacks and meals to go (meatloaf, meatballs, lasagna) and desserts (flourless chocolate cake). The almond crusted chicken sandwich is a winner as is the roast beef w/​paleo mayo on almond flour bread. If you follow the paleo regimen, WCM is a nice addition. The owner is very nice and encourages feedback and suggestions. She has found the aforementioned (Joe C) missing niche and I hope that it works out for her and this business thrives.

This is a great addition to the Madison dining scene. Gayle, the owner is a Madison resident who makes, good, fresh food and donates to local schools. Everything I’ve had here is yummy. The home made chips are to die for.

We used to come here when it was Balladino’s. Recently, while driving by, we noticed that the name of the place had changed. Saturday around noon we came to get lunch, our first time here since it became Whats Cookin’.
I must say, I am not crazy about the name. Part of that has to do with the fact that it is confusing. The times we drove by, I had no idea what this place was based on the name. A cooking store? A place where one could take cooking classes? What is it?
When you first walk in you will notice a small salad bar in the middle of the room. A variety of vegetables and salad toppings were available, but the salad greens did not look the freshest. They were also running very low on some items. For example, only half of a hard boiled egg and three small pieces of chicken. I considered getting a salad prior to my arrival, but changed my mind. Plus, the sandwich list looked like it had a lot of promise.
After a quick glance at the menu we placed an order for the #6 Shaved Rib Eye Steak with Melted Cheese, Caramelized Onions, Sauteed Mushrooms & Horseradish Sauce on a hard roll and the #3 Chipotle BBQ Grilled Chicken with Melted Cheddar, Tomatoes, Crunchy Onions & Chipotle Mayo on a tomato wrap, both off of the specialty sandwiches list.
As we waited for our lunch, I poked around to see what else What’s Cookin’ had to offer. It didn’t take me long to notice the delicious looking Tate’s Bake Shop chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies on a self to the side of the salad bar. Very tempting.
Also, they have a small refrigerated section of prepared foods. Things like containers of meatballs in sauce, different kinds of homemade pasta sauces, meatloaf dinner platters, macaroni and cheese, broccoli florets sauteed in garlic and olive oil, and homefries with onions and peppers were available for purchase. I decided to buy a container of homefries to add to our breakfast the next morning.
There’s a dine-​in area to the left of the entrance for those who wish to eat there, but we opted to bring the food home. When we got home the steak sandwich had become squished in transit, but tasted good. The BBQ chicken wrap, however, was just a bit disappointing. Crunchy onions and chipotle mayo were the two reasons I chose this wrap, but I did not taste either of these two things.
Fortunately, the homefries were a win, sort of. Some of the potatoes were undercooked, but since I reheated them by putting them it oven they cooked through and tasted great. They were flavored nicely. I would definitely come back for these, especially since they were very reasonably priced.

Yay! and Thank you! The team at What’s Cookin did a fantastic job catering our Thanksgiving Dinner for 40 people! Everything was wonderful! My kids having been stopping in for sandwiches and homemade potato chips after sports and work ever since.
Everyone is so friendly and pleasant… especially when our vegetarian family members have ‘special requests’. The owner insisted we try the fresh spaghetti sauce… delicious! I have had lunch here twice with friends… great little spot to have a nice lunch. …Both times I grabbed a couple of the dinners to go to feed the kids before they went off to work! Everything is fresh and homemade… good food… great location!

«It’s great if you like over priced cafeteria food. Food is lousy and service slow. Save your money and go somewhere else»

What’s Cookin? I don’t know. You tell me.
This place recently opened in the former Balladino’s Deli spot on Route 1. It’s kinda similar to Balladino’s except they added a few tables/​chairs, added a salad bar, and are opened until 6:00 PM. I like that last part because Balladino’s was never open whenever I drove by.
I really wanted to like my first visit here, but unfortunately I had a hard time choosing something from their menu. I mean, it wasn’t because of the quantity of items. Rather it was because I couldn’t find anything interesting. Everything looked boring. They’ve got the usual hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and other deli sandwiches. I guess I was looking for something a little more creative. So I picked up a mozzarella/​tomato sandwich and salad which honestly wasn’t that bad. All of it was for under $ 10.
Back to the creative part. I’m afraid this place will have a hard time surviving unless they specialize in a little more creative dishes. I mean competition is tough in town for take home dinner places. There’s Pasta Avest in Guilford, Bradley & Wall, and School House Deli in Madison. I’ve had some kick ass sandwiches from School House Deli and some lip smacking Italian food from the other two places. I think What’s Cookin needs to be successful is to find a specialized niche. I wish them lots of luck but if they just stay with ordinary they’re not going to last very long.