Bluephies -- Madison, WI

On the www.foodfightinc.com Web site, Bluephies promises us "Contemporary fun food in an ultra-modern setting." Well, if "contemporary" means bland and dirty, then I'll be sticking with traditional for a while. Back in the early days of Bluephies, with its connection to the hip, east side Monty's Blue Plate, I was consistently satisfied. The bright, airy interior gleamed with modern accoutrements and the food was a step above your average diner fair.

But on several recent visits, I have been disappointed.

The service was spotty at times. On our last visit, our first encounter with our waitress followed this pronouncement: "I need you to hold tight for a minute." Um, ok. We'll be right here when you are ready. And what's the story with the stained shirt at the start of lunch service?

My main course was good, as good as one would expect of the "Bowling Alley Burger," which was topped with battered and fried onion strips, cheese, bacon (done perfectly) and a couple of not-quite-ripe-enough slices of tomato. The burger was cooked perfectly -- juicy and filling.

The problems began at the start of the meal with the soup. The white bean florentine soup was as bland a concoction as I've ever tasted. A dash of salt merely turned the tasteless broth into salt water. I sent it back and replaced it with a peanut curry spinach(?) soup. I personally love curry, and this soup was better than the first, though it was dull (curry was the only flavor) and lacked any hint of Mister Peanut.

My wife's salad and side was odd. The food itself wasn't bad, but the presentation was forced. The salad was heaped on a long, thin (stylish?) plate that made eating it an exercise in dexterity. The impossible feat would be to eat the entire salad without watching leaf after leaf topple off the plate. Yeah, the plate looks cool, but who cares about that? Could we just get a normal plate, and could you please add something (anything?) to the salad other than dressing?

Once my burger arrived I had to flag down the waitress for some ketchup, though once she planted it on the table, I didn't even want to touch it. The bottle was caked and smeared with old, dried ketchup. I used a couple of napkins to pick it up and twist off the cap, the inside of which had some black dried bits. I should have said something, but I just don't feel that comfortable making other people uncomfortable. I just decided not to come back again.