L'Etoile Restaurant :: In The News

L'Etoile is a fine dining restaurant established in 1976 by Chef Odessa Piper. Our seasonal menus are inspired by the Midwest region and are rendered with a French influence.

"Long before chefs and home cooks around the country had pledged their allegiance to local foods, a French restaurant in Madison called L'Etoile--which sits across from the city's Dane County Farmers' Market --charmed us with its devotion to seasonally driven dining." ~Saveur Magazine, The 2008 Saveur 100

Media Coverage
Recent Awards
Donations & Community Involvement
Press Releases

L'Etoile in the News

The Saveur 100 ~Saveur Magazine, Jan./Feb. 2008

America's Top 50 Restaurants ~Gourmet Magazine, October 2006

Santé Magazine • Gourment Magazine • Food & Wine Magazine • New York Times Style Magazine • Food Arts • Midwest Living Magazine • Men's Journal • Madison Magazine • Madison Originals Magazine • Wisconsin Woman • New York Times Travel Magazine • Grist Environmental News • Robb Report • Nation's Restaurant News • Wisconsin Trails • Curb Magazine • 50+ Magazine • Women's Health • Travel & Leisure • Restaurants & Institutions • National Culinary Review • Wisconsin Bride • Sherman's Travel Magazine • Wisconsin Trails Magazine Condé Nast Traveler • Flavor & the Menu • USA Today • Wall Street Journal • Wisconsin State Journal • The Capital Times • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel • The Onion • The Isthmus • The Star • Sustainable Times • The Badger Herald • The Clarion • NBC-15 • ABC-27 • Life 102.5 • Wisconsin Public Radio • WORT 89.9

Articles of Interest

Push Comes to Chevre
New York Times Travel Magazine, March 23, 2008
Christine Muhlke
"The current owners are the Racine-born chef Tory Miller and his sister Traci, young cheese boosters both. 'I think of Wisconsin cheesemakers as farmer-artists' said Tory, who attributes the complex flavors of the region's cheeses to the sweetness of the milk."

Iconic Grilled Cheese Gets an Update
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 4, 2008
Bev Bennett

The 10% Dilemma
The Isthmus, October 26, 2007
Tom Laskin

Autism Speaks to Wall Street: A Celebrity Chef Gala
Chef Tory Miller and L’Etoile cook Matt Chambas traveled to New York to participate in Autism Speaks to Wall Street: A Celebrity Chef Gala on October 24, 2007 . Chef Tory and Matt were paired with a pastry chef to prepare a decadent four course dinner to raise funds for Autism research. Look for Tory's picture on the second page of the Autism Speaks website!

State's Now a Green Giant in Ecotourism
The Capital Times, October 6, 2007
Mary Bergin

Wisconsin's Sights are Set on Earth-friendly Tourism
USA Today, September 14, 2007
Laura Bly

15 Green Chefs
Grist Environmental News, July 26, 2007

Cheese whizzes discover Wisconsin's finest
The Capital Times, April 3, 2007
Mary Bergin

The NEXT BIG Flavors: Dane County, Wisconsin A bustling farmers market, innovative chefs and, of course, local cheeses, define the culinary scene
Nation's Restaurant News, February 19, 2006
Mary Caldwell

A new taste adventure: Students learn nutritious can mean delicious
The Capital Times, Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Susan Troller

Showtime in Manhattan: L'Etoile chef dishes up a Wisconsin Thanksgiving at New York's Beard House
The Capital Times, Thursday, November 23, 2006
Mary Bergin

L'Etoile Staff at the James Beard House Thanksgiving 2006
See more of L'Etoile's Beard House photos here!

The Stars Remain Bright at L'Etoile
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 28, 2006
Dennis Getto
Awarded ""

Recent Awards:

L'Etoile: 1 of 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. and Canada Before You Die. (Look for L'Etoile's review under the Dane County Farmer's Market page.)

L'Etoile and Cafe Soleil Win Gold Award
For Being Trans Fat Free by Informed Consumers Equal Improved Health organization in 2007

Voted Best French Restaurant Gold Award in Madison Magazine, 2006 & 2007

Voted Best Upscale Dining Silver Award in Madison Magazine, 2007

Featured in America's Finest Dining by Robb Report, March 2007
(A list of Robb Report's favorite 57 restaurants throughout the country.)

On March 26, 2007 the Dane County Food Council awarded L'Etoile a Certificate of Appreciation, for working to grow an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable local food system for the Dane County region.

Voted Best Fancy Pants Restaurant 2007 Student Choice Awards by The Badger Herald, March 2007

Awarded One of America's Top 50 Restaurants by Gourmet Magazine, October 2006

Voted Best Upscale Dining Gold Award in Madison Magazine, 2005 & 2006

Wine Spectator Award of Excellence 2006

Voted Madison's Favorite Upscale Dining in the Isthmus, Dining Magazine, 2005-2006 & 2006-2007

City of Madison Department of Public Health, An Achievement Award for Excellence in Food Safety and Sanitation, 2006

2007 Donations & Community Involvement:

L'Etoile is proud to have made donations of time, food, money, and various gift certificates to the following organizations this year:

Access Community Health Centers • African Youth Outreach • AIDS Network 2007 Red Ribbon Affair • American Cancer Society • American Diabetes Association • American Liver Foundation Wisconsin Chapter • American Red Cross • Arthritis Foundation • Creative Learning Preschool and Child Care Center • Credit Union National Association's United Way Campaign • Cherokee Heights Middle School • Crestwood Elementary School • Cystic Fibrosis Foundation • Dane Buy Local • Dane County Department of Human Services, Division of Children, Youth & Families • Dane County Humane Society • Dane County Rape Crisis Center • Drive for Hope to benefit the Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center • Evansville K-5 Parent Teacher Organization • Friends of the Arboretum • Friends of the Dane County Farmers Market • Hillel Fundraiser for the Barbara Hochberg Center - the first green, sustainable building on the UW Madison campus • Hope for Haiti • Kandu Industries • Keep Wisconsin Warm Fund • Kidlinks World, Inc. • LaFollette High School Booster Club • Lake View Elementary School • Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin - the Gift of Sight • MACSAC (Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition) and the Partner Shares Program • Madison Audubon Society • Madison Area Technical College Culinary Arts Program • Madion La Follette Booster Club • Madison Opera • Madison Originals • Madison Professional Police Officers Association • Mike McKinney Scholarship Fund • Muscular Dystrophy Association • Neighborhood House Community Center • New Morning Nursery School • North/East Side Sherman Youth Basketball Association • Primates Incorporated • REAP (Research, Education, Action and Policy on Food Group) for Pie Palooza, the Farm Fresh Atlas, and the Food for Thought Festival • Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center • Share A Meal with Community Shares • Slow Food Nation • St. John's Service Auction • Student Personnel Association Conference • Tandem Press • Thoreau Elementary School • Urban Open Space Foundation and the Wilmar Neighborhood Center for La Fête de Marquette • UW Division of Information Technology • UW Habitat for Humanity's 2007 Souper Bowl • UW Humorology benefit for Camp Heartland • UW Preschool Laboratory • WAGS Inc. • Waisman Early Childhood Program • Willy Street Co-op • Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra • Wisconsin Children's Choir • Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault - 2007 Voices of Courage • Wisconsin Council for the Blind & Visually Impaired • Wisconsin Department of Administration • Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch Project and C.H.O.W. (Coooking Healthy Options in Wisconsin) • Wisconsin Land & Water Conservation Association • Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation • Wisconsin Public Radio through the WORT 89.9 Pledge Drive Support • Wounded Warrior Benefit • YWCA