1. Alchemy, 1980 Atwood Ave., Madison, WI 53704

 Smile Factor: 10 ~Bang per Bite: 9 ~Creativity: 10 ~Deliciousness: 10  ~Plate Appeal: 6 ~Total: 45

Alchemy’s sweet potato fries really take the potato! I think that they are doing more than metal magic in that Alchemy kitchen, because these fries were absolutely amazingly delicious. Don’t let the lower plate appeal rating deter you. They came out looking a little more abstract than the normal fry shape, but the fresh taste made up for that! They had a mixture of crispier and softer wedges and unique dipping sauces, Tarragon Mayo and Jalapeno Blackberry Jam. The special sauces and creativity helped these potatoes climb to the top of the list. They were so good the roomies and I considered ordering another plate of them! It is definitely worth the trek to Atwood Street for this magical dish!

2. Roast Public House, 558 State St., Madison, WI 53703

 Smile Factor: 10 ~ Bang per Bite: 8 ~ Creativity: 6 ~ Deliciousness: 8  ~ Plate Appeal: 10 ~Total: 42

These fries have a little spicy kick to them that keeps me coming back for more! Disclaimer: I’ve gotten super into spice and hot sauce recently (shout out to Frank’s and Cholula). The seasoning on the fries is perfect and the Chipotle Barbecue sauce, pictured on the left, is my favorite. The Sriracha Mayo is also a great alternative for dipping. In addition, Roast makes sweet potato encrusted chicken tenders, which are amazing as well! They are definitely working that sweet potato.

3. DLUX, 117 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Madison, WI 53703

Smile Factor: 9.99 ~ Bang per Bite: 7 ~ Creativity: 5 ~ Deliciousness: 10  ~ Plate Appeal: 10 ~Total:41.99

The sweet potato fries are behind Roast by just a fraction of a Smile Factor. They complimented the wonderful company, bottomless mimosas, and breakfast sandwiches so well! There is definitely something wonderful about the DLUX atmosphere at brunch that everyone should experience: all the restaurant goers are just loving life and a happy, carefree feeling fills the restaurant. The cheeriness could have affected my rating but it’s about the experience AND the taste! Back to the fries… they have just the right amount of crisp, with a strong sweet potato presence. The Sriracha Mayo is extra tasty and the fries are so great they don’t even need the Sriracha disguise!

4. Brickhouse Barbeque, 408 W. Gorham St., Madison, WI 53703

Smile Factor: 5 ~ Bang per Bite: 7 ~ Creativity: 6 ~ Deliciousness: 5  ~ Plate Appeal: 10 ~Total: 33

If only these fries tasted as delicious as they look! The Spicy Maple Dipping Sauce intrigued me, but really it tasted just like mediocre honey. The fries were perfectly crispy, but I found that the more I ate them, the less I liked them. Brickhouse could definitely kick these up another notch by adding more seasoning! I like the zig zaggy factor, but think that they taste a little bit like they came from the freezer. Just one sweet potato lover’s opinion.

5. Great Dane, 123 E. Doty Street, Madison, WI 53703

Smile Factor: 1 ~Bang per Bite: 6 ~Creativity: 10 ~Deliciousness: 2  ~Plate Appeal: 3 ~Total: 21

These sweet potato tots were not that great. As a tater tot fan, I was excited to see Great Dane’s attempt to bring the tot to the next level. They were overly sweet and did not come with any special sauce.  I actually frowned a little when I tasted these tots and left the nearly full bowl on the table. Definitely an all-time low for the food blog tasting. On a positive note, I did like Great Dane’s actual sweet potato fries before they stopped making them!

1. Sutter’s Ridge Farm, Farmer’s Market, Madison, WI 53703

Smile Factor: 10 ~ Bang per Bite: 8 ~ Creativity: 6 ~ Deliciousness: 10 ~ Plate Appeal: 9 ~ Total: 43

…Surprise! Sutter’s Farm pumpkin BAR won the whole pumpkin MUFFIN contest! Anything is possible in the land of the smile factor. It’s really not easy being this delicious so I decided not to disqualify the bar and instead gave it the trophy. They say you find love when you aren’t looking for it and wow, did I find love. I was originally on the hunt for the best pumpkin muffins hiding at the market but then this treat caught my eye. It was a moment of total serendipity. You could just smell the pumpkin before biting into the moist, fluffy bar. The cream cheese frosting made the whole thing irresistible (I am a sucker for cream cheese frosting). It was really hard for me to slow down and take in all the flavors. The Sutter’s Farm family went through eight different recipe changes before they found the winning recipe and I took about 2.5 seconds to eat the whole thing! Definitely a perfect fall treat!

2. Stella’s Bakery, Farmer’s Market, Madison, WI 53703

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Smile Factor: 9 ~ Bang per Bite: 8 ~ Creativity: 7 ~ Deliciousness: 8 ~ Plate Appeal: 8 ~ Total: 40

 Well, to start off this is actually a muffin AND has some amazing plate appeal. There was no lack of pumpkin and the cream cheese frosting was wonderful. The denseness of the muffin leaves you feeling perfectly satisfied. Just like the above pumpkin bar, I had trouble controlling the speed at which the muffin disappeared before my eyes. I’m learning about savoring in my positive psychology class so I will try to take in the moment for all future baked goods I encounter. This one is just so easy to love!

3. Sunroom Café, 638 State Street, Madison, WI 53703

Smile Factor: 9 ~ Bang per Bite: 6 ~ Creativity: 7 ~ Deliciousness: 8 ~ Plate Appeal: 5 ~ Total: 35

This muffin top is all that. It was gooey on the top and served a little warm. The dark chocolate chips were slightly melted and there was a solid amount of pumpkin taste. The sweetness level was just right and the spices in the muffin complemented the pumpkin well. Every bite guaranteed a dark chocolate chip or two, which is every chocolate lover’s dream. The Sunroom café guy told me that their pumpkin muffin is one of the more popular baked goods they sell and that they definitely have some pumpkin muffin regulars.

4. Redamtè, 449 State St., Madison, WI 53703

Smile Factor: 7 ~ Bang per Bite: 5 ~ Creativity: 8 ~ Deliciousness: 7 ~ Plate Appeal: 8 ~ Total: 35

The more I look at muffins, the more adorable I think they are! This muffin, with the asymmetrical top and pumpkin seed ornaments, was quite the delectable delight. The chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds added excitement to every bite. I really couldn’t put one muffin above the other so Redamtè and Sunroom tied. They both have their unique plate appeal and tastes. Maybe I’ll get desensitized to judging baked goods as the blogging goes on, but for now, I just can’t pick favorites between these two.

5. Chris & Lori’s Bakehouse, Farmer’s Market, Madison, WI 53703

Smile Factor: 4 ~ Bang per Bite: 2 ~ Creativity: 10 ~ Deliciousness: 3 ~ Plate Appeal: 8 ~ Total: 30

I was slowly strolling with the Farmer’s Market mob and stopped when I saw a mom and son chowing down on these humongous, marbled pumpkin cream cheese muffins. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the muffins and asked if they were good. All the mom responded was “yeah.” I should’ve know that “yeah” is never the magic word to pay $4. I had such high expectations for the muffin and I continued eating it in hopes that I would be hit with a satisfying bite full of pumpkin. But that BAM! Pumpkin! moment never came. The muffin tasted more like a cupcake and I’m surprised I’m saying this, but it was too sweet. In the end, I shared the rest with the trashcan a block away from Chris and Lori’s Bakehouse.  So yeah.