Meatless Madison: Three Cup Tofu at Natt Spil

Madison Magazine, December 17, 2018

Next up in the Meatless Madison series, where we highlight popular vegetarian and vegan dishes at Madison-area restaurants, is the three-cup tofu at Natt Spil. While at least a quarter of the menu items at this dark, cozy restaurant and bar located on King Street just off Capitol Square are vegetarian (including the current pizza special), the three-cup tofu reigns supreme. “It’s our No. 1 vegetarian menu item,” chef David Oliver says. “I sell hundreds of pounds of tofu a year.”

Technically vegan — and available gluten-free, too — the three-cup tofu has been on Natt Spil’s menu for at least 10 years since Oliver says people were asking for a vegetarian version of Natt Spil’s popular take on three-cup chicken, a traditional Taiwanese beer hall dish.

“It’s almost like in bars here in the U.S. where you stop for a pint on the way home from work and you snack on peanuts or pretzels sitting in a bowl on the bar,” Oliver says. “In Taiwan you get a beer and a cheap bowl of three-cup chicken.” Oliver, who received his culinary training in San Francisco where he focused on Asian cuisine, visited Taiwan with Natt Spil owner Prentice Berge’s family. Berge’s wife is originally from Taiwan, and they took the trip to get inspiration for Natt Spil’s menu.

When Oliver decided to riff on the chicken with a vegetarian version made with tofu, “Prentice was aghast!” Oliver says with a laugh. “But I said, ‘We don’t have to be authentic, we just have to be good. We get to write our own rules!’” And write their own rules they do. Natt Spil is known for its Chinese dim sum, wood-fired pizzas and late-night DJs. “We’re Madison’s favorite Chinese pizza disco with a Norwegian name,” Oliver says.