North of Milwaukee: Wayne's and Hefner's

 Just need to mention a couple of places I always enjoy returning to...

The first is Wayne's Drive-In, Cedarburg. They are only open seasonally so, you have to go while you can. I grabbed the 1/4 lb cheese burger (American cheese), pickle and raw onion. I stood in anticipation, waiting for my number to be called. W127! that's mine. I didn't get fries, this was a burger only stop. I'm pretty sure I had lunch already. Still, yum! I'm not saying this is the best burger you'll ever bite into but, consistent great flavor and tasty. Priced right. Where can you get a burger for less than $5 these days?

Wayne's is always on my list of places to get a burger.

The second is Hefner's, also in Cedarburg. Hef's is a cool little place between Grafton and Cedarburg. Some folks might not even notice it at the turn when headed North. I talked my friend Jim into coming along to get his take. I told him about the Huge Hefner burger. It's big, that's for sure. I was less adventurous, bacon cheeseburger with onion rings. My previous experience(s) with Hefner's were pretty good. I think I rank them near 4 of 5. This round, not so much. Not that it was horrible but, there was definitely something different. Maybe the whole cleaning process for Covid is making it difficult to develop that great layer of flavor on the flat top griddle? Also, the Huge Hefner had way too much bun. I won't knock 'em down yet. I'm giving them a Mulligan on this one.

I was on business in Grafton, visiting one of the galleries where my artwork is sold when I decided to run to Wayne's. Hefner's was only a mile from a work site in Cedarburg, why wouldn't I go there? Guilty as charged.

https://www.hefnerscustard.com/

https://waynesdrivein.com/home.php

Dream a little Dream Burger-Art Bar Wonderland 11.11.2020

 The pandemic is on. Stay home orders have been announced. It's our job to support local businesses. Especially one that supports local artists (like me!). It's the holiday season and the Art Bar is hosting their annual "Mini Show". 150 artists, pieces smaller than 12"x12" and selling for less than $100! I have 12 pieces in the show.

Don Krause and his staff have maintained there mission to be both a bar and an art gallery. A short time back Don decided to convert the adjacent building into a cool diner vibe place. I must say, it was well done. It's not too hip or square. It almost feels like it's been there all along with some updates.

We've eaten there before but, tonight we headed down to check out the Mini Show and thought, let's get take out! Hmm, check the menu. Salads, soups and various sandwiches. Ah, burgers. 1/3 pound single or double the meat? Dream or shroom? Dream seems the most straight forward. I decide there's no need to add more toppings. Order of fries, yes.

Because it was ordered online, I'm not sure when they cooked it. We finished checking the show out and grabbed our bag full of delicious smelling food, jumped in the car and headed home. We couldn't resist grabbing some fries out of the bag. There's nothing like driving with the windows closed, fresh cooked take out smelling up the car. (Pizza has to be the toughest) By the time we got home the food had cooled. Should I have taken a bite of the burger right when we got it? Maybe. What's amazing is that I decided to microwave the burger back to temp. Wow! I don't know if I've ever done that. It worked. 

How about that burger? Obviously a pre-formed frozen patty, not a concern. It was seasoned well. The bun was a decent ratio to the patty, sort of low profile too. Not so tall. The toppings were great. The seasoned butter really came through as an excellent compliment to all the other stuff. And heck, any burger that can come back from being cooled off right back to tasty, that rocks.

4 of 5 (4+) because of what I said in the review. Great job Wonderland!