06.30.2018 Late's Bar-B-Q in Manitowoc WI

If you are in Manitowoc Wisconsin and looking for a classic diner experience, Late's will cover all your needs.

I have to admit, if we weren't with our friends John and Jane (Jane grew up there) we might have missed it. Driving 10th street, you would look to the West because the Cedar Crest Factory and Parlor has a large cow statue out front. Nestled in between 9th and 10th streets, no enter or big sign that let's you know they are back there. I guess you could use GPS but that takes away from the adventure of discovering this gem.
The inside is done up with old photos from days past. What started out to be a little joint with car hops back in 1960, has expanded the dining area to accommodate more guests. They have also added catering to their offerings.
The menu has so many tasty looking offerings but, you know what I'm there for... burgers!
John and Jane jump in right away "I'll take a double (insert burger)". I looked at the menu again. Should I double? A cheeseburger is $2.85 for a single, $4.30 for a double. I'm thinking Bacon Cheese Burger. The menu doesn't list a double. So, I ask "can I double a Bacon Cheese Burger?" I get a look from all at the table. Without a hitch, the waitress says "sure".
It didn't take long and the food arrived. It was everything J and J had promised.
On our way out, we made sure to check what everybody else ordered. A table was enjoying a mid-afternoon fish fry. It look pretty substantial.
We left full of tasty food and for relatively low doe.

Plenty of parking, clean, great staff and priced right. I will be back if I'm in town.

4.5 of 5

My burger & fries, yum.

07.12.2018 Burgers With Brothers @ Fuddrucker's

It was my birthday. (thanks for all the well wishes) and my turn to call where my brothers and I were to have burgers together. I chose Fuddrucker's.
If you are familiar with our Burgers with Brothers. Three brothers. Three birthdays. One in March, July and the other in November. So, we have a guarantee that at least three times during the year, we'll will get together, just the guys, for food and conversation.
It's been more than 15 or 20 years since the last time I was in a Fuddrucker's.
All three of us were not sure what to do upon entering. Lucky for us Wes was at the register and more than willing to help us through the process. It's something between a full-service and self-service place. More self than full.
We placed our order. 1/2 lb Mushroom Cheddar, 1/2 lb Mushroom Swiss and my 1/3 lb Cheddar Bacon. Two fries and one Onion Ring. They give you a cup for the beverage of your choice dispensed from a crazy machine. The choice of beverage was incredible. If you can't find what you want in the machine they have tea and coffee.
We grabbed a table in one of the dining rooms. The buzzer went off. Three plates with the burgers open faced to receive the topping of our choice. For toppings they have almost a salad bar. Jalapeño peppers, diced red onions, raw yellow and red onions, lettuce, tomato, pickle, relish to list what I can remember.
Sauces, about the same. Ketchup, mustard (5 kinds), BBQ Sauces and Mayo.
All of agreed that the burgers were delicious.
I don't know if I'm getting to be a burger snob but, the facility and the way you serve yourself most of the meal sort of got to me. It was noisy. A bit of a surprise, a guy came by and took our plates away for us. Were we supposed to leave a tip? I was concerned that it might not make it to that guy. I know that they are sort of going with the nostalgia thing but, dated is different. One thing I did like, the kitchen and grill. Older equipment but clean. The cook staff was working hard. Again, Wes at the register was very helpful without sound like he thought we were fools.

4 of 5
The burger was great. Price for the service, I'm not sure about.

07.11.2018 Kettle Range Meats at Tosa Tonight

I usually don't like to use a store's stand at an outdoor event to judge their food but, when I goes right, why not?
A little background about the venue, Tosa Tonight. During Summer months in Wauwatosa Wisconsin we celebrate summer with outdoor concerts at Rotary Park on the East side of town. There's a band shell. Food vendors and local businesses set up tents on the top of the hill behind where the crowd sits.
This night was a special night. Not only did they have Trapper Schepp, a local superstar, it was also Neighborhood Association night. The crowd was the largest I have ever seen there outside of 4th of July fireworks.
My wife and I decided at the previous event that we would support the event by eating at the venue. Kettle Moraine Meats was the entree' choice. They offer a 1/3 cheeseburger and a bag of chips for $8. The line was the longest of all the vendors. Always a good sign. After a long wait, probably only 5 minutes but, it feels like longer when you are waiting in line, we ordered. "Just a cheeseburger" The person taking the orders said what we thought was "we don't have anymore cheese". Turns out they said "it will may take some time" or something like that. Anyway, we say a burger will be fine.
We joined the crowd waiting for their food on the side.
While I stood there waiting, I was watching the guy on the grill. Two grills covered with patties plus an additional grill warming beef hot dogs. All charcoal, not gas. That's my kind of grillin'!
It turns out that the person serving the burgers got us the cheeseburger as an apology for the wait.
No regrets. It was cooked nearly perfect. Great flavor.

I've never been to Kettle Moraine Meats but I might have to visit soon. I went back after the crowd cleared and thanked the guy at the grill for the performance during such a potential crisis.

4.5 of 5
Price was good for the venue. Staff really did well under pressure, I think because the guy at the grill wasn't freaking out. Oh, great taste.

At the Shack 01.19.2018

It was Gallery Night in the 3rd Ward, Milwaukee. I was showing my work across the street from a somewhat recently opened Shake Shack.
I didn't want to go in alone but, my favorite sidekick, the wife wasn't available.
As I stood across the street looking in at the line formed three lanes wide, I asked myself. Is this a good idea? How long will this take. What should I get? Will they think I'm weird if I just want a cheeseburger?
I made the move. Walk signal gave me access to a crosswalk that can be difficult to navigate, at times, especially on Gallery Night. People and cars are distracted easily by the scene and fashion.
Once inside the restaurant (?) I took a quick look up and down the menu. Again, I had to ask myself why the same sandwich has to be called something so different. Well, a cheeseburger is just that.
The girl at the counter was very empathetic to my old school issue of a burger and cheeseburger being about all you had to contemplate.
I asked, "is there just a cheeseburger with tomato, lettuce and onion? Maybe not listed but, available.
My order went in at 7:26PM. I got it at around 7:36PM. For some reason, they give you one of those electronic devices that is supposed to notify you when you stuff done. Like Olive Garden. My thing didn't buzz but, the girl called my name over the din of the crowd.
I took my bag full of grub back across the street to a secluded space for consumption.
Bite number one. A lot of pickle, tomato and onion. The bun, delicious. Second bite, I decided to just pull a little beef off the sandwich. Pretty decent. I'm guessing it's not hand formed. Griddle top, frozen? Good flavor no matter. Third bite was from the combination of the bun, veggies and meat. Really good flavor, fresh veggies. I was surprised, I must say.
I think the crowd told the story. A lot of students, some families and people that just had an interest in what it was all about.
The numbers: 3.5+ of 5
Staff was very responsive, helpful and present. Not so normal for semi-fast food. The price, not bad but, for the final product, I'm not sure. Culver's, Kopp's etc can give me the same speed or faster and offer similar price and pace.
Still, I had fun watching the crowd.
I checked out the Wiki page. I like the story. At times I too think, I just want to be a funky guy blogging about burgers. Don't really care that much about how many people follow me etc. But, trust me, if I was approached by someone that said we can make this more than what it is, I might jump.
Fear this will never happen because at that point, I don't think it would be as fun.

Oscar's Pub & Grill. Steady taste.

11.20.2017
It was another night of "Burgers with Brothers", a new tradition that my brothers and I have decided is an important thing to do. There are going to be burgers but honestly, it's all about the three of us getting together with each other to catch up, hang out and share some time as brothers. So far, no spouses or children are invited.
The most recent outing was at Oscar's Pub & Grill, West Pierce St, Milwaukee.
The eldest of the three chose it.
For me it would be the third time. The past two times, very satisfied. Let's see what happened this time.
The place was hoppin' when we met up at 6PM on a Monday. There were a couple of drink specials listed on the white board. No burger specials. No problem, prices are decent anyway.

The burger choices went like this:
Younger-The Hongo (8 oz. Premium Black Angus Burger, Swiss Cheese, Sautéed Mushrooms) & Fries
Middle (me)-The White Gringo (8 oz. Premium Black Angus Burger, WI White Cheddar & American Cheese, Thick Hickory Smoked Bacon) & Onion Rings
Eldest-The Big "O"(8 oz. Premium Black Angus Burger, Chipotle Jack, Smoked Gouda, Hickory Bacon, Chorizo, Fried Onions, Jalapeños, Side of House Guacamole) & Sweet Potato Fries

All of us agreed that the burgers were cooked near perfect, fresh roll and all the sides were above par.

When we arrived the music was just background noise. A song by Pearl Jam came on and all of the sudden the volume went up! We mentioned to the waitress that it was a bit loud to talk over. A short time later, the basketball game sound was coming out of the sound system. Screeching shoes on a basketball court, right in our ears!

We wrapped up our conversation outside. Just some advice when choosing a table, avoid the speaker hanging in the corner of the bar area.

During nice weather, there is an outside deck that's a great place for larger groups.

Rate it:
4 of 5
Price is right on. Service better than ok. Great food. Fresh & relatively fast.
Noise level in the bar area is not suitable for conversation. (at least this night)
Although I said 4 of 5, it's a 4+. This may be my new "go to" burger. Very consistent.

Deschutes Public House (Portland, OR)

11.11.2017
When in Portland...
If you find yourself in the Northwestern part of the U.S. you better take some time to check out the beer being produced in the region.
A great place to start is the Deschutes Brewery Portland Public House in downtown Portland, OR.
She was thinking beer and I was thinking burgers.
We were familiar with the Black Butte Porter but wanted to check out some other brews that were on tap. We grabbed a flight while we waited for our burgers to arrive. Each of the beers in the flight were tasty but, that would be a different blog.
We split the Pub Burger with an order of Garlic Fries.
The burger arrived cooked perfect. Just a little pink and juicy. The roll, fresh and shined up with a little butter. I've been so used to bland burgers. The cook had no fear of seasoning it just right. As I mentioned, we split the burger. I got my fill. This was a decent size burger.
I need to make special mention of the Garlic Fries (Hand-cut Kennebec potatoes, rosemary-orange aioli, manchego cheese).
The ketchup was also special. Organic and local. We brought home a bottle, it's that good. Very similar to a sauce for a Margherita pizza. Yummy!
Located in the heart of one of the busiest parts of downtown Portland the Public House is a place worth checking out. The interior is full of carved wood rafters and there's a view in to the area behind the scenes if you like that kind of stuff.

Pub Burger, Garlic Fries, Beer flight

Rate it:
4.5 of 5
Yum. Yum. Oh, great staff, delicious everything. A bit pricey for my Midwest budgeted mind. Plan to wait if you go on the weekend.

Hello Fatburger! (Issaquah, WA)

11.07.2017
En route from Seatac Airport to Kennewick Washington.
When we left Seatac Airport, we still had a couple of hours of driving ahead of us. The plan was to get on the road for a distance and then stop for some food before heading into the mountain passes.
We kept an eye on the exit signs for something we might like. Hopefully something lighter. The usual food listings for McDonald's, Denny's etc.
Then, a sign listing Fatburger! What? I wasn't even sure that Fatburger was still in business. The one and only time I had Fatburger was in New Orleans, maybe a decade ago. The store was down near the famous Cafe' Du Monde. The staff was interesting and the names for the burgers even more interesting. Baby Burger, Mama Burger and Papa Burger. The burger was decent for "fast food".
The names have been changed but Fatburger is still putting out a decent burger.
The location we went to was part of a cluster of businesses. The store itself was set up to feel like an old time diner or drive-in. Juke box, booths and all.
Burger names are Small, Original(1/3lb), Large(1/2lb), XXL(1lb) and XXXL(1-1/2lb). I'm not sure if back in the day they offer it but now you can have a lettuce wrap instead of bun. Cleaver.
So, you place your order. Because the burgers are cooked for your order and not sitting waiting for you, the cashier gives you a number stand and you pick a booth.
The burger arrives. I start my scrutinizing. Nice bun, fairly thick burger. Decent amount of fries.
First bite. Very good. Fries the same. Very fresh.
It's not gourmet but, I would say in the category where I would include places like Five Guys I might rather go to Fatburger. One problem, they are only out West.
Also, I bought a new shirt to replace the one I got so many years ago. It's not as neat. The original one had the Fatburger logo. This one just has Fatburger with the date. Still cool. Representing the burger!

Rank it already:
4 of 5
It was tasty, fresh and priced right. The fries were very good. Overall, a good value.