Saturday, November 8, 2014

Red Dot (Tosa) Hits the Spot!

11.06.2014
The plan for the night was to hit a couple of art exhibits and then head home for some grill time. Specifically, burgers on the grill. As you might guess, because of this entry, we never made it to our home grill.

Turns out, that's okay because we decided to check out the Red Dot in Wauwatosa. It's been on the list of places to go for some time. The big draw was the idea that they serve French-Canadian cuisine. Poutine, a crazy mix of fries, cheese and gravy. I don't blog about Poutine. I blog about burgers...

Using our fancy phone and the internet, we research the menu as we headed West from Riverwest. They list quite a few burgers. Now I'm interested! The Classic seems like the correct one to select. A burger, bun and some veggies on top of the patty. Or should I go for the Bacon Cheese Burger?

When we got there the place was hopping. While waiting we noticed chalkboards with specials listed. The one board listed something called the Gordo Burger. Time to go big or go home! This puppy has a burger topped with pulled pork, caramelized red onion, roasted garlic and lettuce.

Gordo it was. The smokey flavor of the pork really bumped the taste buds to a different place than I expected. The patty itself, pretty good. I always snitch a piece without any stuff on it to get the true taste of the burger. From there, game on. Everything together. The combinations of garlic, caramelized onion and buttered bun just melded with the pork and beef. Hold on, was this a pulled pork sandwich with a burger or a burger with pulled pork? The pork was on top so, it's a burger. Really yummy.

Rate It:
3.5++ of 5
$11 was fine. Burger proper was fairly tasty. Maybe a little seasoning to the patty. All the items on it were done perfectly. The bun had great flavor and seemed to be very fresh. Atmosphere was pretty decent. The bar was cramped. The dining area, although we were in the middle of the room, had a cozy feel. I plan to return when the patio is open again.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

A Lofty Claim-MKE Sail Loft

It's a birthday dinner. She wants their Meatloaf and says, "hunny, they are known for their burgers" Did you see the hook just get set?
Located on the river front (Milwaukee River) with a view of the Hoan Bridge it definitely seems like a great place to grab lunch on a warm Summer day. This wasn't one of those days. Raining and windy it became our refuge.
Appetizer: Rustic Bruschetta She: Karl's Meatloaf Me: Paradise (Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, American,  Brioche)
Pow! Did not expect that. Tasty and the Brioche thing, great touch.
I can't talk much about the visuals on cooking the patty but, smells were good. The place wasn't so over ventilated that I couldn't smell something cooking.
Rate it!
3.5++ of 5
$10 is not crazy these days. Location, cool. 3rd Ward Milwaukee is always fun. Everything else we had was done right. Washed down with Sanpellegrino Limonata.

Strip Mall Food-Damn Right! A trip to Tom & Eddies

I'm pretty sure it was a mall. Strip variety, I guess. No matter. Modern food experience for sure.
Captive in Lincolnshire, Il for a car show and wondering what to eat? Hmmm.

The first night was Real Urban BBQ, same strip mall. That's how I found Tom & Eddie's. Well, it found me. Again, a sign in the window that said something about awesome burgers. Good taste in everything they make.

Lunch it is! I got the Classic with just the simple stuff. American Cheese, Onions, Pickles. A little ketchup and brown mustard (the stone ground stuff).

The kitchen is open for viewing. The staff has such a rhythm. Great entertainment while you wait. Grabbed the burger when it came and headed over to the Beer Market to eat with some friends. The Beer Market doesn't make food so, bring your own! Forgot the fries so I had to run back and get 'em.

The burger was pretty darn good. No, very darn good. Not excellent but it really had good seasoning and was moist. Cooked almost exactly the way I wanted it.

Being honest, I'm not a fan of the build your own burger. It feels like I'm ordering a latte' or something. It's hard to recall when a burger just showed up ready to eat. Throw back stuff I guess.

Let's rate it.
3.5+ of 5.0
The restaurant itself wasn't much to talk about. Clean. The staff was friendly and helpful. Burger and fries were a decent value.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Return to Fred's in Burlington WI

I can't imagine that I didn't already post about Fred's in Burlington WI. But, alas I did not.
The first time I went to Fred's was at least two years ago. Friends that live in the area were adamant about getting me to go there. As I recall, it was worth it.
Fast forward to just a couple of weeks ago. As part of helping our friends move a computer desk to their place in Lake Geneva it was suggested that we stop at Fred's. Scott & Pat both know I blog about burgers and thought it was time to blog about Fred's. To assure the best blog post, I agreed to stop. (you know they didn't have to twist my arm)
The place was hopping. Families, couples and a few stray Packer fans that decided a burger & fries my complement a game on the big screen.
I snooped around to get a better feel of things. I got a glimpse of the staff working in the kitchen area. Big patties of beef on the griddle top. Baskets of fries, onion rings etc. I was impressed that the patty looked rather fresh packed.
Cheddar Cheese Burger, raw onion and fries with a root beer for me. The wife got the Garlic Burger. Both were delicious. The Garlic Burger was a bit much once your buds adjust to it. My cheese burger was cooked just a tad too much but, flavor was still there. A wonderful and tasty bakery bun brought the flavor all together.
The staff was attentive and cheerful.
Overall, if I'm near by and had a moment, I would stop in again. And now that I know it's sort of on the way to a friend's place, I might visit Fred's more frequently.

4 of 5
Price is reasonable. Great little shop. Cheerful staff. Tasty food.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Frank about Syl's Midtown, Sheboygan WI

I'm not all too familiar with Sheboygan Wisconsin so I was lucky to be hanging out with a local. Frank Juarez knows his eats in town. After attending an opening at the UW Sheboygan campus a small group of us were going to head out for some food. Fine dining wasn't on the radar. Everybody was up for some classic pub grub. Frank offered a long list of potential establishments. Syl's rose to the top of the list.

Nothing fancy, just a clean brightly lit bar in downtown Sheboygan. The menu is pretty simple. Burgers, sandwiches and a decent list of appetizers. You know I'm checking the burgers. The price for a burger, $2.90! It doesn't come with fries. Those are $2.50. I decided to have onion rings, $3.25.

The burger came on a delicious bun that reminded me of a potato bun. Lighter, not so dense. Good. The burger, hand packed and cooked almost perfect. The one thing that got me was that they weren't afraid to season it. There was a lot of flavor without adding condiments. Speaking of condiments, Syl's has the stone ground brown mustard at the table. Not Pupon or Honey mustard.
All of us enjoyed the meal.

Overall, a decent value. I probably won't return only because there are so many other places to go in Sheboygan for food.

3.5 of 5
Tasty, great bun/roll, onion rings were tasty too! The bright lights sort of took away from the atmosphere.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Taking stock at the Stockman, White Sulphur Springs MT

120 some miles outside of Great Falls on our way to the Smith River for a three day float on a raft...
The road trip was breathtaking. Elk, deer and waving grasses. Big Sky country. The GMC Pickup was loaded with gear to float the Smith River but, two plus hours away from Great Falls and half an hour until we get to the campground it was necessary to make a stop for some food. This far away from the big city there isn't many choices. We passed a place called Bob's in hope to catch what was referred to as one of the best if not the best burgers our hosts had ever had. My taste buds jump to attention. As we pull in to the small town of White Sulphur Springs you can't but notice that there aren't really any other chances to grab a bite. Stockman Bar & Grill really doesn't look like anything super special. It's got a feel more like, last chance before camp to grab food and use a flushing toilet.
The burger came cooked almost exactly the way I would like to have it cooked. Flavor wasn't over seasoned. Fresh buns. I think the burger started bigger than 1/2 lb because when it arrived, it was still one half pound! Whew. Lettuce, tomato, red onion and a pickle. Simple. I got the Pepper Jack cheese version. Glad I did. Juicy, flavorful. The folks at the Stockman aren't taking advantage of being nearly the only game in town. They are earning return visits.
Damn good burger folks.
Price was the usual $9. Fries covered more than half of the large plate. A steak knife made sure I could reduce the size of the burger to fit in to my mouth.
Rated:
4.5 of 5.0
If I didn't live so far away, I'd be in trouble because I would find reasons to be in this area just so I can snag a burger to go!

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Salad? or Burger? @ The Public Kitchen, Savannah GA

It's been a week of eating while in Savannah. We had lunch at Paula Dean's place for lunch and still felt a bit full so we thought, maybe we should find a place that has a decent salad to balance things. As usual, we go online to see where the best place for salad in Savannah might be. The largest list of salads available went to the Mellow Mushroom Pizza. The Mellow Mushroom turned out to be more a place for students from the SCAD to meet and have beers. Next door was a cool looking place. We'd seen it earlier in the week while on a guided tour. Checked the menu, great looking salads. The upper seating area was closed so we grabbed a seat outside on the sidewalk. Back to the menu. Did I mention that right at the top of the right side was the Danny's burger. (secret, my name is Dan) All bets were off. I got the Danny's burger. I didn't regret it, too much.
The burger arrived slightly more raw than I like but the outside was a wonderful crust of charred meat. Another thing that sort of threw me off, pretzel bun. Not a big fan of pretzel buns. Here's my thought on this one... that's how they make, it's worth a try. The bun gave an additional flavor texture that really made me like this one. Just a slight more salty. The menu says, mustard, tomato and onion. Simple. It works.
The rating. $12 for a 1/2lb burger isn't crazy. It really could have been $10. Location might have something to do with the price. I'm not sure. Pretzel bun didn't have as much salt as what I'm used to, glad.
4.5 of 5 Pricey, staff was confused easily. (received diet soda instead of regular. brought more bread for hummus that was already gone.)
The Public Kitchen