Cary Ale House serves a "Smash" Burger (and I liked it!) 09/08/23

I'm not sure if I've ever had a "smashed" burger or at least it may not have been referred to as such. No matter, I was pleasantly surprised. 

We traveled to Crystal Lake IL for an Oldsmobile car show at the Holiday Inn. We always like to get a group of Olds club members and check out some local eats. There's a place in Cary, IL that fit the bill. They've got a little of everything Fish, Ham, BBQ and Burgers. I chose the Smash Burger, A double patty pressed thin, with smashed onions, chipotle remoulade, house pickles, candied bacon, butter lettuce and American cheese. I had no idea what I ordered but man, I'm glad I did.

The whole sandwich just fit together perfect. Enough of everything listed but not of it excessive. Flavor, spot on. Juicy patties, fresh bun.

Rate it: 4 of 5 (very strong 4)

I don't know why but this really hit the spot. Overall flavor worked so well.

Cary Ale House

 

 

 

Iron Horse = It's Weight In Gold! 08/24/2023

 The Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee is known for it's top notch service and food. They lived up to their reputation. Great scene on the patio area. Fireplace, lounge like couch and tables. We stopped by for a drink and a late night bite. (8:30pm-ish) My friend Scott was looking at the burger. He knows that I write about them and consume them in quantity. We had already dined earlier in the evening so we decided to split the IHH Burger (house blend beef, aged cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, secret sauce) 

Beautifully presented and cooked to perfection. 

Rate It: 4.5 of 5

Everything about this was wonderful. Price was on par for quality. Seasoned and cooked near perfect (for me)

Harbor House Does it Right! 09/07/23

 The Harbor House in Milwaukee is known for fish and steak dishes. Wedged in the menu you will find the Harbor House Burger. Pretty straight forward, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Sciortino’s Bun.

I built it the way I like it, onion then tomato and lettuce. Just a little ketchup. No mustard. I do like stone ground brown mustard but this time I decided to keep it simple.

Thick and juicy. Seasoning was just enough. Fresh roll and veggies. That's a great sandwich.

Rate It: 4.5 of 5 

It's been some time since I had a burger that made me glad that I skipped eating a different dish. 

 

Leff's @ Tosa Tonight 06/28/2023

 It's that time of the year again when all of Wauwatosa attends the "Tosa Tonight" events at the Rotary Performance Pavilion. Warm Summer nights, great music and food.

There are a few different vendors ranging from pizza by the slice to down home southern cooking. I landed somewhere in the middle at Leff's Luckytown. Leff's offers some straight forward options, hot dogs, brats and burgers. Simple fare at a reasonable price. You know that I went for the burger. (Duh)

Trust me, the other vendors offer up Jambalaya, Mac & Cheese, Pulled Pork Sandwiches etc. but, if you follow my blog, you will know that I'm a fan of Leff's burgers. This time I got a cheeseburger. Leff's doesn't dumb it down for the outdoor event, it's still up to standards. Priced at $9, potato chips included. The flavor was on par with the brick and mortar version. 

Rate it: 4 of 5

It was very tasty, fairly juicy, just a bit of the "kept warm until sold feel". Otherwise, great deal for the buck. It would be hard to find such a deal and taste from any other mobile kitchen.

Let's Go To Sluggo's! 06/27/2023

So many burgers, so little time!

For 40 years, Sluggo's in Brookfield Wisconsin has been cooking up grub for it's loving public. The proof is verified by the large crowd on a Tuesday night in Summer.

My brother-in-law had driven past Sluggo's several times and noticed that, no matter what day or time for that matter, Sluggo's lot was pretty full. They must be doing something right to make them that popular. For that reason, he wanted to celebrate his birthday there. His vision, a Sluggo Burger. My kind of vision!

I chose the Cheeseburger with bacon. (there isn't a bacon cheeseburger) It's a 1/2 pound patty, hand formed as far as I could tell. Nicely charred on the outside, pink inside. Just the way I like it. I ordered it Medium Rare. Everything about it was on spot. Just enough bacon and cheese leaving the burger to shine. The seasoning was really good, done with confidence that it would enhance the flavor and not over power it. The brioche roll was fresh and buttered up a bit, yum.

Prices have gone up quite a bit over the past couple of years at Sluggo's but the burger stepped up to the plate. At $14.99, it isn't a cheap burger but, I've had less tasty ones for just as much or more. The bar/restaurant itself is a throw back, nothing fancy but well kept. The crowd added to the experience.There's a lot of hungry people in our town.

Rate it: 4.5 of 5

It's one of the better burgers I've had recently. Sorry, I didn't get a picture.

Cancery Restaurant-Legendary? 03.07.2023

 Wow, the Chancery Restaurant. I can't recall the last time I went to one for a burger. There used to be several in the area when I was growing up. The Pub Burger was sort of a staple in my diet because my friend was a cook at the one just half a mile away from where I lived. Up until all but one of the restaurants closed down, the Pub Burger was my answer to the question "What's your favorite burger?" I never said it was the best, just consistent. It was a $6 burger back in the day when places like Culver's, Five Guys etc hadn't even started selling in the Milwaukee area. I'm not sure they were even around.

It was lunchtime on a Tuesday. Part of the morning was spent with my son, his wife and my grandson. They know I've been thinking about heading to the last remaining Chancery to see about the burger offerings. So, they suggested we head there to have some lunch. I had the Bucky with cheddar cheese. It was listed as a Classic on the menu. Sweet potato fries as my side. The food arrived. It looked decent. I snagged a little pinch of meat without anything else. Seasoned nicely. Cut it open. Not bad. A bit less cooked would have been better. Taste, pretty good. Not a mind blower. I wasn't expecting it to be. Was it the burger I knew when I was younger? That's a tough one. I have to believe that they honor the history of the burger. I should have ordered the regular waffle fries.

Rate it: 4 of 5 Pricey in my opinion. It's a $10 burger even in modern times. $12 after adding cheese. So, not a huge discretion on price. Overall, just sort of decent burger. That's what I expected.

https://www.thechancery.com/

Grabbing food on a "hot lap" to Indiana 03.04.2023

 Our niece lives in Indiana. She's a creative person. Recently, she created a piece of art for the "Love and Chocolate" show at Studio 659, in Whiting Indiana . The show was ending and we wanted to see the artwork in person. It's a 2+ hour drive to Whiting. We decided to drive down, check the show and head back home after grabbing a bite. The show was great. So many different interpretations of the theme. Ashley's artwork was fabric but looked like it was a painting. Amazing.

After viewing the show, we headed down the main street to the Grillers for a bite to eat. Ashley mentioned that they serve a decent burger. Really? It's difficult to look at a menu without a burger bias after such a statement. Grillers is cool little joint. There's big menu board behind a counter that's staffed with folks ready to take your order. The menu is quite expansive. Behind the staff at the counter is a guy at a griddle cooking up a storm. Piles of veggies, burger patties etc. sizzling away. The cheese on burgers gets the steamed under a lid trick. I'm not sure why the menu says "broiled" because I'm pretty sure it was all flat top stuff. No matter, good food. I got the "Talk of the Town". Fries were my side. The wife got tots. The burger brought some of the flavors from the flat top which was okay. All fresh ingredients, cooked almost exactly the way I like it, a little pink. The fries were okay. I'm sort of a straight forward shoe string or regular waffle fry guy.

Rate it: 4 of 5 Decent price. Pretty darn good burger and fries. 

https://studio659.org/ and http://www.grillersrestaurant.com/