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The Burgers of Wisconsin

The Burgers of Wisconsin
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  • Post #61 - March 21st, 2011, 1:15 pm
    Post #61 - March 21st, 2011, 1:15 pm Post #61 - March 21st, 2011, 1:15 pm
    We are headed to Kenosha this Sunday and were wondering if Ron's place is kid friendly enough for our 3 and 6 year olds if we go early-ish, around 6? Also, do they allow smoking? I can't remember the laws in WI..
    Thanks,
    LO
  • Post #62 - March 21st, 2011, 3:26 pm
    Post #62 - March 21st, 2011, 3:26 pm Post #62 - March 21st, 2011, 3:26 pm
    LO wrote:We are headed to Kenosha this Sunday and were wondering if Ron's place is kid friendly enough for our 3 and 6 year olds if we go early-ish, around 6? Also, do they allow smoking? I can't remember the laws in WI..
    Thanks,
    LO


    Smoking is not allowed in any bars or restaurants anymore. The exceptions are cigar bars and casinos. Also even though I haven't been to Ron's it seems that most ma and pop bars like Ron's have no issues with kids as long as they are well behaved.
    Visit my new website at http://www.splatteredpages.com or my old one at www.eatwisconsin.com
  • Post #63 - March 21st, 2011, 4:14 pm
    Post #63 - March 21st, 2011, 4:14 pm Post #63 - March 21st, 2011, 4:14 pm
    Excellent- thank you! Growing up in MN where smoking was banned pretty early amongst the states, I took it for granted. Last year we had breakfast at The Cass County Conservation Club in Michigan where smoking was allowed and it totally ruined our meal. Even though I used to smoke I just can't stand it now, especially while eating.
    Thanks again. I am looking forward to Ron's!
    LO
  • Post #64 - March 21st, 2011, 4:40 pm
    Post #64 - March 21st, 2011, 4:40 pm Post #64 - March 21st, 2011, 4:40 pm
    I just took my kids there (9, 13,17) a couple of weeks ago. There were kids there younger than ours and it didn't seem like a problem. It does get pretty crowded there so if you can get there before 6, try and do so- if it's too crowded, Tenuta's deli across the street has some great stuff, and even if you go to Ron's, make sure to stop at Tenuta's. They are open late, so you can easily go after Ron's.

    Also, if you have time before hand, take the kids to the Jelly Belly factory, about 10 mins from Ron's in Pleasant Prairie.
  • Post #65 - March 21st, 2011, 5:51 pm
    Post #65 - March 21st, 2011, 5:51 pm Post #65 - March 21st, 2011, 5:51 pm
    Thanks! We will try to get there early. Jelly Belly is on the itinerary, the kids don't know yet :D . They are already too excited by the fact we will spending the night in a hotel, that also has a swimming pool. If we told them about Jelly Belly, I wouldn't survive this week!
    We also plan on going to the dinosaur museum. We will have to check out Tenuta's as well.
    Thanks again, LO
  • Post #66 - March 24th, 2011, 6:05 am
    Post #66 - March 24th, 2011, 6:05 am Post #66 - March 24th, 2011, 6:05 am
    I'm driving up to Minneapolis today through Wisconsin. Any last second recommendations for a place for a burger easily off the highway?
  • Post #67 - March 24th, 2011, 8:24 am
    Post #67 - March 24th, 2011, 8:24 am Post #67 - March 24th, 2011, 8:24 am
    P. Channon wrote:I'm driving up to Minneapolis today through Wisconsin. Any last second recommendations for a place for a burger easily off the highway?


    Downtown location of Monks in Wisconsin Dells is pretty good--
  • Post #68 - March 24th, 2011, 10:16 am
    Post #68 - March 24th, 2011, 10:16 am Post #68 - March 24th, 2011, 10:16 am
    Anything in eau Claire???
  • Post #69 - March 24th, 2011, 10:22 am
    Post #69 - March 24th, 2011, 10:22 am Post #69 - March 24th, 2011, 10:22 am
    P. Channon wrote:Anything in eau Claire???


    Mikes Smokehouse on west side is sometimes pretty good--sometimes just ok--not sure about burgers
  • Post #70 - March 24th, 2011, 10:32 am
    Post #70 - March 24th, 2011, 10:32 am Post #70 - March 24th, 2011, 10:32 am
    buzzd wrote:
    P. Channon wrote:Anything in eau Claire???


    Mikes Smokehouse on west side is sometimes pretty good--sometimes just ok--not sure about burgers



    Great, thanks!
  • Post #71 - March 25th, 2011, 1:49 pm
    Post #71 - March 25th, 2011, 1:49 pm Post #71 - March 25th, 2011, 1:49 pm
    I took a nice road trip through eastern Wisconsin last weekend. I started out with breakfast at The Coffee Pot in Kenosha, which I will post about in the breakfast in Wisconsin thread, then drove up north to Sheboygan for a stop at Miesfeld's for some of their stellar hot dogs and brats. When I got there, the grill was going and brats and burgers were being sold.

    Miesfeld's Grill in Action
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    Step Right Up to the Brat Haus and Place Your Order
    Image

    I was a little disappointed that they weren't serving hot dogs, because, in my opinion, the hot dogs are the reason to make the trek up to Sheboygan, although the brats are no slouches, either.

    Miesfeld's Hot Dogs
    Image

    After that, it was off to visit Todd's Grill in Oconomowoc. Todd's is a typical Wisconsin bar & grill and has been mentioned in several threads in the past. It's been on my list to visit for quite some time. I got there right at dinner time.

    Todd's Grill
    Image

    The Saturday special was Prime Rib. As tempting as that was, I was there for the burger...and what a burger it was. I ordered the "Grill Burger", which is a 1/2 pound burger topped with mushrooms, fried onions, bacon, and American cheese. You get your choice of fries, home made potato chips or onion strings. I ordered it medium rare and told them to hold the mushrooms and serve it with home made potato chips. When the burger came out, it was cooked to the correct temperature, but they gave me onion strings by mistake and I'm glad they did. The onion strings were battered to order and perfectly fried. My only complaint was that although the burger was served on a beautiful bakery bun, the bun itself was a little past its prime and somewhat dry. This was a minor complaint and certainly won't keep me away from Todd's in the future.

    Todd's Grill Burger (hold the shrooms)
    Image

    Miesfeld's Triangle Market
    4811 Venture Drive
    Sheboygan, Wisconsin 53083
    920-565-6328

    Todd's Grill
    164 East Wisconsin Avenue
    Oconomowoc, WI 53066
    262-567-6023

    Edited to add a link to The Coffee Pot post
    Last edited by stevez on March 25th, 2011, 2:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #72 - March 25th, 2011, 2:10 pm
    Post #72 - March 25th, 2011, 2:10 pm Post #72 - March 25th, 2011, 2:10 pm
    Nice to see a report from Todd's, one of my old haunts. Now I'm craving a brandy old-fashioned.
    i used to milk cows
  • Post #73 - March 29th, 2011, 11:15 am
    Post #73 - March 29th, 2011, 11:15 am Post #73 - March 29th, 2011, 11:15 am
    We had a nice overnight stay in Kenosha. We reeally enjoyed Ron's place. The burgers were juicy, and cooked perfectly to a medium rare. The regular fries weren't that great, although I did enjoy the curly fries my husband had, they were really crispy and had a touch of spice which I enjoyed. Kids liked the calamari, which had a nice kick of pepper. They have a good beer selection, and my husband enjoyed a Founders Pale Ale and Victory Pils. I really liked the house specialty long island tea, I had the once called the "Pom-Pom" which had pomegranate, sour and grapefruit. It was pleasantly tart and really took the edge off. I love the half liter mason jar mugs with a handle.
    We went to mall beforehand and I finally splurged on a Le Creuset 7.25 french oven, since it was a pretty good deal at $166. We had lunch across the street at the Chancery Pub which is in the Radisson. Everything was way too salty, the kids chicken tenders (even my salt loving 6 year old said it was too salty), husband's jambalaya, my french onion soup, which was unfortunate because the melted cheese on top was quite tasty. We shared a bloody mary which came with a cool assortment of garnishes, a salami stick, pickled mushroom, olive, celery, dill pickle, but it was also too salty. The Spotted Cow chaser helped though.
    The jelly belly factory was fun and the kids had a blast. The buttered popcorn jelly bean is just plain weird, it does taste like buttered popcorn but having a jelly bean texture just wasn't appealing.
    We also went to Tenuta's. They have an excellent beer selection including several Wisconsin microwbrews we hadn't seen before. We bought some tasty house made dried salami, cerignola olives that the kids have already eaten, and Sarvecchio cheese.
  • Post #74 - March 29th, 2011, 2:48 pm
    Post #74 - March 29th, 2011, 2:48 pm Post #74 - March 29th, 2011, 2:48 pm
    LO, the Chancery used to be great. Now its dumbed down, mediocore food. I used to love taking people to teh Chancery in the 90s. The burgers were great, the beer cheese soup was awesome, and they always had some great specials like a bucket of peel and eat shrimp for 7.99 or something like that. Now its on par with Applebees or Chili's.
    Visit my new website at http://www.splatteredpages.com or my old one at www.eatwisconsin.com
  • Post #75 - March 30th, 2011, 11:29 am
    Post #75 - March 30th, 2011, 11:29 am Post #75 - March 30th, 2011, 11:29 am
    P. Channon wrote:
    buzzd wrote:
    P. Channon wrote:Anything in eau Claire???


    Mikes Smokehouse on west side is sometimes pretty good--sometimes just ok--not sure about burgers



    Great, thanks!


    I tried Mike's Smokehouse on my drive up to Minneapolis last week and it was pretty good. Much better than the average highway stop point. Had the Brisket with a side of cheese curds (only in Wisconsin!) and both were pretty good. Not the best I've ever had...but a nice lunch regardless.

    Thanks for the recommendation!
  • Post #76 - March 30th, 2011, 8:41 pm
    Post #76 - March 30th, 2011, 8:41 pm Post #76 - March 30th, 2011, 8:41 pm
    eatwisconsin wrote:LO, the Chancery used to be great. Now its dumbed down, mediocore food. I used to love taking people to teh Chancery in the 90s. The burgers were great, the beer cheese soup was awesome, and they always had some great specials like a bucket of peel and eat shrimp for 7.99 or something like that. Now its on par with Applebees or Chili's.


    I was a fan of the Chancery in 1980, when I escaped to Wisconsin. My first home was near the original restaurant in Mt. Pleasant. Back then, they offered a great fish fry, peel and eat shrimp, and outstanding fajitas. Their cheese burgers were excellent. Over the years, their menu was constantly changing and everything we enjoyed was deleted, except for the burgers and the beer cheese soup. In 1996, we moved to the Wind Point neighborhood, north of the Harbor Walk Chancery. Harbor Walk still offers a great cheeseburger, with the awesome beer cheese soup. Mike mine a half pound burger, medium rare, with Merkt's cheddar.
    Mark A Reitman, PhD
    Professor of Hot Dogs
    Hot Dog University/Vienna Beef
  • Post #77 - June 5th, 2011, 9:06 pm
    Post #77 - June 5th, 2011, 9:06 pm Post #77 - June 5th, 2011, 9:06 pm
    It's that time of the year. I spent a couple days in Sconsin this past week and think I might of shattered my own personal record of food stops while on a trip, managing to squeeze in one stop for every two hours spent in state (17 places in 35 hours). You best believe I ate some burgers while there. Hopefully I can share all the stops here on the board but only time will tell so do stay tuned. I had to get up to Marinette (straight up the lake near UP Michigan) for a little thing I'm doing for 'Travel Wisconsin' and had some stops scouted out for the trip up there and back. The first (planned) stop of the trip was in Sheboygan which has to be one of the best roadfood cities anywhere for a place of it's size (51,000 pop.) There are a quite a few "don't miss" type places in the pretty little town on the lake in between Milwaukee and Green Bay. I had two burger stops on the agenda, one of which I have been too before. I stopped in at the Charcoal Inn a few years back while on the Lake Michigan Circle Tour which can be seen HERE.

    Image
    Sheboygan, WI

    When traveling along the Lake (Michigan) in Wisconsin one will encounter a type of cooking that certainly isn't unique to this region but is very popular up and down it and that's cooking with charcoal. It is somewhat unique in that so many restaurants do this and I'm not talking flame broiled using gas or electric either. They use real charcoal which is loaded into their indoor pits as needed by the grillmaster.

    Image Image
    The view as you enter (L) The grill at Charcoal Inn (R)

    The Charcoal Inn actually has two locations, a north and south, with the south being the original and right off the Circle Tour route. They serve both breakfast and lunch with their specialty being their charcoal grilled sandwiches. Sandwich options at the Inn include the usual Wisconsin tavern suspects like burgers, brats and steak. Another popular trait at these real charcoal grilled sandwich spots and stops along the lake is the use of butter, LOTS of it. The brats at Charcoal Inn are served split on yet another food specialty along the lake which is the hard roll. I love these toasted rolls and find them to be the perfect compliment to the sandwiches holding them together not letting them fall apart while in your hands as you eat it. You can see their steak and brat sandwiches in the Circle Tour thread, the reason for my stop was a brat and burger sandwich. Which is exactly what your thinking, a burger patty topped with a brat patty.

    Image
    Brat and Burger with cheese from Charcoal Inn

    Look like a gimmick? It isn't or at least I didn't think it was. Neither did PhilDubya who I was riding with and named this sandwich/burger his favorite of the many we had...and none of them were "nuttin special".

    Image
    The insides

    The hard rolls are toasted on the grill and the sandwich is then built with a hamburger patty topped with a slice of melted sharp cheddar followed by a brat patty which is topped with raw onions, pickles, brown mustard and PLENTY of butter (hold the catsup). Since this was the first real food stop after a few hours on the road I will say maybe that played a little part in it's goodness but I'd easily go back for another and then another if I lived anywhere near there. I especially liked the use of raw onions which is the standard topping for a brat as opposed to fried which are my preferred choice for a burger. The brat and burger sandwich, count me a fan man.

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    Pure Wisconsin
    _____________________________________________________

    The next stop, also in Sheboygan, was on my list of places to get to in WI. Schulz's Restaurant is another popular place with the locals for real charcoal grilled sandwiches. It's one of them spots you gotta stop in at when you drive by. It's housed in a cool looking building and has that classic feel inside with a couple U shaped counters with stools for sitting and the charcoal grill on full display in the middle.

    Image
    Sheboygan, WI

    Image
    Mural on the side wall (Hey it's dude from Ron's Place, seen upthread)

    Schulz's first opened up shop in 1953 and aside from the building which was built in 1967 it's stayed the same all the way. "Why spoil a good thing" is their motto. The original spot was a block away and when one of the sons bought the restaurant from his parents he built the current building where it stands in today.

    Image Image
    The view as you enter (L) The charcoal grill at Schulz's Restaurant (R)

    Now in it's third generation they still do everything the same. All the meats come from Meisfeld's Market which can be seen upthread (and also in other posts) and is heavily endorsed by many here on LTH including myself. The hard rolls come from Hi Lo bakery which is another must stop spot in Sheboygan. They do have regular hamburgers on the menu but hey, this is afterall Sheboygan so you know they got brats in burger form too. Brat patty's are just the ground meat from Meisfeld's grand champion bratwurst in patty form as opposed to encased sausage. I was told the double is their most popular sandwich so that's what we went with.

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    Double Brat Burger from Schulz's

    Look's good huh? and you know it was. The patties were excellent, same great taste you get in the brats from Meisfeld's just in hamburger form. It came with the usual's on a brat of mustard (brown), raw onions and also pickles if you like them which I do so I got. The hard roll as can be seen in the pic was toasted to perfection and went great with the rest of the ingredients and you know they load them with plenty of real butter too. How can these bad boys not be good? So next time your in Sheboygan or cruising on by make sure you try a brat burger, another special regional eat found in Wisconsin. More to come.

    Image
    The inside
    _____________________________________________________

    Charcoal Inn South
    1313 South 8th Street
    Sheboygan, WI 53081-5325
    (920) 458-6988

    Schulz's Restaurant
    1644 Calumet Drive
    Sheboygan, WI 53081-2551
    (920) 452-1880
  • Post #78 - June 5th, 2011, 9:55 pm
    Post #78 - June 5th, 2011, 9:55 pm Post #78 - June 5th, 2011, 9:55 pm
    While I don't think I could ever suffer butter on a burger, I really appreciate this report. What really caught my eye was the so-called hard roll - a variation of which was a prized item for the Magyar side of my family; we picked them up weekly from the now defunct Meyers in Lincoln Square.

    My favorite treatment for those hard rolls was to cut several slices of spicy, garlicky and home dried Magyar kolbasz and sandwich them with a generous helping of sliced onion and raw green pepper. Now that I think of it, butter may have been involved here and there. But only a thin smear.

    Hard rolls, fatty pork, onions. About as a great a combination as exists methinks. Bravo Da Beef and 'Sconsin.
    "By the fig, the olive..." Surat Al-Teen, Mecca 95:1"
  • Post #79 - June 7th, 2011, 8:34 am
    Post #79 - June 7th, 2011, 8:34 am Post #79 - June 7th, 2011, 8:34 am
    great post,i had the job of driver on this trip .
    what a great two days.


    some great burgers :mrgreen:
    philw bbq cbj for kcbs &M.I.M. carolina pit masters
  • Post #80 - June 13th, 2011, 7:10 pm
    Post #80 - June 13th, 2011, 7:10 pm Post #80 - June 13th, 2011, 7:10 pm
    Welcome back! today we head north up the lake into Green Bay. This was my second visit to titletown but my first time actually enjoying it, certain outcomes from events on my previous visit made it suck. Puck the Fack, when it comes to Wisconsin, professional football is about the only thing I don't like but I still got love for Green Bay, well their burgers anyway. Actually Green Bay is a pleasant little community on the lake and I love the fact that the people as a town own an NFL Franchise. It's really cool that that's so and they do so well nonetheless. Taking in a game at Lambeau is a must do sporting experience. But whats not so cool is to think about what the hell they're going to do in Green Bay if there is no football this Fall? The truth is I don't have a clue what they'll do, but they can always drown their sorrow in beer and burgers. First stop of the day was in downtown Green Bay at an old time place called Al's Hamburger Shop.

    Image
    Green Bay, WI

    I was told about Al's on my first trip to Green Bay when a local told me it's the best 'locals type' spot they got. I never made it there but always remembered it due to the simple name and then I became even more intrigued when I saw how little there was on it on the 'net. It's been on my 'burgers in WI list' since. A few reviews on Yelp and TripAdvisor praise the place for its old time "nothings changed" feel while others trash it for being a "dirty smoky grease pit". Sounds like my type of place and upon entry I knew it was.

    Image
    As we enter...the small grill is to the right in full view from the window outside

    A small counter with stools and a few tables for sitdown make Al's at maximum capacity when 30 people are inside. It was after lunch rush and there were only a few people finishing up, both an old guy and a couple young college co-eds. The wonderful young lady working the grill was also taking orders so we (me and philw) each went with their classic cheeseburger and also an order each of their famous corned beef hash which came with heavy praise in quite a few of the online reviews. As we waited while the young grill lady cooked up our burgers and hash I couldn't help but get a total kick out of a plane made from a PBR can hanging from the ceiling (seen in pic above). It flew around in circles with its propeller rotating as the exhaust system blew air by it. Very funny and part of the old school charm of the place, you know nothings changed, except that one stool a little higher and different than the rest in the picture above.

    Image
    Like it's always been. Those Rolaids came in handy...

    The hash was the first order up, theres only so much room on the grill. This was indeed the real deal. PhilDubya prefers his hash to be in large chunks while I prefer mine to be ground down and crispy all around, much like I love my burgers. Al's had a deli slicer for their corned beef in back which was in use for the next days supply. It might look like it's from a can but this was an excellent homemade hash. You can see in the up close shot there were small shreds of real corned beef everywhere. This stuff was awesome, with a burger from there and a couple other spots along the way I had to save some for later that night. I took it down around midnight after a few brews and I gotta come clean, I ate philw's leftovers too. Sorry man, they weren't ruined by the water in the cooler like I said, but you knew that as you said you had a hunch I ate it.

    Image Image
    Corned beef hash breakfast from Al's

    The burger was everything I was expecting. Ordered with grilled onions which are smashed into the fresh ball of beef and topped with brown mustard and pickles this was my second favorite burger of the six stops we had. The bun was phenomenal, so light and fluffy as can be seen in the picture. This was my first place winner until an unexpected stop on the rebound home won gold. Al's cheeseburgers are exactly how I love mine to be. The perfect example of an old school diner where the cheeseburgers are and always have been popular for breakfast.

    Image
    Cheeseburger from Al's

    So as it turns out I'm actually a big fan of a Green Bay landmark, just not Lambeau Field and the team that plays its home games there. Al's burgers and corned beef hash were both top notch and even better was two cheeseburgers and two orders of hash with eggs and toast was under $17. What a steal, almost as big as Aaron Rodger's at pick #24 :?

    Image Image
    Since 1934 for a reason...
    _____________________________________________________

    Next stop of the day was also a local institution in Green Bay. The Kroll's name has been associated with burgers in the area since 1936 when Harry Kroll opened his joint. If Kroll's sounds familiar that's because theres one in Chicago that opened up in the South Loop a while back and also another one on the West side of Green Bay right by the stadium. The east side location is the original and aside from family name I believe is in no way associated with the others. Nowadays it's still the same tavern/take out that always will remain a real locals favorite, you know the drill by now, visited by generations of families etc...

    Image
    Green Bay, WI

    Kroll's uses the popular regional style of real charcoal grilling. They have a take out window as well as a tavern where you can enjoy their signature burgers with a drink and all sorts of other goodies like fried app's, fried chicken and perch, brats, hot dogs, steak sandwiches along with an assortment of others and also their popular homemade soups and chili. As soon as you leave your car in the parking lot you are greeted by a pleasant aroma in the air from the chimney expelling the smoke.

    Image Image
    Kroll's is a very cool place to visit

    Image
    The Real Charcoal Grill at Kroll's

    The grill is located in the take out section and on full display for people taking orders to go. Even though there were quite a few younger ladies working as waitresses it was an old timer, I'm guessing family member working the grill. She was happy to show me everything once she realized I was taking pictures and explained they toast the semel hard rolls in the drawers to the left of the grill. All their burgers are made fresh on premises and char grilled over hot coals until done. Each "mouth watering" sandwich comes topped with real Wisconsin butter and is served on a toasted hard roll (soft available upon request). Everything includes sharp American cheese, catsup, brown mustard, raw onions and pickles. I got mine with everything but ketchup.

    Image
    Kroll's cheeseburger right out of the wrapper

    They slice the burgers in half and give you extra napkins because butter and juices from the beef will slide down your arm as you eat one. You have to eat these burgers like you do when eating an Italian beef, standing up leaning over wherever they rest. I thought these were another classic example of why Wisconsin is indeed a big time burger state. Next time I would go double but at $3.05 this was everything I could want it to be. The toasted semel roll made it crunchy on the outside while on the inside awaited a warm mixture of beef, butter and cheese with the All American burger toppings putting it all together. In the end, Kroll's is another local landmark I cant wait to get back too. Next time I'm going to have to sit at the bar and have a few brews and burgers and get my own episode of 'This American Life'.

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    The insides
    _____________________________________________________

    Al's Hamburger Shop
    131 South Washington Street
    Green Bay, WI 54301-4210
    (920) 437-5114

    Kroll's East
    1658 Main Street
    Green Bay, WI 54302-2629
    (920) 468-4422
  • Post #81 - June 13th, 2011, 7:44 pm
    Post #81 - June 13th, 2011, 7:44 pm Post #81 - June 13th, 2011, 7:44 pm
    Know where we will stop later this summer--thanks

    Any burger recs in the Appleton area??
  • Post #82 - June 13th, 2011, 8:30 pm
    Post #82 - June 13th, 2011, 8:30 pm Post #82 - June 13th, 2011, 8:30 pm
    I've been to the Lambeau Kroll's. It's not at all like the Kroll's you visited. Now I undersatnd why Kroll's has such a good rep. You'd never know from visiting the branch near the stadium.
    Steve Z.

    “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”
    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #83 - June 14th, 2011, 10:22 am
    Post #83 - June 14th, 2011, 10:22 am Post #83 - June 14th, 2011, 10:22 am
    Nice post. My feelings about GB shadow Beef's based on my long connection to various NFC Central (old and new) franchises and also a very weird cash bar wedding I attended there years ago. (Cash bar and Wisconsin is something I've still not come to terms with.) But the post above leads me to an obvious, heretofore overlooked (I think) question -- why hasn't CB hash been added to the list of burger toppings? I mean, lots of the best burger joints make at least respectable CB hash and there's a rich history of corned beef as a burger topping. You'd think some of these ancient dives with like 4 things on the menu would've come up with a Slinger-like combo on a bun by now. If i ever make it to Al's, it's on.
  • Post #84 - June 15th, 2011, 9:31 am
    Post #84 - June 15th, 2011, 9:31 am Post #84 - June 15th, 2011, 9:31 am
    I am starting to think that Da Beef needs to write a book on the burgers of Wisconsin. Nobody I know has the knowledge and the burning desire to explore every city in the state in search of the perfect burger.
    Visit my new website at http://www.splatteredpages.com or my old one at www.eatwisconsin.com
  • Post #85 - June 15th, 2011, 11:21 am
    Post #85 - June 15th, 2011, 11:21 am Post #85 - June 15th, 2011, 11:21 am
    Some of the best brats in Wisconsin are served at the concession stands at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. Many years ago, Car & Driver Magazine selected the concession stands at Road America, the number one rated race track food.
    Mark A Reitman, PhD
    Professor of Hot Dogs
    Hot Dog University/Vienna Beef
  • Post #86 - June 15th, 2011, 3:35 pm
    Post #86 - June 15th, 2011, 3:35 pm Post #86 - June 15th, 2011, 3:35 pm
    chicagostyledog wrote:Some of the best brats in Wisconsin are served at the concession stands at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. Many years ago, Car & Driver Magazine selected the concession stands at Road America, the number one rated race track food.


    Paired up with the roasted ears of corn dipped in #10 cans of melted butter!
    Objects in mirror appear to be losing.
  • Post #87 - June 15th, 2011, 4:56 pm
    Post #87 - June 15th, 2011, 4:56 pm Post #87 - June 15th, 2011, 4:56 pm
    I always love your roadtrip posts Da Beef. Thanks again. So many places mapped out for future reference. :)
  • Post #88 - June 19th, 2011, 7:55 pm
    Post #88 - June 19th, 2011, 7:55 pm Post #88 - June 19th, 2011, 7:55 pm
    eatwisconsin wrote:I am starting to think that Da Beef needs to write a book on the burgers of Wisconsin.


    Haha, the followers of this thread will be the first people to know where to get their coffee table book with a free app of each and every stop mapped out so you can get there from wherever you are. Glad y'all are enjoying the tour, so much so I promised myself to get the next one up since summer is here. So on we go working our way up Lake Michigan as we head to Marinette which is about 50 miles north of Green Bay. It's at the very top part of the state that stretches along the lake. Located just across the bridge from Menominee Michigan, this beautiful little summertime playground is also the home to one of the best burger experiences in the country.

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    Marinette, WI

    This was my first ever visit to Mickey-Lu-Bar-B-Q. It was on my radar when I did the Lake Michigan Circle Tour but they were closed for a quick two day repair the day we drove by. Mickey Lu's also gets some love here on LTH from such folks as gleam. It's been on my must get to list ever since. Let me first address the question (GWiv) and many others are asking themselves as they read this, they serve BBQ too? Nope. It's a little different all the way up there, lets just say they don't know what real bbq (smoked meat) is. Like many other uninformed Northerners they assume BBQ is grilling when the two of them are actually different. Nonetheless the reason they call this famous sandwich place 'Bar-B-Q' is because they use the popular regional style of real charcoal grilling, notice the chimney in the picture above. As soon as your near the place you can smell the goodness.

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    Signs hanging on the walls (top) View from the sandwich bar stools and a pic of a full house (bottom)

    Mickey Lu's is an institution with a loyal following, generations of families have eaten there and swear by their burgers. Approaching their 70th year in business it takes you back to another time when rolling upon it from the outside and seeing the big 'EAT' sign and neon Bar-B-Q lighting up the front at night. Then when you step inside it gets even an more authentic feeling with the old time decor and then seeing a big flaming real charcoal grill with grillmaster Chuck Finnessy working the wild flames. It's an experience you have to see and taste for yourself but just in case you cant ever make it or are wondering what I'm talking about, here is some video from my 1st visit on this trip, we went there three times since we stayed in Marinette.


    The Flaming (real) Charcoal Grill

    When I was able to get this shot on my 1st visit the place was packed, nowhere to sit and hardly any room to stand. It's a daily thing, actually gets like that a couple times a day I was told. With only so much space on the grill it can take up to 30 minutes for an order to be ready but people didn't care and were willing to wait. They are open 'til 11:30p so I was also able to stop in later that night and they had the local HS baseball team in there celebrating a playoff win. Just like back in the day, Mickey's Lu's is the place to go hang out and chat it up with friends and folks from around town.

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    The Menu with your options

    It's all about the burgers here but since we were in WI, I had to try a brat too on my first visit. Not worth it, small brat in a large hot dog bun, there are much better to be had and besides the only folks not ordering burgers by the 2's, 3's and beyond were a few of the little kids who got hot dogs and shakes. They have the grill down to a science and get the burgers out as quick as they can but again theres only so much space. Luckily the burgers, which are fresh patties ground fresh and delivered daily, are thin so they cook quick. Doubles are available but the preferred choice around town seems to be downing a few singles on each visit. Just like past places featured along Lake Michigan, they use Hard Rolls which are toasted to the max on the grill for a minute or two while the flames lay low. Once ready they're double wrapped and brought to you wherever your sitting.

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    Cheeseburger from Mickey-Lu Bar-B-Q

    The burgers come served on Hard Rolls with catsup, onions, pickles and plenty of butter (brown mustard on request) and take on a great charcoal flavor making it one of the most unique tasting burgers I've had. It shames me to say this but I ordered one of them with catsup and everything else and I thought it worked well with the burger. The buns are crunchy on the outside and the sweetness from the catsup goes well with the kiss of charcoal. I really enjoyed these burgers, so much so that we got a double cheeseburgers fro breakfast and asked for them with a fried egg on the way out of town. They wouldn't put the egg on the burger and at first I didn't understand why but it now makes sense that the egg is on the menu as a sandwich and they don't mess with tradition. Gotta love it. We added the fried eggs and it became even better.

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    Double cheeseburger with a fried egg added on by hand

    Yet another great burger in a great eating state. Mickey-Lu's first shot onto my radar while doing research on food stops around Lake Michigan while on the Circle Tour. This Guy's analysis is what got me wanting to stop in one day soon, well you can check another one off and now I understand why...

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    ...when you need a Mickey Lu, nothing else will do

    Mickey-Lu-Bar-B-Q
    1710 Marinette Ave
    Marinette, WI 54143-3709
    Phone: (715)735-7721
    Last edited by da beef on June 20th, 2011, 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
  • Post #89 - June 19th, 2011, 10:07 pm
    Post #89 - June 19th, 2011, 10:07 pm Post #89 - June 19th, 2011, 10:07 pm
    Damn! Beef Done it again!! Great post!
    Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?...........Louis Armstrong
  • Post #90 - June 20th, 2011, 7:09 am
    Post #90 - June 20th, 2011, 7:09 am Post #90 - June 20th, 2011, 7:09 am
    got to lov it. great stuff :mrgreen:
    philw bbq cbj for kcbs &M.I.M. carolina pit masters

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