The Burgers of Wisconsin

The thought came to my mind that maybe I should start a thread about burgers in the great eating state of Wisconsin. I figured why not since we have a thread dedicated to the burgers of SW Michigan and Wisconsin might just be the heavyweight state champ when it comes to best burgers in America, although Oklahoma might have something to say about that.

But since Wisconsin is a bordering state visited by many a fIb's and fIsh, especially during warmer months, which are on the way, I thought this would be a good launching pad to discuss any and every great burger anyone comes across during their travels of the state. I've actually been compiling a list (20+ spots already) of burger joints I need to visit from Milwaukee all the way up to Superior that I'll keep in my car for when I'm in Sconnie land this summer from time to time. So here are six burgers, of which I have pics of, that have been discussed here on other threads and I quite enjoy all of them. I've had 100's of others from WI over time but don't have the pics but will get back to them one day and add them here.




(Top L: Solly's-Milwaukee, WI) (Top R: Kopp's-Milwaukee, WI)
(Middle L: Kewpee's-Racine, WI) (Middle R: Big Star Drive In-Kenosha, WI)
(Bottom L: Fred's Bar-Burlington, WI) (Bottom R: Monk's-Wisconin Dells, WI)

If you got a spot that puts out a mean tavern butter burger or one of these places over 100 years old like Pete's in Prairie Du Chien, then let us know. If you come across anything in future travels, let us know. I plan on eating lots of burgers from Wisconsin this summer.

Todd's Grill in Oconomowoc used to make a good burger, but I haven't been in a couple of years.

I was a huge fan of Dotty's burgers when I was going to school in Madison.

http://www.dottydumplingsdowry.com/old/

turkob wrote:I was a huge fan of Dotty's burgers when I was going to school in Madison.

http://www.dottydumplingsdowry.com/old/

I went to school in Madison too. Along with Dotty's the other popular burger spots in the campus area were The Plaza and The Nitty Gritty. I liked them all fine but my favorite was from Nick's Restaurant. They always made them to a perfect medium rare but that was 4/5 years ago. Sadly there is now a Five Guys on State St and I'm sure it wins "best burger" nowadays.

Add me to the list of awesome people who attended school in Madison, and love a good burger. Though it wasnt in existence during my tenure in Madison, I've recently grown incredibly fond of a new(ish) restaurant on the capitol square known as "The Old Fashioned." In addition to a suburb Wisconsin-brewery only beer list and what are unquestionably the best cheese curds on the planet (and I've sampled many a cheese curd), this place puts out one hell of a delicious burger:



apologies for the crappy Iphone pic

Sure, the beef is fresh, juicy and cooked perfectly medium rare but the toppings are what put this sucker over the edge. None of them are fancy or innovative, but they're all incredibly well done. Grilled onions, thick hickory smoked bacon, aged cheddar, and an egg and a bun that holds them all together perfectly and enables you to taste each ingredient in every bite. I doubt I'll ever visit Madison again without eating here.





The Old Fashioned
23 North Pinckney Street
Madison, WI 53703-4206
(608) 310-4545

Great idea for a thread! Get up to Wisconsin a fair bit over summer, and have many many great burgers there too - often led by LTH (have done 5 of the 6 burgers in your pic, for example, directed to all by LTH - Fred's, Solly's, Kewpee's, Kopp's and Big Star).

teatpuller wrote:Todd's Grill in Oconomowoc used to make a good burger, but I haven't been in a couple of years.

I was at Todd's last year - in about October I think. Of all the burgers Ive had in Wisconsin, this remains IMHO the best. I go with their straight-forward "All American Todd's Burger" IIRC - a half-pound of fresh, never-frozen beef, sauteed onions, sauteed mushrooms, local bacon and local American cheese. Simple enough, but IMHO the best burger Ive had in Wisconsin (and Ive had them a half dozen times or more) - quite excellent.

Second on the list.. might be Fred's, that was a very good burger too; somewhat similar, in that theyre bar-burgers rather than fast-food burgers (ie Kewpee's, Kopp's, Five Guys etc - once ate at the Five Guys not far off a highway on the way to Madison, and it was pretty damn good too! Oh, and Culver's in Wisconsin is IMHO significantly better than the Culver's Ive eaten at here..though still not a match for a place like Kopp's, of course)

c8w

The original Spot Drive-In in Kenosha, on 75th & 22nd serves fabulous, greasy, cheeseburgers with outstanding home made root beer. Their malts and onion rings are also very tasty. The recipe hasn't changed since 1946. Open 7 days a week from 11am to the wee hours of the morning, you order and eat in your car or take a short drive east on 75th and dine on Lake Michigan in your vehicle or picnic on the rocks.

Commbrkdwn wrote:Add me to the list of awesome people who attended school in Madison, and love a good burger. Though it wasnt in existence during my tenure in Madison, I've recently grown incredibly fond of a new(ish) restaurant on the capitol square known as "The Old Fashioned." In addition to a suburb Wisconsin-brewery only beer list and what are unquestionably the best cheese curds on the planet (and I've sampled many a cheese curd), this place puts out one hell of a delicious burger...

I lived in Madison for many years and The Old Fashioned is my go-to burger place too! Consistently delicious (Dotty's, I'm sorry to say, is not as consistent). I also concur on the fried cheese curds being the best EVER. I usually go with an order of cheese curds, a burger topped with blue cheese/lettuce/tomato, a side salad, and whatever beer they have on special. Perfect meal. I live right down the street from Kuma's now, but damn, I miss the Old Fashioned.

Funny, I didn't even need the captions on the burger photos above. I knew exactly which one was the Solly's burger by the pool of butter.

chicagostyledog wrote:The original Spot Drive-In in Kenosha, on 75th & 22nd serves fabulous, greasy, cheeseburgers with outstanding home made root beer. Their malts and onion rings are also very tasty. The recipe hasn't changed since 1946. Open 7 days a week from 11am to the wee hours of the morning, you order and eat in your car or take a short drive east on 75th and dine on Lake Michigan in your vehicle or picnic on the rocks.

Finally made it The Spot...I'm a fan. There's a whole thread dedicated to the Drive In's of Kenosha located right HERE with more info on The Spot and others. Love the fact its open late nite on weekends. Might have to take a late nite ride up there one day this summer. Great root beer and good onion rings too.




Cheeseburger from The Spot Drive In (Kenosha, WI)

The burger was much in the style of Kewpee's up the lake. Stay tuned, many more to come.

The Spot Drive In
2117 75th Street
Kenosha, WI 53143-5814
(262) 654-9294

I've had this on my radar for a while now. Looks great.

Da Beef, happy to hear you finally made it to The Spot. It's one of my favs. Double cheeseburger, onion rings, and a root beer filled my menu card at The Spot since 1980.

Went to Milwaukee a couple of weeks ago. Hit Soblemans and Solly's. Solly's was great we went there on our way to the zoo with our 2 year old. Man not even the 2 hour walk at the zoo could help walk that off! The burger's where tasty but the amount of fried onions and butter was a little to much for us both. Had the Onion Rings over the crinkle cut fries per Da Beef and that with a Sprecher Root beer on tap almost induced an instant coma! The amount of Butter on our plates after we finished was crazy. I am sure I would go back in a second but it was different for sure.
Soblemans we hit on a Wednesday night about 7 and was packed! Tables of Marquette kids polishing off Double Burgers, crazy amounts of fries etc. , as well as families like ourselves. The Sobleman burger which is Milwaukee's best was awesome. Third pounder, 3 kinds of cheese, diced jalapeno's I believe. This was more our style and much closer to downtown. I drank plenty of New Glarus Spotted Cow while I was in town and had a great time! Both great burger's and worthy of checking out!!
Danny

Was up around Elkhorn last week and pulled into a place along Highway 12 that looked pretty appealing called Lake Country Market.


Elkhorn, WI

Stopped inside and it was really nice with a good selection of wine/beer, produce, fresh baked breads, regional cheeses, a deli and most everything you need for a summer bbq including the beef and steaks and also prepared food like fresh made sandwiches and burgers and brats made on the grill out back. I was even tempted by their super thin crust pizza they make fresh upon order. I went with a build your own burger which you do by filling out a little piece of paper by circling what you want on it from their options. I also had to try some mini burgers as they called them which were a buck and change with cheese on them. The regular burger was $5.99 and with the very fresh toppings paired with a fresh baked bun and some Wisconsin cheddar and a great piece of fresh tasting beef charred up perfectly it was very delightful. The beef was fantastic, best I've had on a burger in a while, very fresh and although somewhat lean, full of flavor. Nice place to have if your from there, have a summer place or are vacationing in the area.



Mini Burgers and a build your own burger

Lake Country Market
N7019 US Hwy 12
Elkhorn, WI
(262) 742-3000
Website

Went camping in South Kettle Moraine forest. Returned on Father's day. My Dad's meal was at the Spot, on 75th.
Had great cheeseburgers and some fantastic root beer. Fries not so much. I wish I could still eat rings.

Drove over to Tenuta's right after, had never been. Well worth it.

Dave

Just back from a trip up North in and around Wisconsin and the Lake Superior region and we started the journey Thursday evening and camped out in Madison for the first night of the adventure. I wanted to try the much loved burger from the somewhat new (it wasnt there when I was in Madison) Old Fashioned mentioned upthread but we didnt get into town until about 9p and were headed out to the Great Dane for brews and I didnt have the time. But I was able to make a quick stop into The Plaza Tavern which is a bar located just off State street on north Henry that serves many people in Madison's favorite burger which is named The Plazaburger. Many generations of UW graduates and lots of current students spent many nights at The Plaza which has remained pretty much the same. The famous burger was created in 1964 and theres been over two million sold since.



The Plazaburger from The Plaza Tavern (Madison, WI)

I only had a Plazaburger a number of times even though I lived in Madison for four years but that was more so because I did'nt really drink there. The Plazaburger is a great burger after a few cold ones and everything you would expect a burger from a Wisconsin tavern to be. They cook a fresh pre-formed patty on the griddle which is in plain view for patrons sitting at the end of the bar. The thing that makes these burgers stand out is the secret sauce used on them which I think is just kicked up ranch dressing but it makes the burger what it is. I liked them then and still do now.

The Plaza Tavern
319 North Henry Street
Madison, WI 53703-2018
(608) 255-6592

So after many of good brew from the Great Dane in Madison we headed back to our hotel just off State st. and I came to see another new place in Madison that wasnt there when I was there. Located right next to University Inn is a new late night place called Fat Sandwich Company. It's basically a ripoff of the famous Rutger's University food stand that serves sandwiches with everything in them called The Fat Darrell. I had to try one and I got a Fat Milf which I think was cheesesteak, bacon, cheesesticks, cheese fries and some other stuff thrown in a roll. I also spied a Luther burger on the menu and had to have one.


Drunken Late Night Eats in Madison, WI


In case you were wondering what the fat sandwiches looked like


bacon cheeseburger served on a glazed donut


Fits in well in Wisconsin

Well this was just the start of an eating adventure I'll share all the stops from as the days go by. I had ton's of burgers the last four days and I'll share them all on here. Stay tuned.

Fat Sandwich Company
555 State Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 819-8118

Da Beef wrote:Fat Sandwich Company
555 State Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 819-8118

Fat Sandwich is also in Champaign (and according to their website in Norman, OK). The perfect college restaurant.

Da Beef wrote:Lake Country Market
N7019 US Hwy 12
Elkhorn, WI
(262) 742-3000
Website

This place looks great. I wish I read this thread last week. My wife and I stopped into a pub/restaurant right near here that advertised burgers. Terribly overcooked burgers, very slow service, decent cheese curds, pretty good fried fish. I can't remember the name of the place.

Da Beef wrote:
Fat Sandwich Company
555 State Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 819-8118

Stealing ideas is one thing. Stealing bad ideas is another. http://www.fatdarrell.com/mainpage.html

I've never had a "fat" sandwich, even in college, but it always irritates me slightly each fall when the newspapers and TV shows make the rounds at major college football venues and place this conglomeration of Sysco (wait, Aaramark according to the site) products up there with Allen & Son, Dreamland, The Varsity, etc.

After a great night in Madison that included some great beer we were up bright and early Friday morning for our next leg of the trip. We were driving from Madison to Sauk City (birthplace of Culver's) and from there we were taking the Wisconsin river all the way to the Mighty Mississippi in Prairie Du Chien. As I mentioned in the OP it is here where the home to Pete's Hamburgers is, which is a place that's been on my radar for over a year now. Despite living in Madison and getting around the region often I had never heard of this very old hamburger stand located in town that is only open Fri. Sat. & Sun. from early spring thru the end of October. How old is the place? well when they first opened the Chicago Cubs were defending world series champions back in 1909. Pete's just had its 100 year anniversary. So did we ...


Prairie Du Chien, WI (along the Mississippi across the river from Iowa)

When you get within a block or even two of this spot you know your near there, the smell of onions floods the air. When you get within view of it you'll see people lined up on both sides of the little stand and others around the area eating burgers on benches, in their cars, on their carhoods or just while standing up along the sidewalk. When we got there it was about 11:30a and there were a couple people in line and they were just starting a new batch. It was an experience. When you talk about a place that "hasn't changed a thing" Pete's is the perfect example. All they do are burgers which start off as fresh balls of beef from the local town butcher. You can order them with or without which would be the onions that are making the area smell like the food section of the state fair, but this is just one stand. You also have the option for ketchup or regular old yellow mustard or brown mustard once they are made.


That's the entire menu, even in Wisconsin, cheese is not an option


video of what I saw as I waited for the next batch of burgers to be made

Pete's is one of dem places that you just know is good before you have had a bite. I watched as the two lovely burger ladies took a big bowl full of chopped onions and threw them on the cooking surface and let them saute away. She then went to the back and came out with a tray of fresh balls of beef and started to throw them onto the cooking surface and follow that with water. This is how Pete's has been making burgers since 1909, they start off getting thrown onto the left side and then smashed down and once they cook both sides on the outside they are thrown onto the right side where they cook in steaming water. The onions are what separate them in the middle. So the burgers are cooked using just water and onions. You can tell the people making these burgers are veterans because once they are ready they can get them topped with what you want, wrapped up and dished out fast. But they also go fast and the batch you saw in the video above was gone alot faster then they were cooked.


After the burgers are made (and ordered with or without onions) these are your topping options

I had been waiting to try these since I first read about them and I wasn't going to be ordering just one, so I ordered four, all with and chose just the regular yellow mustard on all four. We took the burgers over to my car which was near a bench and I took them out of the little plastic bag they come in and dove right into my first one. Holy Sh!t!!! sorry, but that's what I said. Amazing was what came to my mind. These are pretty well sized and arent sliders but they tasted like the best sliders I have ever had and it might be the best burger I ever had. The buns were so soft and come from a local baker and the onions were potently pleasing like none other reaching Maxwell Street Polish sausage stand status. I love my burgers with cheese, mustard, onions and pickles and nothing else but these burgers didn't need what they didn't have. The taste of the beef was fantastic and everyone with me agreed that it was one of the best burgers they ever had. By the time we were eating ours there were a ton of people showing up for their Pete's burger fix. The best one I had might of been the last which got to st in the butcher paper and steam away for a good 20 minutes.


one "with" topped with yellow mustard


Pete's is the perfect example of simple is sometimes better.

Pete's is the type of place I was talking about when I started this thread and had come to appreciate so much from living in Wisconsin. Its a great burger state and they come in all sorts of styles and sizes and Pete's is a place I would suggest you stop at if your ever in the vicinity. It's a scenic ride so it might be worth it if your ever in Madison (2 hours away). I had made it a point to stop here just for the burgers and a quick look around town and a stop at some other spots and we were out. After an hour or so strolling around town we took the Mississippi River Road route all the way up north to Prescott, WI where we would continue on North from there so it all worked out. This burger was one of my favorite local treasures found on the roads of America.


Pete's Hamburgers: 101 years of quality and counting

Pete's Hamburger Stand (seasonal and wkds only)
118 W Blackhawk Ave
Prairie du Chien, WI 53821
608-326-6653

Beef,

I like a lot of what you bring to LTH, but this Pete's post feels important somehow. Prarie du Chien? Thanks.

ditto. great post, great pics. I'll have to try and get there someday.

After the days drive along Highway 61 thru the Northshore we went back to the hotel to relax for an hour and then we were headed out to dinner over the bridge across the lake from Duluth in Superior, WI. We were headed to a bar well known for its burgers and good times throughout the state. The Anchor Bar has been serving the locals of the Twin Port's (Duluth and Superior) since 1977 and judging from my first ever visit I don't think much* has changed. The bar sits in an unassuming building on a vacated block in a deserted part of town. The only other thing in the vicinity and open after 8p was another low key bar with same designed building and style as Anchor a half block down and a steak house and cocktail lounge a few blocks down around the corner. The town was eerily quiet the Saturday night we visited.


Superior, WI

The old school bar is very dimly lit and somewhat narrow with the bar being on your left as you enter with the kitchen at the end and tables filling out to the end of the bar on your right. The walls are filled to the max with anything having to do with sailing and boating. There wasn't a line but the place was pretty much packed with there being a few seats at the bar right at the front where we entered so we sat down where I where I always like to sit when visiting popular locals spots and placed an order for a drink. I went with a large Grain Belt on tap.


view from my seat at the bar...notice the fry maker in the kitchen

From the descriptions and accounts from people who told me I had to go here, they had me thinking it was one of those locals spots where they can be crabby and arent trying to make any friends but the bartender and burgermaker were really nice and helpful. She actually had the same camera as me and couldn't figure out one of its functions and I showed her how to do it and she gave us the next round on her. The crowd was diverse with there being a few older locals and a younger 20's and 30's crowd as well as some families both local and tourists and they were all there for the burgers and many for a beer or two as well.


Grain Belt Draft in the big boys glass

Burgers are pretty much all they do and they come hand patted in 1/3 patties which are listed in the "1/3 pound Burger" section which is one of the three parts of the menu with the other two being "Bigger Burgers" and "Other Grub" so there are no apps and anything else of that nature. You can add on fresh cut fries for $1 and that's worth it as they are as good as any bar has. The "Other Grub" section has grilled cheese (plain or with ham) and the bartender told me that people have now been coming in and ordering burgers with grilled cheese's as the bun's aka Fatty Melts though she also said don't tell too many people.

The 1/3 Pound Burger section is impressive with there being many options including a BaconBurger, a Hawaiian style with pineapple and Swiss, one with sour cream and mushrooms, Olive burgers and one they claim is very popular and was first done there the CashewBurger which is cashews and Swiss cheese. In the bigger Burgers section they have the AnchorBurger which is two patties with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese and the GalleyBuster which is three patties (one pound) and three slices of cheese. I went with the Galley and the others did the Anchor. The only thing they're going to ask you upon placing your burger order is if you want your onions fried or raw and "do you want fries with that."


AnchorBurger with fries

Despite being featured on roadfood and always mentioned in any best burger in Wisconsin list and always talked about when talking best burger in the Lake Superior region they haven't changed much and the 1/3 pound burgers will cost you around $4 with fries while the GalleyBuster will set you back $6.50 with fries. The beef is always fresh and delivered that morning and the taste of it is what stands out most when eating their burgers.


GalleyBuster

The Galley burger might look like one of those gimmick eats seen in many tourist places and on Food network but that it is not. This was my 2nd favorite burger of the trip and we went to 9 spots. It wasn't all that hard to eat you just had to have two bites to finish off top and bottom but the beef was very fresh and some bites it tasted like the burger that it was while other bites where I got no bun it was like eating a meatloaf. I wasn't even fully stuffed but I wasn't able to convince myself to order a fatty melt if for anything just to have a few bites and snap a few shots, so it did get me full. The burgers tasted like I'm sure many would say "they used too". About the only thing that's changed over the years has been the jukebox. When our bartender in her upper 30's, lower 40's went over to the jukebox after some old time regulars told her to play something, I was expecting maybe some Led Zeppelin or Lynyrd Skynyrd maybe even some Kid Rock but instead she rocked a trio of Lil' Wayne songs and I found that pretty funny. Great atmosphere and ambiance and a luxurious tavern burger with great fresh cut fries make Anchor Bar worth the visit if in the area. It took about 10 minutes to get there from downtown Duluth.


three patties, three slices of cheese...one of Wisco's biggest and best

Anchor Bar
413 Tower Avenue
Superior, WI 54880-1048
(715) 394-9747

Wow. That's amazing. You gotta love Wisconsin.

teatpuller wrote:Wow. That's amazing. You gotta love Wisconsin.

Unless you are a vegetarian!

Vegetarians are not allowed outside of Madison.

teatpuller wrote:Vegetarians are not allowed outside of Madison.

There are a few that have made it in Milwaukee and some of the college towns like Beloit. How they manage to survive is a wonder to me.

Sunday morning we were off to the Apostle Islands and so we took the Shoreline drive from Duluth into Bayfield. The trip took about 2 hours and we were settled in by noon at our spot there. In the most recent then issue of a Lake Superior magazine they had readers choice for best burgers in the Lake Superior region. The Anchor Bar seen up thread was mentioned as were a handful of others including Patsy's Bar in Washburn, WI which is the town over from Bayfield and it had multiple reader mentions. The peops in my group didn't feel like food but I was on a mission and took myself over to check out Patsy's much loved 1/2 pound fresh char broiled burgers. Unfortunately there was a big festival in that town on Saturday and Patsy's was closed for the day the Sunday I tried to go. Its on my list for next time though.


Washburn, WI

So I was a little bummed and decided I would search out something up the lake and rode about 15 minutes up it over into Ashland, WI. The town was like so many others in Wisconsin and had its Main street with an old theater, painted murals on the walls and all sorts of old buildings many of which are vacant.


Main Street in Ashland, WI

Its also the home to South Shore Brewery and they have a real nice place in one of those old buildings and some great beer. I took the ride down Main street and spotted Buddies Burgers.


Ashland, WI

I'm pretty good at being able to tell if a place is legit or not when it comes to burger/hot dog/sandwich etc...shacks and I wasn't too excited about Buddies since it was like so many other Drive Ins and burger shops around the country with their 50's style decor and pink booths, all new, it looked like another spot that cared more about the looks than the taste. I went on in anyway and ordered a double cheese with grilled onions, pickles and mustard. It got better when I saw under the burger part of the menu "fresh. never frozen" and then it got better when the young lady working solo went back to the kitchen and took care of business. Always a good sign when it takes a little time and after about 10 minutes I was good to go.


double cheeseburger from Buddies Burgers

Well my initial gut feeling about the place was wrong. This was an excellent old fashioned 50's style cheeseburger. The patties had some crispness on the edges but weren't super thin. The grilled onions were some of the best I ever had on a burger and the fresh beef paired with them and the rest of the toppings including the soft bun made it another excellent burger to be had in Wisconsin.

Patsy's Bar
328 West Bayfield Street
Washburn, WI 54891-1136
(715) 373-57

Buddies Burgers
612 Main Street West
Ashland, WI 54806-1536
(715) 682-8339

That Buddies burger looks fantastic!
Does it have some sauce on it (A-1 or BBQ)?

Da Beef you are killing me with the Anchor Bar pics. I love that place but haven't set foot in Superior since my brother moved from there about 8 years ago. Seriously deserves a spot in the Top 10 Burgers of Wisconsin list!