The Old Fashioned - April 6, 2012

Dusty-
I can't think of a better way to pre-game for a burger than to watch Thor on blu-ray. Wait... no, that's not right. It should read "Thor is a pretty awful movie; what better way to pick myself up than The Old Fashioned?!"After the movie, I wasn't too sure if we were going to make it to this restaurant since Trina was asleep. I'm not proud of what Mike and I almost did to wake her up. Lucky for her she woke up on her own, so antics will have to wait.

The Old Fashioned may be my favorite bar in Madison. I've never had bad food here, they have bloody marys that are a meal in themselves, and build-it-yourself old fashioneds! Have to start with a beer and burger first though, so I picked one I hadn't tried from their selection of hundreds: The House of Brews Amber. It was a decent enough compliment to:

The Number 30 (aka The Old Fashioned House Burger)

• Remember how I said I'd never had bad food at The Old Fashioned? Still holds true.
• This guy comes with fried onions, bacon, aged Cheddar, garlic sauce and a cooked egg. I'm getting hungry again just reviewing this.
• No need for condiments here, there are plenty of flavors on top of this perfectly cooked burger. The egg is done over easy so the yolk binds all the toppings together.
• The bun was buttered and toasted, just to make sure your arteries are a little more clogged. I would have preferred a pretzel bun, but hey, did I mention this burger has an egg on it?

This burger was amazing. I'm going to have to start keeping a spreadsheet of my favorite burgers. I won't need one for the bad ones, I don't forget being spurned.

You get a choice of sides, so I naturally went with unhealthy fries. These are good enough to eat alone too, but a little ketchup never hurt a good french fry. We started the meal with cheese curds - arguably the best in Madison and therefore the best in Wisconsin (there's nothing really outside of Madison and Green Bay, right?). I would have ordered cheese curds as my side if that was socially acceptable in mixed company. No dessert with this meal, though I think that was just because the waitress didn't hear Trina ask for the menu. After dinner we moved on to old fashioneds and flavorful conversation.

Current weight: 171.0 lbs (muscle weighs more than fat)

Notable observation: If you'd like to hear about an interesting topic, discuss calorie burning with Mike or Trina. If you'd like to feel extremely uncomfortable during a debate, have them discuss it with each other.

Ned -

The Old Fashioned - #30

The original plans:

7:30pm - Mike, Matt (friend), and Jason watch Thor at Matt's
9ish - Movie over (it's a superhero movie... how long can it be?)
9:30pm - Mike and Jason meet Trina at The Old Fashioned
11:00pm - Enjoy all that Madison has to offer...

What really happened:

7:30pm - Mike gets to Matt's and finds no one home (starts watching Tombstone on TNT)
7:45pm - Jason and Matt arrive after some grocery shopping
7:45 to 8:30pm - Jason, Matt, and Mike drink beer, chat sports, and watch more Tombstone... "I'm your huckleberry"
8:30pm - Begin Thor
10:45pm - Movie finally ends.  Awful movie by-the-way.  Long, boring, terrible acting.  I just hope the Avengers isn't as bad...

By the end of what seemed like the 2nd longest movie of my life (#1 goes to Dances With Wolves... thanks Kevin Costner), Jason and I were starving and ready for some fun.  Problem: Trina had apparently fallen asleep and turned off her phone.

After some quick discussion, Jason and I decided it'd be a good idea to drive to Trina's and wake her up (we never actually planned this part out).  We didn't know her apt. # but knew what window was hers (don't ask) so I'm sure it would have included some sort of breaking and entering.  Lucky for us (and our future criminal record), Trina magically woke up right as we pulled into her parking lot.  Off to dinner we went...

• Decor – The Old Fashioned consists of two long, narrow rooms with long bar reaching from one end to the other.  One usually needs to wait 30-60 minutes for a table at this famous Madison establishment but, thanks to Thor and some lollygagging, the dinner crowd was gone and the amigos were immediately seated at a booth.
• Service – Our waitress was friendly and quick to bring our drinks/food.  However, I'm not sure she was very fond of Trina (see Dessert)
• Food (the important stuff)
• Appetizers - Cheese curds.  Not much to say here.  The Old Fashioned has the best fried cheese curds in all of Madison.  Fresh curds, light batter, super greasy.  These alone are a good reason to visit.
• Beer – Wisconsin made Double-IPA.  Deliciously bitter with a hint of fruit
• Burger – Before the tour began, I always thought that The Old Fashioned had the best burgers in town and tonight didn't change that opinion.  The burger was slightly over done and the bun dry, but with thick cut bacon, aged cheddar, and a soft-cooked egg, those imperfections could be overlooked.
• Sides – Shoe-string fries.  IMO, the pinnacle of french fries.  Super thin, super crispy.  It's like McDonald's fries on steriods or some other PED (I wonder if Ryan Braun is a part owner...)
• Dessert - Guess who wanted dessert?  However, after asking the waitress what dessert she recommended, Trina got a mumbled incoherent answer that Jason and I translated as "you don't get dessert".  Trina was not happy.

One final note... while enjoying our curds, Trina and I got into a heated argument about whether someone burns more calories running a mile or walking a mile (we both love to be right).  Well... looks like we're both sorta right:

http://walking.about.com/od/calorie1/a/calorieswalkrun.htm

TLDR – Probably the most famous Madison establishment, serving Wisconsin classics (including a two page beer list consisting of only Wisconsin-made brew).  Come for the cheese curds... stay for the drinks.




Lucky -

My post is long overdue and I have to admit that the only reason I've gotten myself to write it is because I'm starving and according to the rules I'm not allowed to join in the upcoming burger tonight until I do.  Funny how Mike got away with it Echo Tap night though...

Anyways, I'm trying to jog my memory on this one.  Usually I'm better at details but I think I may have repressed a few on this one.  You'll see why.

• Attire:  As predicted I was shunned for showing up for this burger in a dress.  For those who know me well, I'm most likely to overdress for an occasion and the t-shirt wearing for the last three burgers had gotten too me and I just had to throw on some red number and heels.   Inspired by my rebellion, Jason also decided to forego the shirt (not for a dress though).  Mike was ticked and in the end, I think it set the tone for the night.
• Drinks:  I LOVE any place like Old Fashioned where you pick your beer from a book.  The old drawback is that there is so much to look at and they only give you one book for the table.  Arguably printing more beer books for each dinner attendee would help me make a more educated selection.  Old Fashioned - take note.  Though whatever Pale Ale I'm sure I picked was good.
• Appetizers:  Can we stop ordering cheese curds?  
• Burger:  Um - I think once before I wondered why any burger would come without bacon.  Now I ask the same thing about a fried egg.  Yowza!  How absolutely ridiculously amazing.  The burger was awesome, I think there was cheese and bacon, but I was lost in the gooiness of the runny egg all over.  Pure happiness.  Got it with a surprisingly delicious mix of greens on the side instead of fries.
• Conversation:  We ate really late, I showed up in the wrong attire and in general it was a Friday so probably had been a long week at work.  Somewhere in the middle of dinner, Mike and I got in a heated conversation about how many calories are burned per mile running or walking.  I don't even know anymore if I was right, but I was livid that anyone would disagree.   Let's just say it was heated.  The whole time I kept thinking - Mike and I shouldn't argue like this in front of the kids.  Jason looked a little scared and later commented that he thought his parents might get a divorce.  Thank god the waitress brought more drinks.  We settled down, apologized and moved onto lighter conversations like pre-nup agreements and threesomes. 
• Dessert:  I asked the waitress what they have for dessert and she blatantly ignored me.  I'll take that as a sign.  No sweets on this one.

The Bottom Line:   Old Fashioned is a magical spot for a burger with a fried egg and an amazing beer selection.  If I was in a relationship, I believe it would also be a good spot for a stupid argument.  I'm sure if we had been at Graze one of us would have stormed out.  However, with Old Fashioned, you just can't help but leave happy. 

  

Echo Tap - March 30, 2012

Dusty-
After feeling physically awful about the meal choices I'd made the night before (see Quivey's Grove post), I vowed that healthy eating for at least a day was in order. 24 hours later, I found myself at Echo Tap ready to order another of Madison's best. Promises you make to yourself aren't really that important anyway...

Echo tap is a watering hole a few blocks off the Capitol square. Mike and I thought it would be a nice night for a walk and a mile or so later, I was cold enough not to be able to feel my toes. Nothing a Rogue Dead Guy Ale didn't fix though. A usual visit to the Tap would mean running into folks from the office and this night didn't disappoint. After a quick chat to show people I will acknowledge their presence outside of a meeting room, we had real work to do.

Echo Burger:

• Once again Madison Magazine let's us down by not providing a burger name with the restaurant. What to do? Oh, we'll order the one with the restaurant's name on it. Easy fix.
• This burger is all Wisconsin: toppings include a brat patty, white cheddar and American cheese plus a heaping portion of grilled onions. While putting this sandwich together, the chef must have thought: "Is it healthy? Any nutritional value? Yes? Not going on the Echo Burger."
• The burger patty itself is hilariously thin when compared to the brat. We all gave heat specifications to the waitress and she probably had a good laugh with the cook when giving him our order. There is no way to cook meat that thin medium-rare.
• The brat's flavor was so strong you couldn't really taste the beef. That's not really a problem though since the beef actually tasted similar to breakfast sausage. These may sound like complaints, but it works. I really enjoyed this burger and would get it again.

The burger came with steak fries, which is the best way to prepare them. Like my women, I prefer my fries full in all the right areas.

...

I think I'm going to let Trina take care of the relationship analogies.

We made more poor decisions when it came to the appetizers. Cheese curds were on the menu, so naturally those were included. I've never actually seen an appetizer come with a packet of ranch you'd get at a salad bar, but it got the job done. These curds were standard bar fare. We also decided a small buffalo chicken pizza would be a good way to start the meal. This took a little longer to get out of the kitchen and turned into a dessert pizza (non-sweet desserts are catching on!) The pizza was a nice little surprise: hand tossed and absolutely delicious. Trina modified hers by adding cheese curds and fries. Like she's five.

Current weight: 170.9 lbs (Couldn't really eat all day. :,( )

Notable Observation: My blood pressure has risen significantly since the beginning of this tour. These burgers are quite literally killing me.

Ned -

Echo Tap - Echo Burger

The night started with a nice jaunt from the Penthouse (Jason and my bachelor pad) to what is known as the "Epic compound".  (the "compound" consists of a new-ish apartment complex completely infested with Epic employees and the Echo Tap)

During this walk, everything was in perfect order... 1) Jason was complaining that it was too cold, 2) I was sweating, and 3) Trina was sending incoherent texts to us both as she drove to meet us at the bar/restaurant.

In true miracle fashion, all three of the amigos arrived at the same time (mark it down
1), ordered/finished a beer at the bar, and then made our way to the "dining area" to begin our feast.

On to the important stuff:

• Decor – The moment you walk into the Tap, you know it's a bar.  Neon lights and old advertisemts are plastered across the walls, a jukebox is in the corner, and the bartender serving drinks looks like he's been there since Nixon's resignation.  Oh yeah, and did I mention my Epic coworkers are everywhere?
• Service – Our waitress was unnecessarily inappropriate with most of her comments throughout the night.  I won't go into details here, but I will say that when ordering pizza from this girl, size apparently DOES matter
• Food (the important stuff)
• Appetizers - Cheese curds... of course we got the cheese curds.  Not impressed here as the batter was too thick.  They also came with "do-it-yourself" ranch.

• Beer – Snake Hollow IPA and Rogue's Dead Guy Pale Ale.  Rogue is legit and comes from one of my favorite places in the world:  Oregon.
• Burger – The burger was fantastic!  Not because of the high quality of meat or perfect cooking methods (because it had neither)... but because of the brat patty.  Yes, you read that right.  The burger comes with a brat patty, fried onions, and two cheeses ON TOP of the hamburger patty. It was greasy, cheesy, and brat-y.  Can't go wrong with any of those.
• Sides – Steak fries.  I hate steak fries.  If I want to eat a baked potato, I will order one.  I let Jason finish these for me.
• Dessert - The amigos decided to get a little creative with dessert this time and ordered buffalo chicken pizza.  Who needs chocolate or ice cream when you have delicious thick crust, gooey cheese, and spicy buffalo sauce covered fried chicken?  Not I.... not I.

To continue our theme, because of "dessert", we had to cancel our post-dinner plans.  It was bedtime...

TLDR – Order the burger for dinner and pizza for dessert.  No, I'm not joking.  You can see Jason's excitement in the shadow of our colossal dessert pizza.

Lucky-

After the Quivey’s Grove burger binge, I was in no shape to eat another burger the next day.  It’s amazing what a Friday at work can do to change your opinion on things (if you doubt me, think about how many Friday Happy Hours someone had to very lightly twist your arm to attend by the end of the day).  So off to Echo Tap for our sixth (is this really only the sixth?) burger of the tour:

·         Apparel:  In fear of shrinking my shirt further, I have to admit this was the third wearing without it being washed.  When I walked in the bartender told me I looked nice.  After I took my coat off I noticed no more compliments came my way.  I believe there are multiple ketchup and mustard stains on it at this point.

·         Atmosphere:  Not going to lie, the Echo Tap makes me really happy.  They unnecessarily renovated some of it last year, so I just avoid the nice parts and stick to the places I know.  This was the first burger stop where we bumped into friends.  After talking about the tour, our friend Joe suggested we create a blog.  Way to be out of the loop Joe.

·         Beer:  I was very excited to try an IPA that was on tap.  Halfway through drinking it I realized it was a Sleepy Hollow IPA, the same beer from Graze, stop #1.  This is dangerous when we’re already starting to pull repeaters and don’t even notice. 

·         Burger:  Okay, onto the main event.  The Echo Burger was accompanied by no description on the menu but we found out from the waitress it had cheese AND a brat patty on it.  Holy Cow.  Sign me up!  So we all got those and I ordered mine with sweet potato fries. If you’re close to me at all, you know that my favorite food is not actually burgers but brats.  I absolutely love them.  Small known fact though is that I actually don’t like brats in patty form.  While it worked well with the burger, I have to admit my favorite bites were when the brat patty slipped off and I got just beef.  Fantastic.  Echo Tap knows how to do a burger right (they should do a cooking class for whoever whipped up those burgers for us at Blue Moon).

·         Appetizers:  We’re starting to use the term “appetizers” very loosely.  Last time it was fries, this time it was a big buffalo chicken wing pizza.  Either way, the pizza was phenomenal.  It was hot (as in spicy), had amazing crust, and was all around delicious.  I would return to Echo just for the pizza (well, and the beer).  I had previously been under the assumption that all Wisconsin bars served Jack’s pizza out of the freezer.  Not the case.

Bottom Line:  Awesome burgers, great beer selection and surprisingly fantastic pizza.  Oh, and everything is ridiculously cheap.  I have always been a big fan and supporter of Echo Tap and this trip only further reinforces this.  This place is a Wisconsin Woman’s Paradise.  Men, take note.  (Or maybe not – preferences like this may explain why I’m still single).

Quivey's Grove - March 29, 2012

Dusty-
We ventured out of Madison for the first time on our tour. Quivey's Grove is a house and barn that were converted into a bar and restaurant. I'm starting to see a trend in how restaurants are opened in Dane county. The buildings are decorated Francis Lloyd Wright style inside and take you to a northern woods feel with wood tables and carvings and a brass bar. I'll admit that I have not ordered anything but all-you-can-eat fish fry on Friday nights at this establishment. I was a bit wary venturing out of my comfort zone, but then I stopped being scared and decided to be awesome instead. We sat upstairs, next to a window that overlooked the highway. Unfortunately we were inside so Trina could not hear the soothing sounds of rush hour.

Stable's Best Burger:

• We sat in a barn, and I can say confidently this is the best burger I've eaten in a stable. Burger named appropriately? Plus 5 points.
• Despite having a marker in it that specified I wanted my beef medium, this burger came out well-done and a little tough. If this trend keeps up, I'm switching to medium-rare just so I can get some pink (do with that what you will).
• The burger comes with Gruyere, bacon, smokey BBQ sauce, mayo and onion straws. Like all things Swiss, the Gruyere was the worst part, it added absolutely nothing but calories. The BBQ sauce was tangy and had a clove-like spice added to it that made it unique. I'll never say no to bacon (I ate Trina's left overs...) and the crispy onions were the coup de grace that put this burger firmly above some of the others we've had.
• The burger comes on ciabatta bread. If I had to rank ciabatta, it would fall somewhere between unleavened bread and fruitcake. I see why they chose this type however, since the amount of grease and toppings would disintegrate a less substantial bread.

We started with three appetizers. The cheese curds are white, but store bought probably frozen and reheated on site. I have nothing against frozen foods and these hold up all right. The Gouda and sausage cheese wheel is worth the price, especially during happy hour. Just remember that Gouda comes with wax on so you don't make the same mistake Mike did. The fries here must be deep fried in the same oil that their fish is done in because they are delicious. Put the ketchup aside, you don't need it.

You get a choice of side with this meal. I ordered the secret menu item: Parmesan potatoes. If I had not just eaten a half pound of beef and half a pig, I would have enjoyed these more. They are delicious, but very heavy. Trina helped me out with mine.

Mike and Trina split a brownie with ice cream. I had a bite, but mostly just wondered where they were putting it.

Current weight: 171.2 lbs (starting to pack it on. Summer weight, here I come!)

Notable Observation: If you read the other amigos's posts, you'll most likely notice I left out a particular point of conversation that dominated our meal. I'd like to point out that while in design, I was told by one of the other two that "Barnbuster" is one word. I don't think I can take full blame on this one. I'm doubtful the other one has even read the title of our blog.

Ned -

Quivey's Grove - Stable's Best Burger

Quivey's is delicious, unique, and fun.  Quivey's is also freaking impossible to find.

After, 1) driving past the restaurant because the sign was the size of a stamp, 2) parking in one of 3-4 lots they have scattered across the compound, 3) walking to the wrong building (they have two separate restaurants... who does that?) and 4) walking around the correct building a full two times before finding the correct entrance, I finally found Jason sitting at the bar... Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this was my 3rd or 4th time here.

Tardy Trina joined us about 15 minutes later and we all shared a couple of beers.  The bartender was quite friendly and we chatted about a wide range of topics (from the ridiculousness of "alien" Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to why he hates the owner of another establishment on our list).  I always thought I'd be a pretty good bartender.  I love chatting with people, know a wide range of facts, and can pour a pretty decent beer.  Maybe when I grow up...

On to the important stuff:

• Decor – The outside of this joint looks like someone's house/barn (probably why it was so hard to find).  The inside also looks like someone's house/barn.  Wisconsin at it's finest.
• Service – The bartender was great.  He even spent the time to talk to us about our shirts which has, oddly enough, been pretty rare so far.  The waitress was pretty boring until we started asking about dessert.  At which point she said something to the affect of "I would literally kill someone for that brownie".  Uhhh... we'll take it!
• Food (the important stuff)
• Appetizers - While at the bar, the amigos ordered the cheddar cheese curds (with mustard sauce???) and the Sausage/Gouda wheel (also with mustard).  Surprisingly, the mustard actually went well with the white cheddar curds.  If I had a choice, though, I'd still go with ranch every time.  The Gouda had a wax casing on the outside which I, unfortunately, didn't notice until about halfway through the first chunk.  Wax is digestible, right?  I'll go look it up on WebMD...
• Beer – I had some semi-boring but delicious beers.  Hopalicious and something else I believe.  Nothing spectacular.  Nothing awful.
• Burger – When I first read about the burger, I was skeptical.  It has barbecue sauce on it, which, if you know me, is not something I enjoy (shut up, I'm still American).  However, this sauce was different.  Different in a way that Trina hated but I loved.  The burger itself was quality beef and cooked well.  It came on a toasted but soft Ciabatta roll with extra crispy bacon.  Overall, a very solid burger kicked up a notch with the tangy barbecue sauce.
• Sides – I had originally ordered the Parmasean Potato (which was glorified hashbrowns) but quickly traded Trina for her Smashed Potatoes.  Excellent bartering.
• Dessert - After what felt like a physical threat (see above), we went with the brownie sundae.  Again, just like every other time we've ordered dessert, it was unnecessary and ended up ruining the rest of the night.  Yes, it was delicious, but it also made me feel like crap.  Not worth it... Oh wait, I take that back.  We somehow got Trina to pour barbecue sauce onto a brownie and eat it.  She's like the kid in elementary school that would eat anything you put in front of him.  WELL worth it!

Thanks to the dessert, our after dinner plans quickly changed from enjoying downtown Madison to rolling into our beds and going to sleep at 9pm.  This tour is turning us into senior citizens.  Can I retire?

TLDR – Chat up the bartender.  He's a cool dude.  And get the burger with EXTRA barbecue sauce.

Lucky-

For a number of reasons, our stop at Quivey’s Grove was a momentous one.  For starters, the stars aligned and the three amigos were all in town on a weekday.  With that, we picked a stop en route from work to home.  Second milestone is that I will fondly look back on this burger as “The Night of the Proposal.”  Now it wasn’t exactly as I pictured it all my life.  No ring, no bended knee, but it was a marriage request none the less.  I’ll get into the details later.  Let’s start talking about the food and beer:

• Beer - it’s amazing that the boys seem to always be late on our weekend stops but are dead on time when it means we have to leave work in a timely fashion.  So I was a little late and Mike and Jason already had half a beer gone before I plopped my stuff at the bar.  I don’t even know what they were drinking (guess I’ll read in their review later).    But I know I had a Bitter Woman IPA from Tyranena Brewing Company.  Beer was great (and ridiculously cheap during happy hour).  For beer number two, the bartender offered me samples of Bell’s Amber and New Glarus Cabin Fever.  Both were good but I went with the Bell’s.  I’ve never met a Bell’s beer I didn’t like.  If only the brewery was from Wisconsin and not Michigan, life would be perfect.
• Apps – we went with the cheese curds and a sausage cheese wheel.  Cheese curds were good and came with a mustard sauce which I was a little skeptical of.  However, it was great and I appreciated the change up (especially considering the amount of cheese curds I’ve eaten lately).  The wheel had summer sausage and some sort of cheese.  There was really no way to go wrong with this.  Amazing.  When we got to the table, we ordered an extra side of fries which we have argued could be counted as a third appetizer.  Either way, those were really good too.
• Apparel – Mike and Jason wore their shirts to work yesterday.  I put mine on at a stoplight en route.  However, when we were at the bar, I asked them if anyone asked about the shirts at work.  They said “no” and the bartender on cue said “so what’s with the shirts?”  (great bartender by the way.  I should have got his name…and number).  We explained our mission and asked him if he knew what a “barnbuster” was.  He quickly gave an eloquent, although incorrect, definition.  After further investigation we realized that not only is the definition not on the internet, but that the word altogether is wrong.  Apparently we originally agreed we were on a Burger Barnstorm and now we have a blog and t-shirts that say otherwise. That’s life.
• Atmosphere – The restaurant’s in a stable, how wonderful is that?  Lots of great wood frames, farm décor, made me feel like I was at a back home Dairy Breakfast (minus the cub scouts and manure).  Near our table was a weird table-ish looking thing built into the wall.  I commented that it looked like a diaper changing station.  Somehow this led to a discussion of whether or not there was a changing station in men’s bathrooms.  Mike and Jason said “of course there’s one in there”.  I said, “no way, men don’t change diapers.”  To which Mike said “Will you marry me?”  Yep, that’s the extent of the proposal story.  Nope, I didn’t say yes.  Yet.
• Main Course – Well, this is where we went a little overboard.  The burger came on a ciabatta bun.  As a frequent traveler when I hear ciabatta I think airport sandwiches so I wasn’t too thrilled with that.  The burger was 8 oz., which was highly unnecessary, considering our amount of appetizers, the sides and dessert situation (I’ll get to that).  Needless to say, as much as I wanted to, I didn’t finish it.  It came with two generous pieces of bacon, fried onions, barbecue sauce, and a cheese I can’t pronounce.  Mike was disgusted it was going to come with BBQ sauce so he asked for it on the side.  Later I saw him smothering it on his burger.  Amazing change of heart I guess.  I would argue that the BBQ sauce and bacon were overpowering enough to not need the cheese since you really couldn’t taste it.  I would definitely keep the mayo and fried onions.  Onions for the texture, mayo because it’s mayo.  Not sure why more burgers don’t come with the stuff.  Probably to keep the fat content down I suppose.  Overall great burger.  What was not just great, but PHENOMENAL, however, were the Parmesan potatoes that came on the side.  Well not on the side of my burger, but on Jason’s and Mike’s.  The bartender tipped us off to a side option not on the menu.  Some Parmesan hash brown thing.  When he described it, I pictured a McDonald’s hash brown patty and went with the smashed potatoes when I ordered.  We all shared when it came (which was a big step for us).  Mike and I made a fantastic trade and I ended up with his parmesan potatoes in the end.  Think of your Mom’s cheesy potatoes on crack.  Nothing McDonalds about them.  In an even more wonderful event, Jason was too full to eat his so I had his as well.  I’m convinced they are not on the menu because the staff want to eat the leftovers at the end of the night.
• Dessert – We didn’t need dessert but ordered it anyways.  It was good, but I was way too full.  It would make me nauseous to even write about it.  Enough said. 

The Bottom Line – Go for the happy hour and stay for the burger and sides if you can behave when you’re ordering (and eating).  I for one cannot be trusted to do that.  If you have doubts about that, ask the other two amigos about the BBQ sauce-brownie dare.  Also of note, my blog posts are getting embarrassingly long-winded.  If I thought anyone outside of the three amigos read our blog, I might actually do something to correct this.

Tony Frank's - March 25, 2012

Dusty -
Saturday night was great. Sunday was rough. Luckily the Three Amigos have the perfect cure: dive-bar burgers! A late night gave way to a late start to the day (Mike and I imbibed in copious libations, Trina just has bronchitis), so the Amigos convened at Tony Frank's in the mid afternoon. This place is basically a house converted into a bar. Whatever imagery that conjures in your mind is probably accurate. Luckily, the weather was great and we got to sit outside for the first time on our tour. The restaurant/house/bar is located just off the Beltline. I think I would have preferred lakeside or near a nice park, but Trina seemed to enjoy the serene sounds of cars and trucks rushing by.

Also of particular note, our t-shirts arrived!

We'll be wearing these to all the other tour stops. All of them,Trina.

On to the good stuff:

• Madison Magazine did not specify the type of burger we had to eat, so there was some decision making that went into this one. I went with bleu cheese and bacon because those things are simply delightful on ground beef. I found this to be true of the Tony Frank's burger.
• The bleu cheese was melted on top, which is the way I prefer it rather than sprinkled after the burger comes off the grill. The bacon was perfectly cooked, just slightly crunchy and served in large quantities.
• I asked for medium and got well-done. I'm not too picky, so this didn't really detract from the experience. If I wanted a burger cooked right, I wouldn't go to a bar.
• The burger itself comes on a wheat bun (healthy!) and is very simple. Simple and delicious.
• It is served on a tin plate, nothing fancy, but still nicer than the plastic baskets I expected them to come in.

We started the meal with a combo plate of fries (crinkle cut, which is just below steak and waffle in the order of best ways to serve fried potatoes), fried mushrooms, jalapeno poppers and onion rings. Nothing healthy here and nothing special, just standard bar fare. They don't have cheese curds, which seems like a poor business decision.

They have Hopilicious on tap, and that was all I needed to hear. Mike showed his hipster side by choosing Pabst.

After our meal, we headed to the Fitchburg Great Dane and met up with some old friends for beer on the patio. Coincidentally, The Dane is not on our tour, but has better burgers than half the places we've been to. Later, we saw The Hunger Games, which had great acting and film score but was cheapened by the directing and camerawork. Good movie, but it all looked better in my head when I read the books.

Current weight: 170.8 (that week off in between burgers helps)

Notable observation: Trina likes Tony Frank's enough to eat their burgers twice within 24 hours.

Ned -

Tony Franks - Tangy Blue Cheese with Bacon

Tony Franks is what I like to call a “housebar”

Definition: \haus-bar\ noun

A-a bar that was once a house

B-a drinking establishment, formerly a building that served as living quarters for one or a few families

Origin: middle-of-nowhere Wisconsin

Given the definition and origin above, I was unsure after finding out that this “housebar” was near downtown Madison and literally twenty feet or so from the highway (Beltline).  But Trina, who had eaten a burger from here no less than 20 hours prior, insisted that their burger and drinks were perfect for this beautiful Sunday afternoon.

• Decor – because of the unseasonably spectacular Madison weather, we decided to sit outside on a picnic table.  Other than the loud highway and the fact that our picnic table was on a 20-degree angle, it was your typical housebar… multiple “rooms”, a bar, and a jukebox.
• Service – the service was fast and sufficient, with the exception of us not getting any napkins until after our greasy appetizer.
• Food (the important stuff)
• Beer – It’s a housebar.  If you think I’m going to drink anything but Pabst Blue Ribbon (aka “best-in-show”), then you don’t know me very well and probably shouldn’t be my facebook friend/twitter follower.
• Burger – Exactly the kind of burger I was hoping for at this sort of establishment.  Well-cooked greasy meat, plenty of thick cut bacon (that magically was both crispy and soggy), blue cheese, ketchup/mustard, on a whole wheat bun.  Wait… whole wheat, you say?  Yes, I’ve got to watch my girlish figure somehow, right?
• Sides – Lava-hot fried mushrooms, jalapeno poppers, crinkle cut fries, and thick onion rings.  The “housebar Grand Slam”… served with salsa (???)

After dinner, the amigos decided to take advantage of the weather and go to another bar (… only in Wisconsin) for a few hours.  We then hit up the new movie that all the kids these days are talking about.  Not sure exactly what I was expecting out of a movie titled The Hunger Games, but let’s just say it wasn’t children killing other children with a brick.  I’m glad I didn’t get popcorn.

TLDR – If you like housebars as much as I do, Tony Franks should be on your short list.  Also, if you ever find yourself on a “game show” where you have to kill all the other participants, watch for presents falling from the sky.

Lucky -
In an interesting turn of events, I ended up eating this week’s burger twice in 24 hours.  I’m compiling a list of things that make Mike and Jason mad at me (despite the fact they are both pretty easy going guys). Currently the running list includes accusing them of not looking up the hours to a restaurant prior to our arrival and making reference to the fact I’ve never actually seen our namesake movie, Three Amigos.  So here’s the third thing:  previewing the next burger on the list without them.  Long story still long, I was out bar hopping in a limo for my friends 40^th Saturday night and ironically the birthday girl’s dinner stop was Tony Frank’s. I just happened to order a bacon cheeseburger and stupidly chose to pull out my phone and tell the boys about it.  You’d think I had broken up with them via text. 

So in the end, I returned with Mike and Jason to Tony Frank’s on Sunday, a mere 18 hours later, and ordered the same thing I had the night before – a bacon cheeseburger.   Though with different friends, at a different table, and with a different amount of alcohol in my system, I found I was equally charmed by Tony Frank’s both days.

• Atmosphere – When our birthday bar crawl limo pulled up Saturday night and there wasn’t an open seat in the house, I was shocked.  The place was hopping.  When I rolled in at 3:00 pm on a Sunday in my Ford Escape, I was still amazed at how difficult it was to get an outdoor table.  Apparently everyone else realizes that in addition to the Arboretum, there’s actually a second legit reason to take the Seminole Highway Beltline exit.  So in the Sunday sunshine I scored us the last open picnic table.  It happened to be very slanted and we came dangerously close to our beers sliding off.  I think Mike and Jason thought I was being sarcastic, but I found the view and sounds of the beltline unusually soothing. 
• Apparel – worth noting this burger, our matching t-shirts came in and Jason did a pretty darn good job with them.  The size I ordered before is now somewhat “form fitting.”  I’m a little nervous that by the end of this burger tour mine won’t fit anymore.  When that happens, I’m going to claim I lost it, which will be the fourth thing that makes Mike and Jason really mad at me.
• Taste –  Even with Bronchitis (yes, the boys have been putting up with a hacking dinner companion since two burgers ago) I still was able to identify a fantastic burger when I put it in my mouth.  There was no skimping on the bacon here; we had a choice of cheese and I would argue that cheddar was the correct choice both times.  I finished my burger Saturday, I finished my burger Sunday, and if we went back tonight, yeah, I’d finish it then too.
• Sides – we opted out of the baskets and went for a “Choose Four” appetizer.  The fries tasted as I expected for bar fries (especially because I had them the night before), burnt my mouth on the mushrooms, the jalapeno poppers were delicious but tasted like every other jalapeno popper I’ve ever had, but I have to vote the Onion Rings as the best I’ve ever had.  I don’t think I’ve ever had as crispy or delicious of Onion Rings in my life.  No joke.  They must have like quadruple fried them.  Interesting to note – the waitress brought us out ranch and salsa before eventually producing a bottle of ketchup.  Even this morning when I was getting ready for work, I still wondered, “what was that salsa for?”  We may never know. 
• Beer – This isn’t a place you’re going to go to try out lots of new microbrews.  The most exotic (and expensive) beer on tap was a Hopalicious, which I love.  Mike went with the PBR.  Though a commendable choice, I’ve been eating with these boys long enough to know we split the bill equally three ways.  No reason to be a martyr and order the cheapest beer at the table. 

Bottom Line:  Awesome burgers, surprisingly enjoyable atmosphere, and I left completely satisfied (twice in one weekend mind you).  On Sunday after I ate my last bite of burger, I mentioned that I felt like I was going into a burger coma.  Mike’s response:  “But wouldn’t that be a great way to go?”  Yes Mike, yes it would. 

Brasserie V - March 11, 2012 (Burger 2)

Dusty -
Finally a burger to write home about! Our first two samplings made me want to throw in the towel and never believe Madison Magazine again (sorry Trina). Brasserie V had everything in line. From a wide selection of beer to the quaint ambiance and background music selection (modern jazz mixed with some rock), I thoroughly enjoy this restaurant.

About the V burger:

• Served on sourdough with your choice of side (we all got the beer cheese soup - more on this below)
• It's obvious they know what they're doing in the Brasserie kitchen. The combination of aioli and spinach is a one-two punch combo that is only topped by adding Munster cheese. There's enough extra sourdough to eat the toppings by themselves, which was almost better than the burger put together.
• The patty itself was a bit overcooked to my traditional liking, but outstanding none-the-less. I don't know where they get their meat, or what they put in it, but I would eat this twice on Friday's even if I was Catholic during Lent.
• I absolutely loved that I didn't need to modify anything with this burger. I ate it as it came out of the kitchen, exactly how the chef wanted it prepared.

We complimented our meal with frites as an appetizer. These are served on paper in a cone with two different aioli dipping sauces. If you know what's good for you, request two of the southwest aioli, unless, you know, you don't like delicious.

You get your choice of sides with the burger, from a wide selection - pub chips, mixed greens, the house special side, or soup of the day. The side sounded interesting: similar to a couscous with cherries and vegetables. After being called a girl, sissy, and other effeminate names (by a girl), I decided it would be wiser to choose the beer cheese soup. I don't often make mistakes, and I narrowly missed one tonight. The soup was liquid mana from heaven. Upon first inspection, it seemed watered down. But upon first ingestion, it was apparent there was just a lot of beer in the beer cheese soup. Served in a cup, this was good enough to put my spoon aside and sip the soup like I was attending high tea at the Ritz.

I could go on forever about their beer selection. Perhaps after the burger tour we take a beer tour and I could write novels about their selection (I would have to take much better notes as that tour could get hazy fast). I got two English beers: Meantime IPA and St. Bernardus Abt 12. The Meantime tastes like an English beer. If you've been to England, you'll know what I mean. The St. Bernardus is strong, a bit sweet with an oily finish. Good contrast to the meal.

Weight after round 2 today: 171.3 (gained back that half pound, woo hoo!)

Notable observation: I finished this meal first. I can pack it away when the food is actually decent.

 Ned -

Brasserie V - The V Burger


FINALLY! We found a burger worthy of a "top ___" list.  After the debacle that was The Blue Moon bar,  my hope for burgers in Madison was at a new low.  I wanted to throw in the towel.

However, after a beautiful day at the Madison zoo (my first time... you never forget your first time), I was hungry again and ready for burger #2.

• Decor - small and quaint (pretty common in Madison)
• Service - we had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated and decided to fit in a pre-meal beer.  After struggling a bit with my decision, the bartender (realizing my love for hoppy beers) recommended Oscar Blues G'Knight.  I couldn't have been happier.  The beer was insanely hoppy but smooth... and came in a can.  I highly recommend this to anyone that loves them some bitter beer.
• Food (the important stuff)
• Beer - after being seated, it was time for the "dinner beer". I went with the Hof Ten Dormaal Winter 12.  This Belgium was strong, hoppy but a little fruity at the same time.  It went really well with my rich meal.
• Burger - Unbelievable.  This extremely well cooked burger was only enhanced by the toasted and sliced bread, fresh vegetables (spinach and tomatoe), and delicious Munster cheese.  The perfect burger for this semi-upscale establishment.
• Sides - Let me preface this by saying that any fries served out of a paper cone somehow taste better.  This theory was proven true again at Brasserie V.  They were crispy, salt AND peppered, and served with spicy Southwest aoli.  The beer cheese soup had a consistency I'd never seen before (really thin) but packed a punch with it's flavor.
• Dessert - After consuming burger #2 and numerous sides throughout the day, Trina again suggests we get dessert.  Of course, Jason and I can't say no to a girl asking for more food so we oblige.  The "Pot de Creme" was like a cold chocolate version of creme brule.  Interesting but not worth it.

After dinner, the amigos went to the local theater and took in Friends with Kids.  The movie kept my interest until the very end.  What a terrible ending...

TLDR - Brasserie V is legit.  Good beer. Good burger. Good fries... oh yeah, and don't pay to see Friends with Kids.

Lucky-

There was a point today when I had a moment of reflection and wondered if all these burger shenanigans was really worth it.   I read our blog and wondered “Are we too picky?”  “Are we just mean people?”  “Maybe I don’t really like burgers as much as I thought I did.”  It was hard to see enjoying the impending second burger of the day, let alone the 18 more we have on our list after that.

And then came Brasserie V riding in like a knight in shining amour and suddenly my faith was restored in savory burgers, good beer, and restaurants that are open on Sundays.

Overall -

• Beer:  There was a slight bit of a wait when we arrived which turned out to be a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the “Two dollars off bottled beers” Sunday special.   The bartender steered us wisely to the G’Knight beer which notably was amazing AND came out of a can (so I’m sure Mike must have winked at the bartender for us to still get that two buck discount).  Best beer in a can I’ve had since a PBR at Silver Dollar. (And usually, that’s pretty hard to top).  Nice and hoppy, this beer was good.  Followed it up with some sort of Summit Black Ale IPA-like beer (also good).  Great beer selection overall – gotta enjoy when you ask what they have and they bring you a book.
• Frites:  We ordered frites for the table and they were fantastic.  Seasoned well and two beautiful sides of aioli.  Didn’t even have to ask for ketchup on this one.
• Burger:  Wow.  It came on sourdough bread, which looked weird since it was disproportional to the meat, but ended up being perfect.  There was some sauce on it, spinach, tomato, Muenster cheese, and fried onions on top of a delicious patty of meat. Jason summed it up well when he mentioned at dinner that the whole thing tasted good even if you took a bite without meat (which is quite the feat I must say).    Overall fantastic.  Again, no ketchup needed on this either.
• Sides:  We had a few choices of sides but decided to upgrade to a soup of the day, Beer cheese soup.  Much runnier than other soups of its kind (more beer than cheese) but it tasted delicious AND became an amazing au jus for the burger.  Again…WOW.  (Jason drank the rest of his soup out of the bowl like it was a third round of beers).
• Dessert:  We ordered some sort of chocolate pudding/crème bru le thing.  Also fantastic although I could never repeat the real name of it because it was in French.

Bottom Line – If you want to be enchanted by an amazing beer selection and have a mouth watering upscale burger – go to Brasserie V.   On a side note, it had all the makings of a fantastic setting for a date (that is, if I was into dining with men outside of the Three Amigos).

Blue Moon - March 11, 2012 (Burger 1)

Dusty -
Getting to Blue Moon was interesting enough. For our lunch burger today, we meant to go to Brasserie V, which we found does not open until 4p. When we got to Blue Moon, it was sparsly populated with folks from the neighborhood. I'm betting this is in part due to the music played; we got a nice sampling of John Mayer, Nickleback and Owl City. Nice mix, Blue Moon, well done.

Overall impression of the Best Burger in Town:

• Definitely not the best burger in town.

Moving on to the cheese curds... jk, jk a bit more detail about the burger:

• Very large burger, tastes just like homemade, seems to be hand packed.
• If you get the Best Burger (they also have a Best Cheeseburger and a Bacon Cheeseburger), it only has lettuce, tomato and grilled or raw onions. Get the onions grilled, they at least add some flavor.
• Needed to add some dressings as I wanted to taste something even if it was ketchup and mustard (bonus points for spicy brown mustard on the tables to Trina's lament).
• The bun was very fresh, but I don't eat a burger for the bread.

Overall, this burger must be on the Madison Best list because it is huge and seemingly hand made. They don't market it being made from scratch, so this is just me musing. Honestly, the burger tasted like something I would make in my kitchen and grill on my patio if I took out all the bacon, cheese, jalapenos and other good stuff that make burgers taste good. A1 would have improved this one, not because A1 compliments the taste of beef, but because it covers it up.

We also got cheese curds and crinkle-cut fries - both of which were as good (or bad) as the burger. We split a pitcher of Huck Finn-ish beer that is locally brewed from Sierra Nevada ingredients. Easily the best part of this meal aside from the company.

Burger two weight: 170.8 (lost .4 lbs in the off week!)

Notable observation - Trina struggles to eat without getting condiments on her hoodie. Luckily it is a bight enough color that mustard and ketchup barely show. Merwin struggles to eat a burger with the toppings intact - even when the toppings are as sparse as the Best Burger.

Ned -

Blue Moon Bar - "The Best Burger in Town"


With Trina missing last weekend and myself gone until today of this weekend, the Amigos were challenged to complete two burgers within one day.  A day that for sure will go down in IN-famy. 

The Blue Moon Bar was not our first option of the day (and most likely never will be after this meal).  The original plan was to hit up Brasserie V for lunch and then Blue Moon for dinner.  However, because one particular person (who will remain nameless) forgot to check Brasserie's hours of operation, the Amigos were forced to reconvene on Monroe St. and change plans.  So... with a simple "switch-a-roo", it was off to Blue Moon.

• Decor - It's a dive bar.  Not much for decor other than liquor on the wall and a couple big screen TVs.  Expected...
• Service - The waitress was super friendly but less than helpful.  How do you let people order hamburgers without telling them that adding cheese is an option?  We're in WISCONSIN after all. (Read on for more about this)
• Food (the important stuff)
• Beer - once the waitress was done going over Blue Moon's less than impressive beer selection, all three Amigos decided to go with the special Sierra Nevada Huck Finn.  And in true dive bar fashion, we shared a pitcher.  Smooth dark beer with a very sweet aftertaste.  I would definitely recommend.
• Burger - After some beer it was time for our food to arrive.  However, as the waitress was on her way to our table, the jukebox used the only power it had to warn us of the impending disaster of a meal.  With Nickelback now playing throughout the bar as our food was placed in front of us, it was obvious how the next few minutes would go down...  The burger was bland, dry, boring, and messy.  Not good messy, but horribly constructed pile of meat on a bun messy.  Even the table Cholula couldn't save this travesty of a burger.  Best in Town?  We'll be the judge of that...
• Sides - The cheese curds were average at best.  The crinkle cut fries were crispy and the highlight of the meal.  I'll chop that up to the fact that the rest of the meal was a disaster.

TLDR - Don't go here for the food.  Please...

If this is the "best burger in town", then I'm cancelling my apartment lease and hopping on the first plane out of Madison.

Lucky-

So, we’ve gotten a little behind and had to play catch up and hit up two restaurants today.  After throwing around a few suggestions, we finally settled on Brasserie V for lunch and Blue Moon for dinner.  And then we had a heated debate outside of Brasserie V at 12:30 about who failed to check the hours and see that they don’t open till 4 (the correct answer would be that none of us looked up the hours). So off to Blue Moon we went for lunch.

After each selecting the Sierra Nevada Seasonal – Huck Finn, the waitress suggested we just get a pitcher.  Excellent recommendation.

Then we ordered fries and cheese curds to split and a trio of “The Best Burger in Town.”  She asked if we wanted anything on it.  We said “well what do you recommend?”  She suggested things like tomatoes, lettuce, onions.  So we went with the works.  Never noticing she didn’t mention cheese.  That would have been an excellent recommendation as well.  But she didn’t, so she went 1 for 2 on the recommendations and quite frankly, the cheese wouldn’t have saved the burger anyway. 

Overall –

·         Messiest burger in town:  The thing was huge and slid all over.  I cut it in half (my attempt at portion control) and it looked like the world fell apart in my burger basket.

·         Buns:  I really like the bun.  It was soft on the outside, it was grilled, and heck they had bags of them on the bar.  So I’m confident I should be able to wander down to Metcalfe’s and pick some up for myself.

·         Meat: the patty was huge.  I’m glad it didn’t say the ounces on the menu because I honestly don’t really want to know.  But in general, there wasn’t anything special about it.  Kind of felt like something Mom would fry up back home when it was too cold out to get the charcoal grill going.  When I was little, I never finished my plate when that was what we were having for dinner, and I didn’t finish my plate today either.  (but I suppose we have to factor in that I have to eat another burger tonight).

·         Condiments: Bless the restaurants like Blue Moon who actually put the ketchup and mustard squirt bottles on the table.  Surprisingly, the bright yellow bottle had spicy mustard in it.  A little bit of deception there if you ask me (found out after I squirted a heap on my burger).  Also, every table had Cholula Hot Sauce on it.  When I announced this to Mike and Jason, they both got more excited than I had seen them all meal.

·         Sides:  the fries came out just as I would expect bar fries – crinkly and crispy and I love that.  Mike and Jason were kind of hating on the cheese curds but I’m starting to think I don’t really have an all-around good palette for cheese curds.  They tasted just fine to me. 

·         Beer:  Sierra Nevada Huck Finn-ish (had to look that up online for the official name); nice and dark like a Guinness. Went down pretty good for 12:30 on a Sunday.  Online it claims it’s brewed with Huckleberries.  Sounds like Schnozberries to me.  Don’t question, just drink.

Bottom line - If something is self-proclaimed “best in town” or best of anything, you should proceed with caution.   You’re likely to be disappointed. 

It's like living with a six year old.

No burgers this week as Lucky is in the beautiful southwest. That just means double burger fun next week. Until then, we are The Three Amigos!

Graze - February 24, 2012

Dusty -
Overall impression of the Graze burger:

• High quality meat. Menu says it is sirloin, ribeye, and short ribs. I love all of those things. 
• Buttery bun, perhaps too much butter; it was just about as greasy as picking up the meat with your hands and eating it. I feel like a lot of the flavor was wrapped up here. They grilled the bun with the meat: genius.
• No cheese on this one, interesting choice for a restaurant in Wisconsin. The chef wants you to taste the meat apparently. Minus points.
• The grilled onions added a contrast of sweetness.

That's it, they put some cabernet jus on it, but no sauces otherwise. I wanted to like it, I really did, but I am a bigger fan of flavors than locally produced ingredients.

Started with cheese curds, which had a sweet batter and large, creamy curds. Definitely worth checking out. I'm not sure if I preferred the Ouisconsing Red or the Snake Hollow IPA. I probably lean toward the IPA if only because it doesn't have a French-sounding name. Finished up by splitting a slice of cherry pie. Despite my aversion to desserts, this was the best part of the meal (beer aside).

Starting weight: 171.2 lbs

Notable observation: Trina paints aioli and ketchup onto her burger with a french fry as a brush.

Ned-

Graze - The Graze Burger

The evening started after a lengthy afternoon nap as Dusty (Jason) and I began The Three Amigos on Blu Ray.  After literally almost passing out from laughter (Are Gringos falling from the sky?), we drank a beer, jammed to some new fun. (buy it or else), and then met Lucky (Trina) for the brief walk from the Penthouse to Graze.  Alright... enough small talk.  Let's get to the details:

• Decor - The lofted ceilings were nice and I really enjoyed the chalkboard wall.  However, you could tell right when you walked in that a light wallet would get you nowhere in this establishment.
• Service - Other than the fact that they wouldn't seat us until I was inside (I was outside on the phone), the service was great.  Good beer recommendations and solid service all around.
• Food (the important stuff)
• Appetizer - The fried cheese curds were decent at best.  The batter was thick and the cheese too creamy... not your typical "squeaky".
• Burger and Fries - The burger was obviously made with quality meat... there's no doubt there.  However, if I'm going to spend that much money on meat, I'll take a steak any day of the week and twice on Sunday (dessert steak, anyone?).  Overall, the burger was underwhelming and the onions were overpowering.  Now for the fries... straight TRILL.  Some of the best fries you will find anywhere, not just in Madison.
• Beer - Sleepy Hollow IPA.  Smooth beer, not overly hoppy.  Not bad.
• Dessert - I wasn't super excited about dessert as I was already beginning to feel like Violet Beauregarde (Oompa Loompa Doompa Di Doo) after those fries.  However, the 1-2 bites that I had of the cherry pie were spectacular.  I'm fairly certain Trina had the rest...

TLDR - Burger was decent but not worth the $19.  If you decide to hit up this joint, just order a ton of fries and save room for the pie.

Lucky-

Graze - The Graze Burger

The best way I can describe the Graze burger would be in comparison to going on a date with a really great person and knowing immediately he's not the one.  You sit there and think, "damn, this guy/burger is really top quality.  It's perfect!... For someone else."

Tastiness – definitely yummy.  Though I don’t think I would have recognized the quality meat if I hadn’t read the description.  I don't know if in a blind taste test I would know the difference between the quality of the meat in that burger and the quality of a Big Ten burger on game day.   (although I think the Big Ten burger is usually accompanied by a quite a few more beverages...)
Toppings – whatever that onion stuff was on top, that was good.  They noticeably didn’t bring out ketchup, though I eventually sacrificed the ketchup from my fries to put on it.  The burger would have been severely enhanced with cheese.  Bacon would have made it even better.  But bacon makes everything better so that comment is unneccessarily obvious.
Sides – fries were good, cheese curds were good, but the Door County cherry pie was life changing. I’m ashamed to admit, but as a Door County native, you put that tag line in front of anything and I’m about 1000 times more likely to order it.  Gotta admit, we were pretty darn full when we ordered it and definitely didn’t need it.  I was already calculating in my head how bad it would be if I unbuttoned just one button on my pants.  Overall though, best dang cherry pie I've ever had (and yep, that's coming from a Door County girl).
Portion size - The most important thing about a dinner out, if you're from my family at least, is the portion size.  They definitely exceeded expectations.  Huge burger. I can't justify why I ate it all.  I'd like to say it was because it was $19 and I felt like I should get my money's worth.  But the real answer is I have no self control.


Bottom Line - Graze Burger was good and a refined palette would appreciate it much more.  No one's ever accused me of being refined.    I would still pick that Big Ten burger over this one.