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!