Burgers and Brew

It's so easy to be uninspired to blog. But sometimes you have an event so great that it inspires you to start blogging again. Not sure how long this will last but lets give it a whirl. For some reason I didn't hear about the Capital Brewery Burgers & Brew event until Saturday morning. And then I wasn't sure if I should go. But I called up my great friend Kyle who also enjoys the gourmet burgers and the brew and he was more than willing to come with. Excellent! The good news is that there were 10 places serving 11 burgers. The bad news? For the $25 entry fee I got to try 3 burgers and 3 beers. I quickly made the decision that I would base the decision of what to get by the burger and not the beer. Kyle at the fest:


Burger 1: "Little John Burger" featuring John Priske's beef patty topped with Widmer's brick cheese, Jordandal Farm bacon, garlic aioli and fresh lettuce, red onion and tomato created by L'Etoile. On the bonus side I got a porter from Sand Creek Brewing which is from Black River Falls which is where both of my parents grew up. It was an excellent choice and my favorite burger of the day. The patty was prepared perfectly (medium rare) and the combo of cheese, bacon and garlic aioli were perfect!
Burger 2: Brasserie V's "V Burger" which is grilled beef with Muenster cheese, onion straws, romaine lettuce, tomatoes and classic aioli will please the classically trained burger lover (we were under a blue tent in the photo, so sorry for the photo.)This was the third best of the three I tried. But it was still a most excellent burger. The patty was above average and the combo of muenster (the most underrated of cheeses) onion straws and ever more aioli hit the spot. The peppered ale served with it was a great combo.

Burger 3 was a hard decision. 8 burgers available and only 1 more to eat. I did decide I wanted to stay traditional which eliminated the lamb, pork and vegetarian burgers. While finalizing the decision I see people walking away with a burger with crazy cheese sauce. Yep. I got the "Burger to Relish" from the Old Fashioned which was a beef burger spiced up with roasted red bell pepper and cherry pepper relish, topped with a 12 year Brunkow aged cheddar sauce made with Rocky's bourbon ale on a Sheboygan hard roll. Excellent choice! The Tyranena beer that came with was the worst of the three, but again that isn't saying much. The blend of cheese and peppers aboard a perfect patty made this one another favorite! Outstanding!

Kyle tried two of the same burgers I tried and added the "Weary Mexican Traveler." He seemed rather unimpressed with that and the pale ale he was forced to have with it. He thought the patty was ok and the toppings were marginal. Afterward we decided to sample one of Capital's pints before calling it an afternoon. Overall, I would eat any of these three burgers frequently if it was offered on a menu somewhere as they were all around Top 10 worthy and a couple might even be Top 5 worthy if I could try them again at a restaurant. So while the $25 was steep it went to a good cause and I hope to come back next year as it was very worthwhile!

Earlier in the week, Jess had a TGI Fridays hankering. Who am I to argue, especially since it was $5 burger night. Any burger on the menu for $5!!! Awesome! I got the triple stacked burger as it seemed very unique. The description: A juicy beef patty with a zesty red pepper pimento blend of sharp Cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses topped with ham, crispy bacon, pickles and more cheese, all stacked on a toasted bun..

It came as advertised and I must say, I never thought of ham on a hamburger before but it worked. It was actually very good and I'd order it again for sure. While their burgers aren't as large as other chains (Chili's for example) when it is stacked this high it didn't matter. Definitely worthy if you are on the west side and need something quick, especially on a Tuesday night!

Thanks for reading. Hopefully I'll hit back again soon!

Doug's Soul Food

Sorry for the delay in posts. We’ll chalk it up to being busy and not caring so much. We went to Bloomington, IN which is a food mecca (best pizza at Mother Bear's and best coffee at Copper Cup) for a long weekend and then I was busy having surgery and with work and other things. Not sure how regularly I’ll be posting but thought another post was worthwhile. Sunday night I went back to the Dane for another Meatloaf grinder. Still excellent although the meatloaf portion was skimpy. Last night however we went to the new Doug’s Soul Food off of Fish Hatchery which serves up some down home southern cooking. Wasn’t sure what to expect but it all sounded good, on paper at least.

I ordered the pork spare ribs with sides of mac & cheese and french fries (not a big sweet potato or collard greens kind of guy.) Not good. The Mac & Cheese was ok, it was food service quality though and not homemade like I had hoped. The fries were the most basic boring fries ever and I am not sure if they fried them up or just warmed them up. Blah! The spare ribs? Rough and tough. I couldn’t eat them with a fork, I tried. I had to pick them up. The sauce was below average and the meat was overdone and not plentiful. Do not get these. I went with my in-laws and they didn’t like their food either (between us all we tried all the sides and my father in law had some not so good fried catfish.) The only salvageable part were the hushpuppies served with the meal which were good but not great. So not sure who is in to soul food but my guess is this isn’t the true soul good that Alabamians would love. Bummer. The staff was very nice and we enjoyed the visit, just not the food.

Not sure what is next on my food agenda. Thanks for reading!

Madison eating news...

Well there were some not so good things going down in Madison in regards to food. Everyone has their neighborhood/go-to restaurant and for a couple years for us it has been JT Whitneys. We even had our wedding rehersal dinner there. But alas that all might be over. The current JT Whitneys has closed indefinitely and it might reopen under new ownership although they could change the format entirely. I am also a bit bummed that we are losing both Delitalia and Tony Romas. Both were good and I'd go to each once or twice a year. But alas neither could survive not only the struggling economy but being in often overlooked locations. I mostly just hope though that JT Whitneys comes back the same although I seriously doubt it. Might be out a good $100 in gift cards as well. Guh!

I also have to take exception to and agree with some restaurant reviews. Here is the Sonic review. First off I don't like her use of "like it could be a bad fit for a city that prides itself on environmental consciousness". Most people like that would never eat fast food anyways. Plus I didn't know Middleton prided itself on things like that. Other than that she is almost spot on. The burgers are overpriced and pretty lame. And she did try the java chiller and loved it; she should, it is one of the best items you can get at any fast food restaurant. She also failed to talk about breakfast (which is served all-day) and how it is the best of what Sonic offers and the best values any time of day. That's right, her review mearly talked about lunch and traditional lunch offerings. Oh yeah, and I don't get the obsession with Limeade either. All in all though, I don't really care much for most food critics but she is pretty bright so kudos to Lindsay Christians.

Which leads me to my pride and joy, the burger. Yes I like burritos but they are so diverse and everyone has a differing opinion on what is good and what isn't. The burger is something that is pure and easy to compare stop to stop. Here is a recent review of two of Madison's legendary burgers, the Gritty burger and the Plaza burger both which live and die by the sauce. Living by the sauce is what makes the Gritty burger. While any burger at the Nitty Gritty would be above average, the Gritty sauce is awesome and is one of my favorite sauces. It is one of those Madison original places you have to try. The Plaza Burger was featured in Hamburger America and the author loved the sauce so I tried it right after the book came out. The burger itself is pretty weak (Joe average's bar burger) and the sauce was weak as well. It's even sour cream based which should be good but it seemed a bit bland for my liking. But, you know, I think I want to give this another chance. I just think that maybe I am missing something and went there on an off-day or had a weird stomach that day or something. And it isn't like the burger is terrible or expensive so the price of trying it doesn't seem too bad. Yes, I will try you again Plaza burger because I want to like you and I try to like you...I just don't yet.

Back on the eating track!

Sorry for the delay in getting another post but we’ve been extremely busy with life and throwing in some sickness and family visits have made free time basically obsolete the past two weeks. I also haven’t been eating out much, except on our long weekend trip to Iowa. There were a couple places in Ames I’ve been dying to eat at so this post will focus on those two and a couple others. Also, I’ve broken two digital cameras in a week span. One I was able to return and have decided to not buy another but to hopefully get warranty service on the Panasonic I own.

Maid Rite has been around for several decades. Apparently they had one in Madison years ago but that is long gone. It’s been on my Top 5 of fast food chains I needed to try and one of the locations was featured in Hamburger America so I was excited. I went into the Amana Colonies store right off of I-80 in the middle of Iowa for what I hoped was a supper treat. I tried the original Maid-Rite sandwich with Cheese. The Maid Rite sandwich is basically a sloppy joe that isn’t runny and tastes like a hamburger, supposedly. The one I had was awful It didn’t meet any of the three requirements for fast food: tasty, cheap or large and usually it takes at least 2 of the 3 to make it something I want to buy. The taste was awful. They steam the meat and that takes most of the taste away but they had seasonings to make it taste like something, and that something was bad. I can’t even pin it or compare it. The thing cost me $3.50 and was smaller than a McDonalds double cheeseburger. I won’t be back to Maid Rite if I can help it. Yuck! Fortunately my pictures are missing so you'll never see my Maid Rite experience.

The other two meals of note I had in Iowa were in Ames. Great Plains Sauce & Dough has long been the crown jewel of Iowa pizzerias. And who doesn’t like a good pizza? They specialize in pizzas that are thicker than pan pizzas but made without a pan. While the premise sounded good to me, the realization is that I am not really a bread guy and this was the most yeasty pizza I’ve ever had. It was super doughy so if you love that barely cooked dough taste this place is for you. But the dough taste was way too overwhelming for me and the toppings couldn’t make up for it. But one thing is for sure, I’ve never seen anything like their pizza and I am thankful I got to try it.

While I did get to eat at my favorite place, Bandit Burrito, on the Friday we were there it was the Fighting Burrito in Ames that really excited me. The person who founded Bandit Burrito started at Fighting Burrito so I knew they would be similar but is it possible that they could not only be different but that the Fighting Burrito could be better? It wasn’t a possiblity. While many of the things were very similar, the Fighting Burrito missed in a few key categories. Bandit has better tortillas, beans, cheese and salsa. Not to say that Fighting sucks because it is one of my top 5 burrito places and they have the same beef and sour cream that make Bandit the best place ever. So if you are in Ames and not going to Des Moines, try out the Fighting Burrito! Oh yeah, but don't expect much for atmosphere...it is dark and kinda scary in there.

I’ll hopefully have some more Madison updates soon. I’ve recently went out a couple times to some noteworthy chains and one Madison original. Thanks for reading!

Taqueria Guanajuato

So I finally went! Taqueria Guanajuato is located by work and a few of my coworkers have raved about the food. So has the newspaper! Everyone talks about cheap burritos and huge portions. I went in there with about a 1/2 hour to spare before being back to work. While there was a decent amount of space in the restaurant I decided to sit at the 4 stool bar. I ordered my steak burrito with the cheese on top, which is an extra 50 cents compared to the $4.50 burrito. As I waited I was given a basket of chips and they have a fresh salsa bar with 8 different salsas. I tried about 4 and settled on the green stuff!When you eat at "real" mexican places you aren't really sure what you are going to get. What I did get was the biggest burrito I've ever been served. Yes, check out the picture, it might look small but only because the cheese was the thickest shredded cheese I've seen. That blue glass is a medium size pepsi glass (20oz) if that tells you anything. Huge!!! Hands down, the best value in the business.

But value alone does not define the burrito, quality is another word I would use. Ample perfectly prepared steak was only the starter. Tons of Chihuahua cheese on the inside too in a tortilla I loved. Also came with beans, white rice, lettuce and tomato. It was excellent. The flavors weren't bold (that's what the salsa bar is for) but were very tasty! I will be back, alot! It's as close as anywhere but KFC to work (5-10 minute walk) and at $5.00 for the burrito with chips and salsa you can't afford not to eat there. Yes they have more items other than burritos...but does it really matter?

Back in Madison

So I recently got back from a cruise to the Caribbean. If you ever have the chance to go...go!!! There is so much food and fun it is almost unreal! I am sure they will be a food post soon about the cruise...I wish I was still cruising as a week ago I was. Today I was snowblowing.

Anyways, leading up to the cruise I was dieting. The fall and holidays got out of control with alot of stress, lots of opportunities to eat bad and being limited physically by injuries. I do hope to stick with the eating better but still went out to eat a few times this past week.

Tuesdays was our maiden voyage to the new Buffalo Wild Wings in Fitchburg. It is awesome! $.40 wing night, medium for me, and some fresh trivia although I couldn't find victory.

Being very convenient to my house and work, this might be the new go-to place! The Fitchburg smoking ban helps as do their daily specials!!!

Thursday I had some more Sonic for breakfast. Although I applaud them for their attempt at a dollar menu and some diversity (a banana?) I did try their chicken strip sandwich. Bland, boring and unfulfilling. Back to the drawing board.

Now for the main event. The Great Dane Brew Pub is where Madison goes to eat. Even in Fitchburg! While I have long thought the place was overrated, they do keep getting better and better. So much that I actually go there on my own accord. I am not a beer guy but the beer is great. The food has been plauged in my opinion by prices a couple bucks higher than others and less food and a poorer quality than most. The thing they've always won out on is diversity and it is one of the few spots I visit frequently that I have no idea what I am going to order. In fact in my past 6 trips I've ordered 6 different things. That will change when I go back as Friday I had one of the best meals I've had in recent Madison history.

Chipotle Meatloaf Grinder: Strips of our famous meatloaf loaded into a Milano roll with jalapeño cheddar mashed potatoes, chipotle BBQ sauce and haystack onions.

I got the chipotle BBQ sauce (not pictured) on the side because I was worried about not enough flavor. This plate may look small to you but only because they improved their fries which aren't only huge but now are much better, even good! I was actually suprised I got fries as it wasn't listed on the menu and the sandwich alone seemed like a meal. The bummer? I am guessing this was only a limited time item as the same happened to the meatloaf grinder last year. So get there very soon and make yourself very happy! And for the spice lovers out there, it was kind of spicy without the BBQ sauce and if you love hot and sweet then get the BBQ sauce...but it is perfect without it. Grind on Chipotle Meatloaf Grinder, Grind on!!!

Man V Food

Next week Man V Food is heading to Seattle to eat a few famous places. I've heard good things about Beth's Cafe. The exciting thing though is they are heading to the place where I've had my 4th best burger ever, Red Mill Burgers! Awesome! Here is the menu:

Here is some bacon love: Yes Red Mill is pretty much to go (they have a small eat-in section.) We waited in line for 30 minutes on a random Sunday at around 11am, that's how good this place is! No trip to Seattle is complete without a trip to Red Mill!

Which leads to my next idea...I've got two willing participants to try some local challenges. One is an accomplished eater of epic magnitude. The other has completed the Atomic Wing challenge and is amongst the best eaters I know. We have narrowed down three challenges for them and we hope to get this rolling in March. Stay tuned...

Denny's offered free breakfast to millions on Tuesday. How cool is that? I don't like eggs and it was the classic Grand Slam so I passed but many did not.

Poor Jack! Hit by a bus. :( Sorry I haven't had much else to report. I've been trying to eat less and lose a little weight so I haven't tried anything great or new (I've got a Taco Bell Spicy Chicken Enchilada platter calling my name though.)

Samba

So last night some friends and I went to Samba, Madison’s local Brazilian Steakhouse.

We sat down and ordered some drinks. I was in the mood for something different so I ordered the Garnacha wine, a mild red wine that I actually really liked. It was their featured wine which is why I ordered it, I don’t know that much about wine. After that we got to hit their salad bar. The salad bar was a little too classy for me as about half the things are items I didn’t care for or didn’t know what they were. Everything was clearly labeled which was a plus and I found plenty to eat. They also had garlic mashed potatoes (superb) and a soup. They bring these little cheesy rolls to your table as well and those things are awesome. They were made with a white and a parmesan cheese and were fresh baked. Not many things finer than fresh-baked cheese bread. Then it was time to eat. They were serving 6 cuts of meat last night. Of the 6, I enjoyed 2 (the top sirloin and the linguica sausage) didn’t mind another (the flank steak) and 3 weren’t great (two chicken dishes and the lamb.) One of the chicken dishes and the flank steak were a sweet jerk style, others loved it but I don’t like jerk food. The barbeque chicken wasn’t prepared well and was a little rough. The lamb was better than I thought and was the best prepared of them all, I am just not a lamb guy. The top sirloin was a fine steakhouse style cut and marinade, pretty much perfect. But the linguica was the star. It was similar to a polish sausage but with a different flavor that was spicy. It was my favorite. Which is why I am scared to go back. The meats rotate but I’d miss the sausage if it weren’t there.

I opted against having dessert though. Much like their food, the desserts were on the pricey side and I decided just being normally full would trump being stuffed. Samba is a winner. The ambiance is cool and it looks like you are walking into some place in Vegas…but in downtown Madison. It is a pricey so for me a once a year type place but worthy. I can see why people are not only naming it the best new restaurant but also the best restaurant in Madison period. While I wouldn’t go that far (there are a couple places I’d rather go) it is definitely worthy.

But life is not all about eating out. Throwing a party? Here’s an idea for a dish! :)

Visit your local restaurant…

While I most commonly eat at inexpensive places I am not a local fine restaurant hater. In fact there are many local restaurants I love. That is why I support local restaurant week.

This year I’ll be participating twice, once at Quivey’s Grove because Fitchburg is my city and then once at Samba (I’ve never been.) Sunday was Quivey’s Time. 8oz kobe beef cheeseburgers get me every time. I’ve only ever been to Quivey’s for the fish fry (one of the best) so this would be interesting. How would a place not known for burgers do serving a burger.

First things first, I ran into Shiroma, always a good start. Since it is restaurant week you get a beginning course and I chose the salad. I use the word salad loosely because it was basically raisins and apples smothered in bleu cheese. Jess had the stuffed mushrooms and thought they were good. Then the burgers came. It was pretty moist (the way kobe beef is) but Jess’ medium well and my medium rare were basically the same. It was a good burger but I could tell that Quivey’s is not a burger place. could tell the meat was special but it wasn’t prepared well. It wasn’t bad by any means and I enjoyed it but it could’ve been better. The restaurant thing rocks the most though when you get the dessert. I normally am too cheap for dessert and I usually order something big so I don’t want it anyway. But the turtle pie was fantastic. For $15 the meal was complete and worthwhile!

In other news, today is the grand opening of Sonic and it has literally been the talk of the town. I am trying not to buy into the hype too much as I’ve eaten at Sonic a lot. Don’t get me wrong, it is great and everyone will love it, I just don’t feel the need to rush down there when it is packed beyond belief. If you want an approved meal, go at breakfast for a sausage toaster (mine without egg) which is the best tasting food on the menu. Round it out with tots (even if you aren’t a tot person, just because you can) and get one of the best things ever, large java chiller with caramel and hazelnut both. I’d like to welcome Sonic to the neighborhood; I think you will be a huge success!

Mark's 2008 Year in Food!

What better way to introduce a new blog than to start with my annual year in food. So I now present to you, my 2008, Year in Food! This year welcomed in some great newcomers and seemed to be an above average year food wise. Factor in that in November my wife who had been a vegetarian for 16 years had a change in heart and decided we should eat lots of Arbys! Here are the stats:
I ate out 268 times this year. Several of those were during work and personal travel but I believe that is a modern-era low number. Not included were catered events (Saris Gala, work functions) and exclusively coffee stops (McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Barriques.) I did include pizza delivery and pick-up. Here are the top 5:
Taco Bell: 24
McDonalds: 17
Papa Johns: 11
Abuelos: 10
Chilis: 10

Restaurant of the year: This was an easy decision. Bandit Burrito in the suburbs of Des Moines is the single best place I ate this year. They make the world’s best burrito hands down. Best tortillas, cheese, rice, shredded beef and sour cream (w/ chipotle spices) in the game. Add in double the topping choices of Qdoba or Chipotle and you have the world’s best burrito. Honorable mention: Empire Burger, Breckenridge, CO; Mother Bear’s, Bloomington, IN; Burger Bar, Las Vegas, NV.

(Bandit Burrito!)

(Top 5 burger- Empire Burger)

(Mother Bear's Pizza- World's Best!)

Disappointment of the year: Tia Rosa, Mesa, AZ. Despite being hyped by no less than 4 people (Kyle, Tracy, Mom & Dad) Tia Rosa wasn’t very good at all. The flavors were bland, the portions and prices seemed ok but even their chips and salsa weren’t very good. Of course I got the whole “you must not know what real Mexican is” but to that I say…if this is real Mexican give me something else. Plus I could’ve lost my In’N Out virginity instead. Other disappointments include: Bucatini Trattoria which replaces the local Macaroni Grill with high prices, small portions and bad food and Five Guys burgers (very average) and they use something called extra-heavy mayo, gross. Fatburger is overrated for sure!

(Tia Rosa- Lots of smiles...before I eat)

Comeback of the year:
Sonic- After writing it off last year, they come up with the Java Chiller which is one of the best items on the menu and my favorite coffee drink (even more than the McDonalds Mocha.) They have the best breakfast in the game and while much of their food is overrated they have some decent lunch-time items.
Goat of the year:
Abuelos- Taking the worlds best nachos and changing the format was ok. I could cope. Then they added the world’s worst cheese sauce to totally ruin them. While I think they are available without cheese sauce and I’ll try that next time, it’s just not the same anymore. (Tim Horton’s is definitely second, they do everything worse than Dunkin Donuts and will need to evolve coffee-wise to stay relevant.)

(Dunkin Donuts is always the choice when it comes to donuts!)

2008’s best cities for food: Janesville, WI; Bloomington, IN, Las Vegas, NV.

(Bloomington, IN- home of the Copper Cup!)

Notes:
-I ate at the Fudd twice this year…but once was in an airport, for breakfast!
-Subway’s $5 footlongs make that a viable option. They had pricing issues for the past 10 years but they are back on track and helping get other sub places on track.
-I wish we had a local Taco Del Mar. Great burritos and great pricing. I’d trade Chipotle for it.
-Thank god for expense accounts. $22 kobe cheeseburger at the Burger Bar in Las Vegas was one of the top 3 burgers I’ve ever had.
-Madison needs some good ol’ sit down chain mexican food. And not Pedros. A Chevy’s would totally rule.
-Potbelly cookies are the world’s best. I can’t even complain that they are now $1.09 instead of $.99.
-I tried the best burger in Cleveland (Heck’s Café) and in Phoenix (Delux) and both were ok. The best burger in Madison (Dotty’s) blows both away. You can pass on the Plaza burger.

(Delux Burger- Really good, just not great)

(The Plaza Burger)
-If anyone offers you real swiss cheese fondue…pass. We shared it 4 ways and while 2 people claimed to like it, we still had leftovers.
-I ate at Portilos this year. I think everyone should try an Italian beef and cake shake. My life feels more complete.
-Raisin’ Canes is underrated. Not sure what to think but I know I’d eat there a few times a year if we had one locally.

(My only Waffle House this year- Phoenix, AZ)

(Empire Burger- World's Best Nachos, sorry Abuelos)

Check out the archives. 2007 2006

Thanks for reading. Please post comments and feedback and tell me where I am right and wrong and offer any rankings you have.