Road Tips

Lucky's 13 Pub - Bloomington, MN

After I'd written about J.L. Beers in Fargo earlier this year, I'd heard from a couple people from the Fargo area who thought that the burger at Lucky's 13 Pub was the best in Fargo.  I looked up Lucky's 13 on the Internet and found out that they were actually based in the Twin Cities with the original location in suburban Mendota, and a location in Bloomington, not far from the Hampton Inn that I like to stay at when I'm in the area.  I'd had a couple morning meetings and was headed back out to the hotel to prepare for a meeting later in the day and decided to run by Lucky's 13 and see if their burgers were as good as advertised.  

The people behind Lucky's 13 are Charlie Burrows and Linda Young, longtime partners who were behind the Axel's restaurants in the greater Twin Cities area.  (Click here to see my entry on the Axel's Bonfire location in Savage, MN.)  Burrows and Young sold their interest in the Axel's restaurants a couple three years ago and now run the Rudy's Redeye Grill in Rosemount with three other locations around Minnesota.  They also run the Me and Julio Mexican restaurant in suburban Hastings.    

Before selling their interests in the Axel's restaurants, Young and Burrows opened the first Lucky 13's Pub in what was the old Mendota Saloon in suburban Mendota in the fall of 2007, just a block away from the original Axel's restaurant on Minnesota Highway 13 (hence, the "13" in the name).  They opened their second Lucky's 13 location out in Spearfish, SD in late 2009.  The third location in Bloomington opened not long after that in a former Bennigan's restaurant near the intersection of Interstate 494 and Interstate 35W, just across the freeway from the corporate headquarters of Best Buy.  They expanded to Fargo, ND in the fall of 2011.  

It was after the noon rush when I got into the Lucky's 13 location in Bloomington.  The address - 1800 American Boulevard West - is a little confusing.  Actually, Lucky's 13 is located north of the intersection of American Blvd. West and Knox Ave. on Southtown Circle, just to the east of Southtown Shopping Center (see map).  I went in and sort of stood at the front door waiting for a hostess or, at the least, a waitress to greet me and direct me to a seat.  When no one showed up, I walked to the large rectangular bar and took a seat.  The bartender greeted me and she asked me if I wanted something to drink. I said, "I'd take a menu, first."  

I then asked her if they had any Surly Brewery products available.  She said, "No, I'm sorry."  I started to look at what they had on tap and I noticed an Alaskan Brewery beer tap.  When I asked her what Alaskan beer she had on tap, she said, "That's the Amber."  Sold!  I love Alaskan beer.  

The interior of the Bloomington Lucky's 13 Pub location is open and bright in the daytime.  It featured brick walls and matching brick pillars with ornate tin ceiling tiles.  A number of flat screens were throughout the place with good viewing angles from just about every seat in the bar.  Old time pictures hung on the brick walls.  I especially liked some of the old Minnesota Twins team pictures they had in the men's room.  It was smaller than Joe Senser's, but I sort of liked the layout a little better.  While I like Joe Senser's as a sports bar, I'm always looking for alternatives since I don't want to get burned out on going to one place over and over.  Even without trying the food, Lucky's 13 immediately became an alternative.  

The lunch menu is primarily burgers and sandwiches with a number of appetizers, salads and entrees including bacon-wrapped meat loaf, pan-fried or deep-fried walleye, shepards pie, and fried chicken.  Actually, the dinner menu isn't much different, only without some of the lunch specials they offer.  

The one thing that stood out were the prices.  They were certainly proud of the food at Lucky's 13.  A basic 1/3 lb. burger is $9.99, while most of the specialty burgers were $10.99 to $11.49.  The sandwiches were also a little pricey - they ranged from $9.49 for a basic B.L.T. or a grilled four cheese sandwich to $13.99 for a walleye B.L.T.  Most of the sandwiches were in the $10.99 to $11.99 range.  But you also get your choice of sides with the sandwiches or burgers, so that takes a little bit of the sting out of the price.  

Even though some of the sandwiches sounded good - like the Chivito that featured sliced beef, egg, bacon, ham, olives and mozzarella cheese; or the meatloaf melt - I was looking more favorably at the extensive burger list they had.  Even seeing cajun walleye fish tacos on the menu didn't steer me away from the burgers. 

Lucky's 13 Pub has just under 20 burgers to choose from on their menu.  In addition to their basic burger (add cheese for $1.00), they also have a number of interesting and eclectic burgers to choose from.  The Sunrise burger is topped with a fried egg, ham, cheddar cheese and a cake of hash browns; the Sweet Heat has grilled, candied jalapenos along with onions and cheddar cheese on top; and the French Onion burger is topped with onions, au jus sauce and provolone cheese.  They have two different variations of the Twin Cities stuffed burger known as the Juicy Lucy (or Jucy Lucy, depending upon your preferred spelling) - the Juicy Lulu stuffed with American cheese, and the Stuffed Bleu - stuffed with bleu cheese and bacon bits.  

Quite actually, my choice that day was between the Stuffed Bleu, the Mushroom/Swiss burger that I was going to have them put some bacon on top for an extra buck, or the signature Lucky 13 burger that is topped with sweet onions, cheddar cheese, bacon and sweet peppadew peppers.  At the last second, I switched my choice from the mushroom/Swiss/bacon burger to the Lucky 13 burger.  I love sweet peppadew peppers and wondered how they'd take on a burger.  I got a choice of side that included fries, onion rings, kettle chips, fruit or cole slaw.  For an extra buck you could get some of Lucky 13's loaded tater tots (which sounded interesting) or sweet potato fries.  I asked the bartender if the onion rings were homemade and she said, "Absolutely.  They're very good."  I took the onion rings.  

After awhile, a young man brought my burger out for me and grabbed some ketchup and mustard for me.  The burger was placed between a lightly toasted sesame seed bun.  Two strips of bacon were criss-crossed over the patty, which was layered with the peppadew peppers, sweet onions and cheddar cheese.  I wasn't sure what to expect for the onion ring sides as far as how much I'd get or what they'd be like, but they gave me four somewhat large rings.  I decided that was perfect because I didn't really need more of that.  

The burger was ordered medium, but it was much more medium-well than that.  The bun was light and fluffy and tasted pretty well.  The burger, itself, was just OK.  It was a little over-cooked to my liking, but the sweet onions and sweet peppadew peppers were a nice combination of taste on the burger.  The bacon wasn't limp, but definitely not overcooked and brittle.  While I couldn't say it was an outstanding burger, it was far from bad. I could name a couple three places in the Twin Cities off the top of my head that head better burgers than the one at Lucky's 13 Pub.

But the highlight was definitely the onion rings.  They had a nice little spicy bite to the taste.  After a bit I wish I would have gotten more than just the four large rings they gave me as a side.  The batter was flaky and the onions were sweet.  The only problem is that they gave me indigestion later in the day.  I like the taste of fried onions, but they don't like me afterward.   

The burger at Lucky's 13 Pub was good, but definitely not great.   That's not to say that I won't go back, because I will.  The menu is long and diverse enough that I know I can try something else on my next visit.  Given the amount of televisions they have, if I want to catch a sporting event on TV when I'm in the Twin Cities I can easily do that at Lucky's 13.  I'll give them another chance on their burger - probably getting the mushroom/Swiss/bacon burger next time.  Or I may try one of their interesting sandwiches.  The atmosphere was nice, the service was adequate, and the food and beer selection was above average.  Lucky's 13 was a nice place for a good lunch.

Francie's - Des Moines

Years ago, I used to frequent a place on Des Moines' south side, near the Des Moines International Airport, by the name of Francie's.  A friend of mine who was also a manufacturer's representative liked to go there for lunch and we'd meet there from time to time.  It had been a very long time since I had been in Francie's and I decided to stop in for lunch on a recent visit to Des Moines.

Francie's first opened in 1958 and was actually run by a guy by the name of Francie.  But I couldn't find any other information on Francie, other than his boys would help him out at the bar from time to time.  Today, Greg and Susie Fontanini are the managing partners in Francie's.  Greg is the son of the late Sarg Fontanini, a well-known amateur golfer in the Des Moines area who won many tournaments just up and across Fleur Drive on the Wakonda Club golf course.  

My buddy, Randy Adams, had to go to Des Moines a few months ago and he and his wife, Lorrie, had dinner at Francie's.  Randy texted me and said, "Man, great reuben sandwich at this place."  And I knew exactly what he was talking about.  I do remember Francie's as having one of the best reubens I'd ever had.  Years ago, I wasn't big on corned beef, but I fell in love with the reuben sandwiches at Francie's.  It was tough to beat.

It was after 1:30 when I pulled into Francie's.  The bar and grill is tucked away just off of Fleur Drive on Wakonda View Drive (see map).  There's a nice sized parking lot off to the side and there was plenty of parking after the noon lunch rush.  I went in and took a seat in a booth in the corner of the place.  Since it had been years since I'd last been in Francie's, I really didn't remember if anything had changed, save for the number of flat panel televisions now throughout the place.  

The dining area at Francie's is totally encased in wood - wood ceilings, wood paneling for the walls.  Sturdy high wooden tables with wooden stools.  And, of course, the wooden bar.  Francie's isn't all that big and it can get crowded in the place.  And loud.  I do remember that it can get loud.

My waitress for the day came over to give me a menu and asked if I wanted something to drink.  I thought a beer would be good and I got a bottle of Bud Light.  I looked through the menu and refamilarized myself with what Francie's had to offer.  In addition to their wonderful reubens, I do remember that Francie's has a pretty good burger, as well as an outstanding Philly cheesesteak sandwich.  

I hemmed and hawed over getting a burger, but the reuben kept calling my name.  I remember the corned beef being fresh, tasty and tender.  I'm not certain, but I think Francie's also made their own 1000 Island dressing.  When my waitress came back to take my order, I couldn't resist getting the reuben.  I had my choice of sides and I decided to get the fries with the sandwich.  

As I waited for my sandwich to come out, a couple had sat in the booth next to me.  I heard the young lady say, "Oh, boy!  I've been craving a Francie's reuben all day long!"  When the waitress brought out my sandwich, the woman said, "How did she know I wanted a reuben?  Oh wait!  It's his!"

The reuben featured lightly toasted rye bread with succulent chunks of Swiss cheese covered corned beef piled high in between the bread.  Ample amounts of sauerkraut and a generous amount of 1000 Island dressing was on the sandwich.  I usually ask for additional 1000 Island dressing on the side, but it really wasn't needed on the Francie's reuben.  But it was far from overpowering and sloppy.

The reuben was, in a word, outstanding.  From the first bite, I remembered how I also used to crave the reubens at Francie's years ago.  The corned beef that they use is so tender that it almost melts in your mouth.  It has such a great taste and is still one of the better reubens I've had.  

The fries were the standard crinkle cut variety and pretty basic.  But I was there for the reuben.  I touched a few of the fries, but I ended up finishing off the sandwich with no problem.  My waitress came back a couple times to check on me and did a good job as a server. 

I get back to Des Moines quite a bit since it's on the way to and from Kansas City, Lincoln and Omaha.  Francie's is not far off the southern freeway by-pass that I like to take around Des Moines when I come up from Kansas City.   If I'd not stayed on the south side of Des Moines on a previous evening, I probably wouldn't have remembered Francie's.  But seeing it as I drove by that one day brought back good memories of good food in a nice little neighborhood-style bar and grill.  It had been well over 10 years since I'd last been to Francie's, but I'm sure it won't be that long until my next visit.     

Westport Flea Market - Kansas City, MO

I want to give a shout out to Tricia T. who sent me a note telling me that she thought Westport Flea Market in the Westport Entertainment and Shopping area of Kansas City, MO had the best burgers in that area.  I wasn't familiar with Westport Flea Market, so on a recent trip to K.C. I decided to have lunch there one day.  I had trouble finding it, driving by it once.  But when I figured out where it was, I was almost embarrassed that I didn't know about this place before.

From the street, the Westport Flea Market is pretty non-descript.  For the uninitiated - like me - it sort of does look like a building that houses a decrepit flea market.  And that's probably what I thought as I know I've driven past the place on Westport Road (see map) many times in the past.  In fact, there's a Sonic Drive-In just across the street that I've eaten at a couple times in the past.  Had I known a good burger joint was just across the street, I would have gladly ditched the Sonic burger in favor of a good ol' bar and grill burger.  

Actually, the Westport Flea Market and Bar and Grill - in its present state - has been around since 1981.  It truly is a flea market/bar and grill.  There are a handful of booths run by vendors (hours vary).  Looking into some of the fenced in spaces, it looked like an eclectic mix of kitsch and nostalgia.  

The background story of Westport Flea Market goes back even further than their opening in 1981.  Prior to World War II, the building housed the Calhoun Mantle and Tile Company - a business that made mantles for fire places and sold ceramic tiles for floors.  Due to a downturn in home building during World War II, the company went out of business and the building sat vacant for a handful of years.  In 1950, the building was bought by the old Kitty Clover potato chip company out of Omaha and served as their Kansas City-area factory until 1963.  

The building was transformed into a restaurant in the mid-60's called The Place in Westport.  It was primarily a bar and grill that sold burgers and beer - similar to the present day Westport Flea Market.  It was sort of a bohemian type of place that featured dancing and also sold artwork from local artists.  It was in business for just a few years before closing around 1973.   

In the mid-70's, the building was transformed into a retail market space called Things Unlimited, the precursor to what became the Westport Flea Market.  With the downturn in the economy in the late 70's, the flea market went into bankruptcy.  A Kansas City area investor, Mel Kleb, bought the Westport Flea Market and reopened it as a bar/grill/flea market.  

The Westport Flea Market thrived for years, very much known for their big juicy burgers and their variety of beers they had on tap.  But in 2005, Hooters came calling, wanting to put in a Hooters restaurant in the Westport area of Kansas City.  Kleb, being the consummate businessman, took their offer and began the process of selling the business.  

Then two things happened.  The first involved a young entrepreneur by the name of Joe Zwillenberg who found out that Kleb was selling the business.  Long a fan of the Westport Flea Market, Joe contacted Kleb and wanted to buy the Westport Flea Market from him.  Kleb told him that the deal was already consummated with Hooters.  Undeterred, Zwillenberg, who ran a burger joint styled after the Westport Flea Market, finally sat down with Kleb and offered him a downpayment of $25,000 and showed him a line of credit from his bank to finance the remaining part of the purchase.  Kleb still resisted, saying the deal with Hooters was done.  However, Kleb told the young Zwillenberg that if the deal fell through, it was his to have.  Zwillenberg was determined to have the Hooters deal fall through.  

The second thing that happened was when the Westport Neighborhood Association found out that the Hooters corporation was going to demolish the existing building to put up a new restaurant, they put up a fight to stop the demolition.  While the fight was going on to stop Hooters from building a new restaurant, Kleb was getting checks from Hooters on a monthly basis to purchase the building and business.  However, due to an accounting oversight Kleb didn't receive a check one month.  Kleb immediately called it a breach of contract and told Hooters that the deal was over.  He sold the business to Joe Zwillenberg.

Two months later on March 1, 2006, Kleb and Zwillenberg consummated their deal with the "passing of the burger" - a five-pound ceremonial burger that was made for the occasion. (Picture at right courtesy KC Confidential.com)  Zwillenberg brought his "Joe's Burgers" concept over to the Westport Flea Market and the rest, as they say, is history.  

Zwillenberg is no stranger to the food service industry.  He has a long history of working in various capacities in a number of restaurants in the Kansas City area.  He was a singing waiter at the age of 17, he was a bartender at an upscale bar/restaurant at the age of 20 - both jobs he got by lying about his age.  

After graduating with a degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Missouri, Zwillenberg started to work for the Gilbert/Robinson restaurant corporation, owners of the Houlihan's restaurant chain and J. Gilbert's Wood Fired Steaks in suburban Overland Park.  He managed a couple Houlihan's in the Kansas City area before he decided he wanted to get into business for himself in the mid-90's.  

After a short experience as a partner in a restaurant that soured him on ever having a partner again, Zwillenberg started Joe Joe's Italian Eatery, an Italian-style bistro in Kansas City's mid city area.  Joe Joe's is said to be the first place to serve panini sandwiches in the Kansas City area.  

There was a Hardee's just across the street from Joe Joe's and it closed up a couple years after Zwillenberg opened his Italian bistro.  Zwillenberg had been looking at wanting to do a catering company and he ended up buying the old Hardee's and opening his catering business - Joe Joe's Catering.  It continues to be one of the top catering businesses in Kansas City today.

Having a large love for the Westport Flea Market concept, Zwillenberg lifted a menu from the business on one visit and used it for his blue print for his own burger joint, Joe's Burgers.  It wasn't long after he opened his burger joint that he found out that the Westport Flea Market was up for sale.  It was then he contacted Mel Kleb and that's the beginning of their relationship which eventually led to Zwillenberg taking over the Westport Flea Market, saving the building and sparing the Westport area from the mediocre food served at a Hooters.   

It was around 1:30 when I got into the Westport Flea Market.  I took a quick look around and decided to have a seat at the L-shaped bar.  I looked behind the bar and saw their very impressive line up of draft beers that they have on tap.  I wasn't certain I wanted a beer, but looking at all those tappers sort of made me thirsty. 

I took a menu and began to look through it to see what they had to offer at Westport Flea Market.  Actually, there's a lot more than just burgers on the menu at Westport Flea Market.  They have a number of sandwiches, including Joe Zwillenberg's famous grilled chicken panini that he brought over from his days running his Italian bistro.   The menu features a large array of appetizers, a handful of salads, daily specials and a special kids menu.  In fact, their burger menu is only three items long - the Flea Market burger, the smaller Mini Market burger, and a patty melt that features the Mini Market burger on a toasted rye bread with grilled onions and Swiss cheese.  

The burgers have been named "Best in Kansas City" by a number of polls consistently over the past 20+ years.  Westport Flea Market gets their beef from McGonigle's Meat Market, a famous Kansas City butcher shop that is nationally known for their steaks and other cuts of meat.  It's been awhile since I've done an entry on a butcher shop.  The next time I go to Kansas City, I need to take a large cooler with me and get some beef from McGonigle's and do a Road Tips entry on the place.

A waitress/bartender came over and greeted me after a bit.  She asked if I wanted something to drink and I asked back, "Do you have Boulevard Pale Ale on tap?"  Actually, that was a pretty stupid question - any beer bar worth their salt in Kansas City has Boulevard Pale Ale on tap.  She said that they did and wondered if I was ready to order some food.  I had noticed in the short time that I was there that a guy was calling out people's names over an in-house P.A. system and they would go to a window and pick up their food orders.  I said, "Do I order food from you?"

She said, "Yep!  We'll call out your name and you pick up your food at the window over there."  She pointed at a small dining area just beside the bar area.  "There's a small condiment bar down there and you dress your food with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, whatever."

I said, "Well, I understand your burgers are pretty good."

"The best in town," she quickly shot back.  

I ordered up a burger, medium.  She asked, "You want cheese on it?  Cheddar, Swiss, pepperjack..."  I stopped her at pepperjack.  

She then asked, "You want any grilled mushrooms, bacon ?"  I said mushrooms sounded great.   And I got a choice of sides with the burger, as well.  Curly fries, cole slaw or cottage cheese were my choices, but for an upcharge I could get onion rings.  I wasn't certain I wanted fries, but cottage cheese sure sounded good to me.  

After about 15 minutes, I heard my name called over the P.A. and I went over to the pick up window to get my burger.  The condiment bar featured onions, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and some other things.  I got some onions, pickles and the tomato slices, though small, looked very fresh for the time of year.  

Sitting down with the burger, well...  You ever have food sat down in front of you and the smell of it is so good that you KNOW that it will be good?  That's what the Flea Market burger smelled like.  There were a gob of fresh grilled mushrooms on and around the burger that was covered with a thick blanket of pepperjack cheese.

My first bite - it was ecstasy.  Oh, my God!  I immediately said, "Ummmmm...." as I chewed my first bite.  The burger was juicy and overly flavorful.  It had that old time flat grill seasoned taste to it.  The juices just flowed out of the burger.  The sesame-seeded lightly toasted bun was thick, but still pretty light to chew.  It went well with the burger meat.  About the only quibble I had with the burger was that it was probably more medium-rare than medium.  I know that if my wife would have ordered a burger medium and it came out like this she would have sent it back.  But I was fine with it.  I'll just have to remember to order it medium-well the next time.  

With the great tasting grilled mushrooms, the fresh and forward tasting onions and the tangy pickles, this burger was a winner.  I immediately realized had to put it in the Top Ten of my Best Burger List.  I'll have to figure out where I'll put it when I finally do my updated Best Burger List 2012 sometime in the coming weeks.  I could easily see why it's been named the best burger in Kansas City for so many years.  And I was also a little embarrassed that I hadn't had one of these burgers before this visit.   As many times that I've been in Kansas City in the past, I should have known about Westport Flea Market before this.

As I got finished, my waitress/bartender came over and asked how the burger was.  "Killer," I replied enthusiastically.  And it was.  

She handed me my bill and I got out my credit card to hand to her.  She said, "Uh, normally we don't take credit cards..."

I said, "Oh!  OK!  No problem!"  I got a $20 bill out of my pocket and handed it to her.  She gave me $4.65 in change and I left $3 bucks for her tip.  OK, so rookie mistake and something to remember for next time - Westport Flea Market only takes cash.  They have an ATM in their billiards area for those who are caught short on cash for their food.

Before I left, I took a look around the place.  Toward the street side of Westport Flea Market there's a dining room with a number of vintage beer cans that line the walls on shelves.  This room was actually closed off for diners at this time, but they have two other dining areas - the one pictured above near where the pick-up window is located, and a dining area up near the bar.   

So, thanks to Tricia for turning me onto Westport Flea Market for a great burger.  I was overly impressed with the place, the food, the service and and the history behind the business.  Once again, I'm somewhat embarrassed by the fact that I had no idea that a great burger place like this existed in a city that I've been traveling to for over 25 years.  I highly recommend going to Westport Flea Market if you're in K.C. and want to go to a fun and interesting place with a world-class burger.     

Sonny's Pizza Bistro - Des Moines

I have to apologize to whoever it was who suggested I try Sonny's Pizza Bistro located in the Saylorville area just north of Des Moines (see map). I really need to do a better job of acknowledging those who turn me on to places to try. Sonny's was described to me as having great pizza, excellent sandwiches and some pretty terrific pasta dishes. I always get a little leery of those kinds of unsolicited accolades, but I decided to give Sonny's a try one evening when I was in Des Moines recently. 

Sonny's is owned by John Vacco (pronounced VOCK-o) and his wife, Quinby. The Vacco name is somewhat famous around the Des Moines area as John's older brother Mike (a.k.a. "Scorno") owned and ran Scornovacca's Pizza since it opened in 1973.  Scornovacca is the true Italian name of the family, shortened to "Vacca" when Grandpa Martin Scornovacca came to America from Italy in 1914.  At some point, a typist's error changed the family name to "Vacco".  Mike's parents, Roscoe and Anne Marie Vacco, had a chance to open a pizza restaurant in the early 70's, but Roscoe had a full time job.  He got his son Mike to run the business with the help of Anne Marie using family recipes.  It has been years since I've been in Scornovacca's.     

Unfortunately, Mike Vacco died in August of 2010.  His youngest sister, Amy, now runs the business.  The Vacco's are a big family - 11 kids came from Roscoe and Anne Marie.  I casually knew a couple of them years and years ago - Vic and Rocco (I always that was sort of cool - Rocco Vacco) - through friends I had made when I dated a girl to went to Dowling Catholic High School back in the early 70's.  They seemed like pretty nice guys.    

Sonny's Pizza Bistro was opened by John and Quinby Vacco about seven years ago.  I've been told that while many of the recipes are the same as the Scornovacca's, John uses his own little signatures in the dishes, pizzas and sandwiches to make them a little different from his family's restaurant on the southside of Des Moines.  

Sonny's Pizza Bistro is sort of out in the sticks in the middle of Saylor Township, north of Des Moines and south of Ankeny.  It's located on a corner, just across the road from a Casey's General Store.  It isn't all that big on the inside - there's a bar area with some tables as you come in, and a separate dining area off to the side with nice tables with dark tablecloths covered by paper.  The old-style ice cream parlor wooden chairs are pretty comfortable to sit in.  A large party of about 14 people was in the bar area, so I took a seat at one of the tables back in the other dining room.  There is an outside dining patio, but it was spitting rain that particular evening, so no one was outside.

My waitress came over and gave me a menu to look over.  Even though I was going to get a pizza, I took a look at what else they had to offer at Sonny's Pizza Bistro.  There were a number of sandwiches, pasta dishes, salads and appetizers on the menu.  But I was set on getting a pizza.

They have 3 different sizes of pizza at Sonny's - a 6" personal pizza, a 10" and a 14".  I wondered if a 10" would be too much and decided to ask the waitress about the 6" personal sized pizza.  She said, "Yeah, that's pretty small.  If you're hungry, you could probably eat one of our 10" pizzas."  Well, I was hungry and I also figured that what I couldn't eat, I could take back to the hotel and put into the refrigerator in my room and heat it up for breakfast in the in-room microwave in the morning.  I ordered my usual Italian sausage, pepperoni and mushroom pizza.  

It took about 20 minutes for the pizza to come to the table.  It had a golden-reddish caramelizing of the cheese on top.  The cheese and toppings were plentiful and very fresh.  There was a slight Italian herb taste to the somewhat sweet pizza sauce that Sonny's used.  The mushrooms were very fresh and very flavorful.  And it was cut "party style" with the wonderful "honey pot" square center pieces.  These are the best pizzas. 

But there was something sort of wrong with the pizza. I kept getting this somewhat burnt taste with each bite I took.  I'd had a couple pieces of pizza and I knew that something just wasn't clicking with my taste buds.  It was when I turned over the piece pictured on the left that I figured out what was wrong.  The crust was horribly burned.  I didn't know if this was an anomaly or the norm for a Sonny's Pizza.  I just thought it was a little strange.

Right when I took this picture, a man who had been talking with the group of people seated in the bar area came back to check on me.  The piece was still upside down on the tray and he immediately said, "Oh, my gosh!  That's burnt, isn't it?  I'll get you a new pizza right away."  

I didn't have time to protest, to say "Thanks!" or anything.  He disappeared back into the kitchen area.  The waitress came out and said, "Oh boy! That IS burnt, isn't it?  We're going to give you a whole new pizza at no charge."  Well, that was certainly nice of them.  I didn't want to pay for two pizzas, that's for sure.

The second pizza came out and it was much better than the first one.   This time the cheese wasn't as caramelized as the first one, and the crust was far from burnt.  But that smoky, burnt taste was prevalent as it was with the first one.  After a couple pieces, I decided that even though the crust was just a little too thick, I liked the taste of the pizza.  The sauce was good - a little sweet for me - but good, the sausage had a good fennel taste to it, the pepperoni was pleasurably spicy with a little kick to it, and the mushrooms were very fresh.  

I wasn't able to finish all of the 10" pizza at Sonny's.  Having three pieces of the previous burnt pizza had something to do with that.  But the fact that they throw on a ton of cheese and toppings on their pizza had a lot to do with that.  I was able to eat just one piece more than half the pizza, having the waitress give me a box to take the rest with me.

The waitress brought my bill out and she said, "We just charged you for your beers.  The pizza is on us."  

I said, "Oh, no.  You didn't have to do that.  The second one was fine and I didn't mind the wait."  

She said, "Oh, no.  The owner insists."  She got a nice tip.  

As I was walking through the bar area, the owner stopped me and said, "Hey, I'm really sorry for burning the first pizza."  He introduced himself as John Vacco, the owner.  

I said, "I used to know a couple of your brothers years and years ago.  Vic and Rocco."  

John pointed to the group at the large table near the bar and said, "Rocco was just here!"  It turned out that many of the people at the table were Vacco's including John's mother, Anne Marie.  We talked briefly about some of the people I knew from Dowling when I was growing up in Newton and they recognized the name of one of my friends who I knew.  I said, "I didn't know Vic or Rocco well, but knew them well enough to say, 'Hi'. I had been places where they had been with other friends I knew.  But this was, geez, 35 years ago.  So I'm sure I wouldn't have recognized him sitting with all these people."  

John asked me to come back again and I said I would.  And I will.  I did like the pizza at Sonny's Pizza Bistro.  Once again, Chuck's and Noah's Ark remain my gold standard for pizza in the Des Moines area, with The Tavern coming in closely behind.  But Sonny's is banging at the door, I'm telling you.  Once they got the pizza right, it was very good.  The plentiful cheese and toppings were outstanding.  The service was over the top and I think they were all genuinely embarrassed for the condition of the first pizza.  They did the right thing by getting me another pizza.  And that's the great thing about little family restaurants like Sonny's - they always do the right thing.   

King Kong - Omaha

I had gotten into Omaha early one afternoon and was sort of hungry.  I had to do a training meeting that evening and knew I wouldn't be eating dinner until later on.  I tried to think of someplace that I hadn't been to in sometime and finally it hit me - King Kong!  King Kong is a burger/gyro place on Dodge St. in Omaha (see map).  I decided to go there for a gyro for lunch.  

King Kong's name is interesting enough, but how it came to be is pretty interesting in its own right.  It begins with a young Nick Triantafillou growing up on a Greek island, working almost since he was able to walk.  Growing up, Nick dreamt about going to the United States to join up with his uncle who had a restaurant in Omaha, NE.  Nick left home in his early 20's joining a commercial shipping company where he sailed the seas and worked as the waiter for the ship's captain.  

On a particularly rough journey in 1973 from the United Kingdom to Texas to pick up a boat load of sugar, the young Triantafillou knew he'd had enough of the sea life.  After docking in Galveston, TX, knowing no English and armed only with his uncle's telephone number in Omaha, Nick jumped ship.  He made his way to some friendly Greek locals in Texas who put him on a plane to Omaha to join up with his uncle who ran a gyro shop in town.

Getting a foothold in the restaurant business, the young Triantafillou opened his first restaurant across the river in Council Bluffs, IA - Nick's Sirloin House.  He eventually sold the steakhouse and opened a diner in a small town near Omaha.  Triantafillou then opened a fine dining restaurant - Nick and Diana's - in suburban Bellevue, NE.  None of the restaurants did particulary well, but Triantafillou kept trying.  

Now fully immersed in the restaurant culture, Triantafillou eventually opened a chain of gyro/burger joints across Nebraska called Nick's Gyros.  He had locations in Kearney, Grand Island, Lincoln and Omaha.  He eventually sold off all the locations, but kept the one location at 44th and Dodge in the heart of Omaha's midtown area.  

One of Nick's signature meals was a 1/2 pound burger that he wanted to name after something big.  Getting the inspiration from the original King Kong movie that he saw as a young man in Greece, Triantafillou named his burger the "King Kong".  Not only did King Kong signify the size of his burgers, but also the size of his dinner entrees, including gyros, that Nick's served.  And all at a good value price.  

In 1994, Triantafillou decided to change the name of his restaurant to King Kong and had his lawyer look into whether he'd be infringing on any trademarks.  It turned out that a federal court in the 1970's had ruled that the original King Kong story had become public domain since there were a handful of books and serial articles that had been published about the time the original movie came out in 1933, but it was unclear who actually wrote the first story on King Kong.  

And, amazingly, Triantafillou's lawyer also found out that no one owned the trademark on either the King Kong name or the King Kong gorilla image.  None of the movie companies or publishing houses had trademarked King Kong since it became public domain 20 years prior.  Triantafillou bought the King Kong trademark, the gorilla image trademark, as well as trademarking the "Double Kong" and "Triple Kong" burgers.  That's right - a small restaurant owner in Omaha, NE owns King Kong.  

In 2001, Triantafillou opened a second location in south Omaha, and subsequently opened two other locations including one in Lincoln.  There had been talk of King Kong expanding into Missouri with locations in St. Joseph and Independence, but I don't think those locations have ever opened. 

(Pictured left - The Triple Kong 1 1/2 lb. burger.  Photo courtesy justjdm.com)

King Kong is on the south side of Dodge, just after 42nd St. and before Saddle Creek.  If you're heading west bound on Dodge St. coming out of the downtown Omaha area, you'll have to take the southbound Saddle Creek exit on the right just before King Kong as there's no left turns into businesses along Dodge St.  Get in the far right lane of Saddle Creek and take the eastbound Dodge Street exit.  It cloverleafs up and around to eastbound Dodge just before the entrance to King Kong on the right.  It was around 1:30 p.m. when I pulled into the parking lot of King Kong, well after the noon time lunch rush.  But it was still busy enough where there was a fair sized crowd inside the dining room when I went in.

The menu is located on on a lighted marquee board behind the counter.  In addition to gyros and burgers, King Kong also features steak and dinner entrees, Philly cheese steak sandwiches, salads, as well as a number of Kid-sized meals for the youngsters.  They also have daily specials through the week.  I was going to get one of their gyros since it had been a long time since I last had one from King Kong - probably more than 10 years ago.  A young lady with an Eastern European accent took my order for a gyro.  Within a minute it was up on the counter waiting for me to pick it up.

I found a seat in the back corner of the dining area.  There are a series of white-topped tables with matching ice cream parlor-styled chairs throughout the place.  The dining room decor sort of has a faux jungle/tropical color and kitschy feeling to the room.  It also feels a little more cramped than cozy in the dining area as the tables are close together.  

The gyro, itself, was huge (above right).  It was piled with gyro meat, fresh onions and tomatoes all swarming in King Kong's homemade tzatziki sauce.  Even with a fork, it's a messy delight.  The gyro meat was flavorful and tender.  Oh, there were a couple pieces of the gyro meat where it was a little more done than others, but it was still edible.  The onions were overly fresh and somewhat powerful.  Given that it was early spring, the tomatoes were surprisingly fresh.  And the homemade tzatziki sauce was a great complement for the whole gyro.  The pita bread was soft, pliable and chewy.  The gyro at King Kong was exactly as I remembered it to be from the last time I had one a number of years ago.  

True to its name, King Kong gives you a lot of food at a great value.  My very large gyro cost $5.99 and it was more than a regular lunch meal for me.  I was stuffed after I left King Kong.  I've never tried one of their burgers so I may have to go back at some point and get one.  I doubt if it will be either the Double or Triple Kong burgers (they even have a "Super Kong" 2 lb. burger on the menu), but the 1/2 pound King Kong burger should be able to work for me.  But the gyro at King Kong is still worth going there to get one.  It's no wonder all four King Kong locations in Omaha and Lincoln are a favorite with the locals.     

Crabby's Bar and Grill - Coal Valley, IL

We had to go over to the Quad Cities main U.S. Post Office facility in Milan one evening to drop off some mail to send out late. It was past 6:30 and I figured we'd just go get something to eat over on the Illinois side of the river that night. I threw a couple places out and Cindy wasn't thrilled with either one. She said, "We need to go someplace new." (She's getting into the spirit of Road Tips wanting to find new places for me to write about.) "Let's go to that log cabin place over here a bit. You know, the one with the neon palm trees." She was referring to Crabby's Bar and Grill in Coal Valley, IL. (See map)

We had been past Crabby's on numerous occasions, albeit the backside of Crabby's that sits up next to Interstate 280. The site on which the bar and grill sits is the site of the original Quad City Speedway. When the Interstate was built about 40 years ago, the speedway closed up and moved to East Moline. The original building that Crabby's became started out as the Speedway Inn. It later became Powers' Country Store before it became the old Fleetwood Tap and Liquor Store. In 2001, Lori and Bill Rotz bought the business and turned it into Crabby's Bar and Grill. They kept the liquor store that was attached to the side of the building. Lori Rotz was no stranger to the restaurant business having been the general manager for The Captain's Table for over 12 years.

In 2006, a roofing crew was working on the roof of Crabby's when a torch used to melt tar accidentally caught some of the structure on fire. In no time the fire engulfed the building, gutting it and causing the structure to be a total loss. With the help of friends and patrons, the Rotz's rebuilt Crabby's on the original foundation, changing the floor plan to include a larger bar area with more seating. They were able to reopen in the spring of 2007.

The bar, itself, is a large rectangular structure that can seat 25 to 30 people. On the west side of the large, well lit room are pool tables and games. There's a covered beer garden just outside the west side of the building.  The opposite side of the dining area has about a half dozen booths and high top tables. On weekends, Crabby's features live music and there's a set up area for bands on the floor on the east side of the restaurant. 

We sat in one of the booths along the south wall near the in-house entrance to Crabby's liquor store. Our waitress for the evening came over and handed us a couple menus.

The menu is primarily typical bar food - burgers, sandwiches, salads, appetizers - but they also featured an 8 oz. New York strip with a baked potato and Texas toast for $8.45. That sounded like a helluva deal. They also had comfort food such as hot beef and meatloaf sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gray. They had a Philly cheese steak sandwich and something they called the chicken cheese steak sandwich. It was intriguing, but I was looking for something else.

Our waitress came over to check on us and Cindy asked, "What are you guys known for?"

The waitress pointed at the menu and said, "Well, the steak dinner is one of my favorites and one of our more popular dinners. We have hand-pattied cheeseburgers that are pretty good. Our reuben is very good." She certainly got my attention when she said "hand-pattied cheeseburger".

She gave us a couple more minutes and I needed it. I really didn't know what I wanted. It was a toss-up between the hot beef sandwich and the reuben. I thought about the burger, but decided I really didn't want one. Actually, I wasn't really sold on either the hot beef or the reuben.

When our waitress came back, she asked if we were ready to order. Cindy was, I wasn't, so she spoke up right away. She took the steak dinner, "medium, but to the medium-rare side."

All too quickly it was now up to me to order. I took a quick look at the menu hoping for some divine intervention that would steer me to something and I saw the pork tenderloin sandwich - grilled or breaded and fried. Out of the blue, I heard myself say, "I'll take the grilled pork tenderloin." The normal garden vegetables came with it, but I just had her put onions and pickles on it. I also got a side of fries with it to make it a basket. You get your choice of five or six sides with the basket.

After the waitress took our order, Cindy exclaimed, "Pork tenderloin? Where did THAT come from? You didn't even mention the tenderloin when you were trying to figure out what you wanted."

"I know," I replied. "Something just told me to get the tenderloin."

And I'm glad I did. When she brought it out, the grilled tenderloin was bigger than the bun - and the bun wasn't small by any stretch. It had a good, chargrilled smell to the sandwich. It looked pretty damn good. And it was.

The bun is what what made the sandwich. It was light and fluffy, and had a great taste to it. The bottom half of the bun looks flat in the picture above right and that's because I pressed down on it to cut the sandwich in half. But the crown of the bun was overly flaky and held together very well. It was a damn fine sandwich.

Cindy was very impressed with her steak dinner - especially for $8.45. The steak looked bigger than 8 ounces and was cooked exactly as Cindy wanted - more medium-rare than medium. (Would that be medium-rare plus?) The chargrill marks on the steak looked like she got it from a regular steakhouse.

The waitress had taken my water glass away to refill it and Cindy said, "I wonder if they have horseradish here."

I said, "Oh, I doubt it. Unless they make their bloody mary's with it."

When the waitress came back with my water, Cindy asked if she had any ground horseradish. "Sure! I'll get some for you," was her exuberant reply. A place like Crabby's having fresh ground horseradish was certainly surprising to me. In a bit, the waitress brought back a little container of horseradish for Cindy's steak. Our waitress was very good, really on top of things and helpful all throughout our visit without hovering over us.

I was overly impressed with my sandwich, Cindy's steak and the overall service at Crabby's Bar and Grill. Everything about Crabby's was surprisingly very good. You wouldn't think a bar and grill like this would have as good as food - and at as good of a value. It's not an exquisite steakhouse, nor is it fine dining. But for a burger, sandwich or a great deal on a very good steak, Crabby's is tough to beat. We told the waitress before we left that we'd be back at some point. The next time, I'm getting the burger.

(Update - We have since been back to Crabby's and I did try the burger.  Unfortunately, it's a processed, frozen burger patty that they get from a local food distributor.  Then they overcooked it and there wasn't much flavor or juiciness left in the burger when it was served to me.  However, my wife got the steak special again - the price has now risen to $9.49 (which is still a great deal) - and it was still very good.) 

Hickory Park - Ames, IA

Years ago, I used to call on a stereo shop in the Campustown (aka Dog Town to some of the locals) area of Ames, right next to Iowa State University.  There was a small barbecue place not far from the store ran by an old man by the name of George Battle - Battle's Barbecue.  It was more of a hole-in-the-wall place but George had great barbecue.  I remember Battle's Barbecue was always compared to another barbecue place in Ames called Hickory Park.  I really liked Battle's Barbecue, but had never tried Hickory Park before. Since my blog has taken off with the number of readers I get on a daily basis, a number of people in Central Iowa have told me about Hickory Park in Ames.  My wife even ate there when she was in Ames for meetings last year.  I've heard both ways - some loved the place, others didn't think much of it.  I was driving between the Twin Cities and Des Moines recently and decided to stop in and get some lunch at Hickory Park just to see what others were talking about.  

I'd known about Hickory Park for a number of years, considering they've been in business since 1970.  It was in a small building on East Lincoln Way that Dave Wheelock opened his first barbecue place.  Winning over the locals with his St. Louis/Kansas City-style barbecue, it became apparent that he needed a larger space.  

At the start of 1982, Hickory Park moved to a larger location on SE 16th St. in Ames.  Wheelock was able to more than triple the number of patrons he was able to seat at one time to nearly 200 people.  15 years later, Hickory Park moved to its present day location on S. Duff, one of the main drags in Ames (see map).  It's large building with equally large parking lot is easy to find for anyone coming north off of Highway 30.  

Hickory Park cooks their meats in a special grill oven that combines an open flame with convection heat, then they pot braise their meats, glazing the meat with barbecue sauce, then putting it on the grill again to finish it off.  That is certainly an interesting way of barbecuing their meat and one that some barbecue snobs turn up their nose at.  But it if tastes good, like some people think it does, why not do it that way?  I had to find out for myself.   

I got into the restaurant around 1:30 and there were a number of people standing around.  I went to the hostess stand and told her it was just me.  She said, "I can seat you right away."  

As we walked back into the large dining area, I asked the hostess, "Weren't those people back there ahead of me?"

She said, "Yeah, but they're two large parties and they're waiting for a large table to open up.  I can get you to a small table no problem."

She sat me down along the west wall of the restaurant with the windows looking out toward S. Duff Ave.  The dining area was huge, segmented into smaller dining rooms that seemed to have a different motif in each area.  There was an area that had an old 1890's type of decor, while the dining area I was seated in was sort of rustic with a number of old signs and antique lights hanging from the ceiling.  Even at 1:30 in the afternoon, I would say the place was well over half full.  

She gave me a menu to look over and the first thing I noticed was that it wasn't just barbecue they did at Hickory Park, but they had nearly a dozen burgers to choose from, as well as a like number of specialty sandwiches, salads, deli sandwiches and entrees including a number of smoked meat platters.  I get a little worried when a restaurant offers so many things to eat.  Most of the times they do all of them good, but it's generally not outstanding. 

But I was there for the barbecue and I wanted to try a little bit of two or three of their meats.  They had a combination dinner that featured sliced beef brisket, sliced pork and sliced turkey for $7.25.  Two sides came with that and I got their cole slaw and their baked beans.  I got a beer to go along with the barbecue. 

My waitress brought out my meal less than 10 minutes after I ordered it (no wonder the place is so busy at lunch time).  There were three large slices of both pork and beef and a large slice of smoked turkey.  I used some of the barbecue sauce that was sweet, a little tangy and had a little smoky taste to it.  The sauce was OK, not the best I've had, but just OK.  

The three meats were all thickly sliced for barbecue.  They weren't as tender as I would have liked it to be, but they were sort of flavorful.  The beef brisket had a nice smoke ring around the outer edge and out of the three it was the most tender.  

The pork was good, but not outstanding.  I couldn't tell if they used a rub on the outer layer of the pork, but it had a slightly smoky flavor.  

I usually don't get smoked turkey (or chicken, or that matter) when I go to a barbecue place, but this was not bad.  Turkey is usually dry and while this was far from moist, it wasn't overly dried out and overcooked like I've found at other places.

The beans were pedestrian, but livened up a bit when I added some more barbecue sauce.  And the cole slaw was rather bland.  I just had a couple small bites and gave up.  

The waitress came back around to see how I was doing and I told her that I was full.  She said, "No room for any ice cream?"  Nope, not this time.  It turns out that another big draw for Hickory Park is their old fashioned ice cream parlor that features an extensive menu of malts and shakes, splits and parfaits, and sodas and floats.  They have over a dozen different types of ice cream to choose from at Hickory Park and it appeared that a number of adults and youngsters at the place were enjoying their desserts.

But the meat portions that I got on my plate were a great value for $7.25.  I was certainly stuffed by the time I finished off the brisket, then the pork, then made a dent in the large slab of turkey.  While I can't say that Hickory Park was the best barbecue I've ever had, it's not bad at all.   The beans were just all right, the cole slaw was "eh!", and the sauce was serviceable and did it's part in help with the overall taste of the meat.  But even though the food was a great value at Hickory Park, I couldn't help but wonder if Battle's Barbecue is still in business.  

Major Goolsby's - Milwaukee, WI

I have recently been going through the bulk of my past posts, cleaning them up a bit, fixing font problems from when I used Internet Explorer as my primary Internet portal, and posting a number of blog entries on Urbanspoon. I was very surprised when I found that even though I had Major Goolsby's in Milwaukee as an honorable mention on my Best Burger List, I had never really done an in-depth look at the place. During a recent visit to Milwaukee, I decided to stop in for a burger at Major Goolsby's.

Major Goolsby's is one of the original sports bars in America. It opened in 1970 under the ownership of Jerry Cohen.  Cohen also owned a local watering hole called Someplace Else.  He hired Tom Shepard to first manage Someplace Else, then took Shepard over to Goolsby's to be the first manager there.  Shepard went on to own a number of restaurants including his namesake Tom Shepard's Saloon, Dos Banditos, Jordy's Fox Point Inn, the Brown Bottle and Brew City Barbecue.  

When Major Goolsby's opened, it really had no name.  I understand that the first year they were opened, the local phone book had them listed as "The Bar With No Name."  After trying to figure out a number of names (including "East of Mecca" - U.S. Cellular Arena just across the street to the west of Major Goolsby's used to be known as the MECCA - Milwaukee Exposition Convention Center and Arena), he settled on Major Goolsby's Pub and Grill.  

Another key person in the history of Major Goolsby's was an old college buddy of Cohen's, Leo Damge.  Although he didn't have a stake in the business, Cohen thought of Leo Damge as a partner as Damge kept the books for Cohen's businesses.  There's a comic poster of "Leo the Cop" on the door that enters the basement at Major Goolsby's and the character is based on Leo Damage.  Leo passed away in 2003 but his spirit still lives with "Leo the Cop".

As a sports fan, I dig the memorabilia that Major Goolsby's has collected over the years.  They have pictures, jerseys, even bunting from World Series games on display.  There's old programs from games and news articles that you can take a glimpse of.  More than once, I've grabbed a beer at Goolsby's and just wandered around looking at all the stuff they have on display.

Our first introduction to Major Goolsby's happened years ago during a visit to Summerfest in Milwaukee. Summerfest started 45 years ago and Major Goolsby's has been one of the vendors for all the festivals held at the Henry Maier Festival Park for about 40 of those years. My cousin lived in Milwaukee for a time a few years ago and would have us come up for Summerfest.  It became a ritual for us to have a late night Major Goolsby's charbroiled burger before we left to go back to his place for the evening. The burger patties weren't all that thick, so getting a double cheese burger to sop up all the beer in my stomach was the usual order I had at Major Goolsby's. 

(Picture right - patrons lining up at the Major Goolsby's window at Summerfest. Photo courtesy of OnMilwaukee.com)

Major Goolsby's is located at the corner of West 4th and Kilbourn in the heart of the Old World 3rd Street area of downtown Milwaukee (see map).  As I said earlier, it is right across the street from U.S. Cellular Arena and across and down the street from the Bradley Center. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee basketball teams play at U.S. Cellular Arena, while the Milwaukee Bucks of the N.B.A., the Milwaukee Admirals minor league hockey team, and the Marquette Golden Eagles play at the Bradley Center. Because it can seat nearly 500 people, Major Goolsby's is the epicenter for fans before, during and after hockey and basketball games in Milwaukee.

In 2005, Sports Illustrated listed their top 25 sports bars in the nation and Major Goolsby's was listed at 4. Now, I don't know if Sports Illustrated listed them in order or in just in fashion of a random 25, but Major Goolsby's makes a big deal about being ranked as the 4th best sports bar in the nation per S.I. With a number of televisions and three areas to sit and view games, it is pretty impressive for a sports bar. And earlier this year, Fox News named Major Goolsby's as one of the top sports bars in America.

It was just before noon when I got into Major Goolsby's. The downtown lunch crowd was beginning to filter in and I took a seat at one of the high tables in Goolsby's main bar area. The menus are located on the table held between a bottle of ketchup and the salt and pepper shakers. My waitress came over to greet me and asked me what I wanted to drink. I thought it was a little too early for a beer, so I just went with water.

The menu at Major Goolsby's isn't all that extensive. Besides their burgers, they have a number of bar-type appetizers, a couple variations of a grilled chicken sandwich, brats, hot dogs, and a barbecue pork rib sandwich. On Friday's Major Goolsby's features a fish fry dinner for $11.25.

But I was there for a burger. The Major cheeseburger and the Major bacon cheeseburger are the big draws at Goolsby's. Both feature double patties of beef, topped with cheese. The bacon they have on the Major bacon cheeseburger is smoky and crisp. I didn't feel like having a double that particular day so I ordered up a single bacon cheeseburger. Fries are extra ($2.45) and I passed on them or any other side.

It's hard to categorize the burger at Major Goolsby's. Honestly, there's not much to it. It's a large, yet thin and somewhat overcooked patty placed on a toasted bun that's average at best. The bacon is sort of crumbled on top and it's so crispy it's sort of tough to chew. While it's not the best burger I've ever had, and it's far from the worst. 

That charbroiled taste of a Major Goolsby's burger is the key.  I don't know what it is about the taste of their burgers, but I really like it.  It's so hard to figure out because if you take a look at the burger, it's really nothing special. And the cooking technique is just throwing it on a flame grill.  I don't know if the grill is seasoned with years and years of cooking thousands and thousands of burgers on it.  I'm guessing it almost has to be.  But the charbroiling of the burgers gives them that signature taste that I crave from time to time.

 

The food at Major Goolsby's should almost be secondary to the draw of dozens of televisions on which to watch any sporting event.  The minimal menu pretty much tells you that is the case.  If you want to take a look at years of Milwaukee and Wisconsin sports memorabilia, Major Goolsby's is the place to go.  The burgers may not be for everyone and maybe it's because of my fondness for Summerfest, but Major Goolsby's bacon cheeseburgers bring back a lot of great memories of fun times we had years ago.  But you don't have to wait for any of the number of festivals they have in Milwaukee to get a Goolsby's burger.  Just go to the corner of West 4th and Kilbourn and get a burger.  But don't pass up the chance to look at an extensive collection of sports memorabilia.