If you're a regular reader of Road Tips, you'll recall an entry on Weiderholt's Supper Club in the small southeastern Minnesota town of Miesville, near Hastings. (Click here to see that entry.) The only reason I ended up having a meal at Weiderholt's (and a great meal, it was) was because my original culinary target - Kings Bar and Grill, just down the road for Weiderholt's - was closed on a Monday night. Still needing to get back to Miesville for a chance to have a King burger, I made a point to head up to the Twin Cities through Rochester on a recent trip, taking backroads off of Highway 52 to Miesville.
As I pointed out in my previous post about Weiderholt's Supper Club, there's not much to the town of Miesville which has a population of roughly 130. But it still has a town baseball team - the Miesville Mudhens - that play summer league amateur baseball at Jack Ruhr Field. Minnesota has a number of "townball" teams that still play baseball in the summer and they still embrace the heritage of small town baseball. Growing up in a small town in Central Iowa that had a summer league baseball team, I fully understand the culture of "townball". Miesville's team is a "Class B" team in the Minnesota Baseball Association, which means it has to get its players from a 15 mile radius around the small town making it a truly local team. "Townball" - which used to be big in Iowa until the 1970's - still thrives across the Upper Midwest into the Dakotas.
(Pictured right - Jack Ruhr Field in Miesville. Photo Courtesy Brian Gardner from mnartists.com)
The history of the building that houses Kings Bar and Grill dates back to the towns founding in 1874. The building was a saloon and boarding house for travelers going along the Mississippi River from St. Paul to Red Wing. It later became a combination grocery store, saloon and post office.
In October of 1984, Jerry and Arlene Greenlee purchased the little roadside grocery store/tavern that had a short menu featuring four different types of burgers. Eight years later, the Greenlee's decided to turn the grocery store part of the business into a video rental store. But it wasn't long after that they realized that they could make more money selling their delicious hamburgers.
The Greenlee's knocked down a wall to make their main dining room. They put up pine paneling on the walls, keeping the antique tin ceiling in the process. They added booths and tables in the room that seats about 60 to 70 people. Beer lights and signs that hang from the wall cast a colorful hue across the room. There's also a small room in the back - the Hen's Room - for gatherings, parties or overflow. Today, Jerry and Arlene's son, Jeff, and their daughter, Terri Lawrence, run the business after buying it from their parents over 15 years ago. Terri is the chef and manager of the kitchen. But Jerry and Arlene still stop in daily to check in on things.
I got into Meisville around 8 p.m. and easily found Kings Bar and Grill - also known to the locals as Kings Place - along Highway 61 (see map). A number of motorcyclists were in the parking lot getting ready to take off after undoubtedly having a burger at Kings. I went inside and found a seat at the long bar along the west wall of the establishment. The bartender came by and asked if I wanted to see a menu and if I wanted a beer. They had the Minnesota-iconic beer Hamm's (now brewed by MillerCoors), Grain Belt Premium and Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap - truly a signature of a Minnesota roadhouse bar - plus a number of bottled beers to choose from. I got a Grain Belt as I looked through the menu.
On the walls in the bar area are a number of pictures of Miesville Mudhen teams over the years. And the menu - which features over 60 burgers - also pays homage to Miesville "townball" heritage. The "Triple Play" is topped with bacon and three different types of cheese with green olives and sour cream. The "Shortstop" has sauerkraut, bacon and cheddar cheese on it. The "Bench" features peanut butter, lettuce, bacon and mayo, while the "Concession Stand" has a burger patty AND a grilled hot dog and is topped with sauerkraut, jalapenos, salsa and pepper jack cheese. The "Umpire" burger features pepper jack, bacon and horseradish. That one actually caught my eye.
Actually, my head was spinning from all the different types of burgers. I ended up getting the one that started the whole shebang - the King burger. It's 1/2 pound of ground beef, hand-pattied and grilled on a flat top. (Below left - over 20 burgers cooking up on the small flat top grill at Kings.) On the King burger, you get American cheese, bacon and fried onions. I asked the bartender if he could put some mushrooms on my burger and he said it was no problem. He asked if I wanted any onion rings or fries and I declined. However, I found that I probably should have ordered some fries because the guy next to me got a basket of them with his burger and they smelled great and had that bright golden color to them.
The bartender brought my burger to me about 15 minutes after I ordered it. A knife was stuck into the top of the bun. Yes, it was big enough where I needed to cut it in half.
But first of all, I needed to take a look at the layout of what was going on underneath the bun. The misshapen burger patty was covered with layers of fried onions, chopped mushrooms and a slab of cheese with bacon bits on the very top. I usually don't get fried onions - even though I love the taste, they don't like me. But, I thought, "What the hell..."
After cutting the burger in half, it showed a cross section of a spongy and airy bun with a thick burger patty with the toppings in between. The burger - cooked medium - had a hint of pink in the middle of the patty. That's exactly how l like my burgers.
From the first bite, I was hooked. Do you ever go, "Mmmmmmm...." as you're chewing your first bite? Oh, boy. That was me that night. The King burger was fresh and flavorful, thick and juicy. The bun - which I feel makes or breaks a good burger - was light, chewy and held together very well. It was simply an outstanding tasting burger. It was messy, to say the least, and I used four or five sheets of paper towels they keep close by to wipe your hands and face. At the last bite, I was upset because it was gone and it tasted so good.
Kings is not a fancy place, nor should you expect it to be down and dirty. People of all ages, families, and motorcycle enthusiasts are frequently found at Kings Place - especially on warm summer nights and weekends from April thru October. Remember, they are closed on Mondays as I found out on my first visit. But the return trip for the King burger was very worth it. It's one of the best burgers I've had and I've had a LOT of burgers in my lifetime. If you get the chance to make the trip to Miesville for a King burger - or any one of the over 60 burgers they have on the menu - you will not be disappointed.
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