My old neighbor was telling me a couple three years ago about a place in Eau Claire, Wisconsin that he felt had a terrific burger. "Do you get up to Eau Claire," he asked me over the phone when we were talking football one Saturday afternoon. I told him that I really didn't, but he told me that if I ever did make it to Eau Claire, I had to stop in and have a burger at Mogie's Pub. Well, it turned out that I had an inquiry from a dealer in Eau Claire in the fall of last year and I had to go to Eau Claire to interview them. And I made a point to stop at Mogie's for a burger.
Husband and wife John Mogensen and Lisa Aspenson were both Eau Claire natives who were real estate agents in their hometown. They both wanted to do something a little different with their lives and they ended up buying a building on Water Street that had been sitting empty for three years. In 1994, they opened Mona Lisa, an upscale restaurant with an eclectic Italian-inspired menu and featured one of the first craft beer menus from breweries around the state of Wisconsin. Many of the city leaders felt that Mogensen and Aspenson were going to fail - most of the establishments along Water Street catered to the college students at nearby University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire - and they didn't think they would be able to get adults to come to their restaurant, especially since it was the first non-smoking establishment in the city. At first, they wouldn't even issue them a liquor license because the pair were going to renovate the building. But the couple persevered and Mona Lisa turned out to be a very popular restaurant and continues in business today.
Mogensen and Aspenson continued to work in real estate, but after they got a taste of the restaurant business they looked for new opportunities to buy property to put restaurants into. Just down the street from Mona Lisa was a building that became available in 1996 where John Mogensen wanted to put a little burger and beer joint. His vision of the burger place he had in mind was that it would be more than a shot and a beer joint. He wanted the burgers to be the best in the city and to also have other items to sell for lunch. He named the spot after his father's nickname - Mogie's Pub - and it opened later that year.
Pictured right - John Mogensen and Lisa Aspenson. Photo courtesy Chippewa Herald.
Success of their two restaurants allowed them to procure other buildings around Eau Claire and turn them from blighted properties into restaurants. The pair also run Stella Blues and the attached Red Room tavern, as well as The Livery (also known as the Cowtown Saloon) in downtown Eau Claire where they own a number of other properties that house offices, living quarters and storefronts. Over the years, Mogensen and Aspenson have renovated over 100 buildings in Eau Claire and have owned over 300 parcels of property in and around the city. Lisa Aspenson oversees the couple's restaurant operations while John Mogensen looks after the couple's interests in developments and properties.
My GPS took me right to Mogie's and I was able to find a parking spot just down Water Street from the place in front of a tattoo parlor. (see map) Mogie's Pub is located in a long narrow space that features wooden booths along the wall that is lined with local pictures and whimsical signage. There's a smaller dining area - complete with a moose head hanging on the brick wall - in the back of Mogie's. There's a pool/game room down a flight of stairs in the back room, and there is also an outdoor garden off to the side of the back dining area.
I ended up sitting at the long wooden bar and was given a menu by the bartender. I noticed that they had the Surly Overrated West Coast IPA on tap and I ordered up one of those. Just as he began to pour, the keg blew effectively ending my chance to have the beer. But Mogie's also honors the age-old bar rule that you get a free beer on a blown keg. I ordered up a pint of the Summit Extra Pale Ale. I like the Summit EPA and it was a nice - and free - consolation prize since I couldn't the the Surly Overrated.
Even though I was there for a burger, I noticed that there were other items other than burgers on the menu at Mogie's. Of course there were the normal bar-type appetizers (the jalapeño cheese curds were an interesting item), and they also had salads, wraps and grilled sandwiches such as a hickory-smoked ham and cheese, a grilled portabella mushroom sandwich, and four different types of grilled chicken sandwiches.
They had nine different burgers to choose from at Mogie's. They had a Swiss cheese/mushroom burger, but I've been getting kind of burnt out on that combination (topped with bacon, if available). And I didn't know if I just wanted to get a regular Mogie's Pub Burger that is served with lettuce, tomato and onions with six different types of cheese available to top the patty. The Garcia burger that came with guacamole, salsa, sour cream and sliced tomatoes just sounded too busy for the taste buds.
But one burger that completely caught my eye was the Pepper Jack cheese burger. It featured a 1/2 pound burger patty coated in Southwestern spices and a spicy aioli sauce, then finished with sliced red onions, leaf lettuce and roasted sweet red peppers. It came on a sesame seed bun. For $1.50 more, I could have gotten a side of fries ($2.50 for onion rings), but I knew that I wouldn't be eating many - if any - of the fries.
The burger patty was juicy and flavorful with the Southwestern spices giving it just a bit of spicy bite. The spicy aioli was also a bit spicy, but not overpowering to the overall taste of the burger. The bun was spongy, airy and light, and it held together well with the juiciness of the burger.
For over 20 years, Mogie's has been serving some of the best burgers found in the Eau Claire area - some may even say they are the best. I thought the burger I had at Mogie's Pub was very good - not the best I've ever had - but I could see why my old neighbor was singing the praises of their burger. Mogie's also featured a wide and varied craft beer list with many beers from around the Upper Midwest. It was a nice, clean, well-lit and comfortable. I could tell very easily why it's a favorite place for UW-Eau Claire students and locals, alike. It seems to be a nice little neighborhood place to hang out for food and cold beer.
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