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Second stop March 13th a Friday is The 5-8 Club. After leaving Matt's Bar I head South on Cedar Ave. to The 5-8 Club. It is only a 2 mile drive, quick right, not during rush hour!! I get there and the parking lot is full with overflow into the street. I park across the street at a church and enter through the back. Think Supper Club when you think 5-8. Where you enter is the "sit down area" and it is full, 5 pm and packed!!! Well I am not sitting here, off to the bar. I go to the bar and thankfully I get a seat, the last one at the bar. The small bar tables are also full. I get my beer and start small talk to the guy on my right, Nick is his name. We talk a bit of NCAA Hoops, then burgers. I tell why I am here and that I just was at Matt's Bar. I also tell him I plan on going to The Nook. He tells me that is a good place and that he goes there a lot. The guy on my left hears our conversation, his name is Dave and he joins in on the burger talk. Dave tells me that "Man vs. Food" filmed here recently (The show is on the Travel Channel) and that he got interviewed while they filmed. Now I have to DVR the show, March 25th I think, and see how he did.
After some more Burger talk I buy a round of beers for the 3 of us. Lets say Nick drank his without a thank you, talked with his friends and left. No thank you or even offer to buy a round, beer. I don't like Nick.... Dave I like!!! We chatted some more and he bought me a beer as a Thank You. He did not have to, a Thank You would have been enough. While we chat the waitstaff is thinking of what to write in my Hamburger America book. Bobbie, my bartender is a blast!!! She is a smart ass that will dish it out but will take it also (Love ya Bobbie!)
By this time I am hungry and Dave is also. I look at the menu, at The 5-8 Club you can stuff your Burger with different cheeses. Matt's is American Cheese only. I am thinking of trying Swiss Cheese. I check to see what Dave likes to order....Swiss...good! So I order a Juicy Lucy with Swiss. I also can order to my liking, not like Matt's. I order it Medium Rare and fried onions. As a side I get JOJO's. (Pictured is my Lucy and JOJO's) Dave usually gets a Lucy but not tonight. He goes with a California Cheeseburger, which is lettuce, tomato, mayo and Swiss as a cheese.
My order takes longer so Dave gets his first. Not long after though I get my order. As you can see my Lucy has a toothpick in it with a colored top. That tells the cook, staff what kind of cheese is inside. I start on my JOJO's to let my Lucy cool. Let's say the JOJO's could feed 2-3 people easily! Now it is time for the Lucy. I take a bite..... OH MY was it good!!! Cook to order, medium rare, so some pink. Not like Matt's a Hockey Puck... or well done. The 5-8 Club's Lucy was good, moist and messy!!! Bobbie asks how it was?? I say "Great, better then Matt's!" There I said it. I get so full I have a hard time finishing my JOJO's. Burger coma sets in, yep sleepy. I get a shirt from Bobbie and she and Lisa sign my book. I tell you what they wrote but that is for Dave and I to know! My meal was cheap, 5 beers (Nick you owe me one!) a Juicy Lucy and JOJO's just over $20 but my time there was priceless.
A big thank you to Dave and Bobbie for a great time I had sitting at the bar at The 5-8 Club. If you missed it I said the Juicy Lucy is better at The 5-8 then Matt's got it!!
The 5-8 Club
5800 Cedar Ave. South
Minneapolis MN 55417
612-823-5858
Next stop... The Nook
March 13th 2009 My first stop Matt's Bar, Minneapolis. I get there about 4 pm. I have my Hamburger America book and the bartender asks where I am from. I tell her "I am from Madison WI (Waunakee actually which is a burb' of Madison.) I told her I was up in the Twin Cities for the weekend doing Burger research. Gigi, the bartenders name, asks if i do Burger research every weekend. "No" I say. "I had some free time and wanted to visit the Twin Cities for some Burgers." " So it is a hobby then?" she goes. "Yes you could call it that." I say with a laugh.
I order and Jucy Lucy and a beer...............minutes later........my Jucy Lucy arrives. I ask Pauly the cook, "How long should I wait?" "As long as you want but take little bites to start." He tells me. I guess I followed the directions correct, I did not burn my mouth on the hot cheese!!! The bun is good and the cheese oozing out is something special. Yes I make a mess, the cheese pools on my wax paper. The cheese pooling reminds me of Solly's Butter Burger and the way the butter drips and pools on the plate. I use my Burger to wipe up the cheese before it hardens. That is all I ate at Matt's, I had to save room for another place that night.
The Burger takes longer to cook then normal, about 5-6 minutes per side. Sure the Burger is well done but the little surprise inside is worth it. It is so runny it is almost like melted butter. It got busy when I got my Burger. I would say about 5 booths were full and a table in a 20-25 minute time. Gigi told me that by 6 pm there may be a line out the door. A good sign right!! Paul gives phone orders about 15 minutes to pick up. That is a good time when there are 14-16 Burgers in the griddle (Pictured, wish it was better.) They must have served 16-18 people in a half hour not counting carry-outs.
Once again a neighborhood bar where they know your name....sounds like some lyrics to a sitcom right! Again the last few minutes I am at a place I get some good quotes/info. A man comes up to the bar to pay for his family's meal. He tells Gigi that his son (about 8 yrs old) told him that was the best burger he ever had. He told his Dad this in the bathroom!!!! The wife of the man sees my Hamburger America book and we chat a bit about what I am doing. They ask what is the best burger I have had. Now I hate that question but I answer it. I tell them "Bud's Bar in Sedalia CO and Solly's in Glendale WI." I swear I answer it different each time haha. After some more small talk I purchase some T-shirts from Matt's as a little reminder of the place stuck in the 50's. I also get my book signed by Gigi and Pauly. I have a nice collection of signatures in the book now!! If you like a well done Burger, this Burger is for you, so go have a Jucy Lucy and check out the decor at Matt's Bar.
Matt's Bar
3800 Cedar Ave. South
Minneapolis MN 55407
Next Stop #2 The 5-8 Club.
My brother has gone with me on a couple burger trips around the area. I also take him to places I liked. This time I took him to Five Guys. He loved the burger!! I told him I never take him to a place with a bad burger. He had the Cheeseburger with Fried Onions, while I did the Bacon Cheeseburger and we split a larger Fry. While I was there I heard a cook say that another one would be opening in the area. Watch out Mickey D's here comes Five Guys!!
So how did I come up with the title Waun-a-Burger, then have a Burger!! Well there is a burger named The Waun-a-Burger. I work at bowling center and that is one of our burgers. The bowling center name, The Waun-a-Bowl. A few business names in Waunakee start with Wauna. What is a Waun-a-Burger?? Well pictured is a 1/2 lb. burger, you also can get a 1/3lb. The 1/3 lb comes on a toasted small squishy bun, where the 1/2 lb comes on a par baked roll or French Round (got me?? but it is good.) We tried to use Brioche once for the 1/2 lb. and people hated the change so we went back to this "Big Bun". The patty is fresh, never frozen. It is a char-broiled burger, that's right. In my travels I notice using the griddle is more common. The Waun-a-Burger comes with two cheeses, that is American and "white" American. We call the white, Swiss. Why I don't know. Also on the burger is a slice of deli ham, which is cooked on the griddle. I use a deli slicer to slice ham myself, thank god I have not lost a finger yet!!! On the side of the Waun-a-Burger you get lettuce, tomato and pickles. What makes it extra good is a side of Ranch. I have been using Chipotle Ranch.....yummmmm. In the picture you will see a large order of fries with the Chipotle Ranch for dipping. That's my house burger and thanks to Matt for making it for me. The Burgers at the Waun-a-bowl are the best Burgers in Waunakee WI. If you are in Waunakee, stop in at the Waun-a-bowl, ask for Todd and we can talk burgers and maybe Matt will be on the grill that day!
Little side note, another Burger Trip coming up.... This time the Twin Cities!!!
Around Thanksgiving I was at Dotty's Dumpling. There I ran into owner Jeff Stanely. I actually go there every few weeks now. I know most of the wait staff by name, is that good or bad!?!? I was talking burgers with Jeff and he gave me a place to try. Paul's Tavern in Dubuque IA. Now I have gone on a one day burger run before that is an hour drive, this would be about an hour and a half plus drive. This will be about 195 round trip. I have been trying to get there for the past two months but weather or something else came up. Finally I had a nice day for the drive from Madison WI to Dubuque.
I get to Paul's about 12:30 pm. Be ready when you walk in! There are wildlife trophies everywhere. All the wildlife trophies are Paul's. Paul's Tavern has about 4 booths and about 16 stools. I take a seat at the bar, I could not get a seat close to the cook. I look up and there is a Polar Bear staring at me. There is about 12 of us at the bar with people coming in and going out. I get a soda and tell the bartender I will order in a bit. What I want to do is just sit and take in what is going on. Little did I know that I will get a lot of info talking with the staff. I think I learned what to ask when I was on a burger research with George.
Now the oven/broiler was made by Norge. I was told it was called a Broilator. I search the web and found Norge but not the broilator stove. I did find an ad though, Norge. When you open the door, the pan slides out towards the cook. The burgers are cooked on both sides by a flame, so no flipping. The burger is fresh and made by hand daily. It is a 90/10 blend and I was told it is about 1/4 lb. The burger is served on a toasted white squishy bun (pictured are my burgers and bun.) They will cook to order and the toppings are cheese, tomato, onion if you want. The Broilator can hold up to 8 burgers at a time. This Norge Broilator was made in 1932 and was new to Paul's in 1948. The original owner Paul is 82 and now his brother Tom has own the place for 18 yrs. Dave another brother works there also and who gave me most of the information about the burger and Paul's. I was told most of the staff is family by a regular.
My burger was HOT, I ordered a Hamburger and a Cheeseburger. No toppings just some yellow mustard. I liked the Cheeseburger best. The toasted white squishy bun was a nice touch. It was not lightly toasted this was done. The price is cheap also, 2 burgers, 2 sodas and a beer under $10.
This place is unique and some people may call it a dive. To me it is a it is a local bar that has it regulars and has not changed in a long time. Nothing fancy here, just a place people go to talk, drink and have a burger. Saturdays are the busiest day for burgers. The day before Thanksgiving and Christmas they offer free turkey and dressing. They serve more burgers that day then they serve the turkey and dressing. Could it be because the next day people will be having it for dinner, I doubt that. Who would pass up a free meal and order burgers instead? Dumb question, I would! What I will remember about Paul's besides the animals mounted on the wall is the way my burgers where cooked. Hopefully I can find some more info on the Norge Broilator. As I am getting ready to leave the jukebox starts to get played. I better get going before one of the regulars grabs me for a dance, I think to myself. I shake hands with Dave and tell him I will be back. An hour and a half trip seems short when you have a good time.
Paul's Tavern
176 Locust St. Dubuque IA
563-556-9944
This event happen on January 17th 2009.
Took my seat close to the griddle as I could. I usually try to do this when I visit places. I do this because I get to watch and second I can talk to the cook or waitstaff. To me it is another Wisconsin Tavern. The decor is great! Once again look at the ceiling, the decorative molding, it is like the Main Depot. Harmony is also a great place to hear Jazz.
Now they sell a lot of Walnut Burgers.... which is a veggie burger. No go for me!! I order a Cheeseburger and fries. The burger is a 1/3 lb. fresh patty. Watching it cook on the griddle, it seemed bigger then a 1/3 lb. The griddle must be on a low setting, it seemed the burgers were on it along time. I am talking 5 minute plus a side it seemed.
The Cheeseburger arrives...I am starving, no breakfast. The Cheeseburger comes on what I call a kaiser bun. It is not a hard roll like you would think but a lot of bun. I am thinking too much for this burger....maybe a 1/2 lb. burger but not a smaller one. Like I said it was on the griddle along time... That being said it is a flavorful, beefy burger. Not dried out and not the juiciest burger either. The burger hit the spot though.
Overall the Harmony is a people's place, neighborhood bar. Blue Collar, hardworking people mixed with the "Professionals." It is a place people got to relax and unwind. I know I will be back. Maybe next time I will try a Walnut Burger....HA HA!!!
Well time to catch up with things. Been awhile since I put a post up. Have to flash back to Christmas. My family knows I am a burger nut and they even encourage it. Heck my brother and Dad have gone on a few burger hunts with me. Pictured is some clothes I got for Christmas. That is a Hamburger America T-shirts, notebook and apron. I guess they are buttering me up so I take them on more burger hunts.
