The Grumpy Troll - Brew Pub - Mount Horeb, WI

I set out from work today, having canceled lunch plans with a friend because I didn't want to get her sick (I am just getting over a cold) and decided to go for a drive. Usually when I do this for some reason I head North/East. Not to any place in particular but just kind of a direction, just see where the road goes. Today, however, I decided to go South/West. It was about noon as I went through Waunakee and decided I was hungry. So I started looking for a place to stop. There was a few places in town there, but I just kept driving, letting the roads take me further West, and when they "T'd" I would go South.

I ended up in Mt Horeb, WI. I was here about a year ago with some friends during some festival they had in the street so the main road through was closed. I was going to keep going and just drive until something grabbed my eye. Well, The Grumpy Troll did just that. I have to say first off, that anyplace that makes beer is going to be a bonus in my book. Most of the time I can find one that appeals to me. I had too far to drive today so I didn't have one ~ really.

I walked up to the building and there was a sign that said Bar so I walked in there. Nicely lit place, friendly atmosphere, and you can see the kettles for the brewing. I walked back to the restaurant part and got a table. I was by myself so they kind of set me in the "out of the way" table for stragglers...kinda sorta ignored by waitstaff. I hate that table. So I had a LOT of time to peruse the menu. Looked quite appealing. Many appetizers, salads, burgers, chicken dishes.

I scoped out the burger section. Many selections, but none of which were just burger. All of them had "something" on them. I found a "build your own" burger and asked the waitress when she showed up if I could just get that without adding anything. Answer was a puzzled "of course". After a little bit of time, the burger shows up. It looks quite tasty! Settled on the plate with some waffle fries and burger garnish. I took a bite. Something wrong here. I can taste that it was char grilled. The meat had no flavor. Ok, that may be a bit harsh. It had some flavor, it tasted like beef. I looked at the table for some mustard to put on it, but believe it or not, in Mt Horeb, the Mustard Capital, you have to ask for it. I didn't bother.

Maybe I expect too much, I don't know. But in MY opinion, once you have a burger that has the flavor THEN put the fixins on it, THEN you have the awesome burger you set out to have.

The Grumpy Troll... I would probably stop back in here if I was in the area. The place was clean, not terribly expensive for a brew pub, and the menu looked like there was some good things on it. But if I am in Mt Horeb and hungry for a burger, probably gonna pass this place right by.

T.J. Hooligans, Prior Lake, MN

I went to this place because I picked up a new hobby recently - Karaoke. I don't claim to be any good, I just don't care if I am bad anymore. I was up visiting my sister in Burnsville MN, and I have a friend ("D") that lives north of the Cities. I had mentioned to "D"that I was doing some Karaoke around where I live and she suggested we go out and find a place up there. I am not sure how she found it, one of her friends came along and I think she surfed the web and found "Karaoke near Burnsville on Thursday Nights". So the 3 of us met at this place, never having been there before (my sister showed up later).

We were seated in an area kind of near a fire place. (it was 70° outside, so not in use). I had mentioned to "D" that I was thinking of doing this blog, and decided that I wanted to have a hamburger for it. I think she had an enchilada or something and her friend had a prime rib sandwich. The burger, had no taste. I salted it, I peppered it. It tasted like salt and pepper. I put mustard on it. It tasted like salt, pepper and mustard. There was no helping this burger. Since I started thinking about doing this, this burger was probably the worst one, for a burger that was expected to be OK. If I am back in the area on a Thursday night, I probably won't be back to T.J. Hooligans... sorry TJ

Cardinal Ale House and Bowl, Columbus WI

So, a few days after (don't be alarmed by the dates) I was invited to another friend of mines 40th birthday gathering. The bowling alley in Columbus WI had a special on Tuesdays called "Bucket Night"

One dollar domestic beers and that night it was also $1 burgers and $1 fries. Pretty cheap if you have a crew that you are wanting to feed. I think for everybody there we left after paying maybe $25. And that included a few games of bowling.

These burgers were a bit on the small side. I didn't expect much for a dollar, and I wasn't disappointed. I ate 2 of these things, and also took a bite of the paper plate they were served on. The plate had no flavor, the burger just slightly more. I almost drowned it in ketchup, but then remembered I quit using ketchup. Would I go back? More than likely... $1beers $1burgers $1fries. If cheap is what you are looking for, this is a pretty good spot to go.

The Pit Stop, Sun Prairie WI

For being the first burger that I had after I decided to write my blog, this one was actually pretty good. They char-grill them here and that always adds a bit of flavor. I don't know if they season the meat as its grilled, to be honest, I didn't pay attention to the bartender.

Met my friend "J" there after work, she had JUST finished moving and needed a beer. ("J" had the hot chicken fingers and cheese curds)

The burger was the size of the bun, and you can tell it appears to fill the typical bar basket. I bit into it, not sure what to expect. I was use to ordering the fancy burgers with all the toppings, but I decided if I am going to do this, I want the unadulterated burger. I had mentioned to "J"my thoughts about writing a blog about burgers so she was watching with anticipation for my reaction. I bit down and wow! It was probably one of the better burgers I have had in a LONG time.

I would recommend anybody looking for a good bar burger to stop in here and try this one.

I don't know if I am going to come up with a rating system or not for my finds, but for the recent past, this one certainly ranks right up there.