Eddie's Ale House, Sun Prairie WI

So, today was kind of an interesting day for me. Today, I am going to Bristol, TN with 3 friends for the Sprint Cup Race ~ we have gone the last 3 years, AWESOME. This year, we decided to leave on Wednesday night, as opposed to Thursday night. Past years I have taken the day off before we go so I can get the last minute things put together and just have a relaxing day.

Not this year.

This year, I had to work before leaving for the race. Big deal, you say? I didn't think so either. I got everything all packed up, ready to go. Got the cat fed and watered and got to work by 8am. So far So good. I walked in the door and expected it to be just a relaxing day, finish up a few odds and ends, and do maybe some work on a new job. That was pretty much the way it was. My boss told me that I may as well take the afternoon off, because there wasn't much for me to work on. WOO HOO!! I WAS OUTTA THERE!!

I had a few errands to run before going to meet the guys before the race, bank, store, relax a bit before the 13+ hr car ride. The phone rang. My heart sank. My boss called, a customer called and begged him to call me to come back and do a few changes. Being the kind of guy I am, not wanting to leave them in a lurch, I did. I went back and did the few changes. Why they didn't call 3 hours earlier? I'll never know.

I finished the change by about 4:30, still had time to run to the bank before they closed. Got that taken care of and realized I was hungry. But more than that, I was thirsty, thirsty for a nice beer. That got me to thinking about a place I had planned on eating at a couple weeks ago, but instead of a plain burger, I splurged and had their special burger. Today though, I went with the plain.

Eddies Ale House, is a fairly newer place in Sun Prairie. I have known the guy running it for many years. The bar is well lit, TV's where you would expect them to be, and they have many many many different bottles of beer (I hope "ale house" in the name would maybe give that away). I ordered a FAT TIRE.. my current favorite beer, and a plain hamburger. Glen looked at me odd, but said ok. The kitchen at Eddie's is about what you would expect in a tavern. Char-broiler, small prep area, kinda snuck in the back of the place. When she wasn't cooking, I could see the cook cleaning just about everything. That is HUGE in my book.

I got my burger and took a bite. MMMMM.. that was good. I didn't see if there was any spices or added flavors added while she was cooking it, but it had it. Flavor. My mood went from not good, to not a care in the world. Of course, the 4 Fat Tires had nothing to do with that. ;-)

They have a couple different burgers on their menu. The burger I had a couple weeks ago was even better than the one I had tonight, but that had their secret sauce and grilled onions on it. See, once you HAVE the good burger, THEN you add the good condiments!

John John's Stop and Go Inn - Rosendale

I had plans tonight to do some things around the house. Have a few chores that need to be done, but I was driving to lunch and it was such a nice day that I made a phone call and asked Jodi to see if she wanted to go for a ride tonight. I picked her up in Fall River, and we cruised north from there. We made a couple stops and took some pictures, just some interesting things I saw as we were riding, and tried staying off the main roads.
Again, I tended to steer clear of Juneau (still not sure why), but we went north, north east. We drove and chatted, not really paying any attention to where we were and we came up on Hwy26. We went north on 26 til we came up on Hwy151, and here something struck a chord. I knew where I wanted to go tonight.

A few years ago, one of the local taverns (I will review their burger soon) sponsored a bus ride/ticket to a Packers game. While on this trip we ALWAYS stopped in this little out of the way town that nobody other than the bar owner knew where it was. It was a small town called Rosendale. Its kinda between Waupun and Oshkosh. Having been there before I knew this was where I was heading all night.

I told Jodi my plan and she said it sounded OK to her. We pulled in to John John's Stop and Go Inn. There was a few people sitting there, but not too busy. We walked up and sat at the bar and John himself was bartending. Ordering a couple drinks, Jodi made her way to the jukebox and put a couple dollars in. I looked around, and didn't see a grill... thought maybe I was foiled! I was just about ready to mention this to Jodi when I saw the tiny menu posted on the wall in the corner. Burgers, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 lbs. Both kinds of burgers, with and without cheese. I asked him if the grill was open, he kinda gave me a wry smile and turned around to a cabinet sitting on the counter behind him, opened it up, clicked a button and said YEP! When he clicked the button, I heard the thing fire up. He said it was an antique radiant oven. No longer can get parts for it, and not sure what to do if and when it dies. It was smaller than a dorm room size refrigerator.

He warmed the bun on the exterior of this oven, which seemed to do a pretty good job. The burgers themselves were OK. I didn't see John season the meat at all, and it didn't taste like it. I honestly didn't expect them to be as good as they were, seeing how they were made, but for what he had there, John did a pretty good job.

If you happen to find yourself hungry in Rosendale, I would stop in at John John's and say hi to him and try one of these for yourself.

Tommy & Di's "Rustic Inn"

Last week on a whim I went west/southwest on my search for the perfect burger. Today, I called my mom and without saying anything else after she answered, I said "North, South, East or West?" She suggested I drive to the east just to go the opposite of last week. I complained that no matter where I go east, I always end up in Juneau. So, I went east, again trying to stick to back roads and county highways wherever possible. I got to an intersection and looked left "9mi to Juneau" *sigh. I went straight, kept going til I saw off in the distance a church spire. I didn't have any clue where I was but kept driving in that general direction. Soon I came up on a sign that said Holy Hill. I had been near here a while ago for a wedding (not at the basilica itself, but nearby). I cruised around it a little bit, took a few pictures and continued on my quest. I turned south and then took a couple side roads and found myself looking at "RUSTIC INN". Honestly, I drove past it, got about 2 miles down the road and turned around and went back.

When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw that they had part of the building painted Packer Green & Gold. There was even a dog house those colors. Huge parking lot, several cars parked there. In the front, there was "motorcycle parking" that had probably 4-6 bikes parked there. I walked into the building and the first thing I saw was a "Star Wars" pinball machine. Now I realize this is no "PinBot" but having pinball at all is a plus in my book. (I didn't have any quarters so I didn't play). The hostess met me at the door and we exchanged pleasantries. (I like to throw people when they ask how I am, so I say stuff like "peachy ducky!" ~ she caught it right away and laughed)

I was seated at my table and I looked around and noticed there was two large screen tv's dining room. A LOT of tables! Looked to me like the place did a really good business for Friday Night Fish Fry. I looked at the menu and saw it. "FAMOUS HAMBURGER" Before the waitress walked away with my drink order I told her I was ready and ordered one of these...plain.. medium... and a side of fries. (Diet Pepsi for those keeping track). She looked at me with kind of a crooked eye when I said side of fries, but I didn't think anything of it.

I looked around at the few other tables that were occupied (it was 2:30 in the afternoon, so not really busy). The closest had what looked to be home made pizza. Looked GOOOOOD.

I watched the waitress walk across the room with burger. I could see the burger from the other room. I guess what I am saying, this burger is HUGE! Images of John Candy with the Ole 96'er flashed through my head. This burger, I kid you not, looked like it was soo heavy that it broke in the middle when being flipped. I understand now why the waitress looked at me funny when I said side of fries. The fries themselves were a meal too!

I took a french fry and took a bit. Hmm... seasoned! My guess was Lawry's but it was subtle, it was GOOD! This raised my hopes a bit for the burger. I took my first bite. (It barely fit in my mouth) Took my second bite. Hey! this burger was pretty good! There wasn't a LOT of seasoning on it, but for its size, it was juicy and cooked just as I asked. It did have some flavor, it wasn't just a hunk of beef on a bun (which, was a good bun too ~ not your typical restaurant burger bun) I would stop in here and get another burger if I was in the area. Rustic Inn, ya done good.

In the spirit of John Candy, I ate the whole burger. I really shouldn't have, it was HUGE. It is really a good size for 2 people to share it. (I didn't eat all the fries though)