112103 Tue Jan 21 19:04:54 -0800 2003 8 7 Chicago Area 0 608338 Having had Monday off for the King Holiday,I decided to venture north to Wisconsin to make my own decisions in the battle that erupted below last week for the king of burgers and frozen custard in the Milwaukee area. My first stop was Culvers. A clean reliable looking chain store located just South of Milwaukee. My order there consisted of a double cheese "butter" burger and a small chocolate frozen custard. The burger was excellent in my opinion. The two thin patties were seared so that the outsides were crisp and the insides juicy. The dressing was a bit much and a little sloppy due to an over abundance of mayo. The custard was of a medium richness and was the consistency of soft serve. I would best describe the flavor as milk chocolate. My next stop was the famous Kopp's where I found the burger not nearly as well prepared. I like the crust that searing a burger on a hot sheet grill produces. Kopp's burger didn't have that. However, it was better dressed than the Culvers burger. Not as sloppy, with condiments in a more reasonable proportion to meat and cheese. For those of you questioning what kind of glutton I am, it should be noted that I only ate a couple of bites of the Kopps Burger after having downed the double just 30 minutes earler at Culvers. Kopps is kind of an odd place. It's in a large cavernous building that looks like it may have been orginally designed as a Bank Branch. Yet, the counters have been moved way to the front of the building and the only place that you can eat in house is at a few metal tables standing. There are no sit down tables or booths. There seems to be an awful lot of space wasted in the back of this building that could be used for customer seating if only they'd move the counters back. Kopps clearly was the winner in the custard category. It was obviosus from the density and richness of the product that Kopps uses much higher levels of butter fat in its product than Culvers does. It results in a richer and more chocolatey custard than you get at Culvers. The consistency is more like that of dipped ice cream versus the soft serve consistency of Culvers. All in all. I'm going to have to call this one a draw. In my opinion, Culvers won the burger war and Kopps won the custard war. I, however, lost the heartburn war about the time I got to Kenosha. Tue Jan 21 19:04:54 -0800 2003 0 YourPalWill 1 608342 Will, I knew you couldn't resist. Thanks for the comparison. WHy not copy and paste your commentary on the Midwest board for their edification? Hold onto your chair, there's gonna be some feedback. Regards, Cathy2 Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/121242#660118 Tue Jan 21 20:39:21 -0800 2003 608338 0 cathy2 1 608343 YourPalWill wrote: {snip} “All in all. I'm going to have to call this one a draw. In my opinion, Culvers won the burger war and Kopps won the custard war.” = Dear MyPalWill, IMHO there is no Milwaukee burger war, or custard war for that matter. Kopp’s may have competitors, but they do not have competition. In the same vein, while there are many places that serve butter burgers in the Milwaukee area, Solly’s on Port Washington Road is the King of Butter Burgers. Solly’s serves Butter Burgers on a Pillow bun that has a soft inside and crisp outside. The Butter Burgers are dressed with a large pat of butter on both burger and bun, that drips down your sleeve as you eat them. I like them with fried and raw onions, brown mustard with a side order of extra crisp French fries, though you have to ask for the fries crisp. This, MyPalWill, is a burger to be reckoned with. If you have no fear of triple bypass surgery order a double with extra butter. Solly’s is a coffee shop, counter service only and can get quite crowded at lunch. Solly’s has malts, shakes etc, which are very popular, though I have never had one, as I am not a malt/shake kind of guy. Enjoy, Gary Solly's 4629 N Port Washington Rd Glendale, WI 53212 414-332-8808 6:30am – 8pm Tues-Saturday Closed Sunday and Monday. Tue Jan 21 20:41:32 -0800 2003 608338 0 G Wiv 2 608348 God,all the calories I wasted at Kopp's on their hamburgers when I could have had Solly's AND dessert at Kopp's. Thank you, sir. It may be three or four months but I will go to Solly's. A question: are grilled onions and a double cheeseburger a plus at Solly's or do you feel they're better without these? Tue Jan 21 22:11:00 -0800 2003 608343 0 Joe H. 3 608394 Joe, First, I consider it an honor, privilege and real pleasure to be able to contribute, in a small way, to your culinary quest, you are one of my heroes. I rarely order cheese on a burger, so, in my opinion, no, cheese is not a plus on a Solly’s Butter Burger. Onions, on the other hand, are a definite plus, in fact, I typically order burgers with both fried and raw onions. Single or double is really a matter of personal preference, often I order singles as I enjoy the flavor interplay between the bun, butter, grilled and raw onions as well as the beef, and double burgers can overpower the other ingredients. Though, occasionally, I go with a double, usually when I am only going to eat one burger. Solly’s has, over the last 20 or so years, decreased the amount of butter on regular order burgers, you may, for the full Butter Burger effect, have to ask for extra butter if you want a full-on drip down your elbow experience. I suggest ordering one single, gauging if the amount of butter is to your taste, and then ordering the next accordingly. I must admit that, even though I agree in principle with Calvin Trillin’s statement that any one who doesn’t think his hometown burger is the best in the world is a sissy. My favorite burger in the world is a double chili cheeseburger with extra onions and sport peppers at the original Tommy’s in Los Angles. (Intersection of Beverly and Rampart) A couple of other Milwaukee off the radar places are Zaffiro's, which you have referenced, Jake’s for corned beef, Speed Queen for BBQ (outside shoulder, hot SC mustard based sauce on the side) and Conejito's for steak tacos. Enjoy, Gary Wed Jan 22 21:13:25 -0800 2003 608348 0 G Wiv 2 608373 In addition to me, midwest cardiologsts and manufacturers of artificial heart valves thank you for the recommendation. Wed Jan 22 14:19:21 -0800 2003 608343 0 YourPalWill 1 608375 I posted at some length on the Midwest board about our eating in Milwaukee this past weekend, including Kopp's of course. Gary, I am grateful to the list you compiled and will surely consult it for future reference. Cheers, Aaron Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/121242#660160 Wed Jan 22 14:43:07 -0800 2003 608338 0 Aaron D 1 608380 There is no need to travel all the way to Wisconsin for good frozen custard. Just off Rte. 23 in Sycamore (just north of DeKalb) there is Ollie's Frozen Custard. This is generally considered the best frozen custard in the midwest. It is made from scratch on site and is delicious beyond belief. Wed Jan 22 16:28:30 -0800 2003 608338 0 Gregg Fieffer 2 608382 >>????? I guess that general consideration must be only the midwesterners in Illinois! St. Louisans love their Ted Drewes, and obviously Milwaukeeans love their Kopps. Smokey Wed Jan 22 17:02:04 -0800 2003 608380 0 Smokey