Fred's in Burlington, WI

Buddy
 
Sounds like something I could easily skip.
Ther burgers sound great

Casey,
The apps are there just to keep you from going nuts while you wait for those spectacular burgers.  They do make a dang fine spiral cut fresh potato chip, though.
 
Buddy

Casey9


Buddy

Sounds like something I could easily skip.
Ther burgers sound great

They're pretty darn good.
 
The clientele, however, can be highly suspect at times.
 
Brad

ScreamingChicken

Casey9


Buddy

Sounds like something I could easily skip.
Ther burgers sound great

They're pretty darn good.

The clientele, however, can be highly suspect at times.

Brad

The orange C's on their apparel are the main give away to those unsavory elements.

What's the problem?  Those "orange C's" just stand for "Can't wait to spend all my Illinois money in Wisconsin!"
 
Buddy

So, what's the final time, and who's joining us at Fred's this Saturday?
 
Who's in?
 
 

I think Mr. Maki and I are in, but we have to be back in our neck of the woods by 4:00 or so, so the Roadhouses have to be on time this year.

Since nothing to the contrary's been offered, I'm thinking it's 2pm.  As of right now I'm in.

abe_froeman


I think Mr. Maki and I are in, but we have to be back in our neck of the woods by 4:00 or so, so the Roadhouses have to be on time this year.

OK, 2pm for everybody else and noon for the Roadhouses.

Alas, we'll be there in spirit but not in person.

You guys read my mind; I was getting ready to relight this candle and y'all beat me to the punch.
 
So far, near as I can figure, the weekend meet-ups look like this:
Friday at Irish Fest; The Roadhouses and quijote meeting around 4:30-5pm.
 
Saturday, 2pm at Fred's; The Roadhouses, abe_froeman & Mr. Maki, X1, The ScreamingChickens (good name for a rock band, BTW), and maybe quijote.  Looks like a smallish group this year unless there are folks who are planning to be there but haven't responded yet.  Whoever gets there first, grab a table for seven.
 
Buddy
 
P.S. Maybe I'll put out a Contingent PM for anyone who might have missed this thread.
 
B.

I know Gyp can't go, he'll be out of town...and of course, ChuckL no longer lives here....
 

Yeah, I'm bummed.  Have to miss it again this year.

Thanks for the PM heads up Buddy.
I'll have to pass since I'll be camping at Michigan Speedway and watching the cars turn left. 
Hope to see everybody again soon.
 

what time is everyone meeting up? 
it's a maybe for me (us)...
E

2pm seems to be the agreed upon time.  Here's the address:
 
Fred's Bar
596 North Pine Street
Burlington, WI 53105-1419
(262) 763-8370
 
Pretty easy to get to; I-94 north to Kenosha, then Hwy. 50 west, to Hwy. 83 north into Burlington.
OR
I-94 north to Racine, then Hwy. 11 west straight into town.
 
Hope we see you on Saturday.  BTW, same as last year(s), we're heading to Irish Fest after Fred's and all interested parties are welcome to join us.
 
Buddy

Buddy, I won't be able to go to Fred's on Saturday, but am looking forward to seeing you and the rest of the Roadhousery on Friday afternoon at Irish Fest.
 
quijote

Went to Irish Fest tonight and enjoyed it so much, we've decided to return Saturday. Never been to Fred's in Burlington, so COUNT US IN.
 
Love,
M&N

Latest count for Fred's:
Roadhouses-2
abe & Mr. Maki-2
X1-1
ScreamingChicken-1 (Mrs. SC is on a Roadfood trip of her own)
CSDs-2
 
So, first person to arrive, hold a table for eight.
 
Buddy

Looks like we're a no for sure- 
It's my BD weekend and as corny as it is, we'll be at the Tiki Terrace on Sat night...
Looking forward to some tropical drinks and Hawaiian shirts....

Make that a table for six- Mr. Maki and I have a bunch of stuff we have to get done today, so I we're going to have to cancel.
 
Have fun anyway!

It rained like heck south of Russel Road this morning--knocked out power for a few seconds--but we're still going to Fred's.
 
Our Irish Fest plans may have changed though. We found the talent lineup to be uninspired this year and may just skip it.  However, since we're all the way up in Cheese Land, we're thinking of staying up there to do other stuff.  A stop at The Elegant Farmer and a run up to Milwaukee to do other stuff (besides Irish Fest) are in the cards for us and anyone who wants to join us.
 
See you around 2pm at Fred's (traffic allowing),
 
Buddy

And in a stunning, shocking, near-unbelievable turn of events...
 
the Roadhouses were actually on time!
 
Other than that everything went according to Hoyle.  Fred's was hopping when we arrived and almost empty when we left (like always), the burgers were excellent (like always), and it was a good time (like always).
 
And afterwards we paid a Buddy-recommended visit to Gooseberries, a neat new grocery store on the south side of Burlington.  Unfortunately I didn't have a cooler and without A/C there was no way I could take home anything that needed to be kept cold, but hopefully I'll remember one next year.
 
Brad

ScreamingChicken


And in a stunning, shocking, near-unbelievable turn of events...

the Roadhouses were actually on time!

Ten minutes early in fact!
 
Everything Brad has said about the day is true, although in my effort to work my way around Fred's burger menu I discovered that the Cajun version is not necessarily the best option.  The pepper-jack cheese and "Cajun" spices were actually a bit of a distraction from the superior burger and fresh bakery bun.  Of the Fred's Burgers I've sampled, aside from a simple ungarnished burger with only the bare essentials (ketchup, mustard, pickle, and onion--cheese optional), I think the best versions I've had are the Garlic Burger and the Horseradish burger, although even the Horseradish Burger would have benefited from a more pungent horseradish sauce.
 
On the appetizers and sides front, the fried cheese curds were good, and the house made, fresh potato chips, dusted with Parmesan cheese were outstanding.
 
Other stops in the day included, as Brad mentioned, high-end grocery store Gooseberries, The Elegant Farmer where we picked up a caramel apple pie for a family get-together on Sunday, dinner at a Contingent favorite, Jalapeno Loco (garlic soup and a plate of Oaxacan tamales--excellent as always) and a wrap up at a Milwaukee neighborhood polka bar, Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall, where we enjoyed the Rockabilly song stylings of the Kevin Fayte Rock 'n' Roll Trio; visiting all the way from Oshkosh! I enjoyed them so much, I even bought their latest CD.
 
All in all a grand day in southeastern Wisconsin, and a better time than we had at Irish Fest last night.
 
Buddy

Had a great time at Fred's and at Jalapeno Loco.
Pics are posted on my FB page, as usual.
 
 

Clockwise from left: Buddy, Mrs. Chicagostyledog, Mrs. Roadhouse, and Chicagostyledog (X1 was at the bar placing our food and drink orders).  Note how CSD, ever the paragon of style and fashion, coordinated his outfit with Fred's chairs.

 
The curds.  I hate white foodservice paper because flash causes whatever's underneath to bleed through:

 
The chips:

 
Cajun burger on the left, roasted garlic burger on the right, and both cooked as requested to medium-rare.  Like Buddy, I agree that of the "theme" burgers the roasted garlic is the best:

 
Brad

I'm impressed--for a guy who's still working with film, you got those photos on the site pretty darned fast.
 
I'm working with digital and I still haven't figgered out how to upload a picture.
 
Good job, nice shots.
 
Buddy

Thanks, Buddy.  The local Walgreens has a photo lab so I dropped off the film that night and picked it up the next morning...and it always helps to be at the end of the roll.  I'm sure a lot of us can remember finally seeing holiday pictures 3 months later when Mom finally finished the one in her camera!
 
Brad

It's that time of year gang!  We're less than a month away from Irish Fest in Milwaukee and our annual Burger Bash at Fred's in Burlington.  This year, Irish Fest falls on August 17th and 18th.  We're already planning to go on Friday night, the 17th.  Saturday the 18th is looking iffy based on a weak talent lineup at this year's fest.  But that doesn't mean we won't do Fred's that day.
 
There are some other factors involved.  ann peeples has expressed an interest in doing a Contingent tour in Milwaukee with that weekend looking like a contender.  Annie, if you come through with the tour, we'll skip Fred's and Irish Fest for you.  Otherwise we can do Fred's and either continue up to the fest, or look at other alternatives to spend the day.  chicagostyledog also suggested a Milwaukee tour, so that's another possibility.
 
Let's start with Fred's--who's in for The World's Best Hamburger on Saturday, August 18th?
 
Buddy

I'm pretty sure I'm in.

On one of two college runs....enjoy!