It's Hamburger FOOD WARS in Milwaukee!!

I don't have a lot of info, yet, but FOOD WARS is coming to Milwaukee!
They'll be filming May 6, 7, and 8.
It's the classic and much-revered SOBELMAN'S vs. the young upstart AJ BOMBERS.

May the best burger win!

The best Milwaukee burger can't win. George Webb is not in the contest.

Obviously, you've never had Sobelman's or AJ Bombers.

Webb's are great, for greasy spoon burgers, but they are NOT on a level of AJ's or Sobelman's.

If I had to guess about a Food Wars episode in Milwaukee, I would have guessed Kopps vs. Leon's for best frozen custard.  Of course, Milwaukee is a great burger city, too.

That would be good, too, but neither of those places got on the ball and contacted The Travel Channel.
AJ Bombers started a veritable campaign a couple months ago, and it paid off, obviously.

If anyone in the food biz needs tips on how social networking helps your business grow, the perfect case study is AJ Bombers in Milwaukee. They've made news stories and TV stories not just in Milwaukee, but in the NY Times and some business journals and such.

This latest coup is just one of many. They have a loyal following and a repeat customer base. And it's mainly due to social networking on sites like Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare.

Loved Sobelman's the first time I was there (about 2 years ago), and really disappointed the 2nd time (within the last few months).  The burgers certainly didn't look handpacked and tasted pretty average.  I don't know if anyone has the same sentiments. 

What a marketing coup by AJ Bomber's.  But I think this is a phony Food War.

Unlike some other foods (Itailian beef, hot wings, cheesesteaks, Jucy Lucy's, etc.) when one thinks burgers, no one city jumps into anyone's mind - especially not Milwaukee. 

And as buffetbuster stated, several other things come to mind before burgers when Milwaukee food is mentioned (how about a fishfry war?). 

Furthermore, AJ's and Sobelman's are not even the first two places that I think of when Milwaukee burger is mentioned.  Both places are also very new in Roadfood terms, Sobelman's less than 15 years and AJ's maybe 1 year.  Rivals? - I don't think so.

Each place offers a very good burger and I prefer AJ's burger, but that doesn't mean I won't return to Sobelman's.

Do you choose A?



Or B?



I think this shows that the Food Wars program is stretching to define rivalries where they do not exist.

Another writeup can be found here.

Brad

Brad_Olson


Another writeup can be found here.

Brad

 


Sounds like the Food Wars producers were duped.

I'll bet they won't care as long as they get some good video out of the deal.

Buddy

joerogo

Brad_Olson


Another writeup can be found here.

Brad

 


Sounds like the Food Wars producers were duped.

How so?
How else, exactly, do you think Food Wars/Travel Channel/ANY of these types of shows come up with their ideas? From others...people who contact the producers or the channel.
I'm sure if there's a couple places around you that might make it to Food Wars, DDD, Bizarre Foods, Man vs Food, or any of those types of shows, and you were to contact them, and have others contact them to hype whatever place it is, the producers would at least take a look to see if there's anything worthwhile. They obviously found something worthwhile for Sobelman's vs Bombers. There's no duplicity.
There is, however, lots of media attention, increased traffic for both businesses, and a good draw for The Travel Channel, as well as Milwaukee, in general.

And, FYI, if you think you aren't "duped" every time you watch TV, you need to open your eyes.

X1

joerogo

Brad_Olson


Another writeup can be found here.

Brad

 


Sounds like the Food Wars producers were duped.

How so?
How else, exactly, do you think Food Wars/Travel Channel/ANY of these types of shows come up with their ideas? From others...people who contact the producers or the channel.
I'm sure if there's a couple places around you that might make it to Food Wars, DDD, Bizarre Foods, Man vs Food, or any of those types of shows, and you were to contact them, and have others contact them to hype whatever place it is, the producers would at least take a look to see if there's anything worthwhile. They obviously found something worthwhile for Sobelman's vs Bombers. There's no duplicity.
There is, however, lots of media attention, increased traffic for both businesses, and a good draw for The Travel Channel, as well as Milwaukee, in general.

And, FYI, if you think you aren't "duped" every time you watch TV, you need to open your eyes.

 


Ohhh, attack mode.


This is "how so", IMHO of course:


David Sobelman said he saw the show and called Joe Sorge from AJ Bombers. The two owners launched a viral war, hyping their food on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere on the Internet. The trash talking caught the attention of show producers.
No so called food war existed between the two businesses, so they started one just to get on TV.  


Hmmmm, I'm feeling duped from reading your post.

For more info on shooting schedules and whatnot, check out http://theburgerwhisperer.com/

joerogo

You're SOOOOO RIGHT...EVERY "war" on that show and others has been a real, true war...no hype.

Whatever.

Again...it's you who's being duped if you think any of these shows are "real'.

AJ Bombers has been hyping their product since before they opened. MANY people have compared the two burgers...the classic Sobelman's and Bombers...just not on "paper", so to speak. The two owners know of each other, of course, and Sobelman's is definitely in danger of losing their Best Burger in Milwaukee status. That is LOCAL KNOWLEDGE. If they happened to hype it up for the producers, what's the big deal?
And who cares, anyway?? It's TELEVISION. I wasn't "on the attack" before (although you obviously were). Now? Well....I would be, except that, seeing as you're a non-resident of the city of Milwaukee, I officially don't care anymore what you happen to think.
Have fun watching all your "reality" shows on TV.

Duped!

Of course, the doubters could just come to Milwaukee and do a taste test of their own.....

I agree with X1 on this one.

The only "wars" worthy of this fine television reality type show (I say with sarcasm in case everybody didn't get that) are REAL "Hatfield and McCoy" rivalries that have existed through generations?

So what if the restaurants themselves marketed their way into this episode? Both of these restaurants have been established as having two of the best burgers in the city way before this came up (It is likely joerogo is not aware of that). I suspect that is why they chose each other for combat and this marketing campaign.  Kind of sounds like what this show is about.

Are there other burgers just as good or better in the city? Um, probably, yes, so? This just sounds like silly fun to me. It's okay that TV is that once in a while IMHO. Frankly I'm in the mood for some silly fun and I like that this show is coming to my hometown.

I guess I do want to add that I agree with buffetbuster and JRPfeff in that I would have preferred to see an episode more representative of what is unique about this area, like fish fries or custard, but oh well.  Like I said, silly fun is okay with me!

I was duped by Food Wars.

Until now, I actually thought the places they featured were rivals.  Based on this example, I now doubt that many are.

It is nice to see these local restaurants featured.  It will be one of the few times I watch Food Wars, based on the half episode I previously watched.

There was a food war in the city of Milwaukee and after really ugly and somewhat public fighting the Dom and Phil DeMarinis and Mama DeMarinis pizza battle came to a tenuous truce.
Pizza's were and are basically identical and what made matters worse they are within 2 blocks of one another in the shadows of the somewhat famous Three Brothers Serbian restaurant.
A recap can be found here Food fight   Basically it had to do with an old school Italian promising his sons the business when he died or retired; this after they both had worked hard and had expanded the family business by opening other locations. The daughters disagreed and found an ally in their mother, Lucille aka Mama DeMarini. Truce terms were hush hush but that was a real Food War, not a made for TV kerfuffle. I'd recommend either for a visitor to Milwaukee and if they weren't such big pies, a party could easily do both, what with the short walk and all.
 

Mama DeMarini's
 

Dom and Phil's DiMarini's a short walk away
 
 

I knew I didn't like that show for some reason.
joerogo is right, Duped.
you call those things in the pictures burgers? they look like small patties with a lot of crap piled on.
wheres the beef?

sk bob


.................... you call those things in the pictures burgers? they look like small patties with a lot of crap piled on.
wheres the beef?

 sk bob, Obviously eating swamp grass fed beef has taken its toll.
Here my friend, is a Sobelman creation for you.
 

Got beef?

Want a Bloody from Sobelman's to wash that burger down?

The link I posted above, http://theburgerwhisperer.com/ has pics of AJ Bombers burgers. No skimping on the meat!

Also...Bombers Bloodies have, as a garnish (besides the pickle, lime and lemon wedge), a slice of a bacon and cheese wrapped hamburger patty. 

BuddyRoadhouse


I'll bet they won't care as long as they get some good video out of the deal.

Buddy

Right. I'm sure the production costs on this type of show are about 38 cents and the same amount of people will watch this episode as have watched the other episodes. So it really doesn't matter. I just had Sobelman's yesterday. Haven't had AJ Bomber's yet but would like to get there before this airs.

stack up the patties, thats original.
now I can see from that picture that the patties good size.
that is a good looking bloody mary.
don't knock swampgrass beef untill you've tried it.

Likewise, don't knock the Sobelman's Burger until you've tried it.

See how that works?

Buddy

I'd pass on both of those burgers shown as A and B.

We'll have our own Burger War (see-a smilie.  I don't really want to have a "war") at Gahanna Grill come August.  I'm counting the days.

Buddy

Are burgers even regionally appropriate for Milwaukee? 
 
Most of the shows I saw pitted long time competitors serving regional food items.  The bbq in lockhart, wings in Buffalo, sonara dogs, etc. were worth watching, at least for the last 5 minutes of the show.  And I like the fact that they do blind tasting.
 
As much as I can appreciate two hometown businesses going head to head, it definitely is a break from the shows tradition.  What's next, scrambled eggs in Sheboygan?
 
AND HEY!!!! Who Cares?????  It's ......."NOT" Really Real!!!! Ya Know???? IT'S TELEVISION!!!!!
 
 

Well, everyone knows hamburgers were invented in Seymour Wisconsin by Hamburger Charlie Nagreen. 


(truth to tell-I never heard of the show before X1 made that first post. It is now well covered locally though.)
 

Michael Hoffman


I'd pass on both of those burgers shown as A and B.

Of course you would.

MilwFoodlovers


Well, everyone knows hamburgers were invented in Seymour Wisconsin by Hamburger Charlie Nagreen. 

You lie!  Hoffman was making hamburgers well before that!

I should probably put a smilie somewhere on this post.

BuddyRoadhouse


We'll have our own Burger War (see-a smilie.  I don't really want to have a "war") at Gahanna Grill come August.  I'm counting the days.

Buddy

Oh, it is just that the first one had lettice, and I don't know what else besides the grilled onions, and the other one had pickles and something I did not recognize. I want just grilled onions on mine, and I can't stand lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, etc. on my burgers.

I thought the first hamburgers came from Louis Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut in 1900.

Michael Hoffman


I thought the first hamburgers came from Louis Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut in 1900.

A point of contention that exists to this very day.
I see the Gahanna Grill Beanie Burger has mayo on it. That is a rare condiment in these parts.
I look forward to trying the Louis Lunch grilled beef on toast someday.
 
From Seymour's webpage~
Numerous communities from New Your to Texas claim to be the birthplace of the burger, but no one can supply any evidence dating back to 1885 like Seymour. Early newspaper articles, interviews with contemporaries and Charlie's daughter all verify the burger was served at the Seymour fair in 1885.
 
That seems pretty conclusive to me.
I'll grant Louis was serving something in 1900 but it wasn't the first hamburger.
 
 
Me, I don't really care. It's just a hamburger.
Charlie served his hamburger on bread with onions; Louis served his vertically grilled beef on toast.
Who put it on a bun?
I like mine on a seeded bun, preferably lightly grilled, smothered with grilled onions, dill pickle on the side and often with American cheese.
I'll vary it, but that is what I enjoy most often. Like Carolina Bob's tomato phobia, you can keep the lettuce although I'll eat it if that's the way it is served.

I'm a fan of mayonnaise on a burger -- mustard and relish, too. I never cared for the hamburgers at Louis Lunch. I'd always get a steak sandwich there, but just checking their menu it appears they no longer serve them.

It's ......."NOT" Really Real!!!! Ya Know???? IT'S TELEVISION!!!!

joerogo


Glad you finally got that concept. It took you long enough. 

MilwFoodlovers

Michael Hoffman


I thought the first hamburgers came from Louis Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut in 1900.

I see the Gahanna Grill Beanie Burger has mayo on it. That is a rare condiment in these parts.

I'm not familiar with the Beanie Burger having mayonnaise on it, without someone ordering it that way.

You guys are great! Thanks to X1 for sharing the Food Wars information here. 

Pretty much all of you have it right.  Dave Sobelman called me, challenged me to a food war and asked if I could try to get the show's attention to shoot in Milwaukee.  We figured, good for Milwaukee for sure and good for our businesses absolutely.  The show worked with us to create a battle around the concept of the "milwaukee" burger.  It's all in fun, and for television, no doubt about that. Hope to see you all there. 

Joe 

Hi Joe!

Thanks for posting the details of how this all came about. 

Sure, too bad that they won't let us serve the Pizza Bomber!! 

The Nueske's makes up for that. 

X1

It's ......."NOT" Really Real!!!! Ya Know???? IT'S TELEVISION!!!!

joerogo


Glad you finally got that concept. It took you long enough. 

 
 
Nah, just wanted you to see how ignorant and foolish your posts look. 
 

<message edited by joerogo on Sat, 05/1/10 10:23 PM>

I agree that focus on a more "typically Milwaukee" dish would make for a more credible rivalry, but perhaps hamburgers have higher ratings potential than bureks or fish fries.

In any case, it's not like hamburgers are inappropriate for Milwaukee--this is the Beef Belt, after all, and Wisconsinites do lay claim to the Butterburger.

And rivalries--well, they come and go. Why not a rivalry between a well-established burger joint (Sobelman's) and a newcomer (AJ Bombers)? Even if the rivalry is highly manufactured (the "duping") and lacks a grass-roots base ("authenticity"), it could be seen as a tale of two Milwaukees (the old and the new: the industrial Menominee Valley vs. vibrant Water St.). If this helps market Milwaukee as a "hamburger city," that could benefit old-school places like Solly's, Mazo's, Kopp's, the Nite Owl.... But still, I'm sure some bona-fide, well-established rivalries have origins that could be considered "manufactured" in some way.

MFL,

The least appealing ingredient on a Beanie Burger is the dollop of cole slaw on top.  Not because the cole slaw is all that objectionable, but because they serve a dish of cole slaw on the side as well.  I like cole slaw, but enough is enough.  The next time I go to Gahanna Grill, I will be getting something other than the Beanie Burger.  They got a burger there with melted Swiss and grilled onions that I have my eye on.  I know Michael likes his burgers in a more basic mode.

Buddy

quijote


I agree that focus on a more "typically Milwaukee" dish would make for a more credible rivalry, but perhaps hamburgers have higher ratings potential than bureks or fish fries.

In any case, it's not like hamburgers are inappropriate for Milwaukee--this is the Beef Belt, after all, and Wisconsinites do lay claim to the Butterburger.

And rivalries--well, they come and go. Why not a rivalry between a well-established burger joint (Sobelman's) and a newcomer (AJ Bombers)? Even if the rivalry is highly manufactured (the "duping") and lacks a grass-roots base ("authenticity"), it could be seen as a tale of two Milwaukees (the old and the new: the industrial Menominee Valley vs. vibrant Water St.). If this helps market Milwaukee as a "hamburger city," that could benefit old-school places like Solly's, Mazo's, Kopp's, the Nite Owl.... But still, I'm sure some bona-fide, well-established rivalries have origins that could be considered "manufactured" in some way.

IMHO the above is the best laid out post of this entire thread.  I want to be quijote when I grow up.

Thanks also to AJBombers for chiming in.

joerongo

Nah, just wanted you to see how ignorant and foolish your posts look.

joerongo, you are getting really nasty here. Over a TV show? About burgers? Seriously? I know we take food seriously here at roodfood.com, but jeez.

joerogo

X1

It's ......."NOT" Really Real!!!! Ya Know???? IT'S TELEVISION!!!!

joerogo


Glad you finally got that concept. It took you long enough. 

 
 
Nah, just wanted you to see how ignorant and foolish your posts look. 
 

Poor thing. I'm sure, with your limited understanding capabilities and poor comprehension skills, this all *seems* "ignorant and foolish". I assure you, it's not so. Try not to think on this all overly much. Wouldn't want you to strain your already obviously overtaxed brain.

quijote


I agree that focus on a more "typically Milwaukee" dish would make for a more credible rivalry, but perhaps hamburgers have higher ratings potential than bureks or fish fries.

In any case, it's not like hamburgers are inappropriate for Milwaukee--this is the Beef Belt, after all, and Wisconsinites do lay claim to the Butterburger.

And rivalries--well, they come and go. Why not a rivalry between a well-established burger joint (Sobelman's) and a newcomer (AJ Bombers)? Even if the rivalry is highly manufactured (the "duping") and lacks a grass-roots base ("authenticity"), it could be seen as a tale of two Milwaukees (the old and the new: the industrial Menominee Valley vs. vibrant Water St.). If this helps market Milwaukee as a "hamburger city," that could benefit old-school places like Solly's, Mazo's, Kopp's, the Nite Owl.... But still, I'm sure some bona-fide, well-established rivalries have origins that could be considered "manufactured" in some way.

Perfectly said, Q! As usual. 

XI, At least I know why you are acting like such a jerk over a simple comment I made to Brad.  You got a horse in this race!  All of a sudden Joe Bomber shows up?  Friend?  Relative?  Although, I am sure he doesn't need your rants to justify his business.

Your tirades are as I said, ignorant and foolish.  That's not nasty, just the truth. 

Good luck to the restaurants involved.   

While I've met Joe, he's not a friend (not that he's NOT a friend..but I don't know him well enough, having only met him once and said "hi" to him one other time), nor is he a relative. I've been to AJ Bombers twice, exactly the same amount of times I've been to Sobleman's.

Joe is a social media maven. If his restaurants (he has more than AJ Bombers) are mentioned, in print or on the net, he knows about it. He might have googled and this thread showed up, or whatever. I didn't tell him to come here. I'm not even sure he's ever heard of Roadfood.com before coming to this thread. He'd have to come back and answer those questions himself, though.

I don't rant, nor tirade; I respond. And as far as your "simple comment", you took my original explanation and interpreted it as a war or whatever, when it was simply an explanation. After that, you just got nastier, and I responded in kind, as it's what you seem to understand best.

I'm at a loss as to why you remain in this thread, if you find the whole "duped" business, as well as Milwaukee, hamburgers and whatever else you have a problem with, so appalling. There are a thousand other threads where you can spout your opinions to the approval you crave.

I originally posted this thread because I was excited for Milwaukee, for AJ Bombers and for Sobleman's, that Travel Channel was coming here. Milwaukee needs the good publicity; the boost. And it's all in fun.

You, however, could not let that fun happen. I'm sorry for you.

I am very proud of you!

I hope everybody knows that there are services out there that scan for mentions on the web of a business. Its part of the cost of doing business these days. We have no way of knowing if the owner of AJ Bombers is a long time reader, got a call from a friend, or employs a service. Anyway, he sounds like an interesting person and I hope he will also become a regular poster.

Hey guys, It was Google Alerts of AJ Bombers that brought me to this thread.  yup, I know X1 and a few others here.  Happy just to see the interest in the event.  But I have been here before and will likely be back again, now that I am no longer just a lurker. 

Couldn't they substitute Fred's in Burlington for Sobelman's?

joerogo


 
AND HEY!!!! Who Cares?????  It's ......."NOT" Really Real!!!! Ya Know???? IT'S TELEVISION!!!!!
 
 

Yeah, they come up with a concept to sell to a network. And its good that they provide a little diversion, get the businesses a little exposure , the area gets shown a little on tv and the producers make some money. Like you said, its television. 

saps


Couldn't they substitute Fred's in Burlington for Sobelman's?

I had the exact same reaction when this thread started.  As it progressed, and it became evident that the whole "feud" was manufactured by the parties involved, it became obvious why Fred's was not chosen.

On the other hand, I've been to Sobelman's and have to say, they have a darned good Burger.  Several of the Milwaukee members of The Contingent have been to AJ Bombers and reported back on it very positively.  So, you've got two very good burgers in one great city deserving of some attention, who care if the whole thing is made up?  It's freakin' TV!  And it's not the Nightly News.  Like it or not, entertainment value is more important than 100% truth and honesty on this type of show.

Buddy

AJ Bombers (Joe) and Sobelman's (Dave) have been all over TV news shows and in the newspaper as the competition draws near. It's really fun to see all the interaction between the two, and the excitement of the people of Milwaukee, both in person and on Twitter and Facebook. 
Filming starts tomorrow! It's free to come watch, so if you're in the area - stop by! I posted a link to the filming schedule in a previous post. 

Oh - and the "neutral site" for the Saturday filming (the actual "war" - blindfolded taste test and whatnot) will be at Bar Louie around Noon.

Warring or not, I think it's great PR for the city.  X1, I think that some of the perceived rivalries stem from writers (like me, admittedly) saying that one [insert food item here] is better than another.  I get vibes from people thinking, "What does he know? He's from New England and comes to our town, eats one meal at places A and B, and declares that A is the best."  Guilty as charged!    Chris