Top Three Burger Joints in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee is the home of Summerfest, the world's largest music festival, Harley Davidson Motorcycles and their new museum, the world acclaimed Santiago Calatrava designed Art Museum, and good wholesome food.

Milwaukee is a German, Italian, African American, Irish, Mexican city which has blended those cuisines into some of the best bar food to be found anywhere. Milwaukee has stayed true to its blue collar roots and developed the hamburger into a mainstay of every restaurant's menu. You can find this ground meat patty offered in a five star linen table cloth establishment as well as the corner bar. The hamburger reins supreme in Milwaukee. And why not, it was developed just a few miles north of here in Seymour, Wisconsin in 1885.

Narrowing the lineup of great burgers down to just three is hard to do but I had a great time sampling the entries. Now as I wipe the grease off my hands and face I am ready to report on the three top burgers I have found. Along with the burgers the restaurant itself had to offer something unique and special to the Milwaukee scene. Here are my choices not in any order they are all number one for me.

Sobelman's Pub and Grill

1900 W St. Paul
Milwaukee, WI
414-931-1919

This bar and grill is located in one of the original Schlitz Brewing Co. taverns. It is located sort of in walking distance from the Summerfest grounds, the Harley Museum and the Potowatomie Casino. At least, I would walk there. The grill is open from 11:00 to 11:00. Lunch times are insanely busy, drop by about 1:30 and pick a sunny day so you can sit outside.

The burgers here are made with Black Angus beef with three slices of melted Wisconsin cheeses, American, Swiss and Cheddar which ooze out of the bun. The buns are baked just for Sobelman's and are lightly toasted. Topping the burger is jalapeno peppers, onions, bacon, and a special sauce.

Try the burger with the Sobelman French Fries which are fresh cut and crunchy and tasty. There is a very complete beer list which features the fine craft breweries here in Milwaukee.

Checkers

Three locations, I like:

7525 W. Capitol Dr.
Milwaukee, WI
414-536-5550

Yes, this is a franchise and it has no inside seating only drive up or walk up service. Stay with me and read on, and you may be surprised why it is included on my list.

Checkers has these cute little red and white buildings with two drive up windows, one on each side. There is a walk up window in front if the weather is cooperating. The only place to eat here is in your car, but not in their lot or at one of their outside cement tables. For just one dollar you get a nice size all beef patty on a toasted bun with pickle, ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes. And if you ask, they throw on some jalapeño peppersjalapeño. The burgers are always hot and fresh.

Checkers is my choice for the best burger joint to stop after a ball game, concert, or late night event. A fresh hot good tasting burger for a buck just cannot be beat. They never close.

Solly's

4629 N Port Washington Rd.
Milwaukee, WI
414-332-8808

This may be Milwaukee's most famous hamburger joint but the fame has not hurt the burger. Roadfood.com rates it as, "worth driving from any location." The secret here is butter, loads of Wisconsin Grade A Butter.

Solly's new location, it will always be known as the new location, has about twenty-five seats and a lunch counter. They are open for breakfast, lunch and call ahead for closing times. This is one place where you can get a burger for breakfast and not be alone.

The menu has many different burgers which come with a variety of toppings. They all start with a chopped sirloin patty, a toasted bun and loads of butter. My favorite is the Super Solly, which is a 1/3 pound burger topped with Swiss and American cheese, mushrooms and grilled onions. The bun is toasted and smothered with butter as is the burger. When the burger arrives at the table, it is swimming in a puddle of melted butter which has by now soaked the bottom bun making it useless for holding onto the burger. Eating a Super Solly is a messy affair; however, once you start in you cannot stop, it just slides down.

Choosing just three places for hamburgers in a city like Milwaukee where hamburgers are a passion is hard. There are many bars, diners, drive-ins, and restaurants which will serve you a great hamburger. What I have given you here are three very different places to get a great burger in Milwaukee.