Photo credit: Shane Potter
The talent in the Wahlberg family doesn’t end with actors Mark and Donnie, as their brother, chef Paul Wahlberg, has recently cooked himself up a bit of fame, too. Paul was inspired by favorite Wahlberg family recipes to open a Boston-area restaurant that has recently made its way to several Milwaukee area locations, including The Corners in Brookfield development (325 Market St.).
The Wahlburgers franchise is owned by Hy-Vee (yes, like the grocery store chain), and features some regionally exclusive menu items as well as Wahlberg family themed recipes. And, although the décor of the restaurant is accented with lots of Wahlberg movie references and memorabilia, it only enhances the experience, because even without the family name, the food is good enough to stand on its own merits.
Begin your meal with the tasty Burger Nachos ($8.99), prepared with all of the toppings you’d expect to find on a classic burger: Ground beef, onions, tomatoes, pickles and cheese (sauce), but served on tortilla chips instead of in a bun. Or get a bowl of delicious, belly-warming Cheeseburger Chowdah ($5.99), which also follows a burger flavor profile, as this creamy chowder is tantalizingly full of ground beef, cheese, onions and potatoes and is garnished with bacon and pickles.
With all of this focus on hamburgers, it’s important to note that Wahlburgers has created some truly excellent offerings in this area. Real standouts are the insanely good PBJ Burger ($12.49)—two patties topped with peanut butter, bacon jam and cheese, and the not-as-spicy-as-it-sounds Wahl-apeño Burger ($15.49)—a half-pound burger topped with fried jalapeños, jalapeño pepper jelly and Boursin cream cheese. Don’t overlook the creative Thanksgiving Turkey Burger ($11.49), which consists of a ground turkey patty topped with all of the traditional fixings like stuffing, orange cranberry sauce and butternut squash.
In addition to all those yummy burgers, Wahlburgers has lots of great sandwiches and salads. The breaded pork tenderloin sandwich ($11.99) is quite good, as well as the fantastic Grown-Up Grilled Cheese ($11.49), which is made with three different cheeses, bacon jam and tomatoes. While it may seem crazy to come to a place with so many amazing burgers and order a salad, it’s pretty hard to go wrong when the salad is as good as the Street Corn Chicken Salad ($12.49): Greens topped with a generous portion of flavorful, seasoned chicken, corn, black beans, cheese, peppers, crunchy tortilla strips and a creamy citrus dressing.
If you can somehow manage to save room for dessert, go with one of the Wahl-Skillets ($9.99). They are big enough to share with everyone at the table and come in a variety of flavors: chocolate chip, sugar cookie, brownie and apple pie. They’re all served warm and with ice cream on top, so everyone at the table has to do their part and dig in before the ice cream melts!
