A hamburger can be a blank canvas, served up plain with an all-beef patty on a bun or lavishly with any number of condiments and ingredients.
The Shepherd Express and participating local restaurants are giving our readers a chance for you to sample some of the best burgers Milwaukee has to offer as part of a citywide celebration. Look for locally sourced beef and house-made falafel and toppings that range from corned beef to bacon. Restaurants will highlight a burger from their current menu or craft a specialty burger just for our special annual event.
Burger Week kicks off with a party on Monday, May 13, at the event’s Presenting Sponsor, Mulligan’s Irish Pub, 8933 S. 27th St., in Franklin. Participating restaurants will donate $1 to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin for every specialty burger sold during Milwaukee Burger Week, which runs May 13-19. Help us raise as much money as possible to contribute to the leading hunger relief organization in Wisconsin by enjoying some of the city’s best burgers!
Mark yourself as "interested" or "going" on the Facebook event page to get updates.
Also, we want you to share your love of burgers in our annual Burger Week Social Contest. The rules are simple. Buy one of the featured burgers at one of the participating restaurants, snap a photo of the burger, share that photo on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and tag #mkeburgerweek, @shepherdexpress and the restaurant. Every day of Burger Week, our burger-loving staff will pick the juiciest burger pic for awesome prizes.
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1
Barnacle Bud's
Featured Burger: Barnacle Bud’s Brisket Burger Choice angus burger brisket patty topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce and beer-battered onion rings. Barnacle Bud’s is hidden among old warehouses and grain elevators and is filled with nautical charm. The main draw is a large wooden deck overlooking the Kinnickinnic River. The small menu sticks to sandwiches, salads, a few entrées, jumbo crab cakes, good soups and seafood pastas. The menu offers casual fare—mainly sandwiches and a few seafood baskets. The Friday fish fry features catfish, smelt, cod and grouper. Indoors, you will find a table with all of the fixings for a customized, do-it-yourself Bloody Mary. This is one of Milwaukee’s best summer spots.
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2
Burgerim
Featured Burger: Falafel Burger Duo Two three-ounce falafel burgers house-made with a special recipe of ground chickpeas, serrano pepper, cilantro, parsley, garlic and exotic spices. One burger is served “classic style,” with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions and house sauce. The other is served “caliente style,” with pepper jack cheese, jalapeños, lettuce, Cajun spice and habanero mayo. Burgers are served on white or wheat buns, or you can have yours wrapped in lettuce. On their regular menu, Burgerim serves up three-ounce halal beef burgers in duos and trios with many combinations of toppings or proteins. Patty options include 28-day, dry-aged beef, chicken breast, salmon and falafel, among seven other options. Topping combos can be set, or you can choose from a variety of options like sautéed mushrooms and habanero mustard. French fries, onion rings, shakes and chicken wings are also available.
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3
Great Lakes Distillery
616 W. Virginia St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204Featured Burger: Galley Burger Angus steak patty topped with aged cheddar, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, crispy bacon, Kinnickinnic Whiskey mustard served on a brioche bun. Those who take the hour-long tour of the distillery will get a view of the distilling floor and five pours of Great Lakes’ spirits (with bottles available for purchase afterward). Among the standouts: Rehorst Citrus and Honey Vodka, which tastes and smells like the aforementioned adjuncts—no gross, weird flavoring; Rehorst Barrel-Aged Gin, which ages the gin in whiskey barrels and is orangey, oaky and mind-melting; and Artisan Series Banana Brandy, which smacks you with banana flavor and Good Land Orange and Spice.
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4
LuLu Cafe & Bar
Featured Burger: Irish Pub Burger A half-pound black angus burger with melted Tipperary Irish cheddar cheese, Guinness and brown sugar-glazed pork belly, sautéed leeks and a side of house-made apricot mustard. The sandwich selection at this longtime Bay View favorite is eclectic and worldly. It includes a Mediterranean steak pita, Indian chicken pita, falafel pita, a chipotle chicken pita with black bean salsa and a cumin-lime sauce and a loaded Santa Fe cheddar melt. From France, there is a croque monsieur with capicola ham and Swiss cheese on a baguette. Vegetarian options abound, and all sandwiches are modestly priced and include a choice of LuLu’s signature Asian slaw, thick-cut potato chips or both (opt for both).
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5
McKiernan's Irish Pub & Grill
Featured Burger: McKiernan’s Big Boy-Style Burger Reviving an old Milwaukee favorite with a one-third pound patty topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and Thousand Island dressing. Located on a quiet street in a residential neighborhood, you have to know where to find it, but if you like friendly bartenders and fellow patrons, it’s a place to look for. McKiernan’s is charming, with a vintage bar and a menu with a dash of Irish, including lean corned beef and shepherd’s pie, along with burgers, sandwiches and American bar food. Miss good ol’ Marc’s Big Boy? The burger’s at McKiernan’s!
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6
Milwaukee Classic Pizza
Featured Burger: MKE Classic Cheeseburger A half-pound steak patty, seared to perfection, on a lightly buttered toasted brioche bun topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, mayo and ketchup. Located on Milwaukee’s South Side once home to Pepi’s Pizza, they keep the tradition alive with the classic thin-crust, square-cut pizza with premium, pork-free toppings. They also offer gluten-free and vegan options.
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7
Milwaukee Sail Loft
Featured Burger: A Trio of Choices Choose from a certified angus steak patty, the Beyond Burger vegan patty or a hormone-free chicken breast. You can top your choice with pico de gallo, house-made guacamole, pepper jack cheese, crispy bacon and tortilla strips served on a brioche bun. With its deck overlooking the river, Milwaukee Sail Loft is a perfect spot for watching the boats sail by. From its name and location, you might peg it as a seafood place, and, yes, it does offer swordfish steak, Maine lobster-stuffed ravioli, seafood Diablo and grilled mahi tacos, but Sail Loft’s menu is eclectic, with all food groups and most of the world’s continents represented; they serve everything from meatloaf to chicken Rangoon and humus.
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8
Mulligan's Irish Pub & Grill
Featured Burger #1: Belfast Burger An eight-ounce black angus burger topped with Irish rasher bacon, Irish cheddar cheese, sautéed mushrooms and black and tan onion rings. Featured Burger #2: Famous Pub Burger Jumbo black angus burger served with American cheese, lettuce, dill pickle slices and tomato on a brioche roll. Featured Burger #3: McGinty Burger Mulligan’s famous pub burger topped with tasty house-made corned beef, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing. The hybrid Irish pub-sports bar in Franklin boasts a boatload of taps mixing craft beer, macro mainstays and the usual Irish suspects—Guinness, Harp, Magners and Smithwick’s. The menu is wide-ranging, from a savory Jameson whiskey-glazed salmon to Irish classics like shepherd’s pie and bangers and mash served with a killer Guinness-based gravy to pub pizzas. Their house-made corned beef pops up on several dishes; the adventurous should seek out the Reuben pizza.
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9
Nomad World Pub
Featured Burger: Nomad Burger A one-third pound patty topped with maple bacon jam, aged cheddar cheese and chombo aioli. Nomad World Pub brought the rest of planet Earth to Brady Street as a bar corner with an international flair (and a love of the game of choice in most of the world: soccer). Lots and lots of beers are on tap, and Marcus Doucette spins on Sunday nights. One of Nomad’s recent additions is a grill on the patio. They have begun to serve burgers from the burger shack on the patio on weekends and, starting Friday, May 24, Nomad will be open with more consistent hours.
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10
Points East Pub
Featured Burger: Points East Burger A six-ounce sirloin burger topped with sautéed onions, baby portabellas and garlic-and-herb Boursin cheese. The first thing everyone thinks about when they hear “Points East Pub” is chicken wings. How could you not? The delicious, no-frills, grilled wings have won numerous Best of Milwaukee awards over the years. But an underrated menu item at the East Side pub is the angus burger. The Points East Burger is their choice for Burger Week. And don’t forget those wonderful wings!
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11
Sobelman's Pub & Grill (On St. Paul)
Featured Burger: The Sobelman The classic Sobelman burger topped with American, Swiss and cheddar cheese, bacon, fried onions and diced jalapeños served on a country butter roll. The original burger and bloody Mary bar since 1999, Sobelman’s is famous for its excellent burgers as well as its wide selection of bloody Marys—the latter garnished with everything from multiple veggies to a cheeseburger slider to an entire chicken!
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12
SportClub
Featured Burger: Sportburger A one-third pound all-beef patty topped with cheddar and Swiss cheese, house pickles, thick-cut bacon, smashed tater tots and sambal aioli on a brioche bun. SportClub serves as a downtown sports bar showing all sports. Open in February 2018, SportClub offers a full bar with a stadium seating area, Boot Room for private events, a patio with TVs and 23 TVs throughout the bar. The menu is globally inspired while also offering sports bar favorites like burgers, wings and nachos. Open weekdays for lunch at 11 a.m. and 9 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays for bottomless mimosas.
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13
Tavern at Turner Hall
Featured Burger: The Tavern Blue Burger A one-third pound patty topped with caramelized onions, bleu cheese, aioli, bacon, lettuce and tomato. The new Tavern at Turner Hall has breathed some rock n’ roll life and energy into the historic full service restaurant and palm garden on Turner Hall's first floor. A large welcoming bar, several different dining areas, and a huge gathering space—the Tavern is littered with memorabilia, pool tables, dart boards, iconic wreckage of Milwaukee’s past. The Tavern features a full menu of salads, burgers, apps and entrees and a redux of the city's most famous Friday Fish Fry.
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14
The Wicked Hop
Featured Burger: Muffaletta Burger The juicy Wicked Hop burger blackened and dressed up with everything New Orleans style, including muffaletta olive spread, provolone cheese, ham, mortadella and Genoa salami. Now serving brunch on both Saturday and Sunday, The Wicked Hop is definitely a destination point in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward. It has often been honored by Shepherd Express readers for its elaborate bloody Mary, which could almost serve as a meal in itself. But The Wicked Hop also serves great bar food, including burgers constructed with an array of tasty choices stacked on a half-pound of fire-grilled ground beef.
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15
Urban Beets (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive)
Featured Burger: The Classic Burger A patty made with walnuts, gluten-free oats, carrots, beans and spices and topped with melted cheddar “cheese,” tomato, red onion, romaine, pickles and Russian dressing, stacked high on a grain bun. The Classic Burger’s fresh, plant-based ingredients put a twist on an American classic. Both the Milwaukee and Wauwatosa locations are participating in Burger Week. Both Urban Beets locations offer a warm and modern setting as a backdrop for their premiere, plant-based menu, which boasts thoughtfully planned offerings. The menu contains multitudinous items, including food for breakfast, entrées, smoothies and juices.
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16
Urban Beets (Wauwatosa)
Featured Burger: The Classic Burger A patty made with walnuts, gluten-free oats, carrots, beans and spices and topped with melted cheddar “cheese,” tomato, red onion, romaine, pickles and Russian dressing, stacked high on a grain bun. The Classic Burger’s fresh, plant-based ingredients put a twist on an American classic.
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