Jean Howell enjoys a burger picnic at Ludington State Park in February, just before temperatures plummeted the next day. Photo by Kevin Howell.
By Kevin Howell
“I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
That line uttered by Wimpy in the old Popeye comic strip always comes to mind when I’m in the mood for a good burger, Wimpy’s favorite food.
I don’t mean the production line burgers at fast food joints. I’m talking a real, fresh-cooked, fully loaded burger you can only find in small diners and neighborhood restaurants and taverns.
It’s nice to be able to sit in a cozy neighborhood bar with a great burger and a cold beer ⸺ one of my favorite burger toppings ⸺ and enjoy the ambiance. But with the pandemic still around, and limited indoor dining, I’ve satisfied my burger cravings with takeout. My stomping ground of Mason County includes several establishments that meet my high (well, moderate) standards for a well put-together piece of rounded ground beef between the buns.
There’s a sandwich/pizza shack on the west end of Scottville, along U.S. Highway 10, called “The Ville”. It’s a small place offering carryout and some indoor seating and is close enough to home that the burgers were still warm when we ate them. Wife Jean’s toppings included cheese, American in this case, grilled onions and tomato. I like a little more than that, so I chose cheese, onions, tomato and lettuce ⸺ your basic deluxe cheeseburger.
I was surprised at the size of the burger; I’m guessing a third of a pound, cooked. And the brioche-style bun was light and a little fluffy. It fit the burger perfectly, not undersized and not overpowering the burger with bread. The cheeseburger was listed for $9.99, which I thought was just a little overpriced. Then I noticed it included a nice helping of crunchy French fries and a pickle spear. The menu also lists a Mushroom Swiss Burger, an Olive Burger and a Fried Pickle Burger. Hmm. I don’t usually “go” for too many weird or fancy toppings, but sometimes you have to try something a little different.
I remember as a kid in East Detroit, our family would go to a neighborhood restaurant. (Sorry, I don’t remember the name). The menu offered a choice of bleu cheese as a topping, and I loved it. I found something similar at The Grand, located at 301 South Rath in Ludington. A day before the polar vortex hit this part of Michigan, we decided to grab a couple burgers and head to Ludington State Park for a sunny winter picnic. The Grand’s choices included a regular Ground Beef Burger; a Cheeseburger with a choice of American, Swiss or homemade bleu cheese dressing; a Rath burger, including bleu cheese dressing, sautéed mushrooms and bacon; and an Olive Burger. I split the difference and ordered toppings of bleu cheese dressing and sautéed mushrooms. Jean went with Swiss cheese and grilled onions, both served on brioche-style buns.
The burgers were nice sized and juicy, without being too greasy, and were loaded with our chosen toppings. Yum. We found a sunny, snow-free picnic table at the park to enjoy them. Menu price for the burgers is “Market Price,” but the two burgers plus a side of fries cost a reasonable $14.50.
Over the course of the pandemic, we also sampled the cheeseburgers at a small bar/restaurant in Walhalla, Riley’s Rendezvous on U.S. 10. Riley’s is close to home for us, and the burgers stayed nice and warm on the ride home. Our usual toppings there are typically cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion. The burger is a good-sized half a pound, served with chips and a pickle or in a basket with fries and slaw. Others on the menu are Mushroom Swiss, Olive Swiss, Black and Blue burgers and more. Prices are $8-$9. Add $2.50 for a basket.
When you’re on the trail for a burger, and run into a place with burger in the name, it seems silly to pass it up, right? So, when we ran across Brenda’s Burgers in Scottville, we just had to try their patties. Brenda’s, at 124 South Main, is a cozy little eatery with a half-dozen or so booths on one side, and the grill and order window on the other. We sampled their burgers pre-pandemic and enjoyed the food and friendly service.
They offer a line of specialty burgers that includes such fare as the Breakfast Burger topped with cheese, bacon and an egg cooked to order; the Kahuna, with Swiss, grilled pineapple, bacon and homemade sweet and sour sauce; and the Cowboy, with cheddar, grilled onions and BBQ sauce. There are more than 20 varieties of burger on the menu, all made daily from local beef in quarter-pound patties for $6-$7, or half-pounders for $9-$10.
The places mentioned here, and their menus, can be found on Facebook.
Do you have a favorite spot for a great burger? Please send it along to me, because sometimes you just want a burger … and it oughta be a good one!
Burgermeisters of Manistee County
Compiled by Kevin Howell and Pat Stinson
Tom Buchanan – Brewer Emeritus at Ludington Bay Brewing, said his last burger came from a place in Manistee. “I’ve only had one takeout burger in a year,” Buchanan said. “I got a deluxe cheeseburger with extra Mayo from (Chopo’s) Northside Bar in Manistee ⸺ it was good. I ate it with a few beers at the beach.” Chopo’s Northside Bar, 132 Monroe St., Manistee.
Ramona DeGeorgio-Venegas – Forest Service retiree and Freshwater Reporter contributor. “I tried the Bungalow (Inn) Bourbon Burger and I don’t even like bourbon. The crunchy onion sticks, sauce and meat combo is delicious. I cut it in half to share, with onion rings. Yum!” Bungalow Inn, 1100 28th Street, (US-31 South), Manistee.
Tricia Boucha – This Kaleva mosaic artist just completed her third mosaic panel, depicting scenes from the Kalevala, as gift to the village. She recently posted on Facebook: “Burger perfection from Kaleva Tavern. Yummy! Medium rare, grilled onions and sweet tater fries.” The Kaleva Tavern, a.k.a. K.T.’s., 9289 N. Walta St., Kaleva.
Pat Stinson – Editor, Freshwater Reporter. “I was delivering papers last month and stopped to eat a burger in the parking lot of Redneck Yacht Club. Pretzel bun, lettuce (that wasn’t iceberg!), onion and tomato on a patty with mustard and ketchup, exactly as ordered. A great grab-and-go sandwich served with a bag of potato chips.” Redneck Yacht Club, 19327 Caberfae Highway, Wellston.
Stewart McFerran – Contributor, Freshwater Reporter. “I had the T-ville (half-pound) burger at Geno’s Sports Bar and Grill. It had bacon, (thick slices) swiss cheese and mushrooms. I added lettuce and tomato and it was a good thing I was hungry. The fries were hot. My favorite thing about hamburgers is fresh beef and the Geno’s burgers have that and are served by a staff that’s on top of things. You can’t go wrong with a Geno’s burger!” Geno’s Sports Bar & Grill, 14848 Thomson Ave., Thompsonville.
Diana Six – Retired graphic artist. Visiting Traks: “I get my burger well done, with sweet potato fries with ranch dressing and a beer. Wayne (husband) gets a medium (cooked) burger with the free potato chips and a mixed drink. Always delicious and if Janelle is the server, we have lots of laughs with her. Aaron too.” Traks, 5073 High Bridge Road, Brethren.
