UPDATE : Matty’s Bar in New Berlin always had great burgers but now they are really bringing it with a new burger called the Smokehouse.  Located in New Berlin on 144th & College, Matty’s is quickly becoming a go-to spot for watching sports, Friday Fish Fry and now their new burger.  All of their food is very good and the place has a good feel to just hang out & drink and be with friends you haven’t met yet.  But I think the Smokehouse burger will put Matty’s on the map in the local burger war of who has the best burgers in the Milwaukee area.

The Smokehouse gets it name from the smoked beef brisket that is ground and added to the Certifed Black Angus beef to make the distinctive patties.  The brisket starts out as a raw brisket of beef that is hand rubbed in special seasoning then smoked for 3 hours in Matty’s smoker that is filled with a special blend of hard wood chips and then ground and mixed with the Black Angus beef.

The burger can be ordered how you like it as a Build Your Burger where you pick from different options  or as the Smokehouse Burger of the day from a schedule that is similar to Kopp’s Flavor of the day.  Each day a different burger is featured that is crafted by Matty’s kitchen to bring together some very good taste options all with different names like The Hot Cowboy, The Hangover, The Mona Lisa and The Milwaukee.

I have had two Smokehouse burgers so far, the New Berlin and the Al Pacino.  They were both very good with good choices for topping selections.  The New Berlin is topped with the smoked beef brisket that the burger itself is made of, mushrooms, sliced onions, provolone cheese, garlic mayo, shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes on a brioche bun.

The sliced brisket on top was a great choice.  It offered smoky flavor of very good brisket as well as the infused flavor from the brisket in the patty.  The garlic mayo added to the flavor as well and the brioche bun was sturdy enough to hold everything together.

The Al Pacino was piled with salami, pepperoni, garlic herb tomato basil, fried onions, shredded lettuce, garlic mayo and tomato garlic relish on a gourmet bun.  The addition of the salami and pepperoni really worked.  It gave it a decidedly Italian flavor made it a very meaty burger.

The Smokehouse patty gives a great platform to build on and Matty’s has done a great job with giving you a large number of toppings including a number of different cheese toppings.  Besides the usual; cheddar, American, pepper jack, mozzarella, provolone, baby swiss and blue cheese Matty’s offer specialty cheeses from small cheese producers from around Wisconsin.  There is Evalon, an asiago made from goat’s milk from Sheboygan,  a gruyere style cow’s milk Swiss from Dodgeville, Mango Fire, a sweet and hot cheddar made with cow’s milk from Kiel, Saxony, an award winning firm nutty flavored alpine style cow’ milk cheese from Cleveland, Dolcina, another award winner made from a combo of goat and cow’s milk is a sweet, creamy gorgonzola, Black Peppercorn Cheddar, a cow’s milk white cheddar  from Kiel and Benedictine, a earthy creamy chease made from a combination sheep, cow and goats milk from Kiel.

Toppings also include many options like garlic aioli, sun dried tomato mayo, mango salsa, black bean corn relish, blue cheese butter, pesto, guacamole, sauerkraut, sun dried tomatoes, portabella mushroom, pico di Gallo as well as more.  You can build your own burger to your liking and even enter a contest coming up in December to build build your best burger and enter it into Matty’s Taste Off contest.  The winner will get a permanent burger on the menu and free burgers for a year (as well as bragging rights).

Reviewed By Tom Graber

Matty’s Bar

14460 W. College Ave.

New Berlin WI 53151

414-427-3838

Wild Horses Couldn’t Drag Me Away

Walking into the Palomino is like walking into a funky retro bar from a different time and place. The décor is definitely old school and the numerous drink specials every day make it hard not to find a great beer or adult beverage of choice to accompany the great food at the Palomino. Whether you sit at the bar or one of the cozy booths in the back, the vibe will take you back in time.

Burgers on the other hand have been updated to the latest in beef trends by going with grass fed rather than corn fed beef. There is a definite taste difference and the flavor of the beef really shines. Whether you are a burger purist or one that likes a lot of added elements to your burger, you won’t be disappointed. The beef patties are juicy and very flavorful with a more intense beef flavor than most other burgers.

There is also a good selection of toppings and sauces you can choose from to go on your burger. I had the Haymaker burger ($9.95) which was a 1/3pound burger of grass fed beef, swiss cheese, mushrooms, horseradish sauce, lettuce and tomato. Somehow mine was missing the haystack onions and I didn’t even realize until after I left the bar. The bartender was filling me in on the Blue Pig which she recommended as her burger of choice which is smothered in Blue cheese butter and bacon. She also highly recommends the Velvet Elvis, a sandwich of peanut butter, banana and grilled bacon on white bread, thank you very much..

Update:

I had the Velvet Elvis and it was very unusual but also really good.

There is a definite Southern and Vegan-Vegetarian influence to the menu including hush puppies, chicken fried steak, bbq, pulled pork, Vegan Gardenburger, Veggie Haymaker, BBQ Seitan Sandwich, Faux Boy, Vegan sloppy Joe and Vegan “Riblet” Sandwich. This may seem anathema to the burger lover but they have us covered as well as a dining partner who does eat meat. They even have Toffalo wings as an appetizer which are a huge hit even with the carnivorous heathen diners.

The burger comes with a huge choice of sides of which you get your choice of two of the following, French fries, cheddar jalapeno poppers, hush puppies, fried okra, tater tots, red beans and rice, jalopeno coleslaw, sweet corn, haystack onion rings, sweet potato casserole, and mashed potatoes with a white gravy I had the jalapeno poppers (2) with a side of ranch sauce and the mashed taters. It is served in a soup cup and is a potato mashed up with white sausage gravy like you find on a chicken fried steak. It was very good and different.

The bartender gets to select the music which was a little hardcore punk/alt but more welcome than the radio I’ve heard a million times. I ‘m tempted to move to Bayview just to have such a cool bar to hang out at night and great food during the day.

Reviewed By: Tom Graber

Palomino Bar

Palomino bar

Pool Tables