Mad Mike's

If you haven't been there yet, you have to go. Mad Mike's is one of my new favorite burger places. It's up there with Terry's and City View Tavern good.

The best way to describe it is to think of a bigger and fresher Five Guys burger. It is plenty of food and definitely plenty of fries but the burger is so much juicier and more flavorful than Five Guys.

It is located in Florence and it is worth a trip down!

I've been there a couple times now and both burgers were awesome. Take a look at the pictures.

BagPipes

BagPipes just recently closed down on 7th street, which seems to be pretty common with new restaurants downtown, especially on the corner of 7th and Race. I wanted to still write a review because I truly felt like I was their #1 customer.

The reason I went so much was for one reason only, their fish sandwich special on Friday. On Friday they would have a fish sandwich, fries and ANY draft beer you wanted for only $8. For downtown, that is a GREAT price! Most good drafts would cost you around $4 or $5 and a fish sandwich meal would be easily over $6. So getting them both for only $8, it was a no-brainer for me.

Luckily for me, my friends enjoyed meeting me down there every Friday for this deal. And it wasn't just because it was cheap, the fish wasn't that bad. We never left wanting more food, that's for sure. The sandwich was very large and the fries were good too. The only thing I would say bad about the fish is that it didn't seem too fresh and a lot of the time I would take a bite and would come up with just breading and no fish. I was also happy that they would let me swap my tartar sauce for some BBQ sauce for the fish, but mainly for my fries.

The biggest downfall for this place, I think, would have to be the service. I was probably there around 7 or 8 times during the 2 month stand and it never seemed like the waiters knew what they were doing. When we finally did get one that had a clue, she was apologizing for everyone else. Getting our food quickly was never a problem because I don't think they ever stopped making the fish on Fridays since it seemed like everyone who went there that day was going for the special. The one thing that drove me crazy about the place was that they APPEARED to have so many beers on tap, but it would take me 10 minutes to choose my beer because I would settle on one to find out that it was not being served at that time or "just ran out." If you have 20 draft beers on your menu and 20 taps on the bar, you should really try and keep them in stock or at least have half for sale. It was pretty amazing going through 5 or 6 different beers to find them all out at that moment.

In the end, I will still miss the $8 fish special, but I am sure I will find something to replace it. I actually went to Washington Platform last Friday and the fish was much better and if you go with a friend you can always do the buy one fish get the second for only $1! I think you will be seeing a new blog post soon with my new Friday fish place.

It is pretty amazing that I went there so many times and never took a picture of the fish, I only took a picture of my first visit which was a not so good burger. It was way over cooked and literally burnt on the outside. This might have been the only burger I have not finished due to taste in my life.

BagPipes Ratings

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Catching up with some Burgers!

It has been awhile since my last post, about 5 months to be exact. My life got real busy, and even though it is still busy, I want to start trying to blog again and more often. I have never stopped going out to different places and I still take pictures of almost everything I eat (some find it weird). So I figured in order for me to get caught back up, I will just combine some reviews and maybe even do a little comparing at the same time. What better way to start back up but with what I do best, review burgers!

Kelly's Public House

I never would have even known this place existed if my co-worker didn't want to go for lunch one day. I also think we might have had a Restaurants.com coupon or something. Either way, it is located at the Radisson Hotel and they are known for their burgers. In fact, they claim to be "The Best Burger in the World" or at least in Northern Kentucky. It is a clever little slogan, and to be honest, I actually remember really enjoying their burger. I had a bacon and cheddar burger and got my onions grilled on top. Everything about it was very good tasting including the homemade bacon. I love when a burger comes with real and fresh bacon.  The only downside was that it was a little on the dry side.

The employees there were also friendly, which always makes the food taste better.

Nothing else really stands out in my mind, and I don't want to go into too much detail or this review is going to get wordy. But all-in-all, it is worth checking out, at least for the burger. I couldn't complain, but more than likely I won't be back.

Mt. Adams Bar and Grill

I went here for lunch with my dad awhile back. We had another $25 off if you spend $35 deal again. I was really surprised (in a good way) with this place. It looked like a cool place to come back to at night and have some good beer on tap. I did enjoy myself a Boston Lager during my meal (it helped us get to the $35 mark).

We both got the burger and it was easily in my top ten. It was weird because I didn't even go for the burger because no one ever said anything about it. I have been meaning to go back because I wanted to try it again to make sure it was as good as I remember it being.

To make sure we were over the $35, we both got some dessert. I got a triple layer mousse pie, which was awesome. I actually attempted to make it at home one night and failed miserably. I will just have to go back some night to get the burger again and top me off with a piece of pie.

Oakley Pub and Grill

I ended up here while a friend and I waited for a free concert to begin at the 20th Century Theater. We sat at the bar and started to check out the beer selection, which was a good one. I ended up going with the special of the night, a Shock Top draft (because I'm cheap). We both ordered burgers, mine had the norm on it, bacon, cheese, onion and pickles. Too be honest, I wasn't impressed with the burger at all and the steak fries were some of my least favorite fries ever. Granted, I am not a fan of steak fries in the first place, but these just didn't do anything for me. Too potato-ee as I say.

But what made this place memorable and so fun was the company. We met a local couple at the bar who were very friendly and they had us laughing all night. I make friends everywhere I go :D ... I know this has nothing to do with the restaurant, but it did make me want to go back, which is something. If you do go there, go there for the fun atmosphere, the good beer and the not so great food. I'm sure when I do go back, I'll find something I like.

Zola Pub and Grill

I remember going to Zola's because we were told they had one of the best burgers and I believe were ranked on one of those top burger joints in Cincinnati lists. The waiter was awesome and talked to us for awhile (they weren't too crowded during lunch). I was true to myself and got another bacon and cheddar burger (man I am boring). This burger missed the mark and probably was my least favorite burger out of the six burgers in this review. It was just too dry and didn't do anything for me. I really was trying to like it, but it just came up short.

I would love to go back some night when people are out at the bars and I would really like to give the burger another shot. I am hoping I just had it on an off day and they overcooked it too much. But if I don't ever get back there, I won't be too disappointed.

Arthur's Cafe

I finally made my way to Arthur's Cafe for their burger I had heard so much about. I went for lunch on a Thursday (like most of my posts) and when we got there, it was quite empty. We were seated right by the door/window in the front and right next to the famous wall filled with cartoon caricatures of local people. My eyes couldn't stop looking at it and trying to see if I recognized anyone. Every time I looked back up I would see something new and interesting. I never did find anyone I knew, but it didn't stop me from being distracted the whole meal.

I got my typical bacon cheeseburger. It was good, but it wasn't great. I don't know if I had my expectations set too high, but I had plenty of other burgers that I would rather go back to before revisiting here. Don't get me wrong, it was a good burger and I enjoyed every moment of it, but it didn't really set itself apart enough. It was flavorful, juicy, cooked well, but was just a good burger. The fries weren't anything special either.

Would I go back? Sure, if someone wanted to go there. But I wouldn't seek out to get there again or feel like I needed to go back. It was a good experience overall, just nothing to keep me coming back.

Stuffed on Vine

Stuffed on Vine was actually the last new restaurant I went to. It hasn't been open too long and my co-worker heard about it, so off we went. We drove right by it the first go around, but after circling the block we saw the sign on the door and pulled up to a meter. We walked in to an empty house. The only other people there were the workers and one other table. We went up to the counter and put in our order.

I decided to go with the Southwestern burger which came with peppers, pepper jack and queso cheese and onions. Oh did I mention that everything is stuffed, cooked and served INSIDE the burgers? That alone sold me on the idea and got me in the door. The only downfall I see with this place is that it took 30+ minutes from the time we put our order in till the time we saw our food. Most people can't drive from downtown (or where ever), wait 30 minutes then eat then get back to work without taking a long lunch.

But boy was that burger good. I must have missed the HOT peppers part on the menu because my burger was very hot. I needed extra napkins just to wipe the sweat from my face. For $7.50 I got the burger and some delicious homemade french fries. They must have some sort of special batter or fry the fries twice, because they were extra thick with breading and extra crispy, which was very good.

Another great thing about this place is that everything is made fresh. If you want to add in only certain ingredients, you can since they have to add them all in once you place your order. This obviously slows down the process and it is understandable why it takes 30 minutes to get your food.

I think it is worth the wait and can't go back to try some of their other items on their menu. Maybe the chicken wings that smelt so good. Just thinking about them now is making my mouth water.



If I had to rank these 5 burgers I would have to say:
1. Stuffed on Vine
2. Mt. Adams Bar and Grill
3. Arthur's Cafe
4. Kelly's Public House
5. Oakley Pub and Grill
6. Zola Pub and Grill

Terry's Turf Club

If you live in Cincinnati and like burgers you have heard of Terry's Turf Club, there is no way around it. But it seems like people either love it or hate it and I believe it is because it has so much hype that goes along with it. I FINALLY got to go with just my wife a couple months back and we were very excited. We were expecting a long wait since that is what I always hear, but we walked right in and got seated right away around 6 PM on a week night.



Right away I noticed how small the place was, it had maybe 10 total tables, about 6 tables and 4 booths. I do know they are trying to expand but I haven't heard yet if they got the "OK" or not. When we were there they were knocking down the house next door. I did notice also that the entire place was lit up by neon signs only. I couldn't find a regular light in the entire place which I thought was very unique.



As an appetizer they give you peanuts which you can make a mess with and throw the shells on the floor or you can eat the shells like I do (I hear it is the healthiest part). We were waited on right away and ordered a couple of beers. They had a pretty good beer selection which I wasn't really anticipating. I had a seasonal beer while my wife had her regular Corona Light or Extra if they didn't have the light. We already knew we were getting burgers but we didn't know which ones or what the options were going to be. The menu basically had the main burger and then a bunch of cheese and sauce combinations to choose from to put on it. I wanted a normal american or cheddar so I got the peanut sauce (that is the shortened version of the sauce, they were all pretty wordy) which was paired up with one of the two cheeses (I can't remember) and Joanna chose the mushroom sauce with swiss cheese.



The hype definitely was high and the anticipation was unbearable. Finally they brought out our burgers with what I can best describe as a machete knife (the knife was HUGE). But the knife had to be big because the burgers were very large to say the least. I saw it and thought there was no way I would be able to eat both halves. We also split a fresh cut fry which they just divided in half for us on each of our plates.



We took our first bites of the burgers and .. drum roll ... we loved them. It is hard to put into words but it is a perfect burger. The burger itself is amazing and the combinations of Terry's "magical" sauces and cheese just puts it over the top. I didn't have any trouble finishing the whole thing (even though I probably shouldn't have). I might have left a few fries on my plate even though they were very good as well, but I wanted to make sure I had enough room for the burger.



I have been wanting to go back, but I am not sure if I will stick with my burger that I had last time or order a different one just to see if it is the sauce that I love or the burger or both. It isn't that it is too far away, but it is also that I am afraid that I will be waiting an hour or two to get seated. But believe me, I will be back and I hope it is soon because looking at these pictures makes me want to go back tonight. It would be hard to say that this isn't my favorite burger I have ever had. It is no doubt in my top 5, I would say no doubt in my top 2 or 3. I will have to have it a couple more times to make sure. : D

Paula's Cafe

Paula's Cafe is located in downtown Cincinnati. It has a sign outside that says Best Burger Downtown. I am sure they aren't the only place that has the same sign, but I now agree with their sign. Now I am JUST counting places actually downtown. I do not think is the best burger I have ever eaten, but I do believe that it is the best burger that I can get during my lunch downtown without having to get in my car and drive anywhere.



They call it the "7 minute burger". They call it this because that is how long it is on the grill for to make it how the cook wants to, which I believe is Medium. It is $6.95 for the burger and chips, to upgrade to fries it is $1.75 more. For cheese, caramelized onions or mushroom sauce it is $.50. And finally for $.95 more you can get an egg or bacon on top of it. I have had the burger now 4 or 5 times. I have it different each time. My last time I had it with just cheese and an egg, the first time I had it with cheese, onions and pickles. No matter the combination the burger has been delicious each time. I would recommend springing for the fries unless you like the traditional plain ruffle potato chip. Expect to pay close to $10 for everything and go all out for the best built burger you can think of. I don't go here much, but when I do I want to like it a special experience.



Usually when I leave (and sometimes even when I don't eat here) I grab a piece of their homemade carrot cake for my wife. She LOVES carrot cake and after she had theirs the first time (and every time since) she has said it is the best she has had (in Cincinnati). I have had their homemade brownies and they weren't the best, but usually I am too stuffed for dessert anyway.



If you haven't been here before, it is worth checking out. It is on 4th street in between Vine and Walnut.

Gordo's Pub & Grill

Before I get too far into this post I do want to say that I have only been to Gordo's Pub & Grill ONE time. I went there with a group of about 4 friends and my two kids. I had heard so many good things about their burgers that I had to try them out for myself.

First of all, we probably shouldn't have brought the kids, don't get me wrong I don't remember anything going wrong or it not being kid friendly, but it was more of an adult place and more of a bar than say a bdubs or willies or something of that nature. It was pretty dark and my kids don't do well at many restaurants period.



We ordered a couple appetizers, I got my favorite saratoga chips and bbq sauce and I believe my friend ordered their Nanay Egg Rolls. I couldn't complain about my appetizer (it is hard to screw up chips and bbq sauce) and from what I heard, everyone liked the egg rolls as well.



For my meal I can't remember the exact burger that I had, I believe it was the Gordo's Burger since I wanted to try their main burger. My wife got the Surf & Turf and she really enjoyed hers. Me on the other hand had the opposite reaction. I actually couldn't even finish the burger. I am really hoping it was just a badly cooked burger for just me and not usually like this. But my burger was not just undercooked so that there was a ton of pink (that would have been ok and manageable) but it was so undercooked that the burger itself wasn't cooked and you could still see the shininess and the goo of the fresh burger. It reminded me of when I started trying to make my perfect burger at home and didn't want to keep it on the grill that long as to over cook it, then later find out with my first bite that the burger is not cooked through and even though it is pink like the pros, it is grossly gooey and almost not editable. (I tried to take a picture of it below, it looks like this guy I had the same experience)



The fries weren't much better. It is much harder to describe why I wasn't a big fan of the fries like I can for the burger, but it was probably just the fact that they were large steak fries and I am more of a thinner fry fan. That is just a personal opinion and the fries would have been great if I liked that style.



All in all it was not a good experience for me, but I did find one bright light in the trip. They have a very large and good beer selection. I would probably go back for that reason alone. I am sure I will give it another chance sometime down the road since everyone else seems to like the burgers, but it is going to take awhile to get that image of the burger out of my mind.