 A Job Well Done Carol Deptolla | Dining Critic Joe Sorge wanted to open a restaurant with a sense of fun, so flying metal "bombs" filled with peanuts zip through AJ Bombers, a Water St. restaurant-bar. Salted-in-the-shell peanuts are delivered to bins around the dining room via tracks overhead; the bombs release their payload when they hit the target. Servers deliver a bowl of peanuts to the table, but you can help yourself, too. Go ahead, throw the shells on the floor. Sorge also owns Water Buffalo and Swig in the Third Ward with his wife, Angie, a vegetarian. (Note the trio of vegetarian sandwiches on the menu; one is vegan.)  The burger: Cooked medium, this quarter-pound burger was the juiciest of the bunch. Dripping, actually, and wonderfully seasoned, too. It's a delicious burger, made from a custom blend of meats. You don't want to dally with it too long or those juices will do a number on the bun. But the Miller Bakery potato roll is characteristically tender and a good flavor foil for the hamburger.Price: $4 for a single, which includes American cheese, lettuce, Roma tomato slices and Bomber sauce (like Thousand Island, minus the islands of relish). Fries: They're hand-cut, lightly seasoned ($2 a side order, $4 a full order) and delivered to the table hot and crisp. Eat quickly, though, before the fries go limp as they cool. House-made sweet potato chips ($2 side, $4 full) are terrific - paper thin, crunchy and just a bit sweet. Of note: Garnish a burger with a fried egg for $1, and call it brunch. On the side: House-made Cheese Bullets ($4) look like little cheese patties; a panko-crumb coating encasing the Wisconsin cheddar and Muenster cheeses makes them super-crisp. They're served with a smoky, spicy chipotle ranch sauce. Beware of hot oil emanating from the melted cheese. I'm working up to trying AJ Bombers' version of a Bloody Mary ($7.50), garnished with meat (a strip of burger topped with Muenster and wrapped in bacon). Creature comforts: AJ Bombers is the only one of the restaurants to offer table service. The wait staff picks up order forms that customers fill out at the tables and returns with the food. Servers checked back to refill soft drinks and make sure we were happy with our burgers. Were we ever. Vital statistics: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday. Non-smoking. 1247 N. Water St. , at E. Knapp St. (414) 221-9999 ; www.ajbombers.com. |
