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A Job Well Done
Carol Deptolla | Dining Critic JS Online

Sure, it's a lousy time for the economy. But it's a great time for
burger lovers. Some new joints around Milwaukee are all about
the burger - or, at least, mainly about the burger. Most of them
stack up well: flavorful burgers and - dare I say it? - nice buns.
Restaurateurs are paying special attention to the beef and the rolls.
They're burgers someone could flip for.

A point about methodology: I tried a basic cheeseburger at the
restaurants with lettuce, tomato and either mayo or the house
sauce, for comparison's sake. Also, these burgers are made to
order, and a 10-minute wait, give or take a couple of minutes,
seemed typical when the restaurants were moderately busy.

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AJ Burger

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.