Second Chance: Culvers

Back in 2011, Mark was out of town and some friends took him to Culver's. We had heard about Culver's from a number of people. Founded in Wisconsin in 1984 the chain is now in 19 states. Everyone we talked to had raved about the food except when Mark went, it wasn't really rave worthy (http://turnerbudds-burgerblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/culvers.html). Even the friends he went with admitted that the burgers weren't very good.

But because of how many people commented on the review, we decided to give it another go. So here is a rare second chance for Culver's.

Burgers

Stopping in on one of the local Culver's locations (see their web site for one near you: http://www.culvers.com/). 

This time the restaurant wasn't as crowded as when Mark first visited. That seemed to help. Maybe the kitchen wasn't dashing through the burgers as fast because, while the meat of the "famous" Butterburgers we ordered were seared, they weren't pancake flat chunks of char. Still, the two one eighth pound patties weren't as flavorful as, say, a Steak and Shake which does a similar style burger. The patties had shrunk considerable and that can only mean a high fat content. But generally with a high fat content there is more flavor so somewhere in the wilds of Wisconsin they have discovered a burger paradox.

While the meat wasn't a highlight, what made the burger was the bun and the very delicious Wisconsin cheddar cheese. To say they were both well above average would be an understatement. Perhaps the fact that they are so tasty actually detracts from the quality of the meat. Or maybe they are designed that way to help cover the quality of the meat. Who knows.

Last time Mark commented on how bland the fries were. They really weren't better and needed to be dunked in considerable ketchup in order to enjoy.

Overall we were disappointed with Culver's. So many people have told us how good they are and how much they like them but in our opinion a place like Steak and Shake is doing the same thing only better. And if you want to take a step up, head to Eastgate and check out Hwy 55.