Sunday, October 16, 2011

First Impressions: AJ Bombers

Few restaurants in Wisconsin can equal the social media buzz of AJ Bombers. I found myself following @ajbombers on Twitter a year ago. This would not be odd except for the fact that I had never been to the Milwaukee restaurant and that I lived in Madison. When word came down that their second location was coming to Madtown, I was already building up the hype and expectations in my head. Not only has Bombers met my expectations, but it has also had one of the smoothest opening months I've ever witnessed.My first trip came just a couple of days after they opened. Located in the former Crave space a block off State St., the space is open and features standard bar seating (booths and tall tables). I was one of the first through the doors for the lunch crowd and was impressed by the friendly service right off the bat. One of the owners sat me at the bar and walked me through the menu and ordering process. Each patron fills out an order slip that waitstaff retrieves. You can customize almost everything on the menu as well. Now one would hope that an owner would put their best foot forward shortly after opening, but I was impressed that the energy spread to the two bartenders who waited on me as well. I soon got to see what a peanut bomb looks like. Above the bar is a station of multiple "bombs" that run along tracks on the ceiling. At the end of each track is a target with a bowl below. The bartenders load the bombs with peanuts and well, you can guess the rest. Since I was seated at the bar I didn't get the theatrics but it was fun to watch the bartenders work on the speed of their bomb deliveries to the outlying tables. When filling out my slip, I decided to jump right in and try the Milwaukee favorite, Barrie burger. The quarter pound patty had a perfect crust around a medium core and was topped with American cheese, bacon and peanut butter. Yes with all the peanuts flying around this seemed appropriate and damn if it wasn't tasty too. I opted to add some jalapenos and without the juice from the peppers I think the peanut butter would have made it a tad to dry. The skin on fries were tasty but clearly the burger was the star of the show. By the time I left, the place had a pretty good lunch crowd going and I was impressed to see the personal service each person was receiving. The last nice touch for me was when the bartender gave me a Sharpie and invited me to write on the walls. At Bombers graffiti is clearly encouraged so I obliged, leaving my twitter handle which seemed entirely appropriate.



For my second trip I brought my partner and our two year old son. We came for a late lunch on a Sunday and found the place very empty. A little concerning being that the Packers were playing and I'd think this would be a great place to watch a game. Still with a toddler we're never too upset to have a place to ourselves. The service again was personal, without being fake, and certainly contributed to keeping the kid entertained. He loved the peanut bombs but as parents we really appreciated our server checking with us before sending a potentially scary, loud noise making machine over his head. Since it was the weekend I opted to start with the Bloody Bomber which was a monster of a bloody Mary topped with a bacon wrapped strip of muenster cheese and hamburger. The great garnishes were appreciated but let it be known that the bloody mix stands on it's own. I was offered a chaser of Miller Lite or High Life which was too bad given my boycott of Miller/Coors products. I thought about asking to sub for a Wisconsin craft brew but instead just nodded and nursed my way along. With three of us dining we got a little further into the menu. We split the buffalo chicken egg rolls which were tasty but nothing I'd rush to order again. I do appreciate that they were clearly made fresh but the flavors were a bit subdued for something that had buffalo in the title. For the kid we got a hot dog split open and topped with American cheese and sauteed onions. The kid picked off the onions but loved the bun and was ok with the dog. His parents were impressed with the cheesy dog and debated the origins of the sausage for the rest of the meal. My partner opted for the Mad Sconnie, AJ Bombers tribute to their new home town. The beef patty also contained bacon in the mix and was topped with lettuce, tomato, and a fried pickle. All of this sat on Stella's Bakery spicy cheese bread roll that had a healthy spread of Bomber sauce. We both liked it although we felt it could use more cheese. After all, a burger meant to pay tribute to the capital of the cheese state, should feature cheese in multiple ways. Not wanting to leave out Bombers' other location, I went with the Milwaukee burger. This burger had ample Colby cheese, bacon and Schlitz braised onions. Tough call on where this ranked with the Barrie as I can't really come up with any negatives. I panicked and ordered fries again leaving the sweet potato chips for another day.



I try hard not to make blanket proclamations about a place in it's first 60 days but AJ Bombers will clearly give Dotty's and The Blue Moon a run for the best burger in town. Not only is the food very good but the atmosphere just makes you feel welcome and at ease. On the second trip we sat in a booth we dubbed the Doctor Who booth given the (at least) 3 piece of Who art around the table. The only regret is that we didn't get a Sharpie to add a K-9 to the group.









AJ Bombers, 210 W. Gorham St., Madison, WI (608) 305-4474AJ Bombers on Urbanspoon
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