Grab's Burger Bar

Disclosure: Our meal was provided by the Kenosha Area CVB. I was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.

So, I just returned from a foodie road trip. It was three days of eating and drinking my way around Kenosha, Wisconsin and I'll be sharing a bit about our trip in the coming days. On our first day we arrived at lunchtime to Grab's Burger Bar. 

We started out with three different appetizers and I paced myself through lunch to get a good taste of everything. Appetizer #1 was a no-brainer. It was just so representative of Wisconsin. It was called "Bratchos," a pile of fresh cut fries topped with their house-made Wisconsin beer cheese and chopped bratwurst. On top of that was tomatoes and green onions and sour cream. The beer cheese was fantastic and the addition of bratwurst put it over the top.

Next up: Mozzarella Coins. Because...well, again, we were in Wisconsin and a foodie knows that you don't pass up Wisconsin cheese. These were hand breaded with fresh mozzarella, served over a little bed of mixed greens and covered in shaved parmesan and served with mariana. Think mozzarella sticks reborn...and so next level. Loved these!!!!




By the way, there's quite a nice beer list and a snifter of Terrapin Beer Co's Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout nicely accompanied all of these bites.



And lastly (on the apps), Haystack Onions Strings with honey mustard dipping sauce were just a big bunch of deep fried goodness and I had a hard time stopping myself. They had a perfect crunch and the honey mustard gets a definite thumbs up.



I had a sampling of each appetizer. I'd recommend all three.



And for the entree, we had to go with burgers. And there are a lot to choose from (you can also customize your own). Several have names inspired by the city's schools.

We dined with a couple gals from the Kenosha Area CVB and an intern that was working with them that week to prepare for Kenosha Restaurant Week (coming up February 1 - 9). The intern, Mary, ordered the burger of the week (pictured below), the Urkel, with Merkt's Cheddar Cheese Spread, bacon and Macaroni and Cheese, served on a Paielli's bun (a local bakery).



I got the University Pub Burger topped with a house-made beer cheese spread infused with Lakefront Riverwest Stein, bacon, PBR braised onions and colby jack cheese served on a pretzel bun. It was loaded and gooey and messy and so good.

Hubby's selection was The Orientation, a 100% fresh Angus beef patty with sautéed mushrooms, Wisconsin aged Swiss, roasted garlic mayo and sautéed onions.

When I found out tots were available as a side, I had to go with those.



A burger cheers for the occasion.



On the wall is a large photo of Kenosha native Al Molinaro, an actor best known for his role of Al Delvecchio on the sitcom Happy Days, which ran in the 1970s and 80s. Al seemed a perfect backdrop for a shot of my s'mores milkshake.



There's a fun food challenge that you can try out there if that is your thing. We sat and chatted with the owner, who said that there's about a 20 percent success rate. The fastest time to finish has been 8 minutes and 6 seconds.



Grab's Burger Bar is a community-minded business that partners often with schools and non-profits for fundraising events. They also have an arrangement with nearby Carthage College where students can eat at the restaurant using their school meal cards.

If you're looking for a gourmet burger or just an assortment of good, deep-fried appetizers and bar food, make this your place. Kenosha Restaurant Week is the perfect time to give them a try since it is one of the participating restaurants. For more info and specials, follow along on Facebook.

Grab's Burger Bar

2324 18th St, 

Kenosha, WI

(262) 764-0848