Dining Adventures: Magic Wand

 After we left the Studebaker Museum and was headed to find Johnny Appleseed's Grave in Fort Wayne, we headed towards Dayton. As we were driving the back roads of Indiana, it was becoming lunch time. We found a McDonald's. As we pulled in, I look across the street and said "or we could go there." There turned out to be The Magic Wand and it looked like a burger joint. It was a simple decision, we went across the street. 

The Magic Wand is a clown theme restaurant in Churubusco, IL  It is open daily 6 AM to 9 PM except Sundays when it opens at 7 AM. It is about 25 minutes northwest of Fort Wayne. 

Good thing we aren't afraid of clowns because there are clowns every where. Even the bathrooms had clowns If you are afraid of clowns, you might want to order take out.

The menu is mainly burgers and fried foods. It does have a daily special as well that is more homecooked. 

We both had burgers. I went with a bacon cheeseburger and waffle fries. Both were very good. They may look ordinary but actually very good.

They are also known for their ice cream. They had a whole page of sundaes. 

The hubby had a caramel sundae. I went with the Brownie Tornado -- Chocolate ice cream, hot fudge, brownies, and mini marshmallows. 

I was not expecting such a large sundae. It was two layers of ice cream, fudge, brownies, and marshmallows. I had to bring it with us to eat while we drive and still never finished it. It was amazing but it could have been my whole meal.

If you ever find yourself int the middle of nowhere Northeastern, IN and are not afraid of clowns, definitely stop at the Magic Wand even if it is for ice cream. We told the cashier if it wasn't so far, we'd be back. She was like "How far, Fort Wayne (16 miles away)?" We were like Wisconsin. Yeah that is a bit far for an ET Sundae. It is on my list of diners to revisit if we ever are back in the area. 

7100. Make smash burgers

 We got the flat top grill back in July. Pinterest is full of ideas for a Blackstone type grill. One of these is for smash burgers. I decided that I wanted to make smash burgers. 

I found directions on Pinterest. Then I found a deal on a burger press on Amazon. The burger press came and the hubby was excited to try making smash burgers. 

Smash burgers are exactly what they sound like. Burgers that you smash or press flat. They are quite simple to make. All you need is some ground beef (or turkey or chicken if that's your jam) plus whatever seasonings you normally put in your homemade burgers. The hubby keeps it simple and just uses beef.

To make them

1. Roll your beef into balls about the size of a good meatball or dumpling.

2. Make sure your grill is well oiled and heated up.

3. Place your burgers balls on the grill with enough room to smash your balls

4. Using a burger press or spatula, press down on the ball until your burger patty is evenly flat and thin. Hold on for about 10 seconds. Repeat for all the burger balls. You can use parchment paper to avoid sticking.

5. Season your burger patties, if not already done so. 

6. Cook until your done to your likeness. You can add cheese here and let melt on the grill.

7. Enjoy

The hubby is really impress by the new burger press. We will be making smash burgers a lot this summer.  If you have a griddle or flat top grill, definitely make some smash burgers this grilling season. 

Eat at Sobelman's.

Sobelman's was not on the bucket list but it is Milwaukee institution. When trying to decide on a place for lunch (that was open) on Memorial Day, Stacy's husband suggestion Sobelman's. It claims to be the home of the best burger in Milwaukee. Best Burger had me sold.

Little did we know, Sobelman's was a place to hang out before a Brewer's game and the place was packed. We didn't have any set time table for the Forest Home Cemetery so we didn't mind waiting, besides we didn't really have another option. 

Besides being home to Milwaukee's Best Burger, it is also home to incredible Bloody Marys. They are a meal in themselves. If you have 30 minutes to wait, you could order a pitcher complete with a whole roasted chicken on a stick in it. Stacy had one with bacon wrapped Jalapeno Poppers. I stuck with beer. I am not a fan of tomato juice and didn't want to waste my money on something I wasn't going to like. I should have sampled Stacy's though.

I'm not sure about the competition in Milwaukee but I have to disagree with the fact that they claim to be the best burger in Milwaukee. I think Kopp's are better. My issue started when they didn't ask how I wanted my burger. If you are going to be the best burger, you better give me the option of ordering it medium, medium-rare. Second there was no such thing as a just a Bacon Cheeseburger. I could get a Cheeseburger or a Sobelman which was a bacon cheeseburger with fried onions and diced jalapenos. Despite not liking fried onions or jalapenos, I ordered the Sobelman. I brushed off most of the onions and jalapenos. It wasn't bad but it wasn't out of this world. My burger wasn't juicy. It really didn't have a distinct flavor. I guess in a Food Wars episode AJ Bombers beat Sobelman's for the title of best burger. I've not been to AJ Bombers but based on my burger, I could see how that was possible. 

Maybe I just got a bad burger. Maybe I have grown to love butter burgers. Maybe I am just a burger snob. Whatever it is, it is not enough for me to stop going back but next time I will stick with the plain cheeseburger and maybe even try a Bloody Mary.