Captain Mike's

I tried a burger bar in Kenosha, WI called Captain Mike's today. It was one of the most conflicting restaurant experiences I've had in a long time.

This is the classic "I wish I could give it 3.5 stars" review. So I'll take it from the beginning. I love the atmosphere. The walls, the beer taps, the fish tank, the vending machines, etc. This place has its own style and makes no apologies for it. I have all the respect in the world for that.

The female bartender was very nice and offered to give me a sample of some of their 30 draft beers. I requested two and she brought them pretty quickly. I ordered one of them a little bit later, but she apparently forgot. So I had to drink water with my burger and fries. I'm sorry, but how do you forget a beer order if you're a bartender and the bar doesn't hold more than 15 people?

Another complaint, the menu. It's changed quite a bit from the online version. Now there are more options, the 10 ounce burger is now an 8 ounce burger, and prices are actually higher. This needs to be updated.

We actually started with soups. I had the beer cheese soup. Very cool that they served pretzel rolls with it. And they don't skimp on the portions, it's a lot of soup! Great quality bacon, very cheesy, and very satisfying. The lobster bisque was tomato based and came with a shot of sherry, a pretty cool idea. I was told it was okay, though she prefers a creamy base. However, we waited 10 minutes to get our soup. I'd had maybe three tastes of my beer cheese soup and...out come the burgers! Hello kitchen, let's work on our timing!

Anyway, I had the cheeseburger walrus with cheddar and Swiss, mushrooms, onions, and horseradish mayo. Half a pound of grass fed beef, char-grilled. There are so few places that char-grill burgers now (what is the obsession with the flat top?) and I give this place major props. The roll was soft, the burger was juicy, and the toppings were great. Really good burger. Of course, they forgot that I requested bacon on it as well...they are forgetting both bacon and a beer???

And the fresh cut fries...sweet Lord, thank you. Thick cut, a little peppery seasoning, crunchy exterior. Excellent fries.

Here's the deal, folks. This place has some great positives, but I had to deal with quite a few negatives that I wasn't happy about. I would come back though since the burger is just that good. I live two hours away, but I'll give them another shot one of these days.