The Spot Drive In

-Got beef?
The Burgers of Wisconsin

I hate to say it but summertime is winding down but not out of the picture just yet. You still got plenty of heat and the fall season too for a road trip or two. You know we here S'C&C aka chibbqking love to travel Wisconsin and explore and consume the states glorious eats. It's also been a while since I've posted about my favorite Chicago suburb Kenosha. Hey, it's closer than other places they call suburbs of my city. Even if you only have the day Kenosha is a great spot (only 64 miles away) to spend it. Its got beaches, bars, outlet mall shopping and a handful of other things including some great Drive In's. A food friend of mine from up that way had been telling me I needed to check out The Spot Drive In and get myself one of the burgers at this local and state favorite that would be a given for a Diners, Drive Ins and Dives episode.


a locals favorite in Kenosha, WI

The Spot is a great place indeed. On my day visited spring was just starting and people were coming out and they were at The Spot by the dozens on the afternoon we were there. You can easily understand why when you realize that The Spot has been around since the middle of the 40's and has been in the same location since then too. The real hits at The Spot are everything I got but the menu is extensive and it wraps around the outside of the building letting drivers see what they offer. The Drive Up service is still available if you want to eat in your whip. Personally I love the fact its open late nite on weekends. I might have to take a late night ride up there one day soon this summer.


Part of the menu along the building outside


Since 1945 for a reason

The car hops were very friendly and well worked on my visit. The recipe for The Spots famous greasy cheeseburgers along with their housemade root beer hasn't changed since day one. On a hot summer day (or any day for that matter) the combo of these three items is another example of why the people of Kenosha and Wisconsin are lucky to have many great roadfood type spots. The onion rings are breaded in house and fried to perfection so make sure to go with them over fries as a side with your burger and root beer.


Root Beer Floats having just arrived for the car next to us


Excellent Onion Rings

The burgers have remained the same at The Spot and the grill they've been cooked on all these years has gained some mighty fine flavor. While remaining the same the burgers are still made like they were in the 30's thru the 50's and are smashed onto the grill giving them crisp edges and to top that off a nicely melted slice of cheese. Go with the classic toppings of mustard, pickles and onions and you got one of Wisconsin's many great burgers and also one of its best. They are open seven days a week from 11am to the wee hours of the am. If you don't order and eat in your car, make the short drive east down 75th and dine on Lake Michigan in your vehicle or take your food out on the rocks and listen to the waves while grubbing on some goodness.


Cheeseburger from The Spot

The Spot Drive In
2117 75th Street
Kenosha, WI 53143
(262) 654-9294

Bears vs Packers Grilling Battle & Tube Fest

--Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)
with 2009 NFL Preview

Is it Sunday night yet? leave it to the NFL to get it right and open their 2009 Primetime Sunday Night football on NBC season with the Bears vs the Packers. When Jay Cutler was traded to da Chicago Bears on 4/3/09 I think everyone can still remember where they were. I was having lunch with some popo over at Freddy's Pizza in Cicero and I didn't believe it despite the fact it was being reported on the Score and ESPN radio stations every other second. It wasn't until I saw the press conference that it totally sunk in. It was shortly after that, the NFL put the Bears on display in Primetime night games a total of five times this season. You can forget about the Sexy Rexy's, Henry Burriss', Craig Krenzel's, Jonathon Quinn's, Rick Mirer's, Chad Hutchinson's, Kordell Stewart's and goodbye to the Moses Morenos of the world! You don't need to remember Cade McNown anymore. Now that you know what a real QB is, don't ever say Jim Miller was alright. I don't remember a buzz greater than the one Jay has brought to the city since #23 who happens to be getting his dues later today when he goes into the NBA Hall of Fame, could you see that one coming? If Jay gets his way, which he usually does, he'll be a first ballot into Canton, Ohio when his time comes and have a few rings of his own to wear for the occasion.


The NFL's best selling jersey since the trade was made

Now as far as the upcoming season goes its a tough call on the NFC North. The old black and blue division has turned into an aerial assault camp but here is what the others are saying. Sports Illustrated has the Bears winning the NFC North in the NFL season preview issue (with Aaron Rodgers on the cover) However they also moved Green Bay from 16 to 3 in their NFL power rankings because of the teams preseason performance. What? b/c of how they played in the preseason they moved up thirteen slots? sounds like crazy talk to me putting the Packers as the 3rd best team in the NFL. It seems like everyone has jumped off old man Favre's bandwagon despite the fact the Vikings have a better team overall than the Packers by my estimations and have added Percy Harvin to the mix on special teams along with #4 as QB. The way I see it is the Bears, Packers and Vikings will all split their games against each other and sweep the Lions. This leaves all three teams at 4-2 with ten games to decide the division. While I have Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre (yep the old guy) on my short list of MVP picks, I don't see the Packers being better than da Bears or Vikings but I do see 2 of the 3 teams going into the playoffs and the Vikings winning the division easily. I like the Chargers over the Steelers in the AFC Championship and the Saints over the Vikings in the NFC. So for Super Bowl XLIV I have the Chargers over the Saints. I pick it like this because everyone else has New England or Pittsburgh winning it all but it never goes the way its supposed to in the NFL and that's why its so great.

Its time to check the engine and fill up the tank on the Old Halas Hauler and head up North.



Vs.



Next on Sunday Night football.

Tailgating Recipes and Ideas

If your not going to the game then there's only one thing to do leading up to this exciting week one matchup-drink and grill. I have a few suggestions on what can be done to make it a very successful extravaganza.

1st up- Get over to the Vienna Beef Factory store on Damen ave in Chicago to load up on Hot Dogs and Polish's. The Vienna beef all beef natural casing hot dogs are the best in the world and you can also grab buns and all your "new" Chicago style topping needs. If your a minimalist man then you can also grab the hot peppers you'll need.


Isn't it safe to say...legends are made this way?

2nd thing to do-If you can head over the border and into Kenosha to grab some groceries from Woodman's and meats and other delights from the area then I highly recommend you do. On top of all the other spots I'll give you at the end of this and have given you the past year on this site I would strongly urge you to get over to Lake Geneva Country Meats in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The heavily over populated vacation destination actually has a spot worth going to and its about 15 minutes up the road opposite way of Kenosha off I-94 from the main Kenosha exit-so its not even downtown.


Stop at this guys joint en route to Country meats for a pie and other goodies

Although I had passed by country meats many of times they were always closed since it was later in the day. I made it a point to get over there and pick up some of their award winning meats along with great canned goods and deli salads, twice stuffed potato's with 'sconsin cheese smoked meats, bacon etc... You know all the good stuff. I also made sure to grab some of their world famous brats which I had heard much about. Well the brats were some of the best I have ever had from the state which means they are best in country thus far on my search.


Worth the drive for some of their Brats

If your headed to green bay for the game then this little 30 minute detour (there and back to the highway) is well worth it. Make sure to pick up some brats for your grill if your going to be doing some tailgating. Even if your not headed to the game then I would still head across the border and pick these up for your Sunday night football party.


Absolute Stunners

If your going to head to Country Meats then there's no reason to not stop in at River Valley Ranch and grab some of the world famous five cheese garlic spread but also some fresh mushrooms for burgers, stuffing them or whatever.


River Valley Ranch Mushroom Farm in Burlington, WI


Five cheese garlic spread is also available around Chicagoland

Chicago Style Dogs and Wisconsin Brats

I started by using the five cheese garlic spread and stuffing some white mushrooms from RVR with half of the spread and half bread crumbs and put those aside for the grill.


Before the grill


after the grill...ready to eat

The only thing I did different than normal was I just soaked the Country Meat brats in beer and onions. After about a 45 minute bath I threw them and some Vienna dogs on the grill and the only thing missing from this was NFL football. Luckily that is now a part of our fall grilling days.


Ready to go


Bears vs. Packers...Hot Dogs vs. Brats


of course if were doing Chicago style we do the original Chicago style too

Do not forget to grill up some Bill Swerski Polish Sausages as well. Click the link below the pic for more on them and other tubed meats.


Bill Swerski Polish with Recipe

Of course if your having both Bears and Packers fans over for the Sunday night game then we can all agree that we like Char Cheddar Bacon Dogs loaded with grilled onions. Click the link below the pic for more on them and other tubed meats.


Char Cheddar Bacon Cheese Dogs with Recipe

Going to Green Bay for the game? Then you might want to stop at one of the famous stops in Wisconsin along 43 en route to Milwaukee and Green Bay. You can pick up all your tailgating needs at both the Brat Stop and Mars Cheese Castle. I would say the Brat Stop is better for brats and drinks at the bar for lunch while Mars is better to pick up cheeses, beer and other fun food things for tailgating. Make sure to get a loaf of their famous cheddar bread, its da bomb.


Kenosha's Brat Stop is known world wide


as is Mar's Cheese castle located not too far down also in Kenosha


Brat Stop has the best brats in the state that are made to order


Mar's has a good brat but not quite up to par with the BS's but this is WI, its good

Then of course there is the legend that is Bobby Nelson and his cheese and sausage country store. Its here where you want to stop for all your bacon and beef jerky needs and of course they got cheese too. Its just a small little store compared to the other two but its filled to the walls up and down with encased and smoked meats. Bobby isn't around anymore but I can promise y'all a detailed report of him, his shop that lives on and that oh so chronic bacon they slang later on in the year. In the meantime stop in for yourself and you'll see whats up.


A Bacon Driving Destination

Other Possible Foods Stops en route to Green Bay

Illinois

Sarkis (grease food)
Captain Porky's (fried shrimp & BBQ)

Wisconsin

Franks Diner (classic American diner)
Oliver's Bakery (donuts and kringle)
Kewpee's (classic burger joint)
Big Star Drive In (burgers and drive in foods)
Fred's Bar (Burgers)
McBob's (corned beef and fish fry)
Zaffiro's (tavern style pizza)
Kopp's (burgers & custard)
Koppa's (deli sandwiches)
Jack Pandl's (German)
Charcoal Inn (Brats and WI tavern steak sandwiches)

Country Meats
5907 State Road 50 east
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
262-248-3399
Website

Vienna Beef Factory Store & Café
2501 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, IL
773-435-2277
open til 4p weekday's-3p wkd's
Website

Mar's Cheese Castle
2800 120th Ave
Kenosha, WI 53144-7599
(262) 859-2244
Website

Brat Stop Entertainment
12304 75th St
Kenosha, WI 53142-7323
(262) 857-2011
Website

Bobby Nelson's Cheese Shop
2924 120th Ave
Kenosha, WI 53144-7531
(262) 859-2232

Big Star Drive In

-Got beef?
The Burgers of Wisconsin

Its back to Kenosha for more good eats as we check out my favorite Drive-In food stop of all time. So attention please to Mr. Guy Fieri-you haven't been to the best until you've been to Big Star Drive In of Kenosha Wisconsin. I cant really explain why but Kenosha has quite a culture of classic old school Drive-In's located throughout town. I have heard elsewhere that a few of them have shut down in the past few years but Big Star is still going strong and that's all that matters to me. I have a real crush on this place and the people of Kenosha are lucky to have so many choices as far as classic food stops go.


Classic Drive-In sign that lights up the night


Big Star shines brighter then most

The Big Star is a family owned business that's been going strong since the 60's and it plays a huge role in Kenosha summers. Since its only a summertime operation the locals like to get it in as much as possible before they close for the season and its easy to see why they like it so much. When I made my first stop of the summer to Big Star last month it was already in full swing. I stopped in for a double cheeseburger ($2.20) and a drink one Sunday afternoon and became an even bigger fan if that was at all possible. This has to be one of the best burgers your going to get anywhere for under $2.50. There wasn't a spot open on my second trip of the day (read on) and on both visits it was packed with families, groups of high school kids, bikers and everyone in between. It was really rocking with lines of people at the takeout and carloads of people eating with not one spot available for any other cars.


The menu extends much further along the building with many other options


Bikers cruising the lake love a food stop at Big Star

During my first few visits to Big Star I couldn't order anything but a signature burger. As you may notice on the menu above they have a few types of burgers from a single cheezeburger to a double to a 1/4 pound patty. While the beef is the same fresh meat used on all burgers the only way to go for me is the double cheezeburger. Its in a league of its own when it comes to Drive-In burgers and one of the best in Wisconsin. You might be wondering why I'm calling them cheezeburgers? well they use real cheeze whiz for the cheese.


My standard burger order double cheeze with mustard, onions and pickles


Real whiz in between makes for quite a treat

It was on this trip as I was waiting for my burger that I got a few whiffs of a biker crews freshly fried chicken-another Big Star Specialty-and it was making me go crazy. All I could think about was fried chicken and I remembered hearing from a few people just how good it was. After exploring other parts of Kenosha looking for old school Italian joints-I headed back for a chicken dinner.


You can also get baskets with various amounts of pieces at under a buck a piece.

Seeing as though it is fried fresh you need to give them at least 20 minutes for an order. The chicken is lightly coated and fried to perfection from leg to breast each piece is crisp on the outside and perfectly cooked to juicy in the middle. I would have to say that this is in the top five for fried chicken dinners I've ever eaten. The chicken dinner comes with a perfectly fried piece of breast, thigh, leg and wing, an an order of crinkle cut fries and a buttered roll and at $4.50 its got to be one of the best meals under $5 anywhere. No need to go too McDonald's down the road.


The breast was a great next day snack...tasted just as good cold.



The chicken is fresh fried so it takes 20 minutes but is worth every minute. Its even better when Chicago Cubs baseball is on the air. Even though they SUCK.


Big Star is on Washington Rd. which is just off Sheridan ave along the Lake Michigan circle tour.

The Big Star Drive In is a real treasure that I hope lasts another 40 years. Kenosha also has a Drive In movie theater just down Sheridan Rd. Its still open and they switch up the movies a couple times a week with current Hollywood blockbusters. I'm hoping that they will be showing Public Enemies which opens in theaters on July 1st and was filmed mostly in my neighborhood of Lincoln Park in Chicago and parts of Southern Wisconsin and Indiana. It seems like it would be a great movie to see at a Drive In theater with a box of chicken from Big Star. Click here for showtimes.

Big Star Drive In
1500 Washington Rd
Kenosha, WI 53140-2416
(262) 658-1572
Get Directions

Eating BIG in Kenosha, WI

Eating like a local:
Regional food specialties
-The Diners of America ft Kenosha WI

The Cubs are in Milwaukee for the second series of the season this Easter weekend with the ESPN game of the week on Sunday night. This means that the Cubs fans are going to be taking a road trip and coming to Milwaukee from all over the Midwest as is normal for the summer months when the Cubs go up to Wrigley Field North. As summer gets closer you can expect a whole bunch of spots to eat at in the great eating state of Wisconsin along with other US states right here. Kenosha Wisconsin is one of the first stops after you cross the IL/WI border and has always been one of Chicago's best suburbs to eat in. Yea I said it, Kenosha is as much of a suburb as are some of the other places in Chicagoland that they call suburbs. Its much closer to me than alot of others and therefore its one of my favorite places to eat and spend a day or two over the summer and its a quick one hour drive max. Despite being so close and just a quick drive up the lake its a different world out there and like most little towns in Wisconsin, Kenosha has more than its fair share of places to get the good stuff.

Frank's Diner


The little diner that could

Franks diner is one of the gems of the area and is also a favorite of anyone who's from Kenosha, been thru Kenosha or spends time in the area. This is the spot to go if you want to eat a hearty breakfast en route to Milwaukee. Its locally recognized as a historic landmark and the spot in town for breakfast and it has now grown into a celebrity on the US diner scene. It all started in 1926 when six horses pulled into Kenosha and dropped Franks diner where it is today. The website tells the story that "Anthony Franks, who first learned of the unique restaurant opportunity through a magazine article, paid $7,500 plus $325 in shipping charges to launch his business. He added a dining room in 1935 and a larger kitchen in the mid 1940s. The Franks family operated Franks Diner until 2001." Lucky for the people of Kenosha the people that have taken over haven't switched anything. With a recent appearance on Diner's, Drive In's and Dives along with all the other press it has become very busy on almost all days at all times they are open.


The view upon entering


The specials board is pure Wisconsin

Franks does up a great breakfast and lunch menu and most everything is going to be better than good. They do however have a signature menu item which is called a "garbage plate" It consists of hash browns, green peppers, onions, jalapenos, eggs, choice of meat (ham, bacon, sausage or why not all three?) or you vegans can go all vegged out and get Zucchini, mushrooms and tomato included with the rest minus the meat. Its all served with toast and a full garbage plate consists of five eggs while a half contains three. Want cheese? this is Wisconsin of course you have the option. The massive plates of food are a sure fire way to make sure your belly is ready to soak up all the beer at the baseball games. One of the finest and funnest breakfasts in the country is a great way to start your day in Wisconsin no matter what your plan is. Just be sure that if your plan includes active activity that you get either a half plate or even split a half plate. Yes they are that big that a half of a garbage plate split between two big eaters was enough to start a day of binge eating.


The grill on a rare slow day (garbage plates being made)


This is only half of a half of a Garbage plate with everything
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Oliver's Bakery

After you get yourself some breakfast at Frank's be sure to stop at Olivers bakery for some post game snacks or just a few treats to have in your car for your roadtrip or bring back home with you. Whatever the reason is you'll be so glad you did. I'm not a big sweets guy but one of my favorite sweet pastry type snacks is another Wisconsin specialty brought by the Danish to Racine Wisconsin. Kringle is dough that has been rested overnight before shaping, filling, and baking. Many layers of the flaky dough are layered, then shaped in an oval. After filling with fruit, nut, or other flavor combination, the pastry is baked and iced. I always drive by Oliver's when I'm taking one of my favorite drives in the country, get on Sheridan Road at Fullerton and take it all the way to Milwaukee along the lake. It wasn't until my last trip there this past winter that I finally stopped in.


Olivers bakery in Kenosha is a real gemmer

Call ahead and Olivers will have any one of their 20+ flavors of Kringle ready for you to be picked up. Just don't make the mistake of taking a pass on the donuts and cookies which also happen to be incredible on every level. The donuts were the best I have ever had and I don't think I need to even bother eating donuts from anywhere else. I'm not big on sweets so I am by no means an expert but I know that the Boston Cremes and Bismarck's were out of this world. There is also a cookie case and a refrigerated case with all sorts of cakes and pies. This is what a bakery should be and if there was anything this good in Chicago my body would be paying for it dearly. Its now in my regular rotation for good eats in a little town that has a many great eats.


Donut case


Kringle flavors available (click to enlarge)


Kringle case


excellent blueberry creme cheese kringle


Boston creme (L) Cinnamon (top) Bismarck (R)


Pure Wisconsin (Bismarck)
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Do not forget to have a few brats from the Brat Stop right off I-94 before or after the game this summer. Its always filled with people at night and you can meet some real characters and have one of the best pieces of encased meat in the world along with a cold spotted cow.


world class brat from the world famous brat stop

Other options for food in Milwaukee are classic corned beef and Friday fish fry from McBob's and or cracker crisp classic tavern style super thin crust pizza from Zaffiro's.


Frank's Diner
508 58th St
Kenosha, WI 53140
(262) 657-1017
Website

Oliver's Bakery
3526 Roosevelt Rd
Kenosha, WI 53142
(262) 652-3984

Brat Stop
12304 75th St
Kenosha, WI 53142
(262) 857-2011
Website