Tumbleweed #2

Our 84th Review

Official Review #84

Tumbleweed

511 Marketsquare Drive Maysville, Kentucky 41056

606.759.8876

UPDATE!

We've made 2 visits since our original 2 trips a while back, The Burger SLiders are still excellent, but the Regular Full-Sized Burger, for whatever reason still not good, but much better than before, but it's still not even top 25 on our list, they claim it has real Angus Beef, if true why does it not taste Better, Very good Veggies, & Fries, Chicken is also very good, service is mostly very good also.

It's been a few years since we tried this Steakhouse out and I had the Smoked Cheddar Bacon Burger:  served with Lettuce, Tomato, Onion & Pickle, & either Waffle or Regular Fries, at that time it just was not a good burger at all, garnering the lowest rating ever on our list, how they managed that with what they claimed at the time to be an All Angus Beef burger, I will never know.

On this trip, I ordered the  Angus Sliders  $9.99   Four juicy Angus beef mini-burgers. Served with cheese and pickle.

They were very good, 10x better than the Full-sized Burger I had ordered years earlier, maybe things have changed, I might have to re-visit soon to update that original review, these pretty good-sized for sliders and thick and juicy, they had very good flavor, definitely had some spices, the 4 of them filled me completely with fries which were also good, the buns had a good taste that added to the flavor, and the cheese pickle was fresh and tasted good, overall a very solid and very good slider, I would order these anytime, service was good and friendly, a bit slow as they were crowded and seemed like forever waiting on the order to come and the waitress could have come back at least 1 more time in between to re-fill us.

My Wife ordered Steak, baked potato, and salad, she loves their steaks, and said her entire meal was excellent, she will definitely be back as this was her Birthday Dinner for 2018.

Final Thoughts: My Wife enjoyed her steak, & loves coming here for, the Steak, so if you do have to eat here, & pay for their overpriced food, get a steak, but not the crappy full-sized burgers, which I will update that review soon, but definitely order the Steak & or Sliders anytime.

Final Rating:   7.9* (Try it -abv Avg/Gd to VG)  They tie with Towne & Country bowling lanes & their Sliders on our list, also the 2 best siders we've had.

Next Tasty Review:   Still reviewing our choices.

Tickle Pickle

Our 83rd Review

Official Review #83

Tickle Pickle

4176 Hamilton Ave. Cincinnati, Ohio  45223

513.954.4003

UPDATE! Someone from the Tickle Pickle left us a reply about our Comments on their Burgers Possibly not begin real Beef due to their Uniform Shape and about whether or not they have any spices in the Beef, here is most of their reply about it.

We just wanted to clarify that the beef is from Whole Foods in Rookwood and that we do in fact patty them onsite. One of our owners manufactured a press so that the beef can be placed in a cookie sheet and pressed to make each burger the same size (this is why there is a square shape to it). Our beef is also seasoned. We appreciate the feedback from all and will take all comments into consideration. Happy burger eating! 

Thank You Tickle Pickle for clearing this up for us, my reply also back to them was, that it does not change our review any of their Burger,  except for the grill marks on the meat, it's almost tasteless to be real Beef, and it does not help their very poor Bun, get a good Brioche Bun, I bought some cheap ones at Walmart one day that actually was very good,  and try a taste test with some other really good burgers in town and see if you can use what you find out to spice up your Burgers some, otherwise we really can't recommend your Burgers with so many other Excellent ones in town and N. Ky.

We met one of the 3 original Cincinnati Burgerguys here for this burger during Cincinnati Burger week 2018, and he was kind enough to send me his own review on the burger we had for Lunch, his review is next, the review from my Wife & I are just below it, but all 3 of us basically agree on it, thanks again Freddie for this excellent review.

Hi there - It’s Freddie - one of the original Cincinnati Burger Guys. Although I haven’t written a burger review in some time, I know I’m up to this task. After all, I still like a good burger and I regularly write at my blog of eclectic topics, A Frank Angle. https://afrankangle.wordpress.com/

Since the last time we posted, Wolfy moved to Chicago and my good friend Bucky is in a memory care facility. So, when the host here invited me to join him and his wife to celebrate Cincinnati Burger Week, I couldn’t turn that down! Besides, I got to pick the venue!!!

On name alone, Tickle Pickle in Northside has always intrigued me. Another factor was the  Tickle Pickle’s Cincinnati Burger Week offering was a standard burger - not a specialty flavor based on bacon, blue cheese, barbeque, tacos, or another specialty. After all, back in the day, I controlled my variables by standardizing my order as much as possible. Besides, the original Cincinnati Burger Guys based ratings on the burger - not the place. Oh, how I recall Bucky squirming at a few places.

I initially mentally pictured a bar - na baby na - Tickle Pickle is a casual eatery where customers order at the register. I ordered a Bread Zeppelin - a beef burger with lettuce, tomato, onion (nope for me), pickle, and spicy ketchup.

Once the burger arrived, I gave it the Freddie once-over - overall looks ok, a medium thickness at best, and a basic bun. Because a good burger should be primarily about the meat, a Freddie tradition is to pinch off a portion of the pattie. Yum! - a pronounced flavor of the grill (a good thing) but nothing seems to be added to the meat (a negative). I also know Wolfie would say the beef was OK - but not exceptional.

With the first bite, Bucky’s spirit resonated with me to think about the sandwich as a whole. (More on that later.) As previously mentioned, the bun was standard. Nothing special - but it did not dominate the sandwich and it maintained its integrity through the final bite.

Conclusion

Carrying the flavor of the grill made this burger very acceptable. Although the trimmings and bun were basic, they worked well together - but nothing spectacular. I, Freddie, recommend the Bread Zeppelin at the Tickle Pickle - but keep your expectations in check because it won’t knock your socks off. However, it’s still a better burger than Zips (the most overrated burger in the city).

Final Rating - Acceptable, but nothing special.  

Now the Review of the same Burger from my Wife & I.

We came here for Cincinnati Burger week 2018 on a Saturday for Lunch, we had the BREAD ZEPPELIN   $10.00   A Beef burger, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mayo, ketchup, it was a good looking Burger & a pretty good size,  but it was a very plain tasting Patty, no spices detected on it, the only flavor was the burn from the grill, really not much flavor other than that to speak of,  the pattie clearly was square-shaped, giving the appearance that it came frozen from a box & not Hand-made on-site, and it tasted like it, since we did not ask about this, the Jury is out on exactly what or where the Beef is or where it comes from.

The toppings, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickle were all good and seemed fresh, toppings all tasted good, the mayo, ketchup, everything was fine.

The Bun looked good, but overall a bit hard & dry, no taste in it at all, it definitely needs a better bun, maybe even a brioche.

 We tried the Mac 'n' Cheese and it was excellent 10x better than the burger was, it was the 1st Mac 'n' Cheese I've had with Bowtie Pasta, I definitely  recommend trying it, it was better than most other places I've tried that were known for their Mac 'n' Cheese,  but there are way too many better Burgers in the City to waste time at this location, if your in the area or passing by, run in and get a mac to go, it was a decent overall burger, but that was due to the toppings & cheese mostly, definitely nothing to do with the tasteless, square, with a possibly frozen patty, 

I've read some pretty good reviews on this place, & 1 person told me it was excellent, but there were 3 of us for this review & all 3 pretty much had the same opinion on it.  We Met Freddie here for Lunch, he was one of the original 3 Cincinnati Burger Guys from the early 2000s that ran a Famous blog by the same name, it was very popular & they hit all the best places at that time, it was an excellent blog & I followed them religiously, it was well written & great reviews,  Freddie does an excellent job reviewing Burgers, like us, his heart & tummy and soul, are really into the love of Burgers, but I suggest finding a much better rated & reviewed burger, as there are at least 25 or more potentially better ones in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Parking is a bit difficult at busy times, you have to park on the street, meters on both sides & there is a City lot around the corner & a little bit of free parking on the street near the lot and by the United Dairy Farmer across from the Parking lot.

I've read some pretty decent reviews on the burgers here, how I don't know, I can only guess people are not getting out and trying better ones, or maybe the locals are giving it inflated reviews, who knows for sure, the toppings helped mask, a not so good beef patty.

Final Thoughts: Definitely not a good piece of beef, just barely acceptable, overall it was a decent burger, but with all of the great burgers in Cincinnati & Northern, Kentucky, I would never want to eat this one again, no reason to pay $10 for it, I would rather have a Big boy or something, and again, our guess is it's not real Beef, but if it is, it's a poor selection, it's definitely not hand-made on site.

Go here, get the Mac 'N" cheese & forget about the burgers, they look better than they are, and the toppings mask the plain flavor of the meat.

Final Rating:       6.4* (Avg/Nothing Special

Next Tasty Review:  Not sure yet, stick looking over our suggestions!

                                                                   HOURS:

Monday - Sunday | 11:00am - 10:00pm

Bubbys Burgers

Our 82nd Review

Official Review #82

Bubbys Burgers

603 Forest Ave, Maysville, KY 41056-1411

606.407.3705

 

UPDATE!

We re-visited Buby's in June of 2020

 

We got the big deluxe burger, it was almost $12 very big, but did not taste that good, it seems the sliders are the best burgers here, I definitely do not recommend getting the big burger, the beef is not good. 

They have excellent little burgers, tastes like the old diners I use to see on the roadside as a kid when we use to visit Mamaw & Papaw in Hazard & my Granny in Jackson, Kentucky, a bit similar to a White Castle, but just somewhat, they are their own little burgers, also the Big Cheese is just as good,

they are just plain Great Tasty Burgers & Sliders, buns are tasty as are all of the toppings, fries are very good, we got some Cheese Coney's & a BLT on the 2nd visit, the Coneys are excellent as is the BLT.
This was our 1st visit here, we had seen their Building location on Forest Ave. but had never stopped, this time we saw their Trailer in a parking lot, so we decided to try it out. My Wife ordered their famous sliders with Grippo's chips & I ordered the Big Cheese with fries. Both came with soft buns & tasty toppings.  & the servers are friendly. We'll definitely be back. I had the Coney dogs, which were delicious. My mother-in-law had her first White Lights and fell in love!

We made a 2nd trip this time to The restaurant which is small but cozy, The service was quick & friendly, seemed to be good workers, & it's a very nice decor & clean well maintained establishment, overwhelming smells of good comfort foods. Polite staff, it's a good place to eat, there is also outdoor seating, it gives a nice view over a small park area.

You definitely leave with a good taste on your pallets with this Burger, if you stay here or visit nearby, you must try out, it's one of the very best Burgers/sliders we have had.

Final Thoughts: Definitely one of the top 2 or 3 Sliders we've ever had anywhere & the bigger burger is solid also definitely recommend eating here when in the area or passing by...

Final Rating:       7.0*(Try it-above Avg/Good to VG)  For the SLIDERS ONLY!

The Big Deluxe Burger I will rate it a 4.0*

Next Tasty Review:  The Tickle Pickle!

                                                                   HOURS:

Mon-Thur 10AM-10PM

Fri -Sat 10AM-2AM

Sun - CLOSED

                                      This is their little Mobile Food Trailer!

The excellent BLT!

Their Delicious Cheese Coneys!

We met with Frank!

During Cincinnati Burger Week 2018, we met with Frank in July 21st, 2018 at the Tickle Pickle, Frank was one of the 3 original Cincinnati Burger guys from their famous blog of the early and mid-2000's.

They had quite a following in the day & I was one of them, I started this blog & kept a piece of their name in our's for the great respect & admiration I had for them & what they were doing back then, & that's reviewing Burgers, something I love & something I've always done but had never thought about doing detailed in-depth reviews on the burgers & places I ate at, then I realized how much I enjoyed reading reviews, especially the ones Frank wrote as he was the Main Blogger in their group, he wrote excellent reviews that were right on point for the many locations they visited, my kids were young then & I would take the whole Family to many of the places they rated highly & I would send them my suggestions for others they should visit, it was a Fantastic blog to follow & it's still up on the web & I will post a link to it.

The Old Cincinnati Burger Guys are no longer together now, Frank told me he does his own blog about other things and that 1 of the other 3 regular members had moved away, to Chicago I think he said, & the 3rd one was hospitalized due to his memory loss due to age I assume.

Here is a link to the Cincinnati Burger Guys Blog that was very popular & active in the early to mid-2000's, & sadly no longer active today, but I keep their Memory alive with our own blog here, the New Cincinnati, Burger guys & gals.

Cincinnatiburgerguys    - It's a great place to read about Burgers from years ago here in the area, many of the places they visited are still in business today & we have reviewed many of them ourselves.

We met Frank at the Tickle Pickle, it was his choice from the many burger spots participating in Cincinnati Burger week, & one we had never tried before, we met him around Lunchtime on the last Saturday of Burger week, it was not too crowded at the Tickle, but was started to get crowded by the time we were finished, Frank texted me & said I would know him by the Hat he was wearing, he wore a Burger Hat, a Hat that looked like a Hamburger, it was the perfect thing for him to have done, we loved it, Frank,,.

I can't remember now how long we talked & then we stood for a while afterward outside talking, all about Burgers, food, reviewing & related things.

My Wife & I just listened to the many stories from their Blogs Glory days, & loved every minute of it, we actually learned a lot & you could tell Frank enjoyed discussing it, especially with new people that were also into Burgers.

Thanks again Frank for the awesome visit & for taking the time to meet with us & review the Tickle Pickle, overall it was not a top 10 Burger on our list or for any list for that matter, but it was a decent one, we would say a Fairly good burger at best, the Patty as Frank remarked appeared to be of a Uniform Shape, more a perfect square which told us all that it was possibly not hand-made on site but came frozen out of a box, so I'm not sure exactly what they make their Patties from or where they get them, but the taste was also extremely plain, except for the burn from the grill, definitely had no spices.

Frank had said he may do his own review of the place & write it up & email it to me, that's why I'm holding off on our main review of this Burger, I will hold off until next Monday & if I don't get a review from him, I will post our full review on the Tickle Pickle, definitely not top 10 & Most likely out of the top 20 as there are too many other excellent Burgers in the area, I've heard good reviews on this place but they did not stand up to the test.

Take care Frank & hope to talk burgers  & food again sometime.

The New Cincinnati Burger Guys & Gals!

Dutch's

Our 81st Review

Official Review #81

Dutch's

3378 Erie Ave., East Hyde Park

                                  Cincinnati, OH 45208

  Corner of ERIE and MARBURG in EAST HYDE PARK

513.871.1446

Dutch's: Burger du Jour, $12

They have been named at one time or another as the best burger in town!

But due to serving Burgers only on Thursday's and changing them every time, I can't rate them highly for these reasons, but it's a very good burger when we all went.

Thursday night is burger night,  I had read that this is the only night they service Burgers and that it can be a totally Different Burger each & every Thursday, they serve them until they run out, Parking is limited, so get their early if you want to try one.

On this Trip we had Brandy, Heather back to help review & my Wife, so the 4 of us together as a team again, Brandy commented on the atmosphere here, she loved it, Heather thought the service was just perfect, my wife & I noticed the lack of Parking, LOL!

Prepare to be blown away by Jim Cornwell and Patrick Hague’s burger du jour  $12  topped with everything from a goat cheese and roasted garlic ravioli with guanciale-rich a’matriciana sauce balsamic braised ramps, sun-dried tomato pesto, shaved mushrooms, and Finn Meadows Farm’s spinach the next—all piled onto a Sixteen Bricks brioche bun that more than holds its own.

The Burger du jour from Dutch's can also be topped with fried green tomato, pimento cheese, and herbed goat cheese aioli.

Classic it most certainly is not, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t reveal that behind one of the best burgers in town is bona fide Ohio beef. Yup, this $12 burger is the product of a helluva lotta industry folk—chefs, farmers, bakers—who have combined their powers to achieve local burger domination.

The burgers are as unique as the beers, classic roots with radical additions that complement each other like a senior in high school to his prom date trying to get some. As you enjoy the food,  

 Each week the Chef's devise a 'specialty' burger but you better get in quick as they run out! Both times I've visited we've been treated to unusual flavors that seemingly work (strawberry compote with goat cheese one week, gumbo special sauce the next) and the beef patty is super juicy.

I finally made it back today to try the burger that's only available Thursday nights and wasn't disappointed. Fresh ingredients, perfectly marinated and medium cooked meat!

Other than the burger I'm a huge fan of the terrine and truffle popcorn for appetizers, 

I tried some of the truffle popcorn - it's so good made with black truffle oil, butter, and Parmigiano Reggiano!  I'm a huge fan of Brussel sprouts and they make some of the best I've had - they use lamb bacon!  

Burger special on Thursdays is fun. The burger changes each week but you can check their Facebook page to see what it is on Thursday. Comes with chips and a pickle. Add a couple more bucks and get the beer pairing. Solid burger.
Grilled cheese with short ribs is fantastic. We also had the Brussel sprouts which were cooked perfectly. The portion is huge and could be shared with a group of 4. We had the French Classic and Short Rib Grilled Cheese. Both were awesome.

Their buffalo mozzarella sandwich is absolutely amazing,

 the grease from the burger made the bun soggy pretty quickly. I

The restaurant seating is limited, but the service is excellent. Be sure to try the orzo pasta salad - the best,

Final Thoughts:  This one is extremely Difficult to give a Solid rating to, since the Burgers are only served on Thursday's and they change each Thursday, it takes a while before you might see the same burger again, so I'm going to place down just outside our top 20, not due to the Taste of the Burger which was Very good when we went twice, but due to the other factors, and overall it's a fairly expensive visit if you try other things with the Burger.

Final Rating:  6.5* (Try it-above Avg/Good to VG)

Next Tasty Review: Looking over the places we've been trying to decide which review to post next, we have so many waiting to be published, Burger week 2018 overwhelmed us, we visited so many and we already had a few waiting to get published before burger week.

I must apologize as my Photo's of this meal for some reason did not turn out well on my cell, they were all blurred for some reason, never happened before, and I was unable to find any on the net.

Hang Over Easy

Our 80th Review

Official Review #80

                               Hang Over Easy

13 W. Charlton 

Cincinnati, OH 45219

513.221.5400

We ate here Saturday during Cincinnati Burger Week 2018

This is another short quick, simple review because it was very good, so it's easy to review.

We ordered the PB&J BURGER  

Fresh Eckerlins Burger grilled, definitely  Hand-Made, then topped with melted cheddar cheese and Eckerlins bacon. Served on a toasted potato roll spread with peanut butter and strawberry jelly. we went there right after going to Ladder 19, it's just around the corner across the street from Ladder's side entrance.
It's an old Fashioned Diner, with red an black checkered decor, booths, tables & a nice bar to sit at for food. I was seated right away and order taken quickly, it was clean and a little over half full for Lunch about 1:30 pm on a rainy day,
the food arrived quickly, it was a good-sized burger and the Beef Patty had a good taste to it, definitely some spices added we could not fully pick out, but definitely salt for sure, they had Sea Salt on the tables which I love.
The PB&J on it, could be tasted and actually added to the flavor to make it different but not take away from the overall flavor of the burger, it had a good bun on it, it was a Toasted Potato Roll, the bacon was very good & Crispy, I rated it slightly better than Ladder 19, they were very close in taste, but slightest of edge to HangoverEasy.

Final Thoughts: This one was Very Good overall, one of the best we've had anywhere and one of the best during Burger Week.
It's definitely Top 10 Material anytime on any list, it just missed our Top 10 by a few percentage points, but it's right there with the rest of the top 10.

I would recommend eating here anytime and also try Ladder 19 right next door, Ladder is usually more crowded as it's on the Main drag, this one is a bit hidden around the corner.

Final Review: 8.4* (Try it-above Avg/Good to VG
Very Good Fries.

Next Tasty Review: working on the next one.

Howard's Place

Our 79th Review

Official Review #79

Howard's Place Restaurant

1019 Ridgeway Avenue 

Falmouth, Kentucky 41040

859.654.3057

A quick and short review, this one was simple.

We stopped in here on a trip through Falmouth, Ky.

We ordered a Bacon cheese Grillburger and 1 without bacon and fries on the side.

They claim 100% beef, all I can say is, it did not taste like it, it had the taste of a pre-made frozen patty, if it was pre-made I would rate it one of the better Frozen ones I've had, if 100% real beef, then not one of the better beef burgers I've had, the fries were good, but the best thing was the Ice Cream, but then again, it is a former Dairy Queen that burned down years ago.

Bacon Cheese GrillBurger™

1/4 lb. combo

One ¼ lb.* 100% beef burger topped with melted cheese, crispy bacon, thick-cut tomato, fresh green leaf lettuce, pickles, onions, ketchup and mayo served on a warm toasted bun.

combo item include 21oz. Coke® and regular fries

Final Thoughts: Again if it was a Frozen patty out of a box, then it was one of the 2 best frozen ones I've had, it would'nt compete either way in our rankings whether's real beef or frozen patty. either way, dead last on our list.

Final Review: 5.0* (Average/Not bad - Nothing Special)
Very Good Fries.

Next Tasty Review: working on the next one.

Herb & Thelma's

Our 78th Review

Official Review #78

Herb & Thelma's

718 Pike Street, 

Covington, Kentucky  41011-213

No Phone Number could be found!

Herb & Thelma’s has been serving the best Burgers and Coldest Beer for the Northern Kentucky community and travelers from all over, for 78 years! They buy all of their products locally and Hamburger Patties are hand-made fresh daily! 

“Just remember, it is cash only, but there is an ATM on-site in the "confessional" if you need it.”

Let get right into the burger. No frills, high-quality beef, pickle, onion, cheese and bun. No condiments needed! It was like biting into a piece of awesomeness, with handmade delicious ground beef. Soft textured and dripping with delicious flavor, 2 of us had a double with bacon and would love to have eaten another one. Definitely deserves to be on any "best burger" list" but sometimes overlooked.

The burger is moist and fresh.  Bun with onion and pickle fresh, the burger is freshly made to order, get the grilled onions on the burger AWESOME.

Wonderful place to grab a burger and beer. Cozy neighborhood spot,  friendly staff & Great atmosphere

 Check the grill because no matter who manages this place, the burgers always come out special. It's gotta be the grill.

“If you like old school, this is your place, and I don't mean any of the so-called 50's diners around.this is

 old school.”

“It truly is a one-man show because all the food is cooked on the stove right there in the bar.”

The fries and the onion rings were good too

It's a Classic American diner serving cheap burgers

old school burger joint which has some of the best burgers in Covington. AND THE CHILI, oh my gosh it was good. The food is cheap

the burgers alone make me want to come back over and over.

burgers great people very authentic atmosphere

We went mid-afternoon Wednesday and it was empty, so there was no wait and our food came out quick.

Purely a great burger, no-frills,

The Fried Bologna Sandwiches were fantastic!

Their Bean Soup is awesome & Chili Very good!

Final Thoughts: Definitely top 10 material here for our list, I would eat here anytime I would surely get the delicious Bacon on it, 

Definitely try the Fried Bologna sandwich & or Chili with it, one of the best in the area.

Final Rating:  8.6*  (Try it-abv Avg/Gd to VG)

Next Tasty Review: Still Compiling our places we've gone to, will pick one soon.

                                 Double Cheeseburger w/American cheese & Bacon

HOURS

Monday - Thursday: 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Friday & Saturday: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

Sunday: 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Sandwiches

Cheeseburger w/American Cheese* – $4.50

Double Cheeseburger w/American Cheese* – $7.50

Hamburger* – $4.25

Glier’s Hot Mettwurst* – $3.75

Glier’s Bratwurst* – $3.75

Grilled Cheese* – $3.25

Fried Bologna w/Cheese* – $5.00

Glier’s Grilled Italian Sausage w/grilled Green Peppers & Onions* – $7.00

Fish Sandwich – Grilled Unbreaded Wild Alaskan Pollock* – $5.50

Nathan’s Famous All Beef Franks* – $2.00

Veggie Burger* – $4.50

– Bacon add $1.00, Cheddar, Swiss, Pepper Jack add .50 single $1.00 double

Soups

Chili – $4.00

Bean Soup – $4.00

Various Seasonal Soups – $4.00

Appetizers

Husman Plain Chips, BBQ Chips, or Pretzels – $1.00

Cheese Curls, White Cheddar Popcorn, Pork Rinds, BBQ Pork Rinds – $1.50

Dirty Kettle Chips – $1.50

Dessert

Snickers, Reese Cup, Hershey Bar – $1.25