The Sconnie Burger from Cafe Hollander (Courtesy of Lowlands Group/Cafe Hollander)
If you’ve been on social media the past couple weeks, you’ve likely heard of the Culver’s CurderBurger. It started as an April Fools’ Day joke, but with enough feedback and demand from the community, the Prairie du Sac-based restaurant chain decided to make it a reality for one-day-only on Oct. 15, National Cheese Curd Day.
Culver’s does not have plans to make the burger topped with a cheese curd patty a permanent part of the menu. And they’ve sold out at Madison-area locations.
While this is a first for Culver’s, a few Madison area restaurants have created their own renditions featuring the cheesy Wisconsin staple. If you missed your chance to try the CurderBurger, here are some delectable local burgers using cheese curds you can enjoy year-round.
Atop the Graduate Hotel is Camp Trippalindee, a summer camp-themed restaurant with adult Lunchables, s’mores kits and boozy Capri Suns. On the menu is the Wisconsin Burger, which takes its Graduate Smash Burger — a beef patty with pickles, cheese and special sauce — and swaps in deep-fried cheese curds. 601 Langdon St., 257-6949, graduatehotels.com/madison
Craftsman Table & Tap goes local when it comes to their curds by opting for Carr Valley cheese curds. The Curd Burger is composed of a certified angus beef, louie sauce, sweet curry pickles, bibb lettuce, a griddle hard roll and melted cheese curds. Double the curds by starting with the deep-fried cheese curds before transitioning to the burger. 6712 Frank Lloyd Wright Ave., Middleton, 836-3988, craftsmantableandtap.com
Curd Burger from Craftsman Table & Tap (Photo courtesy of Food Fight Restaurant Group by CC Jacob)
The Sconnie burger from Café Hollander has everything Wisconsinites love, including three different cheesy elements. It starts with a burger patty in a pretzel bun that is then garnished with pickles, bacon, Wisconsin-aged cheddar cheese and beer cheese aioli. But the pièce de résistance are the deep-fried cheese curds skewered through the burger. While the curds can be eaten on their own, we opt for popping them into the burger. 701 Hilldale Way, 237-3168, cafehollander.com
For dinner accompanied by a waterfront view, opt for Nau-Ti-Gal’s Dairyman Burger. Dairyman is topped with caramelized onions, applewood-smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce tomato and, of course, cheese curds. 5360 Westport Road, 246-3130, nautigal.com
Take your taste buds on a trip at the Jet Room located inside the Wisconsin Aviation terminal building. Among the list of “Hundred-Dollar” burgers, is the Medi-Vac Burger, burger that takes freshly fried cheese curds and puts it on top of a burger along with cheddar cheese and Jones cherrywood-smoked bacon. 3606 Corben Court, 268-5010, jetroomrestaurant.com
Head to the east side and visit Players Sports Bar to try one of its burgers that use meat from nearby Jenifer Street Market. For cheese curd lovers, The Cheesehead Burger may be for you. It keeps the toppings simple with curds, cheddar cheese and ranch dressing. If you do visit, Players is cash-only, so come prepared. 2013 Winnebago St., 244-9722, playerssportsbarmadison.com
During a Badgers Game Day, a stop at Sconnie Bar may be in order. The Regent Street sports bar created its Curd Burger using fried cheese curds, jalapeño ranch, lettuce, tomato and bacon. The white cheddar curds are sourced from Kaufhold Kurds based in Ellsworth — if you do want deep-fried curds, Sconnie Bar created a garlic-breaded version in addition to the traditional preparation. 1421 Regent St., 819-8610, sconniebar.com
Long-time State Street staple, State Street Brats curated a cheese curd burger that combines “everything you will miss about Madison.” The Graduate Burger has three slices of cheese (cheddar, Swiss and pepper jack). If that wasn’t enough cheese, it is topped with deep-fried garlic white cheddar cheese curds. This all comes between a Stella’s Bakery spice cheese bread bun. 603 State St., 255-5544, statestreetbrats.com
