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Spring has arrived. Not in the form of a red breasted bird, or green buds on the trees or tractors busting up dirt clods in the fields but in the form of juicy balls of ground beef on the grill at Pete's Burgers in Prairie du Chien. Every year for the past one hundred and (I think) two, Spring is heralded in by the aroma of burgers and onions grilling in a little shack on the main street of this riverfront town. For the real lowdown on the history of Pete's, check my archives, April 25, 2009, "Make Mine Plain". Jo and I were at a loss for dinner ideas last evening. Fridays around here means that the few restaurants that are in the area are filled with greasy fingered friendly munchers getting more than their fill of crispy chunks of dead fish. These people are serious about Friday Night Fish Fry so don't dare ruin the harmony in the kitchen by ordering any thing that isn't deep fried and doesn't exist under water. I actually heard about a guy that was run out of town by a greasy fingered mob because he ordered sushi at a local cafe. And, just try to get a piece of fried chicken that doesn't have a distinctive fishy taste. Ha!!! At any rate somehow the thought of "A Good Burger" entered into the conversation. Hey! Is Pete's open for the season? (Pete's is closed during the winter leaving the New Year's Eve Carp drop as the main Prairie du Chein event) We checked Pete's web page (Yes they have a web page - http://peteshamburgers.com/ They may cook a little old fashioned but they know the difference between bytes and bites.) A quick twenty-five mile trip to Prairie and we were first in line to grab a sack of juicy burgers and head down to the (flooded) riverfront for a romantic spring dinner. Today the temperature is supposed to go above freezing, the grass is getting green and Pete's is open (only on weekends). How good is life?
Pete's grill loaded with the next bunch of juicy burgers(about seventy-five patties).
The pile in the middle is onions and "The Secret Ingredient" (Water)
No one gets served until the full grill is done cooling.
The only choice you have to make, with or without onions and which,if any, of these many condiments.
This is it... the Ruth's Chris of Prairie du Chein!
