In this series, we’ll be hiking the burger trail to find the latest, greatest and most delicious burgers in Milwaukee. Click here for an explanation of the criteria used to rate each burger. Where have we been? Check out the complete catalog of burger reviews here.

Fixture Pizza Pub
623 S. 2nd St.
(414) 736-8709
fixturepizza.com

When I think of Fixture in Walker’s Point, number of things come to mind: the restaurant’s laid back vibe, the nicely curated beverage list, the uniquely delicious chopped salad and the nicely executed pizza, which always seems to hit the spot.

What I don’t think of is burgers. In fact, I’ll admit that I took pause when an astute reader or two kindly pointed out that I should give this spot a try for the Burger Trail series. But their recommendations came with good indication that the burger was just as worthy of praise as the pizza; so I put it on my list of places to visit, finally making it over for lunch this past week.

The Burger features a patty made with prime beef blend topped with bacon onion compote, gorgonzola, gruyere and arugula. The burger is served on a bakery-style bun with guest’s choice of housemade chips or eggplant fries with marinara sauce ($12).

Presentation: 8

The burger was nicely presented with every element – from the nicely melted cheese and deeply colored bacon onion compote and slight pop of green from the arugula – offering a showing beneath the top of the bun while remaining nicely contained.

Bread/bun: 9
The bun is soft, fresh and both well-sized and substantial enough to offer the proper amount of support for the burger and its toppings. Its flavor is slightly sweet and yeasty and came to the table nicely buttered and grilled with the cutest of cross-hatched grill marks right across the top.

Burger: 9

The flavor of the burger was exceptional; it was moderately seasoned and exceedingly juicy with a robust beef flavor. It also came nicely cooked to order (for me, that was mid-rare) on the interior. A slightly harder sear and a bit of crispness on the edges would have taken it over the top.

Toppings: 8

The toppings were fresh and well executed. The nutty gruyere was nicely melted over the top of the gorgonzola, keeping the blue cheese from tumbling off the top of the burger and ensuring a bit of its robust flavor in each bite. Meanwhile, the bacon onion compote was distributed over the top of the cheese, providing salty, smoky flavor with a nice touch of sweetness from the deeply browned onions.

The arugula was fresh and applied deftly; it wilted down a bit as I ate through the burger, but still imparted a nice bit of peppery flavor and an element of freshness that kept things from becoming one-dimensional.

The burger’s toppings did err a bit on the salty side; but the sweetness of the onions served to give it a bit of balance.

Value: 10

On the value side of things, this burger holds up exceptionally well. It’s substantial, thoughtfully composed and well prepared. And at $12, it falls in nicely at the lower end of the price spectrum for a burger of its size.

Total: 44/50

In the end, I was pleased to find that the burger at Fixture isn’t just an afterthought; it’s a nicely executed addition to a pizza heavy menu.

Fixture Pizza Pub is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.