By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Feb 16, 2022 at 11:46 AM

The James Beard Foundation must have a taste for butter as the renowned culinary organization announced that Solly's Grille is one of its six America's Classics Award recipients for 2022. 

Created in 1998, the America's Classics Award goes to "locally owned restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved regionally for quality food that reflects the character of its community," according to the James Beard Foundation. More than 100 restaurants over the years have received the honor – including fellow Wisconsin dining icons Three Brothers and the dearly departed Watts Tea Room. Now Solly's, 4629 N. Port Washington Rd., and its infamously buttery burgers join their ranks. 

The other five honorees in the category include Casa Vega in Sherman Oaks, Calilfornia; Corinne's Place in Camden, New Jersey; Wo Hop in New York; The Busy Bee Cafe in Atlanta, Georgia; and Florence's Restaurant in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 

Solly's will receive its recognition at the James Beard Awards ceremony – the group's first in two years after an internal audit of policies and procedures to make itself more inclusive – on Monday, June 13, hosted at the Lyric Opera in Chicago. 

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.