This post was originally published on February 4, 2016.
Our third stop on the Milwaukee Bloody Mary Tour brought us to AJ Bomber’s, located in a non-descript corner building in Westown that hosts a giant chair outside for photo ops and giggles (hey, I climbed up there in the cold Midwest rain!). AJ Bomber’s won the “Best Burger in Milwaukee” from the Travel Channel’s “Food Wars” show back in 2010. Interestingly enough, AJ Bombers competed with our final Milwaukee Bloody Mary Tour stop, Sobelman’s, for the award.
AJ Bombers is your classic dark pub, laden with peanut shells on the floor and wooden booths encased by chalkboards on each side. We were lucky enough to score a booth, which means P-NUT BOMBER!!! The P-Nut bomber is a really cool peanut chute running from the bar to your table. The bartender fills a little metal blimp with peanuts and send its via ceiling skyway to your booth. Really cool. We were already pretty full from having lunch and two fully decked out Bloody Marys at our first Tour stops, but that didn’t stop us from downing more hair-of-the-dog cocktails (it was roughly 4PM by this point though– not sure how hair-of-the-dog that is 😉 ). I really liked AJ Bomber’s Bloody because it showcased their burger-making pride by including hints of mustard in the actual Bloody and tossing a real burger on top as a garnish. You can read the full, delicious details of AJ Bomber’s Bloody Mary below!
AT A GLANCE 20/20
AJ Bomber’s Bloody Mary looked BOMB when it arrived at our cozy booth. It was a nice deep red and spices were abundant throughout. The glass was quite full and garnished with a healthy serving of a burger topped with melted muenster cheese (and bacon-wrapped!), a pickle slice, two olives, a lime, and a lemon.. Now you can call that a garnish! A mini Miller Lite bottle came along as a beer chaser.
GARNISH 20/20
I’m a big fan of AJ Bomber’s Bloody garnish because it tasted really, really great. The burger coated with melted muenster cheese and wrapped in bacon was obviously my favorite part of the garnish, while the pickle slice underneath the meaty delicacy made the garnish a real meal in itself! I will coin this the Bloody “Burger in a Glass” and it is easily one of the most creative garnishes I have seen in my time. The olives, lime, and lemon were necessary, as every Bloody needs a few classic garnish ingredients.
SPICE 18/20
The spices within AJ Bomber’s Bloody reminded me of a burger (who would have guessed?!). There were notes of tangy mustard in the mix, along with some sweet pickle juice. This furthers my “Burger in a Glass” notion and the cocktail had a nice contrast of spicy and sweet. It was quite tasty!
TEXTURE & ACIDITY 17/20
The Bloody’s texture was just right– leaning a bit on the thicker end– and went down easily. It was refreshing, not acidic, and would be the perfect compliment to a burger meal (but you may not even need a full burger after drinking this Bloody and eating the garnish!).
UNIQUENESS 19/20
In terms of creativity, AJ Bomber’s Bloody is innovative and representative of the establishment’s burger-making pride. Known for being one of the best burger joints in Milwaukee, AJ Bomber’s allows that compliment to shine through in their Bloody. Both the garnish and flavor of the Bloody are unique in their own rites, while the combo of both drink and garnish truly results in the “I just ate a delicious burger” feeling. The use of mustard in the mix is unparalleled in the Bloody world… And I’m always game for a Milwaukee sidecar of Miller Lite too!
FINAL SCORE 94/100
Want a burger inside of that Bloody? Check out AJ Bombers and be sure to sit at one of the booths with the P-nut Bomber! AJ Bombers Milwaukee is located at:
1247 North Water St, Milwaukee, WI, 53202