Nite Owl Drive-In Milwaukee

Yesterday, 15 foodies from Chicago, Wisconsin, and Michigan chowed down at the Nite Owl Drive-In Milwaukee. This was the third of the nine stops on the Cheesehead in Beertown Tour. We began with a factory tour of the Jelly Belly Candy Company, followed with double cheeseburgers, fries, and root beer floats at Kewpee's in Racine. After dining at Kewpee's in Racine, we noticed our cholesterol was getting a little low and decided to remedy that at the Nite Owl. It was the perfect cure. The Nite Owl is a family owned business since 1954. It become famous because it was Elvis's last known meal in Milwaukee. He has his private plane wait until one of his ontourage returned with $77 worth of burgers. I suspect he was full. The Nite Owl is the home of the Jumbo Burger. For $3.40 one gets a freshly patted, flat grilled to perfection master piece smothered with an abundance of American cheese and fried onions served on a toasted bun. It's a melt in your mouth experience that can only be topped by the triple, which is so massive, that you can't fit your mouth around it. Eating a triple requires extensive nibbling. FYI: The burgers are not grilled in butter. After the Nite Owl, the next stop was Jake's Deli for corned beef and pastrami, followed by Leon's & Kopp's(Sprecher's Root Beer Float and Raspberry were the flavors of the day), Tenuta's Deli for a shopping spree, and the Big Star Drive-In(cheeseburgers made with Velveta). We were too tired and full for the final cheeseburgers and malts at The Spot Drive-In. The tour began at the Prime Outlets Mall in Pleasant Prairie, WI. Everyone chipped in $15 and we rented a Chevy passenger van for the event. http://static.flickr.com/48/137177455_d ... bc.jpg?v=0

Nite Owl Drive-In
830 Layton
Milwaukee, WI
414-483-2524

CSD

I'd been hoping to try Nite Owl for quite a while and finally had my chance the other day. It's a neat little building across from the airport, run by the same family since 1948.



There's a takeout window in the front or you can eat in the small, charming dining room on the side.



I wasn't terribly hungry so just went with the basic Jumbo Burger with grilled onions.



Especially considering the price ($3), this is a hefty burger. I guess by Milwaukee standards it isn't a butter burger (not swimming like at Solly's) but there was plenty of butter on the bun, on the burger, and on the onions (most of which are under the patty). Still, it was surprisingly dry. Because it was served pretty quickly I wonder if it had been precooked. Not a bad burger but I have a feeling Nite Owl is capable of better. Shakes and sundaes looked good but I had no room.

Nite Owl Drive In
830 E Layton Av
Milwaukee WI
414-483-2524

Hi,

I have been very impressed by the number of drive-ins I have encountered in Wisconsin in the Kenosha-Racine area. I just heard of this one recently, I'm thrilled you have had a chance to visit.

Just this afternoon I was discussing Wisconsin's drive-in preservation with my Dad. He made the astute comment what preserved them was the land value remaining low enough they haven't been targeted.

Most of the drive-ins in northern Lake County are Dog and Suds. All situated very close to the Wisconsin border and west of the tollway.

Regards,

ReneG, I'm thankful that you take the time to document these excursions to little known places I will probably never visit.

Hammond

Milwaukee is an even earlier-to-bed town than Chicago, so apparently nobody is surprised that place called the Nite Owl closes at 6:45 p.m.

Also it is seasonal, mid-March through early December, and closed on Sundays and Mondays.

I visited the Nite Owl twice since 2006 and both times, the burger was dry, tasteless, and unimpressive. My new Milwaukee burger shop is Dr Dawg in Glendale. Fresh Niman Ranch beef patty grilled to perfection. My review is in the Burgers of Wisconsin post.

chicagostyledog wrote:I visited the Nite Owl twice since 2006 and both times, the burger was dry, tasteless, and unimpressive. My new Milwaukee burger shop is Dr Dawg in Glendale. Fresh Niman Ranch beef patty grilled to perfection. My review is in the Burgers of Wisconsin post.

I gotta get up to Dr. Dawg, the burger you described in the other thread sounds amazing.

I have had good burgers at Nite Owl but I have also encountered the occassional dry one. I always get cheese and sauteed onions to help with moisture.