MONROE - Since the beginning of the Green County Best Burger Contest in 2014, Donnie Lepper has been contending for the title with the burger he concocted to serve at Papa Don's Horseshoe Saloon when he began running the business six years ago.
His father, Papa Don, owns the place, but Lepper oversees as cook, manager and bartender, multitasking through busy times and prepping the food as business slows in the off-hours.
Though Lepper admits to loving food, he didn't originally plan to run a bar and grill. Before he took over the Horseshoe, a life-threatening motorcycle accident left him with 29 broken bones and no future in the construction business. So he turned to his father's business. While Lepper looked forward to the prospect, he knew he had more to offer customers.
"I couldn't turn my brain off at night," Lepper said. "I was thinking about what would make the place better. Then I just started thinking about big, thick, juicy burgers. It took me a few tries, but I eventually got it."
And the Dream Burger was born, a towering concoction of beef, onion rings, Swiss cheese, bacon, corned beef and a burger sauce made in-house laid out on a ciabatta bun, topped with a colorful umbrella toothpick to hold it together.
That Dream Burger, which Lepper said was aptly named because the ingredients came together in his dreams, won the first county burger contest. Then the second, in 2015. Last year, the dream fell slightly short by placing second. The contest, which is sponsored by the Green County Beef Producers, involves customers who visit the participating restaurants and vote for their favorites on a submitted card.
Lepper said the beef producers indicated a good shift for his business would be to use local beef providers and decided to take their advice. This year, the 7-ounce burger patty was provided by Rackow's Family Sausage of Juda, which Lepper notedmay have bumped the burger back into first place. He dubbed the locally sourced beef creation Dream Burger 2.0.
Winners were announced at the annual Steak Out event held on Green County Fairgrounds on Aug. 17. A total of 1,237 votes of sampled burgers were counted. Participants who voted needed to try at least five of the 17 burger options. Those who did were entered into a drawing for a gift certificate to one of the restaurants that took part in the competition. People who sampled 15 or more burgers were given the chance to win grand prizes, like Brian Nall of Argyle, who took home a Weber gas tailgate grill donated by Monroe Truck Equipment and David Ellington of Monroe, who won a Weber charcoal grill given by AAM Casting of Browntown. Third place, a beef bundle donated by Koning Meats & Deli Catering went to Jim Stauffer of Browntown.
As for the burger contestants, Lepper was not the only one to take home a prize for his burger. Monroe-based Northside Pub & Grill took second with the Pauline, a burger amalgamation of smoked gouda and pale ale cheese sauce, and Laughing Trout garnered third with the Prime Rib Burger, a top-notch beef patty topped with a massive pile of onion strings.
Lepper still has to secure a third trophy case for the over-sized spatula given to the winner. The two already won are prominently displayed for those who walk in the front door of the saloon. Those who frequent the bar and grill have sampled the Dream more than once.
Michael Missman of Monroe said he has eaten the award-winning burger a number of times.
"It's excellent," Missman said Wednesday. "The variety of flavors that you'd think off-hand they wouldn't work, but they just do, and it's fantastic."
Fellow Monroe resident Geoffrey Watson said the burger has "just the right amount of spices" and despite trying other creations listed on the contest card, found the Dream Burger has them all beat. They both noted they greatly enjoy that the burger is now made with local beef.
Kole Timblin of Beloit, a delivery driver who brings Miller and Coors products to the bar, said he stops at other places as he drives but has been most impressed by Lepper's business. Timblin estimated he's eaten 1,000 burgers at the Horseshoe and credited Lepper for his daily hard work.
"I think he deserves (to win)," Timblin said. "It's really good as far as price, taste. This one has the best wow factor. My first time trying it, I was just like 'holy cow, that's awesome.'"
His father, Papa Don, owns the place, but Lepper oversees as cook, manager and bartender, multitasking through busy times and prepping the food as business slows in the off-hours.
Though Lepper admits to loving food, he didn't originally plan to run a bar and grill. Before he took over the Horseshoe, a life-threatening motorcycle accident left him with 29 broken bones and no future in the construction business. So he turned to his father's business. While Lepper looked forward to the prospect, he knew he had more to offer customers.
"I couldn't turn my brain off at night," Lepper said. "I was thinking about what would make the place better. Then I just started thinking about big, thick, juicy burgers. It took me a few tries, but I eventually got it."
And the Dream Burger was born, a towering concoction of beef, onion rings, Swiss cheese, bacon, corned beef and a burger sauce made in-house laid out on a ciabatta bun, topped with a colorful umbrella toothpick to hold it together.
That Dream Burger, which Lepper said was aptly named because the ingredients came together in his dreams, won the first county burger contest. Then the second, in 2015. Last year, the dream fell slightly short by placing second. The contest, which is sponsored by the Green County Beef Producers, involves customers who visit the participating restaurants and vote for their favorites on a submitted card.
Lepper said the beef producers indicated a good shift for his business would be to use local beef providers and decided to take their advice. This year, the 7-ounce burger patty was provided by Rackow's Family Sausage of Juda, which Lepper notedmay have bumped the burger back into first place. He dubbed the locally sourced beef creation Dream Burger 2.0.
Winners were announced at the annual Steak Out event held on Green County Fairgrounds on Aug. 17. A total of 1,237 votes of sampled burgers were counted. Participants who voted needed to try at least five of the 17 burger options. Those who did were entered into a drawing for a gift certificate to one of the restaurants that took part in the competition. People who sampled 15 or more burgers were given the chance to win grand prizes, like Brian Nall of Argyle, who took home a Weber gas tailgate grill donated by Monroe Truck Equipment and David Ellington of Monroe, who won a Weber charcoal grill given by AAM Casting of Browntown. Third place, a beef bundle donated by Koning Meats & Deli Catering went to Jim Stauffer of Browntown.
As for the burger contestants, Lepper was not the only one to take home a prize for his burger. Monroe-based Northside Pub & Grill took second with the Pauline, a burger amalgamation of smoked gouda and pale ale cheese sauce, and Laughing Trout garnered third with the Prime Rib Burger, a top-notch beef patty topped with a massive pile of onion strings.
Lepper still has to secure a third trophy case for the over-sized spatula given to the winner. The two already won are prominently displayed for those who walk in the front door of the saloon. Those who frequent the bar and grill have sampled the Dream more than once.
Michael Missman of Monroe said he has eaten the award-winning burger a number of times.
"It's excellent," Missman said Wednesday. "The variety of flavors that you'd think off-hand they wouldn't work, but they just do, and it's fantastic."
Fellow Monroe resident Geoffrey Watson said the burger has "just the right amount of spices" and despite trying other creations listed on the contest card, found the Dream Burger has them all beat. They both noted they greatly enjoy that the burger is now made with local beef.
Kole Timblin of Beloit, a delivery driver who brings Miller and Coors products to the bar, said he stops at other places as he drives but has been most impressed by Lepper's business. Timblin estimated he's eaten 1,000 burgers at the Horseshoe and credited Lepper for his daily hard work.
"I think he deserves (to win)," Timblin said. "It's really good as far as price, taste. This one has the best wow factor. My first time trying it, I was just like 'holy cow, that's awesome.'"