Kyle Nabilcy
A shrimp po’boy is perfectly crunchy.
I don’t believe in guilty pleasures, but the menu at Hank’s Burgers & Fish Fry would fit the bill: hamburgers, cheesesteaks, fried chicken sandwiches, and Wisconsin fish fry. There can be a sense of transgression when a cheffy-chef ditches the whites and does honest-to-god fast food, but Hank’s chef-owner Sean Pharr also cooks what makes him happy at his other restaurant, Mint Mark. But Hank’s takes the indulgence to another level.
The no-seats, no-tables Hank’s is a take-out operation, or customers can order in and eat next door at the Muskellounge and Sporting Club, or the Oxbow, a bookable special events room there.
Pharr acquired the use of a beat-up food cart early in the pandemic, and used it to serve burgers and chili during Packers games, which were screened in the parking lot of the Musky. By the time people were ready to eat burgers inside again, the space next to the Musky, formerly occupied by the Lake Edge Seafood Company, was available.
The classic Hankburger, a 4 oz. smashburger with caramelized onions and pickles, has been spiffed up slightly from the parking lot days. There’s a special sauce now, a riff on every special sauce ever, neither too sweet nor too salty. It goes with everything. (And on everything — if there’s one beef I have with Hank’s kitchen, it’s the occasionally extreme sauciness.)
The patties have also improved since Hank’s first opened; they now feature more crusty char, but not at the expense of juiciness. Hank’s also features occasional limited-time burger variations, like the excellent “I Miss Sujeo” burger with kimchi, gochujang mayo, and crispy shallots.
A straight-up fried chicken sandwich, served with hot honey mustard and slaw, is a banger. A great fried chicken sandwich needn’t be extra crispy if it tastes this good. From the February specials, an herby sandwich called the Pecking Order, with marinated and seared chicken thigh and topped with giardiniera aioli, arugula, and tomato, showed that fried isn’t the only way Hank’s can do chicken. While its focaccia bun couldn’t handle all the aioli, the extra made a good dip for the waffle fries.
Waffle fries and onion rings scratch their respective itches well. The cheese curds have been hit or miss; most recently they were oily and not hot enough. None of these deep-fried sides are housemade, but the superb pimento cheese and the biscuit are. The cheese makes for an excellent waffle fry dip, biscuit spread, or topping for the loaded chili. This chili deviates from Green Bay style; it’s served without noodles.
The Hank’s cheesesteak may be the most exciting menu item. Easily the best cheesesteak in town, it’s salty and soft and gooey, with tender beef sliced and chopped, and it sent me down memory lane all the way back to the dearly departed Big Red’s on University Avenue. Hank’s started it as a special, and it’s since been added to the regular menu.
The weekly specials are what make Hank’s unmissable. I’ve had a fun Old Bay-dosed fried pollock sandwich, a spicy walleye sandwich with chipotle and arugula, and a perfectly crunchy cornmeal-battered shrimp po’boy.
Fish fry is served at Hank’s Wednesdays and Fridays, with a choice of walleye, perch or pollock. Walleye is terrific, flaky and substantial. Pollock is just this side of fish sticks, but in the best way; it’s buttery and sweet. My favorite was probably the playing card-sized filets of lake perch.
Vegetarians and vegans do have a niche in this already focused menu; the burger is available with a “Beyond” patty, and there’s a vegan chili that also comes over fries for the vegetarian chili cheese fries.
Hank’s is a fast-food stop that you have to shut the car off to fully enjoy. That’s not a guilty pleasure, that’s just good sense.
Hank’s Burgers & Fish Fry
4102 Monona Drive
No phone; hanksmadison.com
4-9 p.m. Tues.-Fri., 2-9 p.m. Sat.
$6-18
