[Photographs: Lacey Muszynski]

Location, location, location. The real estate mantra must be true for burgers as well, because I'm not really sure why Northpoint Custard's burgers are so popular otherwise.

I was really expecting a lot, I admit. This is a Bartolotta restaurant, after all. The Bartolotta empire is a James Beard Award-winning force to reckon with in Milwaukee (and Vegas), and even after some blah burgs I still have the utmost respect for the other restaurants in the brand. I think that unfortunately, the Bartolottas are banking on their prime location at the busiest beach in the city. They have a captive audience and are using it as an excuse to serve underwhelming food. When you're hungry and hot from hanging at the beach all day, I bet the burgers at Northpoint—literally one of the only food options within walking distance—taste a lot better.

The burgers can be summed up in one word: charcoal. Not, "Oh this tastes like a backyard barbecue!" but, "Did they drop this into the grill?" You expect some of that flavor when burgers are grilled, but I couldn't taste the toppings over the charcoal flavor.

When the char flavor is that strong, it's pretty much a given that they're also overcooked. To give them the benefit of the doubt, overcooking might have been the only reason why the char was so pronounced. I didn't expect anything less than well done because it's a fast food-style quarter-pound patty, but they were verging on hockey pucks and the edges were pretty tough and crispy. All the patties on the burgers I ordered—four in all—were like this, so I can't say for certain whether this is the norm or an unlucky fluke.

The Q burger, ordered with two extra patties, had barely a smidge of barbecue sauce. It was super sweet, but more might have balanced some of the charcoal flavor...maybe. There was a lot of bacon, which looked to be deep fried by the curliness, but it was pretty mellow in the flavor department. The sautéed onions were in random chunks and lacked any sweet caramelization. The bun, from local bakery Sciortino's, is slightly spongy but holds up to the giant burger.

The Seagull burger is named after chef Adam Seigel, the James Beard-winning chef who oversees the restaurant (as well as more upscale, well-respected Bartolotta restuarants). It's apparently his favorite burger, so it was a must order for me. It's topped with Merkt's cheddar cheese spread, something that I grew up with and still enjoy. I was intrigued and excited to try it on a burger, but, you guessed it, I couldn't even discern it over the charcoal patty. It really only lent a textural element, which was close to that of cream cheese, but some parts seemed a little curdled. What a disappointment.

Sides were just plain ok and definitely overpriced, but I guess that goes along with the prime location. I was disappointed to learn that all the sides are frozen. They tout the fries as being Yukon gold potatoes, but...oh yeah, they're just frozen crinkle cuts. The cheese curds actually seem to be made from real cheese curds, as opposed to chunks of cheese cut off of blocks that you find most places. They were irregularly shaped (a good indicator) and they had that spongy texture and unmistakable flavor of fresh cheese curds. Onion rings were beer battered, and pretty good for frozen. No entire-onion-came-out-on-one-bite problem here.

The Bartolottas have built a solid reputation, but Northpoint is about 10 steps behind their other restaurants. Siegel has said that he trains the grill cooks himself, but he must have been sick the day these cooks started. If I find myself starving at Bradford Beach and unwilling to leave the gorgeous views of the lake, I'd probably order another burger. And I'd hope to the burger gods that it would be better than last time.

About the author: Lacey Muszynski is an editor, freelance writer and restaurant reviewer from Milwaukee, WI. When she's not burgerblogging on AHT, she might be updating her food blog, making fun of the Food Network, or wondering what her art degree has to do with all of this. Her idols growing up included Martin Yan, Chairman Kaga, and whoever was on Great Chefs, Great Cities that day.

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