Pete's Hamburgers

Pete's Hamburgers got its start in 1909 when Pete Gokey ran a food cart at local events. The cooking method came about by accident: when a rush ended and burgers sat on the flattop, Gokey added water to keep them from drying out — and the customers who came back for a second burger preferred the water-poached version. The family has been doing it the same way ever since, now into its third generation of Gokeys running the stand at the corner of Blackhawk Avenue and Beaumont Road in downtown Prairie du Chien.

The ordering system has never complicated itself. You say "with" or "without" — meaning onions — and that's the decision. Cheese isn't offered, and the condiment list runs to ketchup, mustard, and salt. The stand goes through roughly a ton of onions in a single season, and the scent of them cooking carries well into the surrounding blocks. It's a walk-up window, open Fridays through Sundays from late April through October, so timing your ride matters.

For riders on WI-35's southern stretch, the geography works in the stand's favor. Prairie du Chien sits at the WI-35 and US-18 junction near the Wisconsin River, making a stop here a natural punctuation mark at the end of a Great River Road run rather than a detour that costs you mileage. The stand is a few blocks west of WI-35, which is close enough that you'll likely smell it before you have to look for it.