Josh K.
Yelp
You know you're getting yourself into a dive when you look at Tootie's from the outside and the area you're going to. There are no frills and nothing fancy, hell, the time I went, there wasn't even a working AC - didn't stop me.
Sat down, the service was quick, got more than a few glasses of water considering the dead AC situation and even had them drop off a pitcher of water, just in case.
Some of the best cheese curds arrived at my request, and served with ranch. Uh huh, good ole fashion ranch dressing. I love the fancy ketchups mixed with pixy dust and fruit items, but, nothing beats getting damn fine cheese curds with some buttermilk ranch. Great salt in the the cheese, light batter, and amazing chew to the little buggers. And at under $7 an order, they don't cost some absurd amount for what it is, deep fried cheese.
With an empty basket, my burger shows up. This isn't a gourmet, fancy pants, "look at how cute I am" kind of burger. It's a sloppy, beautiful mess of meat, cheese and buns (haha, I said buns) that is what you dream of when burger crosses your mind on a Wednesday at the office. This happens to be a burger paying homage to my brothers north of the border, the Canadian Bacon Burger. A slab of beef covered in Canadian bacon with swiss and a honey mustard slathered all over it. After a few brief moments, it's a crime scene with mustard here, a few crumbs there and me wishing I could replicate the murder again.
And I do. But, a week later and with that previous burgers cousin, the Black and Bleu Burger. Don't ask how they're cousins, but, it was the last thing my the burger said before I ate it .
I've been to Tooties quite a few times, and it's always the same. Great curds, great burgers, shady area and a welcome burger dive bar in the world of high end burger joints. App plus two burgers and you're out of there with a tab under $25.