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MASON, WIS. -- Ever consider saying the heck with it and moving to the middle of nowhere and starting over? That's precisely what Kirsten Lid-Solomon did with her husband, Louie. And they're now serving up the best burgers in Wisconsin. Nine years ago, Kirsten was bartending at Murray's, the end of a long run that included stops at the 400 Bar, the CC Club and other, shall we say, urban Minneapolis haunts. Then they saw an ad for a bar for sale in tiny Mason, pop. 79.

They up and moved, living on top of the White River Saloon. A professionally trained chef, Kristen has been serving up gourmet burgers ever since south of Hwy. 2 and north of Cable. Her latest, the Chee Burger, Chee Burger, features the Korean picked cabbage known as Chee with pepper cheese and a thin slice of sweet onion.

On my last and third visit I had a burger with cream cheese and green olives during a Packers game. Kristen was cooking up two pots of soup. One for her bar and one for the other bar in town.

"All he has is frozen pizza," she said.

She won't consider a fish fry because other nearby bars do that.

"These people are so genuine, we absolutely love it. They have become family."