Some restaurants serve food.
11:11 Burgers & Beignets serves a story — and lucky for anyone passing through Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, that story comes stacked six ounces high, flat-top seared, and loaded with the kind of creativity that makes every single visit feel like the first time. 🍔✨
This family-owned burger joint has earned its reputation as the #1 burger destination in Wisconsin through passion, personality, and patties that punch way above their weight class.
How 11:11 Burgers & Beignets Won Fond du Lac’s Hearts
The name “11:11” isn’t just a catchy number — it carries a meaning so personal it changes how you feel about every bite.
According to America’s Best Restaurants, the restaurant was founded in 2015 by Ry Faris and his father Tom, and the name was chosen to honor the exact time — 11:11 AM — that Tom underwent a life-saving heart transplant in 2010.
Tom opened the restaurant because he believed something was genuinely missing in Fond du Lac. He was a lifelong burger lover who, despite the town’s many options, had never found one that made him stop mid-bite and say “Wow.”
Tom passed away before seeing the restaurant’s second location open, but his vision lives on in every hand-pattied burger, every basket of hand-cut fries, and every creative concoction the kitchen dreams up — a legacy honored daily by Ry and the team he built around his father’s dream. 🙏
The community responded immediately and passionately to that story.
Word spread fast that this wasn’t just another local burger spot — it was a place with soul, where a six-ounce beef patty could be transformed into something extraordinary through house-made seasonings, flat-top technique, and pure creative ambition.
Big 7 Travel named 11:11 the Best Burger in Wisconsin — not once, but twice, in 2019 and 2020 — and LoveFood ranked it among the top 25 burgers in the entire country. 🏆
Fond du Lac had voted it their Best Burger five years in a row, even before the national attention arrived. The walls of the restaurant are decorated with autographed photos of celebrity chefs, a nod to an establishment that takes its craft seriously while keeping its spirit genuinely, joyfully fun.
Locals keep coming back because 11:11 represents exactly the kind of independent, family-driven dining that makes a small city feel big — the kind of place you take out-of-towners to prove your town has something the rest of the world hasn’t fully discovered yet. 🌟
And with a rotating Burger of the Month, a legendary food challenge featuring a 40-ounce quadruple patty behemoth, fresh beignets dusted in cinnamon sugar, and hand-spun milkshakes, 11:11 Burgers & Beignets has made itself utterly impossible to ignore — or forget. 🎉
Food Highlights
- Tequila Jam Burger: One of the restaurant’s most-talked-about fan favorites — a signature creation by the owner himself, featuring a bold flavor combination.
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Juicy Lucy: The award-winning centerpiece of the 11:11 legacy — a stuffed patty with cheddar and American cheese melted inside the burger itself.
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Crusted Cheddar Burger: A six-ounce patty blanketed in a generous mound of shredded cheddar, seared directly on the flat-top grill until the cheese forms a golden, lacy crust, and topped with lettuce, tomato, and raw onion. 🧀
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Mac ‘N Cheese Burger: Homemade macaroni and cheese piled high on top of a seared beef patty. 🍝
- The Heater: Pepper jack cheese, fresh jalapeños, and house-made zing sauce come together on this fiery fan favorite that brings real heat without sacrificing flavor. 🌶️
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Black ‘N Bleu Burger: A blackened beef patty topped with bold bleu cheese, crispy bacon, and fried onions. 🔥
- Baconeater: For those who believe bacon is a food group — bacon and American cheese on top, bacon and American cheese on the bottom.
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PB&J Burger: Peanut butter, jelly, and brown sugar bacon on a beef patty — a combination that sounds outrageous and tastes absolutely triumphant.
Atmosphere
11:11 Burgers & Beignets brings the energy of a neighborhood hangout and the pride of a family-run institution under one roof — the walls are lined with autographed photos from celebrity chefs, and the colorful, casual décor signals right away that this is a place meant to be enjoyed without pretense. 🎨
The vibe is lively, welcoming, and unmistakably Wisconsin — the kind of spot where families with kids sit comfortably next to locals grabbing a post-work burger at the bar.
Kids’ meals even come with toys, and the 11:11 Comfort Food Challenge — a 40-ounce, four-patty beast — keeps the competitive eating crowd coming back regularly.
It’s fun, it’s loud in the best way, and it feels exactly like the place Tom Faris always dreamed of building.
Bottom Line
11:11 Burgers & Beignets is a must-visit for its twice-named Best Burger in Wisconsin title, its deeply personal family story, its wildly creative signature burgers, freshly made beignets, and its genuine status as Fond du Lac’s most beloved independent dining institution. 🍔🍩
Address:
718 W. Johnson Street, Fond du Lac, WI 54935
📞 (920) 266-8005
🕔 Open Sun–Thu, 11 AM–9 PM | Fri–Sat, 11 AM–10 PM