Burger for Blimpy
We have reviewed a fair amount of burger joints in the past 2 years, but something never gets old in trying new ones. Still, it’s often hard to compare burgers to one another; whereas a good burger is simply good…it’s hard for one to go above and beyond into greatness. Now, we do have a standout winner in the great category, one which we will likely continue to stack all the others against. It’s not to say we still won’t come across good burgers, but to win out as the best it has to beat that particular experience.
All that being said…, we will always try another and that is why we happily added this next joint into the lineup; and I was especially excited because at the time I was almost 8 months pregnant and burgers were one of those things that always sounded good to me! Lucky for me, we happened to plan a trip to Detroit towards the end of my pregnancy and figured that would be as good a time as any to stop through Ann Arbor and pay a visit to Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger, a very popular burger joint for over 50 years among locals, especially University of Michigan students (You may recognize it from Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-In’s, and Dives” and/or The Travel Channel’s “Man vs. Food”).
We were glad that we happened to visit during the summer months, because this joint is known to have quite a wait on most days due to its popularity among students. So when we arrived we were happy to be able to walk right in, which I especially appreciated as a hungry pregnant lady. Plus, due to all their ordering rules, it helped us newbies not hold up other hungry patrons with our ignorance.
What makes Blimpy Burger so unique is how many patties people put down at a time. Their patties are quite small so their standard double is only about a 1/4 pound, so many people go in and order quite a few patties. I went with their smallest burger (the double) with cheddar and grilled onions, while Adam ordered the quint, or 5 patties…, still only about a 1/2 a pound. It is clear now how although a crazy amount, I can see how some people order 20 patties at a time (for a competitions sake of course). We also decided on both an order of onion rings and their fries…you know…for the reviews sake!
Because they were not busy at all, our food was ready by about the time we got to the cash to pay from the on-site ATM and we dug in. Although neither of us were too excited about either the fries or rings, we were both pleasantly surprised with just how juicy and tasty those tiny pattied burgers were. As Jules Winnfield would say, (Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Pulp Fiction) “Mmm-mmmm…that is a tasty burger!
Neither of us had a problem finishing off our burgers, which is always a good indicator that we enjoyed it; and while I would say we have still yet to surpass the best burger experience we have had, Krazy Jim’s did not disappoint.
SIGNATURE DISH: It’s called ‘Krazy Jim’s Blimpy BURGER!’ While they do have a few other sandwich options on their menu, burgers are the main attraction for sure and with some people ordering as many as 10-15 patties at a time, it’s the smaller patties in large quantities that make them so unique.
TASTE: Not the best burger I’ve ever had, but still very tasty and certainly did the job. Also, while their patties are small, they are still plenty juicy and the cheese gets super melty and yummy. Add some grilled onions into the mix and you have a winner in my book!
AMBIANCE: It has a wonderful old school campus joint feel to it, something I am always nostalgic for; and while I figured this joint was small, television made it look MUCH bigger than reality. We were sort of shocked with just how small this place is and it is hard to imagine how they cram so many students and locals alike in here on a day to day basis. I’m just glad we visited at a down time and weren’t crammed.
PRICE: The burgers range in price from $2.65 to $5.70. Add a couple of more bucks on for french fries or rings and you have a pretty good deal for a meal.
SERVICE: We were expecting a bit of “rush” when it came to service since the television spots we had seen seemed to showcase the fact that you better know what you want when you step to the counter. Luckily we didn’t encounter too much of a hassle since at that moment we were the only ones in line. I appreciated the chef walking us through the process and asking us what we wanted, since it was pretty clear we weren’t from around those parts. Still, make sure you know what you want and how to order. Adam accidently ordered out of order and he was quickly corrected!
Overall, we had a really fun lunch experience with a tasty burger bonus. I can definitely see why U of M students and alumni swear by it. I could for sure go for a double or triple (heck even a quint!) from time to time. So while not a ‘Quint’ on the Piggies…I still award them 3 ½ ‘Little Piggies’