The boyfriend and I were on the last leg of our summer vacation. We said goodbye to Chicago and were headed to Ottawa on an ambitious 14 hour drive. Not wanting the American regional food experience to end we stopped in Ann Arbor for lunch at Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger. During the course of this trip we'd been to several small but popular restaurants that have specific ordering instructions created to make ordering easier so you can get your food faster. Although you might be teased for missing a step you wouldn't be ridiculed, yelled at or become entertainment for other patrons. At Blimpy Burger you do. It was also the first burger joint where I was afraid to order bacon on my burger.
Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burger has been serving Ann Arbor award winning doubles, triples, quads and quints since 1953. The patties, which are freshly ground daily, start off as meatballs the size of golf balls. When an order is placed the cook throws the balls on the grill and smashes them into thin patties. Here, a double is the minimum you can order and the single is reserved only for children. Through a simple routine you order your bun, cheese, grilled toppings and cold toppings.
I'll take you through Blimpy Burger's ordering process. If you're eating in you get a tray. You cannot order for someone else and you cannot share trays. You will be asked if you want to order anything from the fryer - you have an option of onion rings, french fries or vegetables. Then you'll place your burger order - double, triple, quad or quint. Wait till you're asked, don't volunteer information before you are asked. You'll have to decided on a bun option next: plain, onion or kaiser and if you want to have any toppings grilled (this includes bacon!). If the griller gives you any instructions/commands, you listen and obey. Just as your burger is coming off the grill you will be asked what kind of cheese you'd like: blue, cheddar, American, swiss, provolone, feta - any, none, some or all. Finally, the cold toppings will be added by the cashier before you pay. If you've managed to survive this process you will hand over a small amount of money for a fantastic burger and get strange change back. I got an American 50 cent coin and a $2 dollar bill.
The boyfriend ordered his burger before I did and made a few mistakes that caused me to be extremely nervous when ordering my burger. What did he do? He DARED to ask what type of buns they offered and then he moved when the griller told him not to. The barrage of eye rolling, heavy sighing and yelling frightened me so much I was scared to ask if bacon went on the grill. Later the boyfriend went to get a glass of water and mistakenly took a soda fountain glass instead of the specific water glass and again, was the center of the grill cooks attention wrath. After that he refused to bus his tray in case he did something else to catch her attention.
Although I missed out on bacon, it was a damn good burger. For just under $3.00 I had a double burger with American and Cheddar cheese, mayo, ketchup and mustard. It was sloppy, juicy and gooey - the way a good burger should be. I also ordered a side of onion rings but they were limp, lacking in salt and flavor. Clearly any money being spent at Blimpy Burger should be spent adding another patty to your burger. I plan to return to Blimpy Burger to order a quint and bacon.
