I never knew the original Blimpy Burger. I'm an outlander. So when I arrived to Ann Arbor, and I heard of this local institution, I simply had to try it.
That said, I tend to try and eat healthier these days, which means greasy burgers aren't really aren't a part of my diet. My very first taste of Blimpy Burger was simply a bite of a burger I bought for my kid. They got a triple with cheese and ketchup.
Even with that very simple build, it was love at first bite.
You have to start with a basic premise. Good burgers are greasy burgers. Full stop. Fat equals flavor. And in the flavor department, Krazy Jim knocks it out of the park. Part of their success is in using thin smashed style patties, as those maximize the surface area of the burger, allowing for more maillard reactioni per bite. I'm also a big fan of layering cheese in between fatty beef patties, as that rendered beef fat also helps to melt the cheese and produce almost a beefy cheesy sauce of sorts.
But what I wanted was an even more savory burger from KJBB than the one I got for the kiddo. As much as possible, I stay away from sugary ketchup on my savory foods. Ketchup is for kids.
I prefer to get my sweetness from grilled onions. Which you can order, and I do. They cost a little more, but are worth it. To bring even more flavor to my burger, I go for the sesame roll, and opt for blue cheese. It's a bold move to be sure, and maybe not for everyone, but blue cheese and grilled beef are fantastic together. Bacon also makes the build, because it brings the smoke and a little more fat. As far as sauces go, I like a little bit of mayo and a squirt of mustard. The tang of mustard helps to balance out the fat a little. Really, I turn to pickles and raw onions to bring my burger into a harmonious expression of fat, acid, and salt.
Observant yelpers may realize there are onions two ways on my burger. Yes. Yes, there are. This isn't a burger to order on a date. It's a burger to order if you love greasy burgers.
After playing around with the number of patties, with the above build, two patties strike the perfect ratio of meat to bread and toppings. That also leaves me enough appetite to have some of their fantastic deep fried broccoli.
Fried broccoli is krazy! But I get to say I had a vegetable, and can pretend I ate something healthy. Plus it's awesome KJBB has other veggies than just potatoes to pair with your beefy buns.
I usually steal a swig from one of my kid's bottles of Mexican Coke to wash it down. But I prefer to end on a bite of the burger, so the flavor of that thing lingers for as long as humanly possible.
My love for Krazy Jim's is deep and true after only a couple years living in Ann Arbor. Considering how much I love trying new places, I keep finding myself at KJBB whenever the opportunity presents itself... and whenever I feel healthy enough that I suspect the burger won't kill me. read more