As burger enthusiasts, Kevin Turnbull and Graham Gerdes set out to find the best burger in Ann Arbor. Our journey took us all over downtown to explore the best burger joints available to a hungry Community High School student at lunch time. We rated each burger in four categories: taste, size, cost, and atmosphere.
Taste: A 1 would be a burnt hockey puck while a 5 would be a succulent paradise.
Cost: A 1 would be something that cuts into your college fund, while a 5 gives you burger for your buck.
Size: If a 1 is David, a 5 is Goliath.
Atmosphere: This category was more subjective. A 1 would have terrible service and be dirty while a 5 would have polite service and make you feel comfortable.
We then averaged the score to create our Burger Index, a very helpful tool in determining the Best Burger in Town.
Fleetwood:
Taste: 3.5
Size: 4
Cost: 4
Atmosphere: 3
Burger Index: 3.625
While the service was on the slower side, the mayonaisse accompaniment was a delightful compensation. The burger was excellent for the price–around $3.75 depending on what you get on it. The vibe was funky, not fancy and this little diner is just a short walk from school.
5 Guys Burgers and Fries:
Taste: 4
Size: 4.5
Cost: 2.5
Atmosphere: 3
Burger Index: 3.5
Although the burger was a bit expensive, the incredible size and taste blew us away. Kevin and I were skeptic of 5 Guys because it is a chain, but we were impressed. The melted cheese in between the two patties was delicious. Five Guys has won more awards than we can count and they line the walls of the old fashioned themed, rock and roll playing burger joint. We noted that the Fleetwood Diner had a higher Burger Index, and we cannot explain this. 5 Guys was the runner up for Best Burger in Town.
Blimpy Burger:
Taste: 4
Size: 4
Cost: 5
Atmosphere: 3.5
Burger Index: 4.125
This Ann Arbor icon proved to live up to the hype it gets. The burger was very good, with toasted buns and two patties for only $2.85, it is a steal. Blimpy retains much of the classic 50s burger joint feel. While it is a bit dirty, the grease and grime are only part of the atmosphere. Blimpy is a long but reasonable walk away from school, so we advise making the trip some time. A the Burger Index reflects, this was our favorite burger. With the taste of Five Guys and the cost of Kosmo*, Blimpy Burger is our Best Burger in Town.
*Kosmo was very cheap, but we gave it a poor cost score because of the burger’s small stature. Blimpy was both cheap and large.
Kosmo:
Taste: 2.5
Size: 2
Cost: 3
Atmosphere: 2.5
Burger Index: 2.5
Burger’s aren’t Kosmo’s specialty and it shows. The pricing is extremely reasonable coming in at $2.75 but the size and taste were a definite disappointment. This is the closest place to CHS to get a burger, so it will do in a pinch but we recommend that you try their fabulous Bi-Bim-Bop instead.
