Blimpy Burger on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives"!

Click on the above link to check out airtimes where Ann Arbor's favorite burger institution will be featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" on the Food Network!

Courtesy of ArborWiki:
Double, triple, quad, quint. With cheese? Anything Grilled?
There's a fine art to ordering these burgers.
Blimpy has a dedicated and loyal following, and has won several awards such as "best burger in town" from Ann Arbor publications like The Michigan Daily and the Ann Arbor News. Their slogan for 50+ years has been 'Cheaper than Food' -- but the price of a typical 3-patty burger (don't be surprised, they're tiny) is somewhere around $4. You certainly get you pay for, and if you need just a tad more convincing, as stated on a sign on the door, they grind their own beef daily!
Jim Shafer, the founder, died in 2004.

Advice for Blimpy Newbies: Always grab a tray. Unless you're getting your food to go, that is. But if not, remember: it's one tray per person. Even if it's just a young child who is half the height of the counter, everyone must have one. Typically, avoid anything that isn't a burger for your main meal. With sides (like fries, onion rings, fried vegetables) being an exception, personally I would stay with the tried and true, which are their burgers. Don't order the cheese when you order your burger. This may sound strange, but there is an extremely particular order and format which you must follow in order to successfully order your meal, and avoid being scolded (no joke):
1. First, you'll want to grab a drink from the cooler, or as of late, get a cup and fill it up at the fountain (Coca-Cola and Coke products are exclusively available here).
2. After getting your drink and grabbing a tray, you'll be asked for your selection of items from the deep fryer, I suggest fries or onion rings.
3. Now is the moment you've been waiting for: ordering the burger; now pay attention here.
This is how you order your burger: State the number of patties you'd like (1-5, with it costing a dollar extra for each one after that), the type of bun you'd like (plain w/ or w/o seeds, or an onion, kaiser, or pumpernickel roll), and if you'd like anything grilled. DO NOT MENTION CHEESE, yet.
But there's more explaining to be done than just this. First of all, as stated earlier, the patties are quite small. Ordering just one isn't even allowed, unless you're under five. A double is a good amount for some, generally younger kids, ages 5-8, but everyone's different. Triples are the most popular, and in my opinion the perfect size. There's not any explanation needed for the bun, and as for grilled items, people have varying tastes. Grilled items include onions, mushrooms, banana peppers, bacon, egg, and salami. Shifting back to the ordering process, although you now know the format of an order, it's quite discourteous to the over-worked Blimpy staff to dawdle while you're ordering. Everything else is very fast-paced, so the ordering should be too. For instance, you shouldn't say, "Well...I guess I'll have a burger with some onions, and um...a regular bun, oh yeah, and make that a triple." It's not that that isn't a correct order, it's just too drawn-out. A good order would be, "I'll have a triple, regular bun, onions grilled."
4. As the burger is almost done being grilled (and this is entertainment in and of itself), you'll be asked what kind of cheese you'd like. There are quite a few selections, american, cheddar, swiss, provolone, blue, and feta.
5. After this, you will be asked for your condiments. Start with the wet stuff first (mayo, mustard, ketchup) then anything else you'd like (lettuce, pickles, tomato, olives, peppers, etc.) Don't just say you want everything because you probably don't. Then, finally, you are ready to feast upon your luscious burger. But don't forget to pay, and if you're feeling nice, give those great folks at Blimpy a tip.