(The Livonia location of Cheeburger Cheeburger is now closed, although gazillions of other locations are still in business. Consult their web site)
Detroit Burgers, Part Deux.
As mentioned previously, the front desk clerk at my hotel in Michigan had some unusually strong opinions about the best burgers to be had in the area. Previously, he had recommended Bates Burgers (see review below), which was actually quite decent, but they were sliders, not the big, wrap your hands around them burgers I was craving.
So I asked him the next best place to get a burger in Livonia. His second recommendation was Cheeburger Cheeburger, located just down the road from the hotel.
I’ve heard of Cheeburger Cheeburger before, mostly in comparison to another regional and growing chain, Five Guys (which I rather liked back when they were two locations, but franchising has strained their quality), so I’ve been interested in checking them out. And, as any person who’s watched any SNL, the source of the Cheeburger Cheeburger name is obvious.
Two things really stood out about my visit to Cheeburger Cheeburger: the focus on the enormity of the burgers, and the many varieties of milkshake available. On the first topic, the burgers work their way up from 1/4 lb all the way to a full pound. Back in my college days, I would’ve risen to the challenge of eating a full lb burger, but I opted for the 1/3 pounder. Overall, the burger was good, actually cooked medium rare when I orded medium rare (this is become more and more uncommon), with a nicely toasted fluffy bun. Definitely a good, solid burger made with good meat.
The milkshake variety was nice, as well, with a huge variety of mix-ins and Torani surups available to make your own flavors.
Pros:
1. The milkshakes were very good, and very thick, and most (but not all, see below) flavors you might like can be accomodated.
2. The burger is definitely one of the better chain burgers.
3. The staff was very accomodating when I went back for another milkshake 5 minutes *after* they technically closed.
Cons:
1. Sorry, I don’t like getting ridiculed for not wanting cheese on my burger.
2. Oddly, they don’t have just plain “orange” as a milkshake flavor. They have “orange mango” and “orange mint”, but no plain “orange.” (For those that don’t know, an “orange chocolate milkshake” is quite a treat).
3. The fries had obviously been in the same oil as the rings. The faint onion funk took what should’ve been really good fries down a notch.
Overall, I’d say that Cheeburger Cheeburger was a well-above average burger. Certainly a slight notch above Fuddruckers, and on close par with Five Guys in my book. A slight notch above if you give credit for the wide variety of decent milkshakes.
Cheeburger Cheeburger
(National Chain, many locations)
