Since my arrival at Legacy Trust in the fall of 2012, hamburgers have come up many times. It all started during my first week of work when Bill Walker came up to my desk and asked if I was free for lunch that Friday. I had no plans and thought it would be foolish to pass up a lunch with the CEO on my first week, so I said I was wide open. While I was driving home that day, I couldn’t help but think about where we would be going for lunch. I have been in Grand Rapids my whole life and actually attended high school downtown, so I was pretty familiar with the restaurant choices, a few being: Bull’s Head, Sundance Grill, and XO Asian. I assumed we would go somewhere that offers a wide array of dishes and had close proximity to the office. It turns out I was wrong on both assumptions; Bill surprised me and took me to a place called “Fat Boy”, which is a small restaurant on the north side of town. As you may have guessed, Fat Boy was known for their hamburgers. Bill and I both got hamburgers and on the way back to the office he hinted at how cool it would be to have a “burger blog” on our website. This would give people in West Michigan an unbiased website to check if they were ever in the mood for a great burger.
So from this point on, I will be updating the Legacy Trust website with a burger review the last week of each month. If you are ever in the area and want to try the best burger in town, take a look at the blog for some interesting reviews!
Fat Boy located on Plainfield Ave.
Fat Boy was the restaurant where I had my first burger as an employee of Legacy Trust, so I thought it would be fitting that Fat Boy be the first restaurant reviewed on the blog. Fat Boy was established in 1952 and is currently owned by Matt (previous owner of North Park Café) and Jill Urbane. The Urbane’s took over Fat Boy in July of 2008 after the restaurant was closed for a brief period. They have made sure to bring back the look and feel of the classic burger joint it was in the 1950’s that has been a neighborhood staple for the last 60 years. Fat Boy reminds me of an old diner where you order at the counter and don’t have to wait to be seated! So, if you are in the mood for a delicious, affordable hamburger in a very unique atmosphere, then Fat Boy may be a spot to try. The restaurant is located on Plainfield Ave. just north of downtown and has a sign that is tough to miss. The menu itself is written on the wall, but they offer everything from an omelette at breakfast to a bowl of homemade chili for dinner, and not to mention one of the best hamburgers in town. The burger I had was the original “Fat Boy Burger” which is topped with green olives, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The burger was one of the best I had ever had and made me want to go back for dinner that night. It was cooked to perfection and had toppings that tasted like they were fresh from the market. If you are in the area and craving a great burger, then Fat Boy is a fantastic choice to satisfy the craving! One item to note is that this restaurant is currently cash only.