- 800 S. State Street
- Ann Arbor, MI 48104
- (734) 222-4555
- No Known Website
- Menu
I’m going to be honest. I had absolutely no intention of having a burger for lunch. Hell, I was on my way to get “organic pizza,” but I got sidetracked by a sign in the window. A sign that read “Voted Best Burger in AA 2009.” They might as well have a 13 year old kid on the corner daring me to stop. How could I pass up a chance to have Ann Arbor’s best burger.
Quickie Burger & Dogs is a really small corner shop on State and Hill near the University of Michigan campus. I had passed the store a few times in the past, but I never gave it a second look until I saw the sign.
The intersection at State and Hill is really busy on a Friday afternoon. There is on street parking all around the area and I ended up going around the block to find a meter. After popping in a few quarters, I walked back to my destination.
Quickie Burger is not a big building. The first area you come in to is the order counter and a bar area overlooking State Street. It looked like there was a larger dining room off to the left, but I never ventured that far. I was grabbing my food to go.
A Major Burger from Quickie Burger & Dogs in Ann Arbor
It was just me and a couple frat boys in the store so the clerk was actually waiting on me to make my decision. I knew I wanted a burger, but I wanted just the burger. I didn’t want all the extras. I ended up ordering the Major Burger which is 2/3 lb spread over two patties (1/3 lb each). The burger comes with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, choice of cheese and the secret Quickie Sauce on a whole wheat bun. I knew I didn’t want the Quickie Sauce which is probably mayo based and probably the reason they won a “Best Burger” contest. I asked for the burger plain with just cheddar cheese. The lady behind the counter talked me into Naked Fries and a Pepsi. My total was $8.50 which seemed like a pretty good deal for the amount of food I was going to be handed.
The name of the place is Quickie Burger, but it’s not a fast food place. The burger was cooked on a griddle after I ordered. I watched the cook throw the patties down the assemble the burger. Another guy cooked my fries then packed everything up. I wanted to get back to Ray Fisher Stadium, so I grabbed every thing to go.
I ate the fries in the car while I waited through seven light cycles to turn left on to State Street. The fries were really good. They were beer battered and seasoned really well. When I got done, before I actually made the left turn, I started digging through the bag hoping for a stray or two even though I knew there was none because they were served in a Styrofoam container and not an open piece of paper.
Quickie Burger & Dogs on State & Hill near U of M.
When I got back to the baseball diamond, I dove into the burger which was wrapped in foil. It was hot. Really hot. Too hot to even handle. I opened up the foil and let the steam escape. After a brutal three minutes of waiting for it to cool down, I picked it up and tried to take a bite. I couldn’t get the sandwich in my mouth. It was one of the thickest burgers I’ve ever had. Lucky for me, it was two patties, so I could eat the burger as two open face sandwiches.
Both meat patties were smothered with cheddar cheese which was melting into the meat. As I was holding one half of the burger, I kept thinking this burger may live up to the hype. Then I took a bite. Frozen meat. The sandwich was good, very filling, and priced really well for the financially strapped college kid, but the frozen meat patty crushed my hopes of the best burger in town.
Don’t get me wrong, Quickie Burger was still really good. I just have a really high standard when it comes to burgers. The Michigan Daily and I don’t share the same ideas when it comes to “best burger.” It’s a burger I would order again and if I work in Ann Arbor again, there’s a good possibility I will order it again. I just don’t think you can call anything the “best” if you’re using frozen products. Like I already alluded to, the distinction was probably based on the special sauce or the combination of toppings. Hell, if nothing else, the size of the burger makes up for the frozen patty. I definitely did not go back to work hungry.
Mid-Michigan Dining 
yeah i am not a fan of this place. the cashier was pushy to us too. and sold us an iced tea even though they don’t have any.
I don’t know what you are talking about the frozen meat, but I have seen it with my own eyes and it is fresh meat packed in Knight’s Market boxes. I have been told that Quickie Burger receives fresh meat delivery every day from them. I’ve been going to Quickie Burger since they opened a year ago, and they deserve the designation for best burger of Ann Arbor. I recently tried their grilled chicken sandwich too, and wow was it ever delicious. I don’t think the lady or the man behind the counter are pushy, they just seem to want to remind the customer of all the other menu items available. On the contrary, it is always a very pleasant experience to go there, since these same people geniunely take interest in their customer’s welfare, by engaging them into conversations about life, and if the customer is a student, encouraging them to do well in school.
Quickie Burger is not just run of the mill place. They just don’t serve you the food and forget about you. They ask if everything is up to par, they ask for suggestions from customers, they always seem to be happy to be able to please the customer, unlike some other places in Ann Arbor, where the employees are rude and the facilities are filthy.
I hope they will be there for a long time. I would never go anywhere else to eat burgers again.
I disagree, but that’s not a bad thing.
Actually, if you look a little deeper at the operation, you would know that they in fact do NOT use frozen patties. They are refrigerated (as I hope raw meat would be), but definitely not frozen. The meat is delivered fresh 4 or 5 times per week from Knights Market, which is a local business and one of the most reputable meat distributors in the area. They are not well publicized because they operate mostly on word-of-mouth referrals. Pay attention the next time they pull a box of meat out of the fridge, you can see the logo right on the box. Of course, the box does look a little low budget, but it’s coming from a local establishment, which QBD is generous enough to support! As someone who eats at Quickie a few times a week, I would recommend you give it a second chance when you have time to order and sit down and enjoy the atmosphere.