We love our hamburgers here in the Mitten State, almost to a fault. So what's your go-to West Michigan burger spot?

Michigan Is Tied For Fourth In Overall Hamburger Consumption

It’s not a surprise that burgers are incredibly popular with Michiganders, after all – over 20-billion are consumed every year in the USA alone and that translates into 60 patties per person. But we're better than that. Much better.

The average Michigander scarfs down 74 burgers per year, and when you stop and think that there's a lot of people like me, who are nowhere near that number, someone is hitting the 120 burger mark to help us hit that number.

And here's a stat I had never heard before: there are 9.4 burger joints per 100,000 Michigan residents.

Pablo Montes via Unsplash
Pablo Montes via Unsplash
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The Stats Are In, And Michigan Is Top Five

Recipe website Pantry & Larder has compiled the data regarding burgers and here’s what they found:
Oregon was #1 with 79 burgers per year per person, Arizona and Utah came in second and third, respectively, at 77 and 75 burgers per person.

Rounding out the top five: Utah, New Mexico and Michigan.

As far as who’s eating the fewest burgers…folks in Massachusetts enjoy 42 burgers per person, per year…New Yorkers are snarfing just 41 per year…and coming in dead last? Washington, D.C. with 36 burgers.

Amirali Mirhashemian via Unsplash
Amirali Mirhashemian via Unsplash
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So What Is Your Go-To Burger?

Helping get our numbers up is the fact that Michigan in general, and West Michigan in particular, has a lot of great local spots to quench our burning burger desires.

Here's my Top Three, in no particular order:

Choo Choo Grill -- You either know or you don't. The little red building next to the railroad tracks at the corner of Plainfield and Leonard has big burgers that will leave you full well past dinner time if you hit them up for lunch. The Legend, in fact, weighs in at a whopping one pound, while the Red Caboose is a half pound.

Fat Boy -- The North Creston mainstay, loceted at Plainfiled and Hollywood, lives up to its name by offering a full pound and a half burger, The Sloppy Boy, which comes with just about everything you can think of on it.

Said one Yelp reviewer:

This place is your classic straight fire burger place. Solid burgers and fried food side options. These diner-esque burger joints feel like returning home, and Fat Boy beings you there. Friendly neighborhood staff with the a classic grill guy flipping patties through the kitchen window. A slice of America through and through.

Jonathan Borber via Unsplash
Jonathan Borber via Unsplash
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Stella's --  Long a fan favorite for the Stella Blue, a half pounder topped with bleu cheese, Stella's offer seven big burgers, including a tribute to the old school Mr. Fables olive burger.

Here's a rave up:

Finally made a stop at Stella's after living in GR for 4+ years. I'd always heard Stella's had the best burgers in GR and I can now agree with this statement! We had the Queso Jalapeno burger and the Call It What You Want burger and they were both super flavorful and filling. We also enjoyed the spicy Buffalo fries and the kick they gave compared to the regular fries. The nachos were also very good and the cheese stayed melty way longer than most other restaurant nachos. Our server Jeremy was also incredibly friendly! It was definitely quite loud but this was expected. I loved the arcade games available and will be back to play them!

Love, Burgers and Fries, at The Last Hot 'N Now, in Sturgis, Michigan

One happy couple represent the devotion to both each other and to the last Hot 'N Now, in Sturgis, Michigan, where people drive for hours to enjoy the fare.

 

 

 

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