The Hunter House
The Hunter House, 35075 Woodward Avenue Birmingham, MI 48009
www.hunterhousehamburgers.com
The diner hamburger was never really quite close to extinction, but for a time in America, it did become elusive as the trend of what I like to call “Double Thunder Fxxker Burgers” swept the nation in the early-aughts. Those thick pattied monstrosities piled with bacon, pulled pork, fried eggs, nine kinds of cheese, and all other kinds of unholiness.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and a place for everything. Those burgers too did their own work to come into the mainstream from the depths and shadows of the culinarily adventurous in the years prior to their fame. But, perhaps best summoned back into the American consciousness by Ron Swanson with his simple refrain, it’s just hard to beat “meat on bread.”
No one ever had to explain this to The Hunter House. Located just north of Detroit in the suburb of Birmingham, MI, the place has been serving the same tiny, classic slider-style burger since 1952.
The signature slider, served with pickles, with a side order of fries.
I generally define a “diner burger” as something of a size you might reasonably order two of, kind of like a backyard barbecue by the pool. Have a lil’ burger, maybe go for a swim, have another burger with a few snacks along the way. Sliders, to me, are a subset of this general ethos and Hunter House itself offers a great definition: “little hamburgers with juicy, sweet onions smashed into the meat and the buns steamed hot.” Simple. Perfect.
While my ill-gotten photos featured here don’t quite do the beauty and charm of Hunter House justice, it really is a marvel with a rich history.
As Hunter House explains on its site, “Our small, white porcelain pill-box diner is a mainstay on Woodward Avenue, the first paved road in America. It is the oldest operating restaurant and one of the oldest businesses in Birmingham, Michigan. The name Hunter House dates back to when the road was a bypass named Hunter Boulevard, named after John W. Hunter who helped found Birmingham in 1819. Hunter Blvd. eventually became part of Woodward Ave., as it stretched out from Detroit.”
#1 burger in Michigan and #1 in architecture, fonts, and signage. As you can see, we left feeling pretty happy.
The place itself is small and quaint, perfectly preserved and you can’t help but feel like a teenager at a soda fountain in a bygone era when you nestle up on one of its stools at the counter. The open flat top grill is a well-seasoned spectacle. Watching what seems like hundreds of burgers sizzle and flip next to a pile of golden melting onions while customers zing in and out through the walk up window and in and out of the diner is mesmerizing.
The burgers themselves are wonderful. First, there’s just something fantastic about holding a tiny sandwich in your hand. And then you bite in, and the aroma of the onions mixes with a perfectly greasy, salty thin patty that’s somehow both crispy and tender, all wrapped in that almost gooey steamed white bread bun. Just pure yum!
This is what burgers are supposed to taste like, and this is what the experience of getting a burger is supposed to be like, the cook shouting orders, the sizzle of fresh meat overtaking your conversation, the sting of onions on the grill consuming your senses until you slather the last french fry in ketchup and head back out into a the bright light of a world too often piled too high with too many toppings.
