Mark and Matt's Chili Trek
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Restaurant NameBig Boy
Address800 N Pontiac Trl
City, State ZIPWalled Lake, MI 48390
Phone248 624 23 23
Websitehttp://www.bigboy.com/
GPS Coordinates LAT 42.537951 LONG -83.481264

Restaurant AtmosphereLow key sit down restaurant
Chili HeatNone
Chili FlavorNone
Chili TextureThick
Chili Prices$2.99 for a bowl, $.45 for cheese and/or onions
Chili Fixin'sTwo packages of crackers

Comments by Matt Fuerst
Rating: 3
We've got a nice little batch of new chili joints lined up, so once again it's a debate on Tuesdays which new place we are going to try out. It somehow managed to be my pick this week, so I stared long and hard at the list and decided to get Big Boy a try. Big Boy has had a bit of history on our list. We had it up there in the early days, then erased it when we got some info that their chili was subpar. However I was googling for chili one day and found a site that had Big Boy as one of the top 3 chili's in Michigan. A pretty bold claim, so that got it back on the board.

We arrived and I quickly scoured the menu for chili. I finally found it, boldly proclaimed as Big Boy's Famous Chili and we confirmed that they indeed had chili today. One hurdle passed. We ordered up two bowls (the only available size) which arrived after too long of a wait. Presentation wasn't much, but chili ain't meant to be purty, right?

Sadly, the taste wasn't up to snuff either. Ingredients consisted of hamburger, kidney beans and some thickening agent. No celery, no onions (cooked in that is), no extra love. No real seasoning or flavor was present. I actually found the bowl to have a lot in common with the Green (AKA Naughty or Sour) Apple... there was some visible seasoning stuck to the bowl, but nothing in your mouth. What a bummer.

Stick with Big Boy for your Slim Jims and strawberry pie. Skip on the chili, famous or no.
Comments by Mark Everest
Rating: 4
Matt and I have been kicking around going to Big Boy for some time now. My Father-In-Law, Joe, said he didn't really care for it because it had a vinegar taste. I discarded the idea of going there after that. Recently, however, Matt duped me into going by claiming he read a review that said Big Boy chili was ranked in the top 3. I acquiesced to Matt's declaration that we were going to try it for ourselves today.

The menu proudly boasts "Big Boy's Famous Chili". I've been burned before when an establishment goes a little overboard with their claims but pushed on anyway. I agreed to the cheese and onion up-sell but got nervous when the waitress responded "Well, if you're going to be bad, you might as well go all the way". Hmmmmm?

The chili was served chopped onions on top. The waitress informed us that there was cheese in there but at the bottom so it would melt. Great idea. At first glance, I thought I was looking at dressed up coney sauce again. I was considering making a scene. I dug in for the first bite - pretty plain jane. The onions were overpowering. It wasn't coney sauce but it was derived from a close cousin of it. I got to the gooey cheese and that helped but I certainly wasn't impressed with the overall product. If I order it again I would omit the onions because they were just too much.


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