Figgs Fast Food
559 Hamblin AvenueI’ve been using The Carryout Club on Facebook quite a bit to find new places in Battle Creek but I still have a few places that I’ve found on my own and have meaning to get to.
I had a little bit of extra time in town a few weeks ago. I was assigned to a job in the afternoon that we got done pretty early. My co-worker just met me in Battle Creek because he had to go somewhere after work so I was on my own when we got done.
We finished up work around 4:00. I didn’t have time for lunch but I was ok with it. I knew a place I have been meaning to go to for several years and I was finally in town and free when they were open.
Figgs Fast Food doesn’t look like much. It’s a small cinder block building on the corner of Hamblin Avenue and Angell Street west of downtown. The building is really small and the parking lot is full of potholes but I’ve heard so many good things about this place, I wasn’t going to be deterred by the looks.
Once I got parked, I wasn’t quite sure what the deal was. There is a door leading in to the building but there also looks like there is (used to be?) a walk up window. That window had menu signs covering so I assumed they weren’t using it anymore and went inside.
Inside was almost as confusing. It’s just a little room with a window that looks into the kitchen. That window is covered with the menu again so I started looking at it and figured someone would notice me and tell me where I needed to go to order.
I was noticed a woman came to the door where a little window is cut out. She asked what I wanted. I ordered the Double Figg Burger with an order of fries. I had no idea what a Figg burger was but took my chances on it figuring you can’t mess up a burger. If it’s their specialty, I wanted to try it.
Figgs is carry-out only but there are a few seats in the waiting area so I plopped myself down and waited. The lady that took my order said it’d be 15-20 minutes but it didn’t take that long. My bill was a little over $16 and Figgs only takes cash. Luckily I assumed that and stopped at an ATM before I ordered.
I was hungry so I took my food back to the parking lot and decided to eat in the car before I headed home.
I ordered the Double Figg Burger but I did not need that much food. The buger is HUGE. The sandwich is pretty close to a pound of meet according to a 2018 article in the Battle Creek Enquirer. The burger comes on a toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mayo, pickles, and cheese. This is a legendary diner burger. Figgs has been around close to 30 years and burger like this are the reason why. It’s not fancy or grass fed beef or anything like that. It’s a delicious diner burger cooked on a well seasoned flat top that gives up a ton of flavor. I’m not a big ketchup or mayo guy so I wiped a lot of it off but a little was alright and made this one of the most delicious burgers I’ve had in Battle Creek.
The fries were nothing special and I really didn’t need them after polishing off this huge burger but I’m not one to let a fry go to waste. The fries are simple frozen food service fries. They actually had a pretty good dusting of salt and were quite tasty fitting that diner them really well.
I can’t believe it’s taken me over 10 years to go to Figgs. It’s really kind of out of the way and not a place you’d find if you mainly stick to downtown Battle Creek. I’ve driven by on occasion but they are a seasonal place and have hours that aren’t always regular. I told another guy waiting for food it was my first time and he essentially recommended everything on the menu. I told him I ordered the Double Figg burger and he laughed. I see why now. There’s a lot of meat on that sandwich…a lot of delicious, juicy, grilled meat.
SW Michigan Dining 