[KR...]

Ok, so I am thinking that one of you might want to use this as an avatar :

 

[myself, aka me]

WIMPY!

Did they ever have a cheeseburger eating cartoon called Wimpy? I remember it involved some fat guy whose name may have been wimpy eating a few dozen of them at great pace when I was young. But now I can't remember the name of it.. Confirm that it's wimpy! Solve the 14 year old mystery!

By the way, Mac's cheeseburgers x6 = full me.

 

[strohmie]

Let's see...so far my records are 2.5 Hardee's Thickburgers (1/2lb) and eight McDonald's Cheeseburgers (not in the same sitting obviously). Edit -- oh, and I'm about 5'7", 150lbs, so for my size I can eat like a horse (though I'm no ectomorph, so it definitely goes to my hips real quick).

Both instances made me rather ill. I'm curious to see what those Burger King Angus burgers taste like, maybe if I like them I'll buy a couple extra...

 

[warubozu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by myself, aka me WIMPY! Did they ever have a cheeseburger eating cartoon called Wimpy? I remember it involved some fat guy whose name may have been wimpy eating a few dozen of them at great pace when I was young. But now I can't remember the name of it.. Confirm that it's wimpy! Solve the 14 year old mystery! By the way, Mac's cheeseburgers x6 = full me.

Yes, there was an actual cartoon character named Wimpy. He was a chubby guy that wore a derby hat, had a mustache, carried a cane and loved cheeseburgers. I think the Wimpy cartoon character was associated with Popeye but I can't be 100% sure.

 

[KR...]

Quote:

Originally Posted by myself, aka me WIMPY! Did they ever have a cheeseburger eating cartoon called Wimpy? I remember it involved some fat guy whose name may have been wimpy eating a few dozen of them at great pace when I was young. But now I can't remember the name of it.. Confirm that it's wimpy! Solve the 14 year old mystery! By the way, Mac's cheeseburgers x6 = full me.

It's from Popeye!

 

[spaceman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjg do they have a "i gotta poop" smiley ?? : P

I think Pinkie should be in charge of creating the "i gotta poop" smiley for Head-Fi. Kind of a cross between a frown and a big smile.

 

[quke]

I once ate one cheeseburger (in McDonalds I think). Never bothered after that.

All hail kebab!

 

[enzoferrari650]

tasty

 

[spwal]

i like mos burger. they have mosburger in hawaii. or had it in hawaii..

 

[KYTGuy]

MYSELF AKA ME: There is some sort of copyright dustup about WIMPY's - they were a chain, then they ...ahem "adjusted" their signage - there are now a number of Whimpy's throughout the nation, but they are not very popular overall.

My favorite chain has only a few storefronts, the only ones I have seen are in L.A. - Tommy's Burgers - they are big burgers, served with hot peppers.

I am a card carrying member of AMHEATS, the American Hamburger Evaluating And Testing Society, an international association of Hamburger Lovers who have a newsletter that helps travellers find the best joints throughout the world. It was invented some years ago by my friend, Ray Cook. The International Headquarters is in Portland Oregon. The association gives out certificates to the best places, which have been anonymously tested by members trained to do so. Most all of the best places are individual, family owned places where the attention is to good ingredients, time taken in preparation, and simply presented. Ray and I have unselfishly devoted ourselves to a lifetime of testing Hamburgers. Somebody has got to do it. I volunteered.

 

[warubozu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spwal i like mos burger. they have mosburger in hawaii. or had it in hawaii..

They still have a Mos (Mountain, Ocean, Sun) burger here in Waikiki, that's the only one. Mos burger appeals more to the Japanese tourist than us locals here mainly because it's quite expensive and there's only one. I rather prefer Ted's Bigger burger and Eddie's Burger & Frozen Custard. Both serve massive burgers and great milkshakes.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYTGuy MYSELF AKA ME: There is some sort of copyright dustup about WIMPY's - they were a chain, then they ...ahem "adjusted" their signage - there are now a number of Whimpy's throughout the nation, but they are not very popular overall.

Back in the day, WIMPY was a franchise and consisted of a guy (usually the owner) frying the burgers to order on a large griddle. The burgers came to the table via a waitress and all that was on them was burger and fried onions... there was a tomato shaped sauce dispenser on the tables should you want to add tomato sauce. The places were very clean and used real cutlery and plates... none of this plastic rubbish. In the early days the customers would use a knife and fork to eat their burgers (yep a knife and fork!!) but this was probably a British thing at the time. The flavour of those awesome burgers remains with me to this day and everytime I think of the old fashioned WIMPY I salivate. The WIMPY of today is a totally different animal and their burgers are tastless.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYTGuy I am a card carrying member of AMHEATS, the American Hamburger Evaluating And Testing Society, an international association of Hamburger Lovers who have a newsletter that helps travellers find the best joints throughout the world. It was invented some years ago by my friend, Ray Cook. The International Headquarters is in Portland Oregon. The association gives out certificates to the best places, which have been anonymously tested by members trained to do so. Most all of the best places are individual, family owned places where the attention is to good ingredients, time taken in preparation, and simply presented. Ray and I have unselfishly devoted ourselves to a lifetime of testing Hamburgers. Somebody has got to do it. I volunteered.

You "very" lucky man!!!

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickG Because they sorta taste good. Why did Evel Knievel jump the Snake River canyon?

There was probably a free big mac waiting for him at the other side.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Taste of America in the darkest 60s



The Wimpy Bar in Abington Street pictured in 1993

BACK in the 1960s for most Northampton (UK) people America was a distant land glimpsed only at the pictures or on the pages of a magazine. But a very real taste of the USA arrived in town at the end of the 1950s with the arrival of the first Wimpy Bar. Next year the chain celebrates its 50th anniversary, which many predicted it would never survive to see. Although the arrival of Wimpy in 1954 was the beginning of Britain's fast food revolution, it would be another four years before the phenomenon reached Northampton.

Very much the in place to be, Wimpy in Gold Street – now Fontana's burger bar – soon became a popular hangout for trendy Teddy Boys. Gangs of teenagers would gather for a 'frothy coffee' which is what we called cappuccino before the 1980s. And many couples can name the Wimpy Bar as the backdrop to their first romantic liaison. In 1970 a second Wimpy opened in Abington Street, which remained popular until it was sold off in the mid-1990s.

Alberto Sgoluppi, who owns Café Morandi in Gold Street, managed the town's first Wimpy Bar at just 16 years old. Of the regular rucks and disputes between teds, mods and rockers, he says: "Let's just say there was never a dull moment. "When I arrived I knew we had to turn things around or we wouldn't have survived. Apart from the Milk Bar in Abington Street the Wimpy was the only place people could go till late and the fighting was putting people off. "It was the first place in Northampton to have bouncers on the door. I also had to have a bodyguard, a local ex-boxer, because I was constantly being threatened. "It took a few months of this and then everything calmed down."

Back then places to go after pub closing time at 10.30pm were very limited.
"Northampton town centre was an unbelievably different place to today's town. There were no bars and only a couple of places people could go and dance, like The Salon. "Wimpy closed at 11.30pm so everyone would come in because they weren't ready to go home. "It was a real American-style place, the only other cafes were the greasy spoons. "We had a jukebox that played rock 'n' roll like Elvis with Italian music like Mario Lanza and everyone was really into espresso in a big way – we called it the espresso explosion, though I'm sure everyone thought it was nasty, strong black stuff and didn't really like it."

Mr Sgoluppi ran the Gold Street Wimpy until he was promoted to regional manager of both branches and several pubs and clubs in Northampton and Bedford. Years later, in about 1977 he was running the Gainsborough Coffee Shop in Fish Street when a bank between his café and the Abington Street Wimpy became vacant. "I wanted to buy it and expand. George Silver (a well known local actor who appeared in several Bond films) who owned Wimpy at the time, came in and said, 'There's no way you are doing that while I'm next door. You're coming to work for me.' So I did."

Wimpys of the 1950s and 1960s were replicas of authentic American diners served with a dollop of very English hospitality. Although there is still a counter Wimpy at the Megabowl in Sixfields, and two restaurants at Rothersthorpe services, café-style Wimpy finally left the town centre in the mid-1990s. The original Gold Street restaurant was bought by current resident Fontana's Hamburgers in 1982.

Anyone in their 20s or early 30s who grew up in Northampton will remember how strange the Wimpy dining experience felt compared to the polystyrene, rapid service offered by McDonald's. Waitress service was something of a novelty in the 1980s when McDonald's was at its peak. And although the Wimpy menu offered American diner favourites including hamburgers, frankfurters and milkshakes, these Stateside staples were served alongside decidedly English toasted teacakes and fish and chips. So rather than providing Northampton with a bona fide slice of America, Wimpy actually offered a transatlantic hybrid of old English teatime and USA gloss.

The burger bar has to an extent seen off huge challenges over the years, not least the rise and rise of McDonald's in the early 1980s, which had a dramatic impact on Wimpy's fortunes. Tired of the competition from the multinational, Wimpy's owners were driven to change tack and also focus the majority of their operations on quick buck counter service, in preference to their trademark waitress service.

Recently even McDonald's fortunes have taken a tumble, it has just experienced its first period of trading without making a profit, said to have been caused by the no-bread Atkins diet and our increasing demand for more exotic food. But the public still has an affection for traditional Wimpy Bars. Even today the Wimpy menu harks back to its 1950s roots with its combination of the typically English – fish and chips, sausage and chips and mixed grills – and old school American such as classic burgers, quarterpounders with cheese and knickerbocker glories.

In Wimpy Bars chips are chips not fries and your meal comes with a knife and fork, serviettes and proper cups and saucers. Some of the old favourites – including my own, the Brown Derby, a doughnut topped with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and nuts – are still around. There are also eccentric-sounding offerings like the fried chicken served with white sauce and 'fishy nibbles' on the children's menu.

But Wimpy has also incorporated 21st century Britain with the inclusion of vegetable protein Quorn as a veggie option. This fusion of old and new, UK and USA, is odd but it seems to have worked. As the chain approaches its 50th anniversary it should be most proud that it is still standing. And while the Wimpy Bar might be gone from Northampton town centre its presence is definitely not forgotten.

 

[hciman77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinkFloyd Taste of America in the darkest 60s Even today the Wimpy menu harks back to its 1950s roots with its combination of the typically English – fish and chips, sausage and chips and mixed grills – and old school American such as classic burgers, quarterpounders with cheese and knickerbocker glories. But Wimpy has also incorporated 21st century Britain with the inclusion of vegetable protein Quorn as a veggie option. .

Ah I remember as a child having Knickerbocker Glories in the Wimpy in Bridlington (I think) in East Yorkshire, and burgers surrounded by sausages cut in several places, halved tomatoes and tea in metal pots - sigh, the chefs in the Knightsbridge Wimpy in the 80s used to show off by flipping the burgers several feet in the air.

Though being mostly meat free now make mine a QuornBurger