"Frisch's Big Boy is a regional Big Boy restaurant chain with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. For many years a Big Boy franchisee, in 2001, Frisch's became the exclusive owner of the Big Boy trademark in Indiana, Kentucky, and most of Ohio and Tennessee, and is no longer affiliated with Big Boy Restaurant Group ... Frisch's is the oldest, longest surviving regional Big Boy operator, excluding Bob's Big Boy in California, which was the original Big Boy restaurant and franchisor," according to Wikipedia.



I remember there being a Big Boy restaurant near me growing up in the Northern Panhandle. I remember liking the statue outside, so the restauranr has always been fascinating to me. I don't know that I have seen any Big Boy locations left in West Virginia, but when I was traveling, I did find one in Ohio that I wanted to check out. The cluster of Big Boy restaurants in this area were all owned by one franchisee, who did things his own way.



"His double-deck Big Boy hamburger was slightly different than Wian's. Dave Frisch also created his own Big Boy character: a thinner boy with reddish or blond hair, wearing striped rather than checkered overalls, presented in a running or skipping pose," according to Wikipedia.

"Most Frisch's Big Boy restaurants still display statues from this design, albeit usually repainted with brown hair and checkered overalls. In 2017 a redesigned statue resembling the West Coast Big Boy was introduced."



The Big Boy is essentially the first Big Mac - a double-decker burger with a special sauce. Though, thd burger served at Frisch's is slightly different than those at other Big Boy restaurants. The original Big Boy hamburgers had mayonnaise and red relish. Frisch later replaced these with tartar sauce and added dill pickles in his version ... "The use of tartar sauce on Frisch's Big Boy hamburgers wasn't simply a matter of taste. Frisch recognized the use of a single combined condiment was simpler and faster. Later the Big Boy system adopted the idea, using the combined form of red relish and mayonnaise, commonly known as thousand island dressing, on Big Boy hamburgers."



So, I ordered the big boy cheeseburger, which came with two thin beef patties placed on a three-layer bun with lettuce, a slice of American cheese, and thousand island dressing. It was great! This dressing-burger combo is clearly a winning one because many restaurants have adopted the concept. A little sweet, a little tang. It adds a special zip to a burger. Mac & cheese and a strawberry shake completed this meal, and both were top notch.