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Brayz Hamburgers
Categories: Restaurants Burgers Restaurants Diners Burgers, Diners [Edit]
22941 Dequindre RdHazel Park, MI 48030
(248) 542-8878
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 12 am - 12 am
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night
- Alcohol:
- No
- Drive-Thru:
- Yes
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
15 reviews for Brayz Hamburgers
15 reviews in English
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Review from Jean P.
9/18/2010 ROTD 6/8/2011
We'd been meaning to stop here for a while, in that it has a giant donkey on the roof. How can you not want to eat someplace like that?
The sliders are bigger than what you'd expect for the price - not very thick but not as greasy as I feared either. The buns are about 3/4 the size of a normal large hamburger bun and fresh grilled along with the burger patties. They ask up front if you want onions (also fresh-grilled) and pickles, and if you eat at the counter you'll have your choice of other condiments. Not sure how they come if you get carry-out from the side window, but with so much ambiance, why wouldn't you eat in?
It really was just what we'd hoped to find in a tiny diner with a donkey on the roof. A few stools at the counter, a few at the window, some old photos on the wall (this place was around in 1959? really?), and the best part: an old-school arcade game featuring your choice of Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga. Also a jukebox, in case you want to dance???
Bottom line: we got 6 cheeseburgers, a big plate of fries, and two large sodas (with endless refills) for $11. The cook and the waitress, along with the old regulars stationed at the other end of the counter, made us feel like we were old friends. I sure wish we had a cheap, yummy, unpretentious place like this in Ferndale, it is the world's most perfect post-bar food!! Can't wait to go back! -
Review from Sarah B.
Detroit, MI
6/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
One of those places a must to visit at least once, especially since it has that donkey on the roof.
FOOD: If you want to compare their burgers to anything I'd consider it a higher end of a White Castle slider and slightly bigger. My husband & I had their belly busters and it wasn't too bad. The onion rings weren't so bad either.
SERVICE: If you're looking for a 4 star treatment then don't go here. They basically cook the food and bring it to you. Enough said.
COST: The cost of their food is dirt cheap - $5 & under. Breakfast seems like an easy fix and I'd go back to try their breakfast for the sake of a cheap meal. -
Review from Jake A.
Warren, MI
10/18/2010
The cynical little demon inside of my head has been convinced for many years now that the large donkey watching over the intersection at 9 Mile rd. and Dequindre is going to fall and hurt somebody. But the fact is, the day there isn't a Donkey on top of Brayz, is a day Hazel Park ceases to be a spot on a map.
You have to appreciate the irony that at expensive steakhouses where people are all dressed up and acting fancy, there's no windows to see them through. Yet Brayz, with it's old fashion blue collar crowd who don't care what they wear, or what they eat, are surrounded by walls of glass at the intersection of two busy roads where anybody driving past or stopped at a red light can watch them eat.
What I always remember best about this spot is the take out window on the side which resembles (or maybe is) an enclosed porch. After all, where is the enclosed porch more relevant than in that area? The food itself is not for everybody. In fact, I wouldn't recommend it to the majority of people on here. It takes a special kind of stomach to appreciate such food. It takes a stomach that was bred in a grease trap and raised in a oily brown bag. If you can handle some heavy-duty food, give it a try, it'll deliver on it's promises to bust your belly.
It's a place where you'll find people reading newspapers the 'old fashion way' instead of on a Mac. A place where coffee is coffee, and has no other names. It's a lot like the town of Hazel Park itself, appealing to those who live there, but purposefully unappealing to those who don't. It's always been that way and they like it. For that reason alone, Brayz will stand as a monument to a people who know what they like and don't care what others think.
Some people prefer the Tel-Way, which they claim is cleaner, to which I offer a modest rebuttal: But does it have a big donkey on top of it? -
Review from Brian A.
It's funny, because I was on my way to Brayz with a foreign friend. I figured I'd take him to a real junky slider place, for that "Americana" experience he craves.
On the way there, he noted a business that had a "Z" at the end of the name to pluralize it. I told him "Ah, that's a common thing--but any place that pluralizes with a "Z" like Burgerz and Thingz is bound to fail. They never last."
Then the great irony struck me: We were on our way to Brayz, which has been in Hazel Park for approximately 1,300 years.
Caveat: I know it hasn't always been "Brayz". But whatever, it was a good intro.
Anywayz:
Brayz is a Wednesday standby. You cannot go wrong with $1 cheeseburgerz..err cheeseburgers. The place is absolutely full of character. Sometimes your burgers are fried up by an eternally 11-month pregnant young redhead with a huge smile, sometimes they're slapped on your plate by a vaguely loud Greek-ish guy, and yet other times they're served up by people who look as if they have seen better...decades. No matter who is frying them up, they're consistently delicious; a greasy patty, a greasy bun, greasy onions, and a couple of slices of fresh and crunchy pickle. Put on your own ketchup and mustard, ya bum.
There's nothing of note on the menu other than the burgers. One of my sons gets a BLT when I bring them up here, and it's usually met with a scowl because, well goddammit, who likes making bacon at a burger joint? Still, the bacon is crisp and he always eats the whole thing, so... who knows?
The Belly Buster is a better Big Mac. If Kraft 1000 island excites you and you want it all over your face and in your belly, by all means order this beast. It's what you crave.
I love Brayz. It's close to my house, it's super cheap, it's stinky and charming and rude and rough and delicious and terrible. It's my kind of place. It's just like me.
Cash only! -
Review from Regina S.
10/5/2010
oh, good ole Brayz!!
My mom used to call it a "treat" She'd bring in that greasy brown bag full of calories, cholesterol and goodness and I would smile from ear to ear!
Not much has changed in HP... ummm I mean Brayz. Still the big donkey on top, Still the stainless steel counter and stools taken by the "regs" and still the best greasiest "i got my drunk on and now i'm hungry" burgers around!!
The belly buster is great, but I love the sliders (everything on 'em) with fries. I can usually get about 3 in before I feel like the belly buster!
Being an HP lifer, I often run into friends there too, which is great! I live very close by, so in the summer, when the temp and wind are just right, I can smell them.... calling my drunken name!!
*****CASH ONLY************Listed in: Eatin' on the Cheap, Hazel Park...whaaaattt???
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Review from Janelle W.
Detroit, MI
Everyone was glad when "Roseanne" got cancelled. No longer did we have to watch the crude jokes and proletarian coarseness of the Conner family. No longer did we have to cringe at the sight of their perpetually out-of-style late-80s fashions. But in case you pine for reruns, just hop in your car and mosey on over to Bray's.
Spend a Saturday night at this little Hazel Park grease pit. Their red stools fill up around 11:00 p.m. with the post-horse-track rush.
Among the "regulars" will be an old man in Joe Paterno glasses, a flannel shirt and suspenders. He's been there since 8:00, leafing through the Freep, sipping on a stagnant coffee.
On the opposite end of the counter is a man in his sixties wearing a one-size-too-small satin baseball jacket with tattered wristbands and a fading Tigers logo. He wolfs down his burgers while sorting through his bet receipts from the Hazel Park Race Track, then begins to madly scrape at his stack of scratchers.
And sitting at the window is a woman in acid-washed jeans and a floral blouse from the K-Mart spring collection, with her stringy color-treated hair pulled into a scrunchie at the crown of her head. She alternates bites of burger with puff of cigarette--the cancer stick see-sawing in the canyon created by a missing tooth.
And amongst them all, *I* am the misfit.
But there is a common thread that binds us all--the great Bray's Bellybuster. Two thin beef patties grilled with onions, on a sesame seed bun, topped with American cheese, pickles, and thousand island dressing. A better Big Mac, available at all hours of the day.
And for dessert? A pile of sliders--thin slips of beef, greasy onions, soggy buns. Everything a slider is supposed to be.
Some call Bray's the Telway of Hazel Park. To me, it's late-night dinner theatre at its finest. Who needs Letterman or Conan when you can go to Bray's? You don't even need the complete 3rd season of "Roseanne" on DVD for a dose of dirt-under-the-fingernails comedic trashiness.
*** CASH ONLY *** -
Review from Mike W.
Royal Oak Charter Township, MI
10/3/2010 1 Check-in Here
I was born and raised passing the old giant donkey that was mounted on the top of Brayz on a daily basis. Growing up in Warren, we were all familiar with the establishment and assumed it was actually some sort of hobo/bum mecca. I lived a block away so it became the "in a pinch" place that wasn't McDonald's my family would go to pick up dinner.
A couple years ago, a few of us decided to start going here again. I had not been since moving away from Warren in the early 2000's. Needless to say, the place has not changed a ton and is still one you should check out at least once after the bars close.
The main draw is their super cheap burgers. The "belly buster" is their signature "dish" and is basically a cheeseburger with the works and a load of Thousand Islands on it. Maybe it's just me but there is something that always tastes funny with the grilled onions so I may advise against ordering them. Aside from the burgers, the rest of the food is exactly what you would expect from a dive restaurant open 24 hours.
The 2 major problems I have with this place is 1) it's cash only (which I understand considering the extremely low average ticket price and 2) they do not have a restroom accessible by the public. Who does that? If you go really late you are forced to go to the nearest restroom which is all the way down 9 mile in a different restaurant. Seems pretty silly to me. -
Review from TJ W.
2/10/2010
When I was a kid, my dad used to take me to Bray's every morning before school for a hamburger with extra mayo. He'd drop me off at school, then he'd pick me up after school and we'd go back to Bray's where I would eat another hamburger while he would work his racing form (he was a professional horse gambler) and make his picks for the night. During the summer, we'd head up the road to Hazel Park Raceway, or to Windsor Raceway in the winter, but we ALWAYS went to the track. After the track, we'd go back to Bray's for another hamburger.
I think I could probably open my own restaurant one day and still die having eaten more meals at Bray's than anywhere else.
Shortly after I turned 10 years old, my dad died, and I never went back to Bray's again. Until, that is, about a year ago when my wife was curious about the place. So we decided to give it a shot.
It's as if they closed the place the day I left and didn't open it again until the day I went back. The place looked the same, the surrounding scenery was the same, the neighborhood was the same, the menu was the same, and the place even smelled the same. I swear, the same toothless regulars that used to frequent the place when I went there as a kid were still there when I went back. I even think I recognized one of the hookers that used to go in there, though I was too young then to know what a hooker was. The only difference is that they've changed the name to "Brayz", but I refuse to call it that.
Bray's isn't the kind of place you go for fine dining. The burgers are a cross between sliders and just bad diner burgers. The only thing that really stands out here is that if you get there while they still have some left, you can order a cinnamon roll and have them slice it in two and grill it with butter. Believe me, it tastes even better than it sounds.
The day to give Bray's a try is on April Fool's Day. If the tradition still stands, someone gets up on the roof and ties a bright red ballsack onto the donkey's crotch. This year, I plan to swing by and try to get a couple of pictures of it. Maybe I'll see you there.Listed in: List of places I have…
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Review from Nick Z.
2/5/2009
Bray's is a small grease pit in Hazel Park and it would be fair to compare it to the more popular Birmingham staple, the Hunter House off Woodward.
Bray's serves up some fine burgers, and they don't make any attempt to suggest they might be healthy. They ain't, but they're a really tasty late-night meal to toss into a stomach full of beer.
You get what you expect with Bray's. -
Review from Tom B.
New Baltimore, MI
1/15/2010
Brays! I have not been here in quite awhile - over 10 years, but it does bring back some memories.
It takes a special person to even enter this place, as it has a 15 foot donkey standing on the roof. Many will drive by, but few will enter.
I use to make that entry early in the morning before the crack of dawn usually after a night of hard partying. There would be a few bums in there possibly eating or drinking coffee. The bums would not ask for money, so you simply ignored them and it helped create the ambiance of a building with a DONKEY ON TOP.
This would also be the place we would take dates that acted like gold diggers. We wanted to humble them. We often built up the place to keep the legend going, you know, they actually use donkey meat. Ha, but we all know that's false its actually kangaroo meat. Sometimes we would exaggerate the crime in the area, which also helped set the tone for meal.
Despite the rumors, the place was always really clean, and fairly quite. I swear the sliders is a hang over killer. If you ever had a crave for White Castles, then it is time to step up your game and come to Brays. If you are terrified of White Castles, stay away from this place like the plague. -
Review from Laurie H.
Royal Oak, MI
1/5/2011
It's ok....Telway blows the doors off Brays. Always has, always will. Nice try though! Eeyore would be proud!
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Review from James D.
11/1/2009 ROTD 1/8/2010
This place is by no means the TelWay, but it gets the job done. Its trashy, its small, and its dirty. And thats what makes it so delicious. You can tell people, "Woah dude, I ate sliders at Brays for lunch and I think Im getting kinda sick. You know, Brays? Its the place with the big donkey on the top of it? Yeah! Thats the one."
Its really like the tequila of food service! You know your going to regret it before you even get out of your car. Yet, for some God awful reason, you do it to yourself.
The food is decent and greasy, the price is spot-on (What up .99$ Wednesdays!!!), and if your lucky they may even thank you once you pay! Its awesome. Better than Hunter House, but then again so is Dennys (Aww, damn son!!!). So this place gets four stars for being a grease trap in Hazeltucky? No! This place gets four stars because they are smart enough to serve krinkle cut fries! I LOVE KRINKLE CUT FRIES! -
Review from noah m.
Ferndale, MI
5/29/2009
The sliders are killer. The best around. Everyone seems to think that greasy hamburgers and onion rings are late night foods but Bray's is open all the time so you can have sliders for breakfast. There's no better way to start the day.
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Review from chuck z.
Warren, MI
Updated - 9/14/2011
well they finally black toped the parking lot no more pot holes. recovered the old seatswhich looks good but half on them are broken(watch where you sit) food hasnt chaged much same old place to hang out when i get up to have coffee .new people to serve you as others have quit or got fired
2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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6/13/2011
i remember one time going there in the morning to have coffee said the coffee taste funny.… Read more »
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Review from Boris B.
Royal Oak, MI
11/2/2010
OK, first of all -- the almighty slider is THE Great American Hamburger. This is the type of burger that took the nation by storm in the '20s, '30s, and '40s, before McDonald's (ick!) monopolized the landscape and monotonized our palates. And Brayz (formerly Bray's) makes one of the best sliders on Earth. Yes, yes, you MUST get the grilled onions... that's a proper slider! Enter this porcelain palace on the corner of 9 Mile and Dequindre under the incredibly great donkey statue. The fact that Brayz has participated in the deification of an animal is enough to merit four stars -- but wait, there's more. There's a stainless-steel counter and the passing parade of neighborhood characters, inside and out on the street, which is ample entertainment in itself. I've not had the Belly Buster, which is Brayz' signature burger, but the double cheeseburger I usually order (times two) is enough for me to highly recommend this joint... and I mean "joint" in the most complimentary way.
