Joe’s Burger Search

Scott’s Hamburgers - Bixby OK - Triple Double (Meat/Cheese/Bacon)

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:03:16 -0600

Since starting Joe’s Burger Search I’ve always asked for recommendations. I get quite a few recommendations. The more recommendations I get on a particular burger joint the more I pay attention. By far the number one recommendation I have received has been for Scott’s Hamburgers in Bixby, Oklahoma (pop 21k). Obviously most of these recommendations are from Southees (those that live in south Tulsa or Bixby). I’d ask what they loved about Scott’s and they’d almost always say they love the Hamburger Basket without any description of exactly what they liked about the burger. Over time I was wondering if these Southees were just starved for burger options and needed a little burger education. Also heard that Southern Living did a short article on Scott’s a few years back. Investigated this and found out it was their behemoth Hoss burger that is 1 & 1/3 lb burger. Please, this would completely blow the bun to meat ratio and is a gimmick. You can’t judge a good burger by a gimmick. I finally decided to drive my lazy butt south to Bixby to give Scott’s a try. Had a Scott’s fan join me - Kevin Pyle. Well let me tell you, as much as it hurts to say this, those dang Southees know exactly what they are talking about and have educated me that it doesn’t hurt to get out of Tulsa proper to have a GREAT burger.

Before ordering my burger, I sat down and visited with owner Glenda Simmons. Glenda informed me that the original Scott’s started up in a different location, where the current Quick Trip is on 151st & Memorial. The building was built in approximately 1959 as a Tastee Freeze. Around 1980 the original location turned into a Freddy’s then in 1990 Dale, Glenda’s brother, bought the burger joint and renamed it to Scott’s after his son. In 1998 Glenda bought Scott’s from Dale and kept the name going. In 2003 the property was sold to Quick Trip and a few months later Glenda opened up Scott’s in its current location. The current location greatly expanded the interior seating from what they had before.

The original Scott’s Hamburgers

Glenda Simmons, Owner Scott’s Hamburgers

I love this sign!
The current Scott’s Hamburgers

Wondering if Scott’s employs half of Bixby.
When it got busy, they worked like a team.

I learned that the Scott’s Hamburger standard burger patty is 1/3lb, pattied on site, from fresh, never frozen, 80/20 ground chuck that they get from a local purveyor. Since several recommendations mentioned the onion rings, I asked and was a little surprised to learn that they, along with the fries, are not fresh. After having the onion rings, I would have them again. Better than your average onion ring even if not homemade. Did learn that the Lemonade was made from fresh lemons in house along with their Limeade. Glenda mentioned that they do not use carbonation in their fresh Limeades which might throw off some. Since they brew their own Tea I decided to go with an Arnold Palmer (half Lemonade / half Tea). The fresh Lemonade is outstanding and my Arnold Palmer was amazing!

The infamous Southern Living article

That’s My BACON - stay away!

Knowing that the Hoss Burger was 1 & 1/3lb, I decided to go with the Double Meat, Double Cheese, and yes Double Bacon - the Triple Double! Normal dress at Scott’s is onion’s cooked in, optional onions on the bun, mustard and pickles, and lettuce and tomatoes if you like. They will gladly change it your way. I punted the lettuce and tomatoes. Like mentioned earlier, I went with the Onion Rings while my dining companion went with Tator Tots and Gravy. Those were good also.

What a GREAT burger. Amazing Sear. Bacon and Cheese on each layer. Toasted Bun. Wow

Split view

Kevin’s Burger w/ Tots & Gravy

My burger arrived in a little red basket with the onion rings. I was really impressed by the great sear on the burger. I definitely prefer a patty to be of 1/3lb or greater to help improve the chances of a good sear while leaving some juicy goodness to drip out. My griddle master today did an outstanding job. Again, great sear on both patties, she also cooked the bacon without getting it over done and the bun was also griddle toasted to perfection. I thought I was going to save half of my burger to take home so my son could try but ended up leaving only a quarter of the burger to take home and as soon as I walked in the house I took a couple bites of it, leaving my son with only one bite. How bad is that. An therein lies my rating criteria.

Well I’ll admit, this old dog can learn new tricks and I want to thank everyone that recommended Scott’s to me. I also want to thank Glenda Simmons for keeping Scott’s Hamburger going for us to enjoy. What a great burger and a great burger joint.

Till next time...

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No
Type: Griddle
Thickness: Med
Notes: In Bixby Ok
Burger Cost: $8.99
Burger: 9 of 10
Fries/Rings: 7 of 10
Other: 9 of 10 for house-made Lemonade and
Tea my Arnold Palmer
Final Word: Great burger in a little town.

SteakFinger House - Double Double CheeseBurger

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:28:27 -0600

Just down the street from the Tulsa World building in a nondescript building is Tulsa’s 2nd oldest downtown restaurant - SteakFinger House. Opened in 1981 by Basil Blackburn, SteakFinger House has been feeding the burger cravings of downtowners.

Larry Blackburn is at the counter inside

You might ask, if this is a burger place then why is it called SteakFinger House. As you surmised, they have SteakFingers, which are slivers of steak that is flour coated, seasoned and fried. When paired with a roll injected with butter and gravy for dipping, we are talking about some good eats. It’s always a tough call on whether to get the SteakFingers or the Burger. The SteakFingers came about while Basil worked at the Argentine Steak House in the 70’s. When he left he bought the steakfinger machine and opened up SteakFinger House.

Basil Blackburn has been a significant part of Tulsa’s burger history with ownership of Boots Drive-In in the late ‘60s around 17th & Sheridan, Town Talk Snack Shop around Pine & Harvard in the mid to late ’50’s and also Taste Freeze around Admiral & Yale. Basil Blackburn, in his mid 80’s, still mans the grill everyday at SteakFinger. I consider Basil Blackburn the GodFather of Tulsa Burgers. His son Larry Blackburn works the register, and Karen brings out the orders. They are an efficient team.

Basil, Karen, and Larry: Great People!

SteakFinger House is a Big Tulsa Fan

The SteakFinger House Burger is a quarter pound all beef patty. I normally double up on the meat and cheese. We’re talking classic old fashioned thin style patties with a great sear on a toasted bun. Standard dress is mustard, pickles, and onions. Fries are cut fresh daily. I ask for mine crispy. For $6.50 you get the Double Double CheeseBurger, Fries, and a Medium Drink. Great lunch deal.

Basil showing the importance of a toasted bun

Till next time...

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Medium Well
Type: Griddle
Thickness: Thin
Notes: Basil Blackburn, GodFather of the Tulsa Burger Scene.
Burger Cost: $6.50 (Double Double with Fries and Drink)
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Other: 9 of 10 for the SteakFingers and Gravy
Final Word: 2nd Oldest Downtown Restaurant

The Meers Store - Meers CheeseBurger with Bacon

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 22:19:47 -0600

My last burger post of 2010 ends up being one of my favorites of all time - a road trip to Meers, Oklahoma to The Meers Store. Meers, Oklahoma is around 200 miles and over 3 hours from Tulsa, OK. Have heard many great things about the Meers Burger that’s made from Longhorn cattle that the owner Joe Maranto and his son raise. Also heard to not pass up the Peach Cobbler. Got to be that I wanted to go to Meers so bad that it felt like a dagger was being driven in me with each mention of Meers from top burger lists in magazines, on TV, and in books. My favorite reference for Meers can be found in George Motz book Hamburger America on pages 223 - 225. When I got to hook up with George this summer, he even rubbed in Meers and was nice enough to give me a 22oz Meers Good Beer. BTW - the second edition of George Motz Hamburger America will be available in the spring of 2011 and might even include Tulsa. Joe Maranto told me of taking George Motz to see his Longhorn Steer and could tell that George was a little nervous around the steer (as I would be).

The Place:
As you see below, the Meers Store looks kinda old. Well it is. First opened in 1901. Yeah that old. Owner Joe Maranto told me that if he didn’t keep building on over the years it would have fallen down by now.

The original Pistol Pete at 92 years old

Joe Maranto in the NY Times in 2005.

Let’s just say she was popular in her time

The Burger:
I’d heard stories about Meers Store having different names for how a burger is dressed. Its true. Owner Joe Maranto covered the types with me. The main type is called “Cowboy” burgers which come with mustard, dill pickles, tomatoes, purple onions, lettuce, and american cheese. I highly recommend when you go to a great burger place the first time you have it their way, which I did (with bacon, can’t help it). The 2nd type is called the “Sissy” burger which has mayo instead of mustard. The 3rd type is called the “Yankee” burger which has ketchup instead of mustard.

My “Cowboy” style Meers Bacon Cheeseburger was delivered covering a regular sized plate cut into quarters. It honestly looks bigger that it really is, being only 1/2lb of meat. The Longhorn beef used in all Meers burgers is a great tasting beef. So great in flavor that they do not spice the meat at all. Knowing that Longhorn beef is a very lean meat (97%), I asked owner Joe Maranto how he keeps them juicy and not drying out. He said the hires great cooks that do not overcook the burger. I was honestly concerned that my burger would be dry but it wasn’t. The bun is specially made for Meers to fit their gigantic sized burger. Very good soft bun with a nice toast on it. The burger was dressed beautifully. Loved every bite. Next time I’ll probably try the Seismic Burger that comes with jalapenos and weighs in at 1 lb.

Loved this Meers Cheeseburger with Bacon.

Check out that Bacon peaking out.

The Sides:
The sides I sampled include (starting from the bottom left and going clockwise) were fried green beans, cheesy texas toothpicks (slivers of jalapenos deep fried), fried green tomatoes, and stuffed jalapeno peppers. All were good with the top for me from the sampler plate being the cheesy texas toothpicks. The separate bowl of Frickles, spicy bread and butter pickles, were outstanding. I’ve had many varieties of fried sour pickles but these spicy bread and butter pickles were the best! Quite a kick.

Loved these Frickles

The Cobbler:
I love a good cobbler. If you’re like me then you know that a cobbler is only as good as its crust. I’ve had many a good cobbler that had only one type of crust with the crust mixed in everywhere. As long as the ratio is right then it is good. To put a good cobbler into the great category then you have to have a bottom crust type and a different top crust type. The Meers Store Peach Cobbler has the two types of crust perfected then when added with their Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, this makes their cobbler the BEST I’VE EVER HAD. Although hard to tell from the picture due to the volume of ice cream, the bottom crust was very good but the top crust was outstanding, kind of like a sugar encrusted crust shell on the top of the cobbler that did not weaken by the soft serve homemade ice cream. Honestly, that cobbler was a religious experience.

The Beer:
A few years ago owner Joe Maranto hooked up with Joe Pritchard, owner of Krebs Brewing Co and Pete’s Place in Krebs to develop a special bottle of Choc beer special for Meers. They ended up using the Choctaw Indian recipe. My beer came out in a 22oz bottle. I’m a big fan of local craft brew and include Choc and Marshall as my favorites. The Meers beer is a perfect match for the Meers Burger. So sad I didn’t pick up extra to have back at home.

The Man:
As great as the burger and cobbler were, the highlight of my trip to Meers was getting to visit with Joe Maranto for several hours. If I had the ability to pick your relatives, I would pick Joe Maranto to be my grandfather. Joe is one of the wisest business men that I’ve ever met and has a story for everything. At 80 years young Joe is still involved with many aspects of the store including coming up with the new Frickles that are fried spicy bread and butter pickles.

Owner Joe Maranto deep in one of his stories

Joe Maranto with his grandson Ace.
His son Houston is in the background.

If you ever go to Meers and are lucky enough to see Joe Maranto, tell him I said hi and that I’ll be back. Love this place.

Let me know if you plan to go, especially if you have room for one more.

Till next time...

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Medium Well
Type: Griddle
Thickness: Medium
Notes: No matter what get the Cobbler & Ice Cream
Burger Cost: $8.25
Burger: 9 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Other: 9 of 10 for good Sweet & Spicy Fried Pickles and GREAT Peach Cobbler & Ice Cream
Final Word: As great as the burger and cobbler were, getting to visit with owner Joe Maranto made the trip a memory I’ll never forget.

Kilkenney’s Irish Pub - Butter Slip Burger with Bacon & Bleu

Sat, 5 Jun 2010 13:42:54 -0500

Sorry for my absence but I’m back! I really haven’t been gone. It’s been a busy summer. I’ve been doing a lot of burger research, even helped my friend George Motz of Hamburger America on his journey through Tulsa to update the 2nd edition of his upcoming book, plus started my food judging career: Hasty Bake Grill’s Grill Competition, Hasty Bake Grill’s Smoking Competition, Tulsa BBQ Challenge Steak Cookoff, Tulsa BBQ Challenge Kids Burger Cookoff, and Oklahoma Championship Steak Cookoff. Man was that a blast. Anyway that fun is over and its time for me to catch up on my visit to KilKenney’s Irish Pub back in June.

Opening in 2001, owner Brett Rehorn, decided that Tulsa needed an authentic Irish Bar in Tulsa with true Irish libations and food. To ensure authenticity Brett spent in excess of $1 Million Dollars (said in your best Dr. Evil voice) to create his Irish Bar in Ireland and have it shipped back to Tulsa for assembly. He then stocked his bar with true Irish drinks and added in many outstanding Irish dishes. I’ve had many of these drinks and dishes over the years but today I’m here to put a hurt on their Butter Slip Burger. I mean, how can you go wrong when the burger has the word butter in it.

The bar and restaurant is a beautiful sight. When you go you should just wonder around to check it all out. The host was quick to greet and seat us. Once I noticed that the seating location was a little dim which would impact my photo’s I asked if there was another better lighted location and he quickly replied “Got a great spot for you”. He took us to the left of the dining area to a wonderfully lighted area. Our server Erica was also very pleasant and helpful with reviewing the rather large menu with my guests. She was also so helpful as to bring Brett Rehorn over to chat. Already several pluses and I haven’t taken a bite yet.

It was a pleasure to get to talk to Brett Rehorn, owner and proprietor of KilKenney’s Irish Bar. His passion for this fine establishment came through and shows today in every detail of his restaurant. One of the stories that Brett shared was how the original owners of Brownie’s Hamburger Stand, Bill Bowen and Ed Mondor, would frequent KilKenney’s almost daily sitting in the same seats at the bar. If you follow Joe’s Burger Search you know how much I love that old burger stand of Brownies. After Bill Bowen passed in 2009 Brett decided to place a brass plack on the back of the bar stool where Bill sat. How cool is that.

Anyway, enough on that, lets get to that burger. I ordered the Butter Slip Burger with Bacon, Bleu Cheese, and Grilled Onions served on a Kaiser Roll. The beef patties is eight ounces which helps ensure a juicy burger. And this burger was juicy, cooked to my desired medium request. The toppings of bacon, bleu and onions just added to the overall experience. That’s a really good burger at an Irish Bar. The sweet potato fries are top notch also. Nice and crispy.

KilKenney’s has a ton of menu items. For an appetizer, we split the Oysters Graiguenamanagh (Oysters G) which oysters broiled on the half shell and topped with a creamy shrimp, mushroom and irish bacon sauce. We’ll have that again. My son was feeling like trying something different and went with the BallyBello which is a grilled portobello mushroom served burger style. The mushroom has a nice tasting balsamic vinaigrette marinade. Great veggie sandwich!

To put us over the top we split the Sticky Toffee Pudding which is a cream soaked pound cake fried in a sticky-buttery caramel toffee. This is now my son’s favorite dessert, yeah its that good.

Brett, thanks for giving Tulsa a great Irish Bar and Restaurant that any town in Ireland would be proud of.

Till next time...

KilKenney’s Irish Bar and Restaurant

Everything you see was custom made in Ireland and shipped to Tusla.

My daughter Jodi and her mom

My son Zak and yours truely

Brownie’s Bill Bowen Sat Here - RIP

Amazing Oysters G

My tasty Butter Slip Bacon and Bleu burger with sweet potato fries

My son’s portobello mushroom sandwich

The decadent Sticky Toffee Pudding

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes
Type: Grill
Thickness: Thick
Notes: On Cherry Street
Burger Cost: $10.97
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Other: 9 of 10 for being an Irish Bar
Final Word: Beautiful Irish Bar with a great food!

Fat Guy’s Burgers - Fat & Juicy Burger

Fri, 28 May 2010 15:33:54 -0500

To celebrate National Burger Day my son and I thought it would be worth trying out Tulsa’s newest burger joint that opened up early April in downtown next to the new ONEOK Field BallPark.

General Manager Chris Dodge and his culinary team of Germain Betances, Mikel Richardson, Trevor Tack and Ryan Cline have created a winner. The first thing I liked about Fat Guy’s was the menu starts off with a Double burger then to a Triple Burger and last to Specialty Burgers. To get a single you have to drop down to the Kiddie menu. The second thing I like about the menu is the large selection of toppings that are all free with your burger. Eighteen toppings to be exact including the basics like mustard & mayo but also including grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and fresh jalapenos.

We decided to sample the Double Bacon Cheeseburger and the Fat & Juicy with Bleu. We had both topped with mayo, pickles, and grilled onions. Our drinks included a fantastic Chocolate Milkshake and an amazingly delicious Marshall IPA beer. All orders come packaged to go in a sack.

The Double Bacon Cheeseburger was good. It probably could have been seared a little more but that might have been my fault for ordering it medium. The grilled onions were really good, approaching caramelized doneness, but were only sparingly applied to my burger. A really nice touch was the detail of applying bacon on each burger patty instead of all on top. The toasted burger bun was probably one of the best tasting burger buns I’ve ever had. Heard through the grapevine that Dodge has a catering company that also makes the buns locally.

The other burger we sampled was the Fat Burger’s Fat & Juicy which is two patties stuffed with butter and your choice of either bleu or american cheese, i.e. a Jucy Lucy. We ordered ours with Bleu Cheese. This was an amazingly juicy burger. We were halfway through enjoying the burger when we both realized that our burger came with american cheese instead of bleu. It was so good we just continued to pound it down.

The side of Spicy BallPark Fries were out of the park great. A large order is humongous, probably enough to feed four normal people, but we managed. The fries are pre-blanched then deep fried to achieve a wonderful crispness. If you are like us and like seasoned fries then you will love the spicy fries.

Another item worth mentioning is the Fat Guy Challenge. It consists of an extremely larger version of their bun, one pound to be exact, loaded with a two pound beef patty, two four ounce hot dogs, six slices of american cheese, and onions and tomatoes. Plus you have to finish off one pound of fries. As all eating competitions should have, there is a time limit - this one being one hour. If you don’t finish in time then the attempt will cost you $35 bucks. If you finish in time then its free. To date only one person has completed the challenge, and many have tried.

Fat Guy’s Burgers are yet another example of what makes Tulsa Oklahoma the burger capital of the world. Thanks to Dodge and friends for bringing their burger vision to us to enjoy.

Till next time...

Fat Guy’s Burgers in the refurbished Smith Building

Let me know if you plan to take the Fat Buy Challenge so I can watch

Some seating at the windows.

A few tables by the bar. More seating outside.

If you build it, they will come

Great Shakes and even better Marshall IPA Beer

The Fat & Juicy peaking out

Look how juicy that Fat & Juicy is

Our Double Double with Bacon

Fat Guy’s Spicy BallPark Fries our out of the park GREAT!

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes
Type: Griddle
Thickness: Thin
Notes: Next to new downtown ballpark
Burger Cost: $6.95
Burger: 7 of 10
Fries/Rings: 9 of 10
Other: 9 of 10 for Choc Shake & Marshall IPA
Final Word: Have a burger and go to the ball game.

Billy’s On the Square - Theta Burger with Bacon

Wed, 7 Apr 2010 16:14:59 -0500

Billy’s On The Square is located in downtown Tulsa on the northwest corner of Bartlett Square (5th & Main) in the historic Mayo Building. Billy’s is one of 3 oldest restaurants in downtown Tulsa, the other two being Coney Island and Steakfinger House, originally opening in 1984 in the southeast corner of Bartlett Square and moving catty-corner in 2002. Billy’s is owned and operated by Billy Bayouth. On most days you will see Billy along with longtime employee and sister in-law Stephanie working.

The burger I’ve been hooked on at Billy’s since opening has been their Theta Burger. For those not from Oklahoma, a Theta Burger is a burger topped with Mayo, Pickles, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, and a Hickory BBQ Sauce. These items in combination make an amazing burger.

There has been much discussion on where the Theta Burger originated. Many believe the Split-T in Oklahoma City, OK was the first to create. Looking around Tulsa I can find around a half dozen burger joints that make their versions of a Theta. When I asked Billy where he thought the Theta originated he thoughts were more on where the name might have come from with the greek sororities in Norman at Oklahoma University and Stillwater at Oklahoma State with Theta in their names being the impetus for the name.

Billy’s version of the Theta keeps it classic with mayo, thick cut pickles, an excellent shredded cheddar cheese and a sweet tasting hickory bbq sauce. With my love of swine, I added bacon to my Theta. I also ordered the combo fries which includes several of their homemade delicious onion rings along with their fries.

The Theta was cooked to order, with this one at medium rare. If you don’t ask for a change in your burgers doneness they will by default cook medium which makes for a more flavorful burger. Billy’s fries are good, but their sweet corn meal home made onion rings are great. I love Billy’s Theta Burger.

In talking to Stephanie at the counter, she informed me that the burger patties were soon increase in size from the 1/4 lb currently served to 1/3 lb, which is the size of the burger they have been serving for a while at the BOK Arena. Having sampled both sizes multiple times, I think it is a great idea to standardize at the 1/3lb at both locations.

I’m sure several who have bothered reading this far are thinking that this burger has too much going on, has mayo, doesn’t have a slice of cheese but instead has shredded cheese, and adding the hickory bbq sauce is just too much, but I’ll tell you - this combination rocks. Like I mentioned above, I’ll add bacon, and sometimes even put an onion ring on the burger. Oh my, oh my - this is burger heaven.

Till next time...

Why is Bartlett Square round?

Historic Mayo Building

Billy’s is Open

Enter and hang a right

Mayfest Posters from past years

Char Burger Options

My wonderful Theta Burger with Bacon

Combo order of Onion Rings and Fries

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes
Type: Grill
Thickness: Medium
Notes: Weekday lunch time only
Burger Cost: $4.15
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Other: 8 of 10 for having a Theta
Final Word: The Theta is da bomb

Daily Grill - Bleu Burger with Bacon

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:57:09 -0500

In 2008 the Daily Grill opened in downtown Tulsa in the hotel currently known as Crowne Plaza right across from Starbucks. Daily Grill is an offshoot of the parent that started in Beverly Hills with around a dozen Daily Grills now residing in California and another eight spattered around the US. While Daily Grill is upscale, it is also very approachable and comfortable.

Being located in downtown Tulsa, within easy walking distance to the BOK Arena and the new Oneok BallPark, Daily Grill will be a viable option for your dining pleasure. Being located adjacent to the 52 floor BOK building owned by Williams also makes it very convenient for my lunch time excursions. On this version of Joe’s Burger Search I went with three friends/coworkers.

Having frequented Daily Grill multiples times with each experience being very good, I was looking forward to sampling their Black and Bleu Burger that was on their online menu which stated being stuffed, yeah stuffed, with Bleu Cheese and cracked black pepper and topped with a Bleu Cheese Mayo and served with their amazing Onion Rings - right up my ally. After we were seated, I was surprised to not see a Black and Bleu Burger on the menu. The waitress quickly confirmed. Being set on Bleu Cheese no matter what, I picked the CheeseBurger cooked to medium, which states “Choice of Cheese” - guess which I picked. As I frequently do, I also added bacon. Another in my party (can I say party since its during the work day?) ordered the Pepper Bacon Burger which is topped with double Cheddar Cheese and Bacon with a Thousand Island Dressing medium rare. One other ordered the CheeseBurger with Cheddar Cheese well done. Our last patron in our party picked the Parmesan Chicken Caesar Salad. Since I do work with her I decided not to make fun of her.

On all of my trips to Daily Grill they have done an outstanding job of cooking my burger to the desired temperature and this trip was no exception - see picture of the medium rare burger below. The burgers are half pound of 80/20 angus beef cooked on a grill, seasoned with salt and pepper. The beef flavor comes through on this big burger very good. Even with bleu cheese and bacon you can still taste the beef. The bleu cheese was very good, not being too powerful but also not being to weak to notice. When I first received the burger I was a little surprised that the bacon was chopped up but this ended up being a really big advantage being that the bacon would not just pull out in one bite and also ensured bacon in every bite. I’ll have to remember this in the future at home. The burgers come with a choice of Slaw, Shoe String Fries, or Fruit - I went with Fries while fruit was picked by several others. The Fries are good, not great, but good. I really like shoe string fries but noticed that they cool down really quick and I’m sure me taking pictures doesn’t help. Luckily since my order did not come with those amazing Onion Rings, we decided to get an order for the table. The rings come with a crazy great bleu cheese sauce that is a mixture of bleu cheese and mayo. The onion rings are bread crumb crusted and fried perfectly. The onions were sweet and did not slide out on each bit. And that bleu cheese sauce just added to the experience. The others that ordered burgers were very impressed with theirs also. A special thanks to the server for her great service and the manager, Kenneth Scudder, for not freaking out when I started taking pictures and being so nice to visit on the restaurant. Till next time...

Bacon and Bleu Cheese - Oh My

Cheddar & Bacon Cheddar

Great looking Medium Rare I don’t know what that green stuff is

These Onion Rings with the Bleu Cheese dipping sauce is amazing!!!

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes
Type: Grill
Thickness: Thick
Notes: Upscale restaurant
Burger Cost: $10.95
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Other: of 10
Final Word: Don’t pass on the Rings

Linda-Mar Drive-In - Westside Cheese Burger

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:42:59 -0500

Linda-Mar Drive-In has been a west Tulsa fixture since the early 1970’s with various members of the McCutchen family keeping the tradition alive. Jerry McCutchen opened Linda-Mar then it moved to brother Mike in the early 80’s then to brother Dennis later in the 80’s then back to Mike who currently owns and operates.

The McCutchen family has also been involved in sprint cars throughout the years with multiple pictures of sprint cars decorating the walls. The other feature that is worth noting from the interior is the continuos playing of the Andy Griffith Show on the TV in the drive-in. What a classic.

With a motto of “The Westside is the Best Side” I had to go with the Westside Cheese Burger that consists of double meat & cheese on Texas Toast. To those that have followed my reviews, they know that I love all types of burgers on all types of buns. I was looking forward to this double double on a buttered texas toast and I was not disappointed. Although the texas toast was pretty substantial it worked since I had a double. Might have been even better if I would have gone for a triple. The burger was seared nicely and the cheese, onions, pickles, and mustard went together wonderfully. My son ended up going with the Triple Cheese Burger and it was a winner also. I had to threaten him on walking home to get a bite. Both the fries and onion rings are frozen. The fries were okay while I loved the onion rings, being a variety of a beer batter ring.

Before I left I decided to get some of their Jalapeno Chicken to go since I had heard of their chicken compared to the old Rex’s Chicken that use to be in Tulsa. I’m glad I got that jalapeno chicken - it was GREAT. They are little pieces of chicken that are battered and fried with battered and fried jalapenos. Oh so good.

To those that have and continue to go to Linda-Mar’s, sorry for getting the word out on your west side gem, but this place is too good for the rest of Tulsa not to visit. Till next time...

Enter on the side or go around for the drive-through.

Check out Andy on TV

How do you like the vintage look of
the photos?

The combos are a good deal

Oh so good!

My son’s triple

Check out their sprint car!!!

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No
Type: Griddle
Thickness: Thin
Notes: West Tulsa Classic
Burger Cost: $4.85
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries/Rings: 7 of 10
Other (Jalapeno Chicken): 9 of 10
Final Word: Watch Andy on TV

New Atlas Grill - Atlas Cheese Burger with Bacon

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:21:37 -0600

The New Atlas Grill is located in the beautiful nationally registered art deco 12 floor Atlas Life Building, built in 1922. The Atlas Life Coffee Shop operated since its opening but went by the way side over the years. In the mid 1990’s Matt and Brooke Kelly (who now own and operate Lucky’s Restaurant - see review here) opened the Atlas Grill and its been a hit ever since. Current owners Jeff Nickel and Jake Robinson have not missed a beat since April 2004.

When you enter the Atlas Life Building located between 4th and 5th streets on Boston you go down the opulent hallway to the back till you see the titan Atlas holding up the clock at the back then turn right. Most who work downtown frequent the New Atlas Grill but if you haven’t its worth the trouble of finding parking to check it out. Their menu is diverse with my favorite obviously being their Atlas Burger. As you will see from the pics below, I plan to partake in a Chicken Fry Steak on my next visit.

Both of the owners, Jeff and Jake, along with their staff are very friendly. You can tell they enjoy their job and it is reflected in their food.

The Atlas Burger is 1/3 lb of ground chuck, grilled to order (well if not specified), and served with fried onions. Who ever though of adding fried onions to burgers is a fricken genius and should receive some type of Nobel prize. Since I’ve been going bacon crazy lately I decided to add bacon to my Atlas. Oh my, good choice. The sandwiches are served with tortilla chips and a hot pickle spear. I upgraded to their hand cut french fries which was another good choice.

The Atlas burger was cooked to my desired medium. The bacon was a thick cut pepper bacon that added a nice diversity to the burger and fried onions. This is a really good burger. The hand cut fries are seasoned, as I’m sure the burger is also, with Jake’s Chef Seasoning. I love those fries. Don’t cheap out and go with the chips man. Oh yeah, although they have tea and a nice soda fountain even with both Coke and Coke Zero I decided to go with the original Coke in a tall bottle. Yet another great choice. I’m on a streak.

Next time you find yourself wondering where to have a good bite for lunch in downtown Tulsa, venture into the Atlas Life Building and enjoy. Till next time...

Titan Atlas looks over you

Atlas Life Building in on the National Registry of Historic Buildings

Beautiful details both inside and out

What time is it Atlas?

Love that floor

Everyday Menu board. Daily specials are on the side

Tasty Atlas burger with cheddar, fried onions, and bacon. Great fries also!

Aerial view of burger, fries, and coke

Hello Chicken Fry!!!

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes / Medium
Type: Grill
Thickness: Medium
Notes: Located in the beautiful Atlas Life building
Burger Cost: $6
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Other (Atlas Life Building): 8 of 10
Final Word: A great burger is a beautiful building

Ty’s Hamburgers - 1/3 lb Hickory Cheese Burger

Sat, 6 Feb 2010 17:16:13 -0600

Ty’s Hamburgers has been a fixture outside of the Florence Park neighborhood and Tulsa University (TU) Campus since the early 1980’s. Owner Chris Cushenberry has owned Ty’s for the last 12 plus years and has been doing a great job of keeping this unique burger joint going.

I’ve had several fans of my burger search recommend Ty’s to me, specifically making reference to their hickory burger. I have a special place in my gluttony history for a good hickory burger. From the 7th grade through 12th grade every road game for basketball would stop at a regional burger place called MinuteMan of which I always, and I mean always, had the #2 with Cheese which was their version of the hickory cheese burger. Even in college I went to the local MinuteMan so much that they knew my order when I entered. Since MinuteMan is long gone now, I’ve had a hole to fill.

When you enter Ty’s you go to the counter and place your order, pay, and grab a table. They will bring your food out to you. My son and I both went for the 1/3 lb Hickory Cheese burger and split both the fries and onion rings. The Hickory Cheese burger was really good. The burger was nicely seared with onions and pickles nested in a sweet bbq sauce on the bottom bun. The bun was toasted on the griddle the point where it is not just a container for the burger but is so good you go back in for another bite just to get the bun taste. The fries are called Q’s, cut and fried fresh, and are crispy goodness. Toward the end of your fries you end up with some of those prized little pieces that are treasured by myself. I had to go get a fork to finish those off. The onion rings, though not made locally, were of a top quality beer batter blend. I would have the onion rings again also. Last thing worth noting is that Ty’s has some great crushed ice that goes great with your pop/soda selection.

I’d like to thank Chris Cushenberry and Ty’s for keeping a good hickory burger going. I’ll be back and you should know what I’m going to have. Till next time....

“Over 3 Dozen Sold”

Place order & grab a seat

Would like to see that giant white out marker

Check out that sear!

Hickory burger comes with onions and pickles in a sweet bbq sauce - delicious!

Fries/Q’s and Onion rings are great!

Arial view from spy satellite

Lots of room with unique decorations

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No / Well
Type: Griddle
Thickness: Thin
Notes: Nice neighborhood burger joint
Burger Cost: $3.05 Includes toppings & Fries
Burger: 7 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Other (Crushed Ice): 9 of 10
Final Word: Hickory burger is the way to go,
with great crushed ice.

Palace Cafe - The Palace Royale Burger

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 15:41:40 -0600

Chef James and his wife Brooke Shrader started Palace Cafe in 2002 on Cherry Street at the corner of 15th and Peoria. It should be noted that Chef James Shrader is a 1995 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).
When you take into consideration that just up the street on the same block you can find Chef Matt Kelley of Lucky’s, that makes not one but two CIA graduates running their own restaurants in the same neighborhood sharing their vision of fine dining in little old Tulsa Oklahoma.

Today I lunched with Natalie Mikles of the Tulsa World Scene who is working on a story relating to burgers. My son probably would have come since school was closed due to the brutal cold front but he slept in. Natalie had quite a few really good questions relating to burgers. Kind of made me feel like she was working for A Hamburger Today in their grilled segment. I was able to talk Natalie into sharing a picture of her 7 month old beautiful twins. If you see her, ask to see that picture. After our lunch together I got a togo box to take home rest of my burger and fries and noticed she was not taking hers home. Maybe that is why she is so tiny after having twins recently and writing about food for a living. Anyway, I took her leftovers home too - haha. Thanks Natalie, my son loved your leftover burger.

Just before we were to order Chef James Shrader dropped by our table and chatted. I have always been impressed with Chef James and Palace Cafe due to their participation in the local Farmers Market each summer along with their involvement in local charities. When talking about his burger Chef James shared his secret on obtaining a great sear/char on a rare burger. He freezes the burger beforehand. This might seem blasphemous to some but if you think about it, its pure genius since its all about temperature management.

The Palace Royale Burger consists of chuck and tenderloin ground local, grilled on a live wood fire, layered with white wine sauteed mushrooms, thick cut crispy bacon and swiss cheese on a toasted bun. If you ask me, there is not a more beautiful burger than a burger grilled on a live wood fire. The colors of the burger are a rainbow of browns and deep burgundy. The white wine sauteed mushrooms adds a contrasting texture to the burger. The bacon is very thick cut and tasty. All of this is held on the burger with the swiss cheese that was melted and running down the burger. Needless to say, the burger was amazing. There was a puddle of juice dripping from the burger and the mushrooms that I was sopping up. The burger price includes Pommes Frite (french fries) which are fresh cut potatoes that are fried crispy then finished with truffle oil and a seasoning mixture of chives, salt and garlic. The fries were great!

Some people feel that spending $10 for a burger is too expensive for their blood but when you consider the preparation they put into their art, the blends of meats used, the extraordinary toppings, and that the price includes fries, you really have a great deal for a great burger. Till next time...

Right on the corner of 15th & Peoria

Local artists featured

Spacious but quant dinning

The live wood fire felt great!

Chef James Shrader chatting with us

Man that bacon with swiss was great

Look at those mushrooms peaking through the bacon and swiss

The fries are amazing!!!

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes / Medium to Med Rare
Thickness: Medium
Notes: CIA graduate
Burger Cost: $10.00 Includes toppings & Fries
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Other (Potstickers): 8 of 10
Final Word: At $10 this is a bargain burger
for what you are getting.

Harden’s Hamburgers - Men’s Double with Cheese

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:54:10 -0600

Wanting to close out 2009 with a special burger my son and I decided to hit Harden’s Hamburgers. Harden’s roots are deep in the Tulsa burger lore and being the last burger I would be eating this year / decade I thought it would be fitting to partake in a Harden’s burger.

The last time I had been to Harden’s was quite a few years back when they were located on 15th street. It was at this 15th street location that Weird Al Yankovic filmed an opening scene of the movie “UHF”, that was released in 1989, using Harden’s as Burger World. I saw a different scene for “UHF” being filmed at the then Kensington Galleria at 71st and Lewis after I had just finished eating at Ri Le’s Vietnamese restaurant that was also located there. A poster from the movie “UHF” is on the wall at their current location (see below).

Johney Harden started Harden’s in 1939 as Johney’s Jip Joint featuring old fashioned hamburgers made with a “secret” seasoning. Rick and Sharon West took over ownership of Harden’s from Johney in 1988 and have kept the perfection going. Harden’s roots are tied to Tulsa’s burger heritage in that several other great Tulsa burger greats got their start at Harden’s/Johney’s Jip Joint including Claud Hobson who started Claude’s on Brookside.

Harden’s is very family oriented and the restaurant includes a ton of memorabilia that will bring the kid out of anyone. I was impressed by the great attitude of the staff and the cleanliness of the restaurant.

Tonight I went with the double double which is called The Men’s Double with Cheese which is 2 x 1/4lb patties stacked on a perfectly buttered and grilled bun. Harden’s uses a “secret” seasoning that really is special. I wish I would have thought to ask for the secret seasoning on my fries. You might notice from a sign located below the menu stated - We cook em with a light pink center. What this tells me is that this is a place that knows that to cook a burger too done will cook away all of its flavor. A lot of burger joints toast or grill their buns but Harden’s bun is toasted so well and tastes so good I found myself going back in for another bit after I was reaching my limit just to savor that bun again. What you get from this is a burger that is juicy and seasoned great. And that was what The Men’s Double with Cheese was, great. My son had their “Bob”, short for Big ol’ Burger, which is 4 x 1/4 lb patties each with cheese totaling 1 lb. It was basically the burger I had times 2. I noticed that both of us were making yum sounds through the burger experience.

Their fries were good but their onion rings were great. When I asked if they used corn meal in their ring batter they stated that they use the batter from a local restaurant down the street called White River Fish Market (one of my favorites).

It’s burger joints like Harden’s that makes Tulsa one of the best (if not the best) burger towns in the world. Thanks Rick and Sharon West for keeping Harden’s on the Tulsa burger map. Till next time...

It’s hard to miss Harden’s at night.

Spend some time looking around. Order counter to the right.

Weird Al poster
I had one of these when I was a kid

Cool bike and sign
Large Playing Card given after ordering

I’m really impressed by the red sign below the menu board.

Secret seasoning, grilled in onions, bacon, cheese - that’s one great burger

My son’s B.O.B. (Big ol’ Burger) = 1 lb. Yeah, he pounded it down.

Onion Rings are great Tasty Fries

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Kinda / Medium Well
Thickness: Thin to Medium (each patty)
Notes: Great Sweet Tea
Burger Cost: $5.50 Men’s Double with Cheese
and Bacon
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries/Rings: 7 of 10
Other (Sweet Tea): 8 of 10
Final Word: The secret is in the seasoning

Freddie’s Hamburgers - Double Deluxe

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:35:36 -0600

Freddie’s Hamburgers was established in 1954. Since that date they have been pure to their mission in serving a top quality burger at affordable prices. Freddie’s has resided at several locations over the years and has been at its current location of 8th and Lewis for quite some time (I obviously don’t know how long since they were so busy the last few times I’ve gone they didn’t hardly have time to take a breath none the less answer my questions). Tonya Jackson worked for Freddie for around 12 years before taking over ownership of this location in January of 2009. From what I can tell not a thing has changed and is as good as ever.

When you walk into Freddie’s you first see the cash register directly in front of you to the left. If you are eating there, go ahead and get a seat either at the counter which is limited to 5 stools or one of the multiple tables that are in the back to the right. If you are getting a togo order, go ahead and order at the register. If you know me, you know that I have to eat at the counter. I love the burger joints that you can watch your burger get prepared. The crew working at Freddie’s are very efficient and have their duties down pat.

On today’s visit I went with their Double Deluxe Cheese Burger which is two 1/4lb patties each covered with american cheese totaling 1/2 lb. We also sampled both their fries and onion rings. I prefer Coke over Pepsi (just a personal preference) therefore I ended up going with a Dr Pepper. I reference this just to note that their crushed ice is top notch. Yeah, I even have an ice preference and this place has it. The Double Deluxe Cheese Burger was amazing. Be sure to order the onions cooked in and also get onions added when they dress it. The fries are fresh cut and very good as are their onion rings. Top quality all the way.

Freddie’s Hamburgers is a fantastic burger joint. To be honest, I’m surprised people don’t bring up Freddie’s more often. But then again, by judging from the crowd that goes there, they are doing just fine. Till next time...

Carrie is greeting us at the door. Hi Carrie!

Where the magic happens

Deluxe is 1/4 lb while Jumbo is 1/3 lb

View from my stool Counter view (objects appear closer...)

Trust me, it’s as good as it looks. Also, do you like my new camera and lens?

Crispy Fries Great Onion Rings

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No / Well
Thickness: Thin (each patty)
Notes: Remember the Onions cooked in
Burger Cost: $4.60 Double Deluxe
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries/Rings: 7 of 10
Final Word: Really good burger

Bros Houligans - Green Bean Burger

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:37:10 -0600

I’ve been going to Bros. Houligans pretty much a couple of times a year ever since they opened in 1987 on 15th Street a block or so east of Lewis.
The interesting thing is that the only thing I ever
had from here over the years have been their
Chicken Livers that I believe are the best I’ve
ever had. I’ve heard their Chicken Fried Steak,
Fried Shrimp, and their Steaks are also great
but I rarely have chicken livers and when I’m
there I’ve always gone with what I knew was
great. After starting this burger blog I’ve had

a few fans of Bros Houligan ask me if I’ve had their burger and some have even mentioned their Green Bean Burger that is actually a menu item.

When Bros. Houligan opened in 1987 it started out as more of a pub/bar even including a couple of pool tables with a limited menu. Over just a few years the menu took over and the demand for their home cooking demanded that the bar atmosphere give way to more eating room including a great family environment. Bros. Houligan was opened by and still operated by brothers Pat and Tim McMurchy who honed their culinary skills at the old Louisiana Restaurant that was located on 18th and Boulder in the late 1970s and early 80s.

Todays visit is strictly business so I must forgo my love of their Chicken Livers and instead sample their burgers. My main focus was their unique Green Bean Burger. Just to get us on the same page, this is not a veggie burger made of green beans, but instead is a beef burger that is topped with their famously seasoned green beens. I was honestly having a hard time going into this with an open mind. I mean, I normally will go without lettuce and tomato on my burger so how was adding green beans going to pass mustard (pun intended).

The initial bite was interesting with the first thing I noticed was more of a textural thing from the softness of the green beans. The beef of the burger was cooked as ordered medium that in itself was nicely seasoned. The bun is dry toasted with condiments on the side. The green beans add an additional level of flavor consisting of a distinct bacon and salt taste. All together the green bean burger is actually not that bad, more of a novelty for me, but still not bad. We tried a couple of other of their burgers: their Southern Burger (sautéed onions) and their Houligan’s Hamburger Deluxe (with Canadian Bacon, sautéed onions, and both swiss and cheddar cheese). I highly recommend the Houligan’s Hamburger Deluxe!

We also sampled their waffle cut fries with cream gravy and their onion rings. Both were served hot, crispy, and tasted great.

As always, I enjoyed the visit to Bros. Houligans. Their cooking is top notch, the wait staff is very friendly and help each other out, the servings are really large family style portions and you will have a hard time leaving hungry. Servings are so large I would typically just get an appetizer portion of the Chicken Livers and would have a hard time polishing them all off. Also note worthy is that since the portions are so large at times that the restaurant does not have anything for dessert, I mean nothing, and you don’t miss it. Till next time (when I’m sure I’ll get my Chicken Livers)...

Dinning Room - will be filled up shortly

Houligan’s Hamburger Deluxe Southern Burger

Waffle Cut Fries with Gravy

Mighty tasty onion rings

Wall of fame with local awards...

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes / Medium
Thickness: Medium
Type: Grill
Notes: Best Chicken Livers in Oklahoma
Burger Cost: $4.95 Double
Burger: 7 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Other (Chicken Livers): 9 of 10
Final Word: Green beans add an interesting bacon
and salty flavor.

Brookside Burger Throw Down - Weber’s vs Claud’s

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 22:03:07 -0600

Weber’s and Claud’s have been operating in Tulsa’s Brookside within a stones throw of each other for over 40 plus years (Weber’s 1933 & Claud’s 1965). On this day several burger lovers were asking “Who is the king of Brookside burgers?”

Zach, Joe (me), David, Brian @ Claud’s
Zach, David, Shae, Brian @ Weber’s

Todays judges consist of Shae Claypool and Brian McCullough of Tulsa Food Blog, David Christopher of Tulsa Restaurant Deals, and Joe Price with his son Zach of Joe’s Burger Search. The scoring system was pretty simple - 0 to 10 points for each of the burger components (bun, meat, cheese), then the fries/onion rings, and last the atmosphere. Starting with atmosphere - the scoring was a tie with one judge preferring the outdoor seating at Weber’s while another judge liking the indoor counter seating at Claud’s. The other judges rated the atmosphere the same.

Weber’s griddle
Claud’s griddle

Both Weber’s and Claud’s use a steel griddle to make their burgers. Both will grill onions into your burger upon request. Both can be dressed similar.

Weber’s 1/2 lb Claud’s 1/2 lb

Weber’s 1/2 lb burger is 2 x 1/4lb burger patties stacked while Claud’s 1/2 lb burger consists of the 2 x 1/4 lb patties smashed together. The end result of smashing both patties together for the Claud’s burger is a juicier burger. That being the case, if you love stacked burgers then Weber’s is probably your burger while if juiciness is a plus then Claud’s is probably for you. I also love when there is a slight misappropriation of the bun to meat ration with the meat hanging out from the bun. Claud’s burgers more often achieve this. The cheese was also more prevalent on the Claud’s.

Weber’s Double Double Claud’s Double Double

The Weber’s Double Double is stacked 2 oz patties while the Claud’s Double Double smashes their small patties together. As noted above on the 1/2 lb burger, smashing together versus stacking creates a juicier burger. When comparing the buns, the Weber’s package all of their orders to go even if you are eating it there which ends up smashing the top bun down.

From a judging table the Claud’s bun, meat and cheese won out over Weber’s for all judges except for one judge preferring the Weber’s meat.

Though not part of the judging,
Weber’ home made rootbeer gets
special mention. It’s unique rootbeer
flavor is my favorite.

Weber’s Home Made Root Beer

Weber’s Fries Claud’s Fries
The fries are an interesting comparison. Both are fresh cut fried to order fries but the differences stop there. Weber’s are typically long in cut and are a little more limp than crispy. Although I love crispy fries there is something about Weber’s fries that are unique. One of our judges, David Christopher was born in England and compares Weber’s fries closest to his favorite “chips” (as they call them) only missing the vinegar. Claud’s fries are fried crispy but not at all burnt.

Weber’s Onion Rings
There is no comparison in onion rings due to one - Claud’s not having onion rings, and two - Weber’s having some of the best onion rings I’ve ever had. I dream of these onion rings. These onion rings have cost me a lot of money due to wanting now to try every place that makes onion rings. None have come close.

Due to these factors three judges ranked Weber’s fries/onion rings higher, one ranked tied and one ranked Claud’s higher.

In Summary
All this boils downs to a close race but a slight edge to Claud’s in this Brookside Burger Throw Down. This doesn’t mean that I will only frequent Claud’s. That would be just crazy talk. I absolutely love both and both have proven for over 40 years that their differences are their strengths. This is why we are so fortunate to have both Weber’s and Claud’s in this fine city. Even better that they are a stones throw from each other.

Video of Brookside Burger Throw Down from Tulsa Food Blog...

Tulsa Food Blog
URL http://www.tulsafoodblog.com
FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tulsa-Food-Blog/48387558081
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/TulsaFood

Tulsa Restaurant Deals
URL http://tulsarestaurantdeals.com/tulsa-blogs
FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tulsa-Restaurant-Deals/281323680653?ref=nf
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/TulsaFoodDeals

Joe’s Burger Search
URL http://www.JoesBurgerSearch.com
FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joes-Burger-Search/143886504285
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Joe_Price

Hank's Hamburgers - Okie Dokie with Cheese

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:41:08 -0500

Hank’s Hamburgers has been a Tulsa institution since 1949 opened by Hank Henry. The Henry family has had a big influence in Tulsa burgers when you take into account this landmark along with his brother Bill Henry’s establishment of Bill’s Jumbo Burgers in 1960. Current owners Dennis and Marilyn Felts have been running Hank’s for around 6 years now.

Much has been written of Hank’s Hamburgers over the years. The Tulsa World’s Scott Cherry (link: Tulsa World - Dining Out - Hank’s Hamburgers - 10.08.04) wrote a great article on Hank’s that listed several interesting facts: 1) Singers Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary at Hanks, 2) Hanks was featured in a New York Times article (link: New York Times - Dining & Wine - 09.08.04), 3) Today’s Show Al Roker filmed a segment of Roker on the Road for Food Network. I couldn’t find the link to this show on the Food Network’s website but while I was visiting Hanks the owner Dennis Felts was nice enough to pop out a portable disc player which had the episode and let me watch it while my son and I were waiting for our burgers. It was a great piece. I’d also like to point out that Dennis was very busy working the grill but was nice enough to do this for me. Just down right great people.

But I’m not here to write about what others wrote, oh crap, too late. Anyway, its Halloween and I was thinking that Hank’s would be a great place to eat for two reasons. One was that my son Zach has been leaning toward pounding down those really big burgers lately. On a previous trip to Hank’s he easily put away the Hank’s Big Okie which is 4 patties that are 1/4 lb each totaling 1 lb and offered to finish mine that I was taking home. I had heard through the grapevine that Hank’s has a monster of a burger that is an off menu item called the Okie Dokie which is 6 patties totaling 1.5 lb’s. Being a monster burger seems fitting for Halloween. The second reason I thought Hank’s would be great for Halloween was for their home made Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls. If you kind of like Reese’s PB Cups you will LOVE these.

Sure enough my son went with the Okie Dokie. I let him since I love the name of this burger. On my last visit I took home half of my Big Okie therefore I decided to go with the Double Double, i.e. double meat and double cheese. As you can see from the sign close to the grill - our burgers come with mustard, pickles, fried onions, raw onions, lettuce and tomato. I left the lettuce and tomato off. No reason to do anything healthy now.

There was something that was bothering me on this visit. I was having a hard time putting my finger on it. I noticed something was missing on the building sign up front and something looked different inside. When I asked my son if he noticed anything different he stated they switched from Pepsi to Coke. Dennis confirmed this for us. Hallelujah, I love my Coke.

Our burgers soon arrived. I love the differences between different burger joints in that some will smash their patties together to make larger patties while others will keep then single and just stack them. I personally love the variety. Hanks keep their patties as single and stacks them. My Double Double was great. The bun is very fresh and nicely toasted. The patties have a good flavor, have a great sear with the fried in onions and the cheese adds a nice creaminess. My son’s Okie Dokie is another subject altogether. It was by far the best looking super stack I’ve ever seen. Each patty had a perfect sear and the cheese was just oozing all over. My challenge to my son was that he could not have the Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls until he was finished with his burger. If your thinking that I did this so that I would increase my chance of eating his then you are correct. He started out strong, was easily keeping up with me. Toward the last quarter I started to see some strain in his eating and noticed he wasn’t hitting the fries and onion rings very hard. That’s okay, I’ll help out on those onion rings. I mentioned to him that its okay if he doesn’t finish it and we could just take it home for later and he replied - ha, no way, I’m finishing this. And that he did, although he was hurting. After a refresh of Coke he ended up putting way the fries, onion rings (that were left) and his chocolate covered pb balls (dang it). I got close to getting a dozen of those Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls to go but thought of all the candy I have at home that I will be handing out later in the evening, you know, one for you and one for me.

Thanks you Henry brothers and those that picked up after in keeping this history going.

What a beautiful day for a burger!
Something is missing

Marilyn and Dennis Felts running the toaster and grill

Basic menu - Don’t pass up the Hank’s Old Fashioned Candy!!!

Waylon and Jessi sitting in a tree
Didn’t go off - whew

My Double Double - yum yum

My Son’s Okie Dokie - yum yum yum yum yum yum

Crispy Fries Crispy Onion Rings

The absolute best Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls I’ve Ever Had - EVER!!!

Starting Strong

Finished but not looking so good

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No / Well
Thickness: Thin (each patty)
Notes: Onions cooked in
Burger Cost: $4.75 Double / $10.09 Okie Dokie
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries/Rings: 7 of 10
Other (Chocolate Covered PB Balls): 9 of 10
Final Word: A Monster of a Burger,
Don’t pass up the Choc PB Balls

Lucky’s - Lucky’s CheeseBurger

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:15:00 -0500

As my profile states under “Burger Essentials” I’m a not so average Joe that loves his burgers. That doesn’t mean that is all I eat. I’m a foodie at heart. I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time reading various books about the industry (favorite was Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain), watching years and years of food documentaries and tv shows, and even trying my hand at various dishes over the years. I also love to go out for a great meal at some of our top restaurants in Tulsa (including are Polo Grill and Bodeans). Rarely do my foodie desires of top quality restaurants and burgers collide - till now.

Lucky’s is owned and operated by Matt & Brooke Kelley. Matt’s culinary education includes the prestigious CIA. For those that are not foodies that’s not the Central Intelligence Agency, instead the Culinary Institute of America having graduated in 1991. After that he worked at Mustard Grill in Napa Valley where his love of cooking on a live fire and accompanying his food with wine was mastered. In the mid 1990’s Matt and Brooke opened the Atlas Grill in the Atlas building in downtown Tulsa which they sold in 2006. Atlas Grill has been one of my favorite lunch spots downtown for many years. Soon after that they opened Lucky’s on Tulsa’s historic Cherry Street (15th).

Matt and Brooke’s love of food is shown in all aspects of their restaurant. The beef for their burgers is procured from a couple of all natural meat suppliers purchased in bulk and processed on site. An example of this is that their burgers are made from a blend of tenderloin, strip, and chuck that is cut and ground on site. The burger is then cooked on a live wood fire grill with pecan wood and the burger buns are made daily on site.

On this burger search I was accompanied by Brian McCullough of The Tulsa Food Blog. Having scouted Lucky’s before I came I knew there was a difference between the burger served at lunch and dinner. I asked our wonderful server Katie what the differences were, then about the meat on the burger, and a few other things and she volunteered to bring the owners Matt and Brooke Kelley over. Both Matt and Brooke were pleasant and answered all of my questions. After Matt mentioned the fact that their burgers are grilled on a pecan wood fire I asked if he was okay with me taking a peak. He gladly gave us a tour of the kitchen. What a great place.

Since there are differences between the lunch and dinner burgers we decided to go for both. Brian went with the lunch burger - Fire Roasted Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, home made pickles, fried onions, and smoked cheddar cheese on a fresh baked sesame seed bun. I went with the dinner burger - Lucky’s Burger with maytag blue cheese and truffle french fries on the same fresh baked sesame seed bun. I also added some bacon. I’m shocked I overlooked adding the fried onions. Both burgers were amazing. The blend of tenderloin, strip, and chuck produces an amazing burger. The flavor even held up to my burgers maytag blue cheese. Brian went with the sweet potato fries while mine came with the truffle french fries where the truffle actually comes from the truffle salt. Again as a foodie I love what specialty salts can add as a finishing product to a lot of foods. These were great. The truffle fries were accompanied with an orange mayo and tarragon ketchup for dipping. I absolutely loved my burger. It did not need the bacon at all. Between the wonderful beef flavor and the blue cheese I was in heaven. I was lucky enough to get a bite of Brian’s burger also. It was fantastic. It’s hard to say enough about these burgers. All I can say is I’ll be back to get the regular lunch burger that includes the fried onions and home made pickles and add bacon to it. Plus for $10 you get a great burger and fries.

Lucky’s is a burger lover and a foodies dream come true. This must be why Lucky’s burger has been voted best Tulsa burger the last two years in Tulsa People.

The restaurant name can only mean one thing - I’m the lucky one. Till next time...

Welcome to Lucky’s Say Hi to Brian of Tulsa Food Blog

zzzzz

Wood Fired Grill with Pecan

Bread baked fresh daily Bean puree similar to hummus

My wonderful Lucky’s Burger

Truffle Fries

Cooked medium!

My Lucky’s Burger with Truffle Fries

Brian’s Fire Roasted Cheese Burger Check out those Fried Onions

Lucky’s Lunch Cheese Burger & Chips Great items on menu!

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes / Medium
Thickness: Thick
Notes: Custom Ground Beef Blend,
costs of burger includes fries
Burger Cost: $10 Lunch / $16 Dinner
Burger: 9 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Other (Home Made Buns): 9 of 10
Final Word: A foodie’s dream burger

Bill’s Jumbo Burgers - Big Mama with Cheese

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:43:18 -0500

It might not be 100% accurate to call Bill’s Jumbo Burgers a “hole in the wall” diner since there are no holes in the wall, but other than that technicality the term fits wonderfully. If you are like me and kind of gravitate to these types of hole in the walls then you will love Bill’s Jumbo Burgers. It’s one of those tiny places that if you are lucky enough to get a seat you can watch you burger being made.

Bill’s Jumbo Burgers opened the summer of 1960 by Annie and Bill Henry. Four years later the building burned down and was replaced by an abandoned building in Tulsa that was built in 1929 in Texas and moved to its current location. Bill’s is under operation by Teresa Johnson, brother Tim Henry and his wife Sandy with help from other relatives. Side bar note: the Henry relative Hank Henry originally opened another great burger spot called Hank’s.

When going to Bill’s your 1st challenge is to find it (located east of the Utica on ramp). Your 2nd challenge is what size of burger to go with (there are 7 sizes from 1/3 lb Big Daddy all the way up to the 2 lb Double Okie). The 3rd challenge is how long do you have to wait to get your burger (30 to 40 minutes during peak times - tip call ahead), and your 4th challenge is where to eat your burger (only 7 stools inside and a few picnic tables outside). Once you get past those challenges you are in for one great burger.

We found Bill’s since I’ve been here many other times. I did struggle on which size burger though. I like the names of the burgers Okie Burger and T-Town Burger but both are way too big for me being 1 lb and 1 1/2 lb respectfully. I ended up going with the Big MaMa Burger with Cheese which is 1/2 lb although I got close to changing the order due to my concern that the name was kind of feminine. I’m really glad I didn’t change. That size was perfect, consisting of two 1/4 lb patties smashed together with onions and two slices of cheese. My son ended up going with the 1 lb Okie Burger which is basically two 1/4 lb patties smashed together with onions with another two 1/4 lb patties smashed together with onions stacked on top of each other. My Big Mama was fantastic, bun nicely toasted, burger juicy (yeah I know that’s grease but that’s some great grease), and the american cheese was something special. By the time I had eaten half of my burger my son had polished off his full 1 lb Okie Burger. The fries are top notch, fresh cut potatoes, fried crispy with a lot of those little crispy pieces that my son and I fight over. The onion rings appear to be a beer batter base fried like their fries, very crispy, and tasty. I would have a hard time not getting both fries and onion rings next time. Thankfully my son likes to share.

The last thing worth mentioning about Bill’s and for that matter most burger spots in and around Tulsa are the great people you meet. We started up a conversation inside with three different groups, one of which was a fellow named Tyson who knew his burger stuff including the El Reno type onion burgers and another young lady talking about the Memphis Dyer deep fried burgers.

Bill’s Jumbo Burgers might have its challenges but the reward makes it all worth it.

It’s kind of hard to miss this color scheme Say Hi to Bill!

7 burger sizes to choose from Limited seating inside

Quite a production at peak times. None of these 16 burgers were ours

My Big MaMa (1/2 lb) My son’s Big Okie (1 lb)
Even looks bigger in real life

Fresh crispy fries Beer batter onion rings

*Click to Play*

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No / Well
Thickness: Medium
Notes: Onions cooked in
Burger Cost: $4.50
Burger: 9 of 10
Fries/Rings: 8 of 10
Final Word: Amazing hole in the wall burger

Claud’s - Double meat Cheese Burger

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 20:26:54 -0500

Claud’s opened in 1954 in the Sheridan & Admiral area and moved to its current Brookside location in 1965. Since that day they have been serving some of the best burgers in Tulsa. Today the principal owner Cliff Hobson and his brother Rob Hobson runs Claud’s as did their dad. I’ve been going to Claud’s for close to 30 years and very little has changed over the years. About the only change I can spot is that the outside of the restaurant use to mention that they grind their own meat daily. When I inquired as to the change Rob noted the inefficiencies in the meat portions needed versus what was supplied coupled with having a top local meat processor who can supply the quality of meat that he demands. His care in the quality of the meat is easily tasted.

One of the thing I’ve always loved at Claud’s is the ability to see you burger being made every step of the way. The prime seats are to the left of the restaurant where you can watch the onions get smashed in and placed on the griddle and cooked to a perfect sear. On today’s trip I hooked up with Brian McCullough of The Tulsa Food Blog, the top food blog in town. Brian and I both went with the double meat cheese burger with onions cooked in. At Claud’s the double meat burger consists of taking two of the 3 oz meat patties and mashing them together to create one 6 oz patty. The benefit of this is not only a larger burger but also a more juicy burger. This burger also comes with two slices of wonderful american cheese on top. Claud’s has always done an excellent job of searing meat and caramelizing the onions in the burger. The pictures below will vouch for that.

When you enter Claud’s you go to the cash register area, place your order, and receive a small square butter pad piece of paper with a number on it. You don’t pay yet. Seating is limited, only 8 at the front counter and 3 or so at the rear. After you sit down the they will bring you your order and will give you your guest check that once you have finished you will pay at the register. Also note that even though Claud’s has been around forever it is NOT one of those places that will intimidate you or bypass you if you ask a question - no soup nazi here. Just a great burger place.

As I’ve alluded to above, Claud’s burger is one of the top burgers in Tulsa. The sear is great, the caramelized onions in the meat is sweat and the meat is beefy with great flavor. When you taste this burger you know why they have been around forever - great consistent burger. The fries are a plus also, with fresh cut potatoes fried to a crispy crunch.

Thank you Claud’s for providing me and Brian McCullough of The Tulsa Food Blog with a wonderful lunch. Till next time...

Opened 1954, at this location since 1965 Use your magic eyes to see inside

Simple menu

Don’t be fooled by the empty seating, this place fills up

Ticket number given after ordering

Onions smashed in!!!

Great sear and caramelized onions Beautiful american cheese

Final product - tastes as good as it looks Crispy fries

06.03.10 Triple Cheese Burger (1/2 lb)

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No / Well
Thickness: Thin
Notes: Onions cooked in
Burger Cost: $4.20
Burger: 9 of 10
Fries: 8 of 10
Final Word: Great tasting classic cheese burger

Weber's - 1/4 lb. Cheese Burger

Sat, 3 Oct 2009 16:58:06 -0500

As I’ve said many times, Tulsa has some amazing burgers. Well hold on to your boots cowboys and cowgirls because Tulsa is also the home of the 1st hamburger as we know it and Weber’s was the originator. You might ask - how can that be, wasn’t the hamburger created in Hamburg, Germany or at Louis Lunch Wagon in New Haven, Connecticut or at the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair? It’s really pretty simple and not controversial at all. It all comes down to what is the definition of the hamburger followed by a few simples facts. Professor, would you assist?

Professor: First - we have to start with the definition of a hamburger. The most basic definition of a hamburger is a patty of ground meat, cooked then served on a bun. If you agree with that definition then the rest just falls in place. The name of the hamburger has roots with Hamburg, Germany but this hamburger had little resemblance to hamburgers we know today. These hamburg steaks were a hard slab of minced beef with emphasis more on durability, sometimes raw (tartar). Second - Louis Lunch in Connecticut did start serving cooked ground meat in 1895 but it was and to this day is served on bread slices. Third - Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas did serve cooked ground meat at a lunch counter in the late 1880’s and brought them to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair but these too were served on bread slices. Last - On July 4th 1891 Oscar Weber Bilby served black angus ground beef that was cooked on a home made 3’ x 4’ iron griddle that was heated by wood fire and served on his wife’s home cooked buns. So in conclusion - if you agree that a burger is served on a bun then Weber’s originated the burger as we know it today. (Sources: Definition of Hamburger; What’s Cooking America - Hamburger History; Wikipedia - Hamburger; Weber’s Story)

Thanks Professor! With that logic I bet even book authors and top tier burger/food bloggers George Motz of “Hamburger America” and Josh Ozersky of “The Hamburger” would agree.

From these 4th of July hamburgers that were served yearly on his home made griddle and fresh buns we progress to 1933 where due to consumer demand the first Weber’s was opened in Tulsa. That Weber’s restaurant includes the exact same iron griddle made in 1891 where every burger is cooked today. On this trip my son and I sampled (okay, sampled probably isn’t the correct term, more like gobbled down) Weber’s basic 1/4 lb. cheese burger with onions cooked in, topped with cheese and more onions and mustard on the bottom, fries, onion rings and root beer. Weber’s creates its own home brew Root Beer which is the best root beer I’ve ever had. We had originally ordered the 16 oz mug of root beer but once I saw that there were 32 oz mugs we upgraded. Wise choice. Seating is limited inside, only 9 stools with several tables outside also. Your order comes in a brown paper sack whether or not you ordered to eat there or to go. Due to the burgers being placed on bottom of the sack the top of the burger buns get smashed down but this does not diminish the burgers flavor at all. The burgers have a wonderful dark sear. The buns are toasted beautifully also. The fries are fresh cut and good also. The onions rings are another thing. These rings are not good, they are Great!

Going to Weber’s is like going to a museum and getting to eat the works of art. Weber’s - home of the first burger.

Although not the original 1933 building, it is in the same location

Order comes in sack. Big 32 oz home made
root beer

Look at that toasted bun
Although the bun is a little smashed
from the sack, it’s still great!

Some of the best onion rings I’ve ever had

Original grill from 1891 still used today

Created June 1891 by Oscar Weber Bilby

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No / Well
Thickness: Thin
Notes: Onions cooked in
Burger Cost: $3.35
Burger: 7 of 10
Fries: 8 of 10
Onion Rings: 9 of 10
Other (Root Beer): 9 of 10
Final Word: Where the burger on a bun was invented

BrewBurger Restaurant & Bar- Brewburger with Blue Cheese

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:49:22 -0500

Brewburger Restaurant & Bar is a fairly new restaurant west of the 71st & Memorial area of Tulsa (that I fondly refer to as 71st & Hell due to its traffic), having been in existence a little over a year now. Don’t be fooled by the words “& Bar” in the name, this place is very family friendly. My son and I have been there twice now and have been very pleased. Their main menu selection consists of a variety of burgers: Ground Chuck, Turkey, Fish (made fresh by Bodeans), and Buffalo. My focus has been on their ground chuck. One of these days I’ll try the buffalo and fish burgers, maybe when I go on that diet - haha.

On this visit, my son and I struck up a conversation with a lovely young lady (who was picking up an order to go) and the owner, Rob Robbins. This young lady asked why I was taking pictures and I replied for a burger blog. She first asked if it was for The Tulsa Food Blog. I said no but noted that I really like that blog (and their iPhone app). She asked which blog I was with and I replied Joe’s Burger Search, she replied “No way, I just looked at your burger blog today, read every entry”. My day was made - Thanks! Anyway, we then started talking about the wonderful selection of both burgers and other types of restaurants in Tulsa. That’s the type of restaurant this is - very friendly.

Brewburger’s burger is a 1/3 pound of ground chuck. The burger comes on a ciabatta bun. I was originally concerned that a ciabatta bun would be too hard and with too much resistance to be a good burger bun, but not this version - it was great, just soft enough but with a nice crunch. The chef did a great job of cooking my 1/3 pound patty between medium rare and medium, which is very difficult on the smaller size patties. Since I’m a blue cheese junkie, my cheese choice was pretty easy. The combination was outstanding. I could eat this burger every day. We tried both the regular fries and the sweet potato fries. Both were good but we preferred the normal fries a little more.

We are definitely lucky to live in a town that has such great burgers like Brewburger!

Come on in

Toasted ciabatta bun, blue cheese, oh my!

and don’t forget those fries

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes / Medium Rare
Thickness: Between Thin & Medium
Notes: Wednesday 2 for $10 burgers
Burger Cost: $6.50
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries: 7 of 10
Other (Boulevard Beer): 8 of 10
Final Word: Toasted Ciabatta bun is surprisingly great

Brook Restaurant - Bacon Cheddar Burger

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:16:26 -0500

I actually wasn’t planning on getting a burger at The Brook Restaurant but decided since I was there, what the heck. I’ll start that diet later. The real reason I was there was due to write ups of the infamous Brook Loaded Cheddar Fries in both The Tulsa Food Blog and BombFood Blog (check out these blogs if you haven’t). I had been warned that the loaded fries were very large therefore I brought two of my three kiddo’s with me for assistance. Thinking the fries would be easy we added the Bacon Cheddar Burger with a side of mac & cheese and another appetizer of fried mushrooms.

The Brooke Restaurant has been in the Brookside area for many years. Before the Brook, the building was a theater. The projector is still a fixture in the restaurant. I really love that the Brook kept the history of the theater and helped in establish and maintain the wonderful Brookside district.

Since this is a burger blog I’ll stick with starting my review on the burger instead of why we came in. The Bacon Cheddar Burger was good, not great, but good. They did a great job of cooking the burger medium as requested, but the burger could have been juicier. The cheddar cheese and bacon were also good. The side of mac and cheese was similar to what I’d make at home, i.e. a little better than what would come out of a box. Now to the real reason we were there - the Loaded Cheddar Fries were really good. Unless you have a large table to share this with or you like left overs you had better pass on this. There are a ton. The cheese and bacon are top quality. The jalapenos were of the canned pickles variety, okay if that’s all you have but much prefer the fresh. The Fried Mushrooms were very good, some of the top I’ve tried. We ended up taking home close the 3/4 of the cheddar fries and 1/3 of the fried mushrooms. We tried to take home about half of the mac & cheese but had a container malfunction (i.e. it fell) before we made it home.

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes / Medium
Thickness: Medium
Notes: Bring Friends to help on the Cheddar Fries
Burger Cost: $8.75
Burger: 7 of 10
Fries: 8 of 10
Other (Fried Mushrooms): 8 of 10
Final Word: Average burger, good fried mushrooms,
enough cheddar fries for an army.

Brownie's - Double Burger with Cheese

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:05:40 -0500

Brownie’s is as pure of a burger joint as there ever has been. It’s been around forever, has always produced top quality thin style burgers and is a Tulsa fixture. William Eugen “Bill” Bowen opened Brownie’s the summer of ’57 and although Bill passed in April 2009 his hamburgers live on.

My first exposure to Brownies was close to 30 years ago. It’s right outside my neighborhood. It’s where I took my kids through the years. One of my routines was to take my three kids there when mom was out of town or working late. If everyone ate good, they got pie. If they were well behaved I would then take them to Toys ‘R Us, not to buy anything but to just play with the toys. It was just our thing. Back then I would only get a single because I would normally get close to half of at least 2 of the other 3 burgers my kids got. I was just being a good dad by helping them so they could get pie. On one trip my middle child Jodi (who was around 7 or 8 then, she’s 17 now) said she was ready for her pie. She had never gotten close to eating a whole burger in her life. I confronted her on where the rest of her burger was and started looking on the floor and surrounding area. Even had my other kids look. We couldn’t find anything. To this day I’m still shocked. Anyway, she got pie and we went to Toys ‘R Us.

On this trip I went with the Double burger with cheese with onions cooked in. Onions cooked in is a process of the chef placing the patty on the marble surface and smashing in the onions then placing the patty on the griddle for searing. Since 09.11.01 Brownies has not had French Fries but instead started serving Freedom Fries. As you can see from the menu board pic below the sign has been updated to reflect the new name but went went with a make shift version for a while. To wash it all down i went with the frosted mug root bear, and note that the frosted mug is frosted with root bear. The double burger with cheese was marvelous juicy, cheesy goodness. The freedom fries were very fresh potatoes cooked to perfection. I really love the little crispy pieces. Although I was feeling pretty full, my son and I felt we had to have some pie for old time sake. Both the coconut cream and chocolate pies were great. Thanks Brownie’s for being a part of my and a lot of other Tulsan’s life.

New Pictures taken 05.21.10:

Trees were trimmed to reveal sign

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No / Well
Thickness: Thin
Notes: Onions cooked in
Burger Cost: $3.95
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries: 9 of 10
Other (Pie): 8 of 10
Final Word: Classic, great basic burger

Smashburger - BBQ Bacon & Cheese Burger

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:34:34 -0500

Tulsa has some of the finest burgers in the world. Between the old time locations that have been around for 50 years and the newer even high end restaurants that have excellent burgers, why would we need an outfit out of Denver to come into town and bring their interpretation of a burger? Why? Well I’ll tell you - because their burgers (lSmashBurger) are GREAT. I’ve sampled a couple of their burgers from both locations with the results being the same - great quality, consistency, and taste. The latest opening for Smashburger is in the 71st & Hell area (71st off of 169). This location is smaller than the location west of town but has the same modern feel.

Smashburgers come in either 1/3 or 1/2 lb. I stuck with the 1/2 lb. When I asked how the burger is cooked the reply was medium well to well. Like their ads say - Smash Sizzle Savor. I watched my burger get smashed on the grill. As you’ll see from the pics below the sear is fantastic. With a burger cooked to that degree it is hard to keep it juicy but Smashburger does. It’s honestly one of the juiciest medium well burgers I’ve ever had. On top of the juiciness is a great beef taste and good seasoning. This trip I went with the BBQ Bacon & Cheese Burger which is close to a Theta Burger. In this case it has bbq sauce (could have used a little more), applewood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, and haystack onions on a classic egg bun. What a combo. As a side I highly recommend their SmashFries which are their shoe string potatoes tossed with olive oil and rosemary. My vegan daughter loves these also. On a previous trip I created my own burger where I went with their blue cheese and bacon. Be warned, their blue is strong. It was also amazing. I also loved that they had Cherry Coke available in the self serve fountain. What goes better with a burger than a cherry coke? If you really want to go over the top, try their Haagen-Daz milk shakes also. Mmmmggoooooddd.

Smashburger - thanks for coming to town.

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No / Medium Well
Thickness: Medium
Notes: Must adds are bacon and haystack onions
Burger Cost: $6.99
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries (Smash): 9 of 10
Other (Cherry Coke): 8 of 10
Final Word: Awesome regional chain

Ron’s Hamburgers & Chili - Sausage Cheese Burger

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:13:09 -0500

As large thin burgers go, one of the tastiest is Ron’s Sausage Cheese Burger. Although the original Ron’s is long gone (15th & Harvard area, see pic below) the taste goes on all over town. The one I frequent is on 15th & Denver. This Ron’s has a few more seats than the original (around 7) and compares in quality very nicely.

Ron’s has a multi-page menu that covers burgers, dogs, and chili with spaghetti (2/3 ways). Part of the experience at Ron’s is the frosted mug of root beer that never runs dry. Although I didn’t have their chili on this trip, I highly recommend - probably the best in town also (if anyone has a bootleg recipe please send to me).

My love at Ron’s is their Sausage Cheeseburger and Spanish Fries. The Sausage Cheeseburger is half beef and half sausage smashed together with onions fried in and topped with pepper jack and american cheese. The 1/3 lb produces a large fill the plate burger, and I’m not talking about a little kiddy plate either. That Sausage Cheeseburger is so savory that is should be illegal. The bun soaks up all the juices and holds together great. The Spanish Fries consists of fresh cut potatoes that are deep fried with onions and jalapenos. We normally split a half order of Spanish Fries (see pic below). The Spanish Fries are the best burger accompaniment I’ve ever had with any burger. The onions and peppers put it over the top. I love you Ron’s Sausage Cheeseburger!

(Original Ron’s - In Memory)

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: No / Well
Thickness: Thin
Notes: Beef & Sausage (oh my)
Burger Cost: $5.50
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries (Spanish): 9 of 10
Other (Root Beer): 8 of 10
Final Word: Miss the original restaurants atmosphere
but love their Sausage Cheese Burger &
Spanish Fries

F.B. Oscar's GastroPub - Kobe Steak Burger

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:26:22 -0500

F.B. Oscar’s GastroPub opened in 2008 in a location that has held several really good restaurants including a great bbq place. Have never been sure why the others did not last but I would say that from what I saw F.B. Oscar’s GastroPub, hereby known as Oscar’s, is going to be here for a long time.

The menu has a nice selection, not too large, but with good variety to satisfy most. I specifically came here to sink my teeth into their Kobe Steak Burger.

Kobe beef refers to beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle, raised according to strict tradition in Hyogo Prefecture Japan. Kobe beef is renowned for its flavor, tenderness, and fatty well-marbled texture. In comparison to USDA grading you have select, choice (common at most grocery stores) and prime. Only 2% of all beef is graded prime. The rating is based upon the quality and amount of marbling within the meat, not around the meat. Kobe beef is considered a higher grade than prime. Most restaurants that sell Kobe beef actually sell a “Kobe-style” beef taken from domestically raised Wagyu crossbred with Angus cattle. The results are actually great with less cost. I asked our server what the story was on the Kobe beef at Oscar’s and he was clueless.

Anyway, I love a good burger and once I heard that Oscar’s had a Kobe beef burger I thought that I had to try it. The restaurant is in a nice quaint location off of 18th and Boulder, down the street from the beautiful Boston Avenue Methodist Church and close to one of the best Italian restaurants in town - Delesandro’s.

Our server asked us how we wanted our Kobe steak burger and we both went for medium. My burger was cooked perfectly but my son’s burger was closer to medium well. The flavor was very good and nicely seasoned. The burger could have been a little juicier, maybe I should have gone with medium rare. The burger was topped with a slice of cheddar cheese and a couple of slices of great bacon. That bacon was amazing. You wouldn’t think that a Kobe beef burger would need bacon but this bacon accompanied this burger perfectly. Also on the burger was a large tempura battered onion ring. They all paired wonderfully on the onion bun. The side of half regular and sweet potato fries were good. Am guessing that the regular potato fries were fresh cut while the sweet potato fries were frozen - still good.

While $10 is a little high for a burger, its a value for this Kobe beef burger. I’m sure I’ll have another one soon.

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Yes / Medium
Thickness: Thick
Notes: Great bacon
Burger Cost: $10
Burger: 8 of 10
Fries: 7 of 10
Other (Fried Pickle): 8 of 10
Final Word: Even though the beef was Kobe I found
myself loving the bacon more

J.J.’s Gourmet Cafe - Ribeye Steak Burger

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:57:25 -0500

I’m starting Joe’s Burger Search with J.J.’s Gourmet Cafe and their amazing Ribeye Steak Burger. Yeah you heard me right, its a ribeye that has been ground, perfectly cooked, and served up for your dining enjoyment. J.J.’s is a very eclectic place from it’s location, landscaping, interior, hours, amazing burger and owner (Jerry J. Conley).

In his previous life Conley was involved in TV and movie production in lighting and set design. Conley was also involved in miniature production on Stanley Kubrick’s classic “2001: Space Odyssey”. You can see some of his model work hanging from the ceiling throughout the restaurant. Much of the model airplane work was completed in a short period during an IRS audit as therapy.

I love J.J.‘s business model: hours open are only for 2 hours a day for only 4 days a week, only accept cash (no checks or credit cards), has no phone and does not advertise. He also only grinds so many burgers a day and when they are gone he closes up early. Oh yeah, almost forgot, you must be a member to eat there (see my VIP card in the pics). Good news though, I’ve seen people get in and served without membership, but as the saying goes, membership has its privileges. Membership will bring you a wonderful appetizer, in this case a shrimp cocktail, and dessert of espresso and pecan covered chocolate brownie. Have I mentioned that I love this place!

The shrimp appetizer included some of the best cooked shrimp I’ve ever had - i.e. not overdone. Included with the shrimp is a nice thai dipping sauce, a mixture of pretzels and crackers with a little fruit.

The menu selection is small which makes for easy main course selection - only burgers. Your choice gets into type of cheese and sides. Cheese selection include american, blue, pepper jack, and thai sauce. Sides include a basket of ruffle cut chips, the best baked beans with one rib on top, slaw and potato salad. There are no fries here, not sure why, and frankly afraid to ask (I say that because this place is so good and so eclectic I’m afraid to do anything wrong and get kicked out).

The ribeye burger is grilled to a medium rare to medium doneness all without asking. I’ve was here once years ago when he asked my lunch guest how she wanted her burger done but did not ask me. The burger is nicely seasoned and has one of the best beef tastes I’ve ever experienced. The bun is a fairly plain bun which soaks up the wonderful burger juices great. Accompanying the burger are toppings of onion, grilled pepper, pickles, along with fruit. Man that burger is awesome. After I finished the appetizer and burger all I can think about is a nap and then comes the dessert brownie and espresso. Oh man I love this place.

This is not a cheap burger, running around $12. If you are a tightwad and/or don’t carry much cash then you better go somewhere else. My typical tab including tax and tip is between $20 to $25 a person when all is said and done. Based upon the quality (and novelty) I feel it is worth every penny.

Rating Criteria
Cook to Order: Maybe / Medium to Medium Rare
Thickness: Thick
Notes: Don’t miss the baked beans
Burger Cost: $12
Burger: 9 of 10
Fries: 0 of 10 (don’t have any)
Other (Appetizer & Desert with membership): 9 of 10
Final Word: If the bun was a little better and they
offered fresh homemade fries I would probably
never go anywhere else to eat.