Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [208]
Have a seat on a bentwood stool. The countertop is a faux marble, but the food is real. Watch the mixologist create a Green River or a phosphate and see milkshakes assembled scoop by squirt, then whirled in the multiwand mixer and served in their ice-frosted silvery canisters. Hamburgers are lunch-counter paradigms—thin and just greasy enough to leave a savory imprint on the bun. A plate of biscuits and gravy is one of the best dollars-for-calories deals in the nation.
Beyond the counter is a full-service drugstore, where pharmacist Ron Booth was quoted as saying, “My customers are also my friends and neighbors. They can come in and talk to me about anything.”
Cozy Inn
108 N. 7th St.
785–825–9407
Salina, KS
LD | $
Back when the McDonald Brothers opened their first hamburger stand in California after World War II, the Cozy Inn had already been around a quarter-century. This is one of America’s original hamburger stands; and although its management has changed over the years, and it was threatened with extinction (saved by a consortium of local hamburger patriots!), it serves burgers that are pretty much the same as they were in 1922.
The first great thing about Cozy burgers is their aroma. As you step up to the Cozy Inn, the smell of grilling onions and beef with a hint of dill pickle tickles your senses like some exotic hash-house perfume. Sit at the Cozy counter on one of the six stools for a twenty-minute lunch of maybe a half dozen little sliders and a bag of potato chips, and that smell will saturate your clothes and stay with you the rest of the day. Freeze a bag of Cozies, then heat them in the microwave oven six months later, and their perfume will billow out when you open the oven door.
The other exceptional thing about them is their taste. These are no Salisbury steaks or even quarter-pounders. They are thin-as-a-nickel patties in little buns that somehow form a perfect combination with pickle, mustard, and ketchup. It is a configuration so consecrated that, according to Cozy Inn folklore, some years ago when a Cozy cook tried to put a piece of cheese on his own, personal burger, he was fired on the spot.
The best way to eat a Cozy burger is straight from the grill (which holds fifty-five at one time), at the counter in Salina, any time between 9:30 in the morning and 11:00 at night, Monday through Saturday, and 11:00 to 11:00 on Sundays. (It has been reported that the management will ship Cozy burgers packed in dry ice to desperate people elsewhere in the country, but it is not a house policy.) As always, the price is right: A single Cozy burger, which sold for a nickel when the Inn opened in 1922, now goes for seventy-five cents. Inflation accounts for most of the price rise, but not too long ago, new owners also increased the size of each hamburger, from 1/25 of a pound to 1/16.
Oklahoma Joe’s
3002 W. 47th Ave.
913–722–3366
Kansas City, KS
LD | $
Championship pennants adorn the walls of Oklahoma Joe’s, whose proprietor, Jeff Stehney, has proven his skills in barbecue cook-offs throughout the region. The meats are slow-smoked until ridiculously tender, and his sauce is a beautifully balanced emulsion that is sweet with a pepper kick that will have your lips tingling long after you walk out the door.
Pulled pork is the specialty: variegated shreds and chunks that are just smoky enough to halo the sweet flavor of the meat. Other choices include turkey, ham, and sausage, and Joe’s offers a number of interesting specialty sandwiches such as the Z-man, which is brisket and provolone cheese topped with onion rings, and Hog Heaven, which is pulled pork and sliced sausage. They are presented atop butcher paper on small square trays. Service is immediate in the cafeteria line; however, at meal times, you can expect to wait to get to the line. This is one very popular place.
A lot of Oklahoma Joe’s charm has to do with its one-stop nature. It is not only a barbecue restaurant; it is also a gas station and convenience store, as well as a place to buy such smoke-cooking essentials