Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [221]
Hamburger King
322 E. Main St.
405–878–0488
Shawnee, OK
LD (closed Sun) | $
There used to be a handful of Hamburger Kings in Oklahoma; now there is only one other, in Ada, and it is no longer owned by the same family. We love the look of this vintage lunchroom with its tall ceiling and long rows of tables, each equipped with a direct phone line to the open kitchen. The menu refers to this as the “electronic order system” and advises customers to lift the receiver and place their order with the operator. “And we will bring it to you.”
The walls are decorated with pictures that show the history of Oklahoma in general and Hamburger King in particular, the showstopper being a blown-up photo of founder George Macsas flanked by King of Western Swing Bob Wills and movie star Jack Hoxie. Wills once wrote a song to celebrate his favorite eatery, its lyrics reading:
When you’re feelin’ blue, and hungry too
Here’s a tip to make you sing.
Pick up your hat, close your flat
Go down to the Hamburger King.
When Macsas opened in 1927 he sold large hamburgers for a nickel apiece, extra-large for a dime. Today’s prices are $3.05 for a regular burger ($3.70 for a basket with potato wedges) and $3.80 for a double, with cheese 20 cents extra. Baskets, which include potato wedges, add 60 cents to the price.
The burgers are beautiful. Right up front behind the counter and cash register, where the broad, medium-thick patties sizzle on the grill, you can watch each one assembled by a cook skillful enough to bun, dress, and garnish one faster than it takes to name its components. The result is a classic lunch-counter hamburger: not too thick, not thin, oily enough to leave a delicious beefy imprint on the bun bottom, crusty enough to provide textural contrast to the lettuce, tomato, and pickle on top.
While hamburgers are its raison d’être, this vintage lunchroom has a broad menu that also includes catfish dinners, Fritos pie, stew (served with saltines or hush puppies), chili, and “redtop stew,” which is stew topped with chili.
Hank’s Hamburgers
8933 East Admiral Pl.
918–832–1509
Tulsa, OK
LD | $
Hank’s has been in business since 1949 and it is one of countless restaurants in Oklahoma where burgers rule. The menu also lists Fritos pie, corn dogs, onion rings, and French fries, and there are even made-here chocolate-covered peanut butter bonbons for dessert, but hamburgers are what matter.
You can get a single, a double, a triple, a Big Okie (four patties), or a Hank’s Special, which is a single half-pound patty. Each normal patty is a quarter pound, and while the avoirdupois of a Hank’s Special is awe-inspiring, nevertheless we prefer the multiple-patty configurations. The interleaved meat and cheese, especially on the one-pound Big Okie, provide a textural adventure that a large single patty cannot. Unless you say otherwise, each hamburger is dressed with mustard, pickle, grilled onion, raw onion, lettuce, and tomatoes.
Hank’s is a tiny place with just a few booths around the counter, which is high enough that no seat affords a good view of Mr. Felts, chef and owner, orchestrating events at the griddle. We recommend standing up, or going to the walk-up to-go window at the front, because watching him create his burgers is a scene of beauty. As is the custom down in El Reno, onions are pressed hard onto the surface of each patty before it hits the hot surface so that as the burger cooks under a heavy iron, the onions caramelize and virtually become one with the hamburger itself. When the iron is lifted and the burger is flipped, Felts sprinkles on some of his secret seasoning, then cheese. If he is creating a double, triple, or quadruple, he applies the bun top on one patty, uses a spatula to lift it onto another, and so forth until the pile is ready to be placed onto the bottom half of the bun, which has been arrayed with all other condiments.
Even the largest creation is presented as a tidy package, but by the time you are halfway through, onions and tomatoes will be slithering out and patties will