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Posts tagged ‘Route 66 food’

Food Friday: Jobe’s Country Boy Drive-In

El Reno is known for onion burgers, there are several restaurants in town that specialize in them as well as an Onion Burger Festival every May. Jobe’s had been a mainstay on Route 66 for years but had closed for a while. Now it’s reopened, serving up those famous burgers.

We stopped in on a Saturday for lunch. At first it was quiet and we were the only diners in the building but as time went on, the place filled up. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger on sourdough with a side of chili cheese tots while Big K got a Western Char Burger and chili cheese fries. The orders came out pretty quickly and the food was amazing. My bacon cheeseburger had a beef patty, fried to perfection with onions. Several strips of thick bacon, jack cheese, lettuce, and tomato along with a thousand island dressing all piled high on the toasted sourdough. It was just how a onion burger with bacon should be done. The tots were great as well, the chili had a great flavor with lots of meat. Big K loved his Western Char Burger, also a onion fried beef patty with bacon, American cheese, onion rings, and homemade hickory char sauce. Said it was one of the best burgers he had eaten in a while and to be honest, he eats a lot of burgers. He also loved his chili cheese fries as well.

Jobe’s Country Boy Drive-In originally opened in 1958 by JR Jobe. It served travelers on Route 66 until 2015, when it closed. The building was several different businesses before reopening as a restaurant again in 2024. Now ready to serve adventurers rediscovering Route 66 for its 100th birthday, Jobe’s is a great small-town diner with good onion burgers. I give the 5 strips of thick bacon.

Address: 1220 Sunset Dr., El Reno.

Food Friday: Chuck’s Place

While on a day trip down old Route 66, we stopped at a small burger place in Elk City for lunch. Chuck’s Place is in a small strip mall on Route 66 just as you come into town. It was lunch time and it looked like an interesting place to stop.

This is an old-style diner, just walk up to the counter and order. They don’t have a huge menu, burgers, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets along with the Oklahoma staple of chicken fried steak. Since it was lunch time, I went with a fried onion cheese burger with a side of fried cheese curds. Big K got the same but with a side of chili cheese tots. I could see the cook placing the fresh hamburger meat on the grill right after I ordered, so that’s how fresh the food was. Didn’t take long before the waitress brought our food. The burger was juicy with lots of cheese, fried onions, and fresh pickles. The fried cheese curds were awesome as well. I had a bite of the chili cheese tots and they were awesome as well.

Chuck’s Place is a good place to stop for a quick lunch, plus it’s right on historic Route 66. They also serve breakfast in the mornings, looks like I might have to get there earlier next time. They don’t do dinner, weekdays they close by 2p and weekends at 4p. I give them 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 308 N Van Buren Ave., Elk City.

Food Friday: The Butcher BBQ Stand

A few weeks ago we had a nice weekend, so we went east on old Route 66. After a quick drive through Wellston, we found The Butcher BBQ Stand where 66B joins Route 66 on the east side of town. I had read about them online and knew if you weren’t in line early, you might not get any food. It was already after noon but we decided to stop anyway.

There was no line outside, so I thought that was a good sign until we got inside and saw the line that went around the dining area. Since we had come that far we decided to stay and see how long it would take. Now to be honest, the line did move pretty well but it still took us 30 minutes before we got to the front to order. Fortunately, they still had quite a bit of food still available, Big K got the rednexican nachos and I got a 2-meat plate with sausage and burnt ends. Before we even got to a table, our dinner was ready. I was surprised by the amount of food on the plate, there was a lot. Not just the 2 meats but sides of potato salad and mac and cheese as well as a huge piece of Texas toast. I jumped right in with the sausage, it had a smoky flavor, quite good. Now the burnt ends were great, melted in my mouth. Perfect combination of fat and meat, and crisp but tender. These were true meat candy and I highly recommend them. The potato salad was good as well but the homemade mac and cheese really stood out. Spiral pasta in a rich cheese sauce that had a sharpness to it that gave it a bit of a kick. Now the rednexican nachos that Big K got were the same way, lots of food piled on a tray. He got his nachos piled high with pulled pork, with creamy queso and barbecue sauce over top. He thought they were some of the best nachos he had ever eaten. Very flavorful with the different combination of food.

So I will highly recommend a drive up old Route 66 to Wellston for The Butcher BBQ Stand. It’s even worth the wait to stand in line. This was easily the best barbeque I’ve had in Oklahoma in a while. The service was great, very friendly employees. I will give the 5 strips of bacon with some of those burnt ends.

Food Friday: Sid’s Diner

sid's diner

I’ve gone through El Reno many times and have always seen Sid’s Diner sitting on a corner of Route 66 but never stopped.  Finally, this past summer, the crowds looked manageable so on a hot afternoon we stopped for lunch.  This is place is a straight up diner, so it is very small but we got a good seat at a small table in the back.  They do have other items to order but since they are known for their onion burgers, that’s what at least 2 of us got (my daughter doesn’t like fried onions, no she’s not human).  The burgers were good, lots of fried onion mixed with the meat.  A downside was that I couldn’t find the condiments so it was a bit dry but not a deal breaker.  The sides are just standard fare- fries and onion rings, nothing really special.  The service was good but like I stated, it is small, so if you are claustrophobic like me, this isn’t the best place to be on a busy Saturday afternoon.  One of the main reasons it gets so busy is because it does sit on a corner of Route 66 though El Reno.  This diner has been on many different national tv shows which has boosted it’s popularity.  It opened in the late 1980’s and was previously the location of the historic El Reno Hotel, which now sits on the grounds of the Canadian County Historical Museum.  I will give it 3 strips of bacon, because I thought with all of the hype, it could have been much better.

Address: 300 S. Choctaw Ave., El Reno, OK