El Reno’s fried onion burgers exported to Fort Worth

If you’re in north Texas and you have a hankering for fried onion burgers served in no fewer than three restaurants in El Reno, Oklahoma, you’re in luck.

Hookers Grill in the popular Stockyards area of Fort Worth, Texas, recently opened. It features a significant El Reno connection, reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

With or without onions or jalapeños, the burgers taste like throwbacks to family vacations or roadside burger stands. They come topped with Red Boy brand mustard and Best Maid pickles, loyal to the El Reno tradition served on “Route 66.”

Former El Reno restaurateur Otis Bruce, a legendary onion-burger grill cook, helped the Hooker family open in Fort Worth and brought an original bricklayer’s trowel used to mash onions and beef together on the grill. (The trowel applies more force than a kitchen spatula.) […]

“We do everything the way they do it in El Reno, to the letter,” Ruthie Hooker said. The lone exception: local Hereford beef from Dallas-based Crystal Creek Cattle Co.

She worked vacations and weekends at Sid’s Diner in El Reno, featured on a Travel Channel “Man v. Food” episode.

Onion burgers have been served in El Reno since the early 20th century. The town hosts a Fried Onion Burger Day Festival each May.

More about the history from the festival’s website:

In Hamburgers & Fries:  An American Story, author John T. Edge describes the history of El Reno’s fried onion hamburger.  Edge tells of Ross Davis who owned and operated the Hamburger Inn on Route 66 in Downtown El Reno.  Davis began making fried onion hamburgers in the twenties during the depression.  Since onions were cheap and meat was expensive, Davis would add a half shredded onion atop a five cent meat patty and smash the burger with the back of his spatula.  It made the burger look bigger, while adding a tremendous amount of flavor.

Sid’s, Robert’s and Johnny’s uphold the tradition by serving onion burgers along Route 66 in El Reno.

(Image of an onion burger and fries by iwishmynamewasmarsha via Flickr)

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