Hank’s Hamburgers makes Roadfood.com site

Hank's Hamburgers, a venerable diner on the old Admiral Place alignment of Route 66 in Tulsa, became a new entry to the Jane and Michael Stern's popular Roadfood.com site.

I'm getting hungry just gazing at the first photo — the Big Okie burger, which is four quarter-pound beef patties and lots of condiments. I don't think I'd ever be able to eat that behemoth, however.

Here's an excerpt of Michael Stern's writeup:

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 I found that by the time I was halfway through, onions and tomatoes were slithering out and patties had gone out of alignment, creating an extremely delicious mess.

And I didn't know Hank's also serves a chocolate-robed peanut butter candy. Yum.

Another fact about Hank's that Michael Stern didn't mention — country star Waylon Jennings ate there once. Apparently Waylon's bus driver was a Tulsa native and recommended Hank's to his boss.