Jobe's Drive-In

1220 W Sunset Dr, El Reno, OK - (405) 262-0194

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Posted By Michael Stern on 3/21/2013 1:05:00 PM

Along Route 66 just west of Oklahoma City, one of the tasty treats for travelers has always been El Reno, home of the onion-fried burger. Although Interstate 40 now zips you past the old frontier town without even a whiff of onions on the grill, it is still a place of serious hamburger passion. If you want to get some kicks of a culinary kind, get off the interstate onto old Route 66 and stop at Jobe’s.

A classic drive-in where each car slip has an Ordermatic menu and an intercom to communicate with the kitchen, Jobe’s has a full menu of charburgers and double meat charburgers, hot dogs, chili dogs, and chili slaw dogs, and even such grander offerings as Fritos pie (chili served atop Fritos chips) and a chicken fried steak dinner. The onion-fried burger for which El Reno is famous is a ground beef patty that is cooked on a grill with a heap of onions that get mashed into the meat as it cooks. The onions cook along with the meat, caramelizing into something sweet and luscious that becomes virtually part of the hamburger itself. Note that “onion burger” is NOT listed on Jobe’s menu. Charburgers are automatically cooked with smooshed-in onions unless you order differently.

You can have a Coke or Dr. Pepper brought out on the window tray that attaches to your car, but in a place like this and with hamburgers as good as these, who can resist a chocolate malt?

There is seating indoors, at a few booths and one small table. Note that hours of operation are limited: Monday through Thursday from 6am to 2pm and 5pm to about 7:30pm, and Friday lunch only. Jobe's is closed over the weekend.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

onion-fried burger	Chocolate malt
Charburger	Coney Island dog

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Reviewers Photos [Upload Your Photos]

"Jobe's onion fried burgers are made by slapping a round of beef down on the grill and topping it with an equally-large amount of thinly sliced onions. The cook mashes the onions into the burger, then flips it, so the onions caramelize and seem almost to melt into the meat. It is a deliciously aromatic duet. The one option worth knowing about is chef Robert Sanders' char sauce, a zesty condiment that works especially well on the burger if you delete the onions."
Michael Stern

"True drive-in service at the window of your car. Among the listed variations are the Simmons, which is double meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and of course, onions. The Brinkley is double meat, mayo, bacon, and onions."
Michael Stern

"Inside of Jobe's, the Touch-O-Matic receives orders from customers parked outside in car slips."
Michael Stern

"Jobe's is a tiny café – 5 booths and one small table, its interior décor a vintage Coke advertising motif. It feels like what it is: a memento from the glory days of old Route 66."
Michael Stern

"Along old Route 66, Jobe's has served onion-fried burgers to generations of locals and travelers."
Michael Stern