The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Anyone else hearing anything? 96th and Riverside next to Starbucks.

Just heard this myself, though for me it's still just a rumor.

I'll probably try it if it comes. But, I don't believe anything can ever beat Fat Guy's.

This.  It's turned into my pre-game meal at the ballpark.  Sure the ballpark vendors have great food (anybody for Siegi's and Marshall?) but FG is great.  Awesome atmosphere, great location, fun staff.

Wait, I think I just sounded like Gas when he gets on a Top That rant...

Muscle Maker Grill
Leased space at Tulsa Hills
7466 S. Olympia Avenue West



Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill
Leased the former La Flama at the Village at Woodland Hills
6746-A South Memorial Drive




Five Guys Burgers & Fries
Leased the former Noodles and More at Riverside Market
9635 Riverside Parkway

Five Guys can't be better than Fat Guy's. No way. Just another national chain fad that's going to pale next to local burgers. Smash Burger was supposed to be great and it's not remotely as good as even Ron's is.

How in the world did that damn noodle place last so long? It was awful, and never even remotely busy.

http://www.fiveguys.com/menu.aspx

http://fatguysburgers.com/menu.php

I believe Fatguys copied Fiveguys. They are amazingly similar.

I like both.

Fatguys is posting hints they're opening a south store.

Five Guys sounds like a burger orgy.

Fat Guys logo looks like one of the Scooby Doo villains.

I’d heard Fat Guys was a knock-off.  We’ve tried it once before and it is really good.  Unfortunately, my body can’t take that kind of abuse on a regular basis so we haven’t been back.  It’s too good.

81st & Memorial.  Former Mexican restaurant.

SW corner farthest part of the buildings facing 81st?

North of QT & car wash on Memorial facing west.

Ah, so a different old mexican restaurant.

Do you guy's think the "Heart attack Grill" would go over here?
I mean, Fatguy's burgers is almost saying the same thing.

Yes.

Journal Record confirms 96th n Riverside

http://journalrecord.com/2012/05/02/five-guys-burgers-to-open-tulsa-restaurant-real-estate/

For what it's worth...

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-five-guys-burger-mcdonalds-20120918,0,2348963.story

"Sppllaaattt Burger" second? Geez guess the health nut Cali people are suffering from salt deficiency...............


And for those that go Homer Simpson there is this news.......

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-mcrib-for-christmas-mcdonalds-to-launch-sandwich-in-december-20120917,0,3199374.story (http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-mcrib-for-christmas-mcdonalds-to-launch-sandwich-in-december-20120917,0,3199374.story)

I love Fat Guys, but the best burger I ever had was Ray's Hell Burger in Arlington (Rosslyn area).  Same guy who does Ray's the Steak (If you have been there).  So if you are ever in DC and feel like a great burger, skip Five Guys and go there.  There is a map and you will see the push pin in Owasso, that was me. 

I get the chance to eat at 5 Guys in Moore, OK from time to time (last week!  Yum!)  Very good stuff!!  Pricey, so that the value per dollar is getting close to the edge...but the burgers are VERY good!  (Right up there with Lot-A-Burger!)  Fries are also excellent.


First time I went with a couple of other guys was just a little while after they first opened.  Lady got so excited that they were there, she just couldn't wait to walk in, so she went all "drive through" on us.... I'm standing to the right of the manager and the kid who is at the drivers door, behind that head of hair - so I couldn't be seen...

http://twitpic.com/5jmvu1

I got some of that day's pics from a friend, but this one was much better than mine!  They don't stack the potatoes like that in front of the door now.  Too many smashed, I guess.

They're stacked like that @ 96th & Riverside.

We went on Fri.
not sure what all the hype is about.  2 burgers, 1 fry, 1 drink:  $22
I guess I'd just assume go across the river to Louie's

Oh well, I guess I won't be going there.

I spent $8.50 for the regular (double) burger and a drink.  A little pricey.
Still like Lot-A-Burger better....
And Smashmouth?  No.


Louie's??

Hope the one here is better than OKC area.  Pretty decent food, but way to expensive.

Actually two.  One by 101st and Sheridan.  The other in Jenks in the strip center at the Jenks end of the old bridge.  I've had a beer in the Jenks Louie's but didn't buy any food.

Went to Five Guys. Pretty sure it's a great hamburger place for cities that don't have good hamburger places. It's kinda like having someone run up to you and tell you that there are phones that can take pictures now. Sure, they're excited but the rest of us are underwhelmed.

Wow, I gotta get me one of them.
 
 ;D

Better than Fat Guys?  I'm guessing that's a stupid question.

How about...better than Hanks?  Ron's?...

Fat Guys is about 400% better than the Tulsa Five Guys.

The burgers are comparable to some other places, just twice the price. Spent $40+ for four people, including kids who ate small.

I ate at 5 guys in Nebraska, wasn't impressed either.  Super excited (and scared) of Fat Guys opening much closer to home.  I also saw a "Mooyah's" buger, fries and shake joint going in at 71st & Lewis, don't know anything else.  Finally, saw a sign where they are moving dirt next to Whataburger at 101st & Memorial "Sprouts"    With all the fast food stuff coming in though, I am very excited to try the italian place coming at 91st & Yale!

Buy Local People!

Fat Guys = Local
Rons = Local
Hanks = Local
Bills = Local 

Since we're talking about local burgers now, one place I have never tried but pass often since I live fairly close is Hatfield's on Admiral and Garnett.  Anybody tried them?

Try it and let us know.  Go out on that limb....!


Bill's - yum!  Still arguably the best in town.

Hanks...ok.  Better than McDonald's.  Went there about two months ago.  It was pretty much the same as when I used to live across the street (near the ice house) from them and go there through most of the 70's.  Good enough, but not really that close to Ron's.

Ron's - good.  Convenient to the house, too, so go there more than most (even more than Lot-A-Burger).

Fat Guys - will have to try.  Looking at the web site, without any other input, the question is, how is that different from 5 Guys?  Taste test will tell.  It looks like the Amusement Park Burger Stand on the web site.  Kind of the burger equivalent of the "theme" steakhouses where you drop peanut shells on the floor....with that much "gimmick", the food better be great.

Most unique hamburger experience I've ever had is at El Matador in Raton, New Mexico.  Raton is at the intersection of I-25, Hwy 64/85/72 just south of the Colorado border.

They make a green chile burger like this:

Large sopapilla or fry bread folded over ground beef, smothered with green chile sauce (theirs has some pulled pork in it), lettuce, shredded cheese, etc.

It's truly an amazing meal.  Place is a complete dive, but those are always the best places. 

MC and I will pull into a new town and ask: "Where do the locals eat".  Usually a sure bet.

Just because it's a franchise doesn't always mean it's not local . . . and you are still supporting the local employees who are working there.  We can't we just eat where we like the best!   ;)

Grizz and I both give them props. It's a good burger.

Been to both Fat Guy's and Five Guys. I'll take Fat Guy's. Better burger, plus they have pretty good hours, unlike most of their local burger joint brethren.

But as for the rest of that list of local places, most or all of them aren't open nearly as many hours per week as most chains. So it's not always a matter of choosing chain over local. A big percentage of local joints are closed Sundays and close several hours earlier other nights.

Ted, why don't you just get on a regular schedule like the rest of us?  ;D

You regular folks can grumble about rush hour traffic on the BA. I'll grumble about everything being closed on Sundays and too early the other nights.

Their menus are wholesale different. Fat Guys has the Peanut Butter Bacon Burger, the Fat-and-juicy (cheese and butter sandwiched between patties), something like 20 cool dipping sauces, a bar, shakes, etc.

5 Guys is pretty good, not Claud's, but different/good.  What I like is they don't dust everything with MSG and SALT unlike what many others do.

Fat Guys FB post:


(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/391602_529770287049416_1618745088_n.jpg)

Fat Guys may have the best burger in town.  If you haven't tried it, you must go make a trip downtown.  Immediately.

That looks so good, I feel my arteries clogging.

Got to Fat Guys today and had the Fat and Juicy.  The meat flavor was subtle enough to actually be tasted - not swamped in a salt mine - don't get me wrong - salt is good, too.  Butter and American cheese are always a good idea.  Butter is better...no matter what.

Overall, it was kind of gimmicky, but nice.  The food was as good as Five Guys.  No better, but as good.  I was warned about the Fat and Juicy exploding in my hands, but it really didn't do much at all except drip some.  Like Carl's Jr.!!  Ok, sorry for that last one - NO comparison to Carl's Jr. 

The space was laid out as well as could be expected, I guess, but traffic flow was awkward.  Kitchen at rear, running north to south would probably have made the whole thing feel like every other burger box, though, so this is probably best.  There was a fairly small crowd there...all tables and bar were full, with about half a dozen standing in line.  Nowhere to stand in line.  Very yuppie chic.  I liked it.


Reminds me of another Milwaukee tip - Mazo's Hamburgers.  In a pretty dicey part of town since the 40's, so be gone by dark.  Very good burgers.

Oh, and if you like the Irish pub experience - Mo's Irish Pub.  Downtown.  Do NOT confuse with Mo's steak house across the street or you will be looking at a $100 difference in the bill!  Literally!

In my opinion, Fat Guys is the best burger in town, but I am also a big fan of Five Guys.

South side Fat Guys shop opened yesterday

Hit up the Fat Guys out south today.  Peanut butter bacon burger thai style, regular fries and a 32 oz beer.

Nice crowd for lunch.  Served more people yesterday out south than they did at the downtown location.

Excuse me while I roll off to begin my food coma.

Good.  Now some of that downtown crowd is diverted out south, maybe can get in easier downtown.

I must have missed the memo... didn't know they were working on a 2nd location

Fat Guys South : 81st & Memorial - in the strip just North of Wendy's (I think)

It is in a spot formerly occupied by Moe's SW Grill and then another mexican join, Tijuana's maybe?

My daughter's went on and on about the Moe's in Destin.  Tried this one once and totally forgot it existed.  Definitely wasn't memorable to anyone else apparently.

I went yesterday for $5 PBBB. I enjoy the fact that the only occupants in this strip center are, in order:

Jenny Craig
Fitness Together
Fat Guys Burger Bar

How did you get a PBBB for $5?    Are there daily specials I should know about?

Yes, that's the Tuesday

Wife had the Gyro burger. Two lamb patties

I thought Wednesday was $5 PBBB?

NM, you're right

Is it Saturday today? what's my name?

Today's Saturday special is a Lot-A-Burger, your choice of fries/onion rings, and a large drink.  $ 5.50.

Yum!

Still up there with the other guys.  And they have even replaced those stupid seats they used to have with real chairs so you are less likely to fall and break your neck.  Big time improvements!!

Beef-flavored grease patty when I ate there.

I am not a big Lot-a-Burger fan either. Don't get me wrong, I have eaten a hundred of them in my life, but they pale in comparison to the five guys,  fat guys, or Bill's. I have them in more of the What-a-burger or Sonic ranking. 

Bill's...now you are talking.  I really hate that my schedules never let me get there unless I am on vacation.  That is the one in town that I will agree is better than LAB.  And Five and Fat are pretty good...Five certainly isn't better, though, especially for the price.  Fat may just be....I gotta try them some more.

WAB and Sonic - they're ok for marginal, salty cardboard, but not really much of a burger.

Since we are on food...have been watching the Discovery channel with dinner this evening (late dinner).  The Alaska homestead show with the Kilcher family - a guy named Atz, who is the patriarch of what is supposed to be a survivalist homestead.  Lots of beautiful scenery...I want to go visit them.  And apparently, I can - they run a kind of bed and breakfast farmstead experience, summer and winter.  $125 a day, plus "farm experiences" training.

One of the sons is worrying about how little food he was able to put up for the winter, so he and his wife took the snow machines and went 30 miles to do some ice fishing.  I'm thinking that if conditions were that dire, I would probably give in and just go the 5 miles down the road to town and buy some groceries.  But hey, that's just me....

I have heard the name, but know nothing about the music of a musician named 'Jewel'.  I guess she does pop music, and has been nominated for Grammy's.  She is Atz's daughter and grew up in Homer Alaska on this homestead.

Anyway; they eat chicken, cow, fish (halibut, trout, etc), moose, bear, and pigeon.  Sounds pretty good to me.  Any of those would beat all these burger people.


And just because there is a town nearby, it don't mean that life is easy.  I think it would not be.

So I tried Five Guys.

The burger was pretty good, certainly not great, but it was good. The fries were downright soggy and bad. It made up for the bad fries with a long wait in a noisy uninviting space and really pretty high prices for stand in line and get your own drinks kind of place. It's not nearly as good as even Ron's and not even in the same ballpark as Fat Guy's with much less selection and higher prices. I won't be going to back. Another national chain burger fail like Smashburger.

I feel sorry for all these cities they have awards from on the walls where Five Guys is the best burger in town. It's probably not even top 20 in Tulsa. It's better than Smashburger, but that's not really saying much.

Thanks for saving me the trip.

While we are on the discussion here of Ron's, I work literally next door to one (15th and Sheridan) and have been to two of them (21st/Garnett and 15th/Sheridan).  Of those Ron's you've been to, which do you consider the best?

Sand Springs is pretty good and 15th and Sheridan are pretty good. 81st and Harvard was good last I went but it's been years.

I like what you did there...

Hoss, I can't really say one Ron's is better than another except for Ron's #1 which is no longer there at 15th & Harvard.  I usually go to the one at 48th & Peoria, if I have a Ron's.  The one near your office is good as well.

I've only been to the two (21st/Garnett and recently 15th/Sheridan).  There are a few differences but not many.  21st uses thicker cut fries than 15th.  Guess I'm a little too much of a foodie.  Look at me at that much is probably obvious.

 ;D

15th & Denver is a good Ron's.

On Five Guys, have you ever been in any establishment that took more effort to tell you how great their product was according to various news outlets?  They even covered the men's room walls with it.

The Ron's owned by the family are usually the best. The one downtown on Denver is good. The stores in Owasso and Jenks are good. Broken Arrow and Glenpool are not as good. I like the one at 71st and Mingo and the one at 51st and Peoria. I don't know that I have been to the Ron's at 21st and Garnett or 15th and Sheridan.

I used to live around the corner from the original Ron's.  IIRC, there were ten stools in the place, if that many.  Ron Baber was there every day working the flat top and his kids helped out.  They ordered a set amount of beef every day and when they were out, they were done for the day. There was always a line extending out the door. Ron had a beat up lid from a roasting pan or something like that he would put over the patties as they cooked to lock in the flavor and moisture.  I can still picture his facial expressions as he cooked.  He had a true passion for the business and that's what makes the difference whether it's hamburgers, BBQ, steaks, or diner grub.  Fond memories.

The BA one is one of my favorites... if anything it is for the yummy battered jalapeno's.

Nothing will ever top 15th and Harvard...had to have been there.

That's why Bill's Jumbo Burgers is the best burger in town.

If it is 125 a day I would take that in a heartbeat.  It is very expensive to visit alaska.  Even at the Government Rate for hotel it is 167 a night in Homer.  But I warn you to pick your time very carefully, the blood suckers are the state bird and I actually saw some that were just a touch smaller than a humming bird.  I actually slapped the back of my neck, killed one and it looked like someone had taken a 2x4 to my head.

The Tulsa Metro Chamber?

I was referring to eating establishments, but since you brought it up, I don't recall seeing their accolades in the men's room unless you consider reading the Tulsa World while using the men's room to be one in the same.

Mooyah Burgers and Fries, has opened at 69th and Lewis. They appear to be about like a five guys clone.
mooyah.com (http://mooyah.com)

Looks more like a subway

Have been lucky to only be there in winter - until this July.  Even that wasn't too bad, though, down in the panhandle - Juneau, Skagway, etc.

Sabotage!

Per Fat Guy's FB: