What Is A "Hot Hamburger?"
I hail from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, a city about 40 miles north of Tulsa and very near the Kansas border. Bartlesville's main claim to fame is Phillips Petroleum Company, now Conoco Phillips.
Like most native sons and daughters, I have had a love/hate relationship with Bartlesville. A few years ago, Dwayne asked me if I would ever want to move back to Bartlesville. I think there was a job there he was slightly interested in. The answer to the question, which came out of my mouth quickly and almost without forethought was a resounding "no."
It isn't that I couldn't live there. It's a completely livable city and very family-friendly. Several of my high school friends live there now, and it works for them and their families. I suppose my reticence has to do with the fact that all of my memories are there - good and bad - and I've always been the type of person who believes that when I grow from an experience, I move on. Completely.
There are places in Bartlesville that evoke wonderful memories, and are must-stops when I am in town. One of those is Murphy's Hamburgers, which is located on Frank Phillips Boulevard almost to the edge of town. Murphy's is a Bartlesville institution. It's a small restaurant with about 25 booths and additional seating at its front counter. There's almost always a wait. There is no greeter, no waiting list. When you arrive at Murphy's, you walk into the lobby and the first thing you must do is find out who is the last party ahead of you, because it's like that in the lobby. You wait your turn. And when a booth clears out, you wait for it to be cleaned off, and then you go inside and seat yourself. You wouldn't dare think about jumping in front of anyone. There is an order and law to the lobby of Murphy's. And I believe you'd get your ass kicked for a stunt like that.
Once inside, the uninitiated probably wonder, "I waited for this?" Because it is a diner, and like most good diners, it looks like a dive. The last time I remember the restaurant being remodeled was in the mid-1980s, when a tornado traveled right down the middle of Frank Phillips Boulevard, wiping out the original Murphy's building and decor. When they rebuilt, there must have been a good deal on pink naugahide, because that's what the booths are covered in. This is one of those cases where you can't judge a book by its cover.
Friends of mine swear by Murphy's steaks. I wouldn't know, because I've never had one. I always get the same thing: a tossed salad with garlic dressing and a junior hot hamburger with onions fried in. I'll describe each one of these separately.
The tossed salad is your typical non-descript shredded lettuce, chopped tomato and shredded carrot salad. What makes it heavenly is the garlic dressing, which is a pinkish-orange concoction that's just this side of heaven. My mother used to use a half of a bottle of it on her salad, it is that good. Trust me.
Now, you may be wondering..."What is a hot hamburger?" You, my friend, are in for a treat. A hot hamburger begins with a slice of regular white bread toasted to perfection. A grilled all-beef hand-formed patty is placed atop it. Then onions, either raw or grilled (or grilled in to the meat) are added. Then, cheese if you want it, but I never do. A generous handful of hand-cut, crunchy French fries are placed over the beef, and then, the most delectable brown gravy I've ever tasted, is ladled over all. Divine!
I grew up eating this wonderful stuff, and I've craved it with both of my pregnancies, and even when not pregnant. There are other remarkable restaurants in Bartlesville, but Murphy's is one of the absolute best. Try it and you'll see!
