Oklahoma City Restaurants

Johnny’s Burgers and More is located at 1023 S. Meridian Ave in Oklahoma City (map). They are open for lunch Monday through Friday.

One of my favorite things in life is a really good burger. One of my other favorite things in life is lunch. Every now and then I get real crazy and think, “I wonder what would happen if I had a really good burger at lunch?” That’s when I head to Johnny’s.

Johnny’s is the perfect place to marry these two great loves. It’s not shady (but there are several questionable stores in this same shopping strip), like a lot of the lunch spots I frequent, but they do make a good burger.

Johnny’s sits in a shopping strip on south Meridian, in between the interstate and SW 15th. Johnny’s has been around for quite some time, and it has recently changed ownership … for the better. The previous owner made a decent burger, but more of the thin, onion-fried sort. The previous owner was also a quirky, not-so-friendly guy, who swore he made the best gyros on the face of the Earth. In fact, he said he served them at some local Greek festival and won prizes. Who knows, it might be true. I just know he didn’t like jokes.

The new owners, however, can handle a few jokes in the line and will fire right back at you. In fact, we were making fun of a friend of mine for looking particularly rough one day, and the lady taking our order started joining in and asking him if he had even gone to bed the night before. I like a hostess that can have a good time in line.

The restaurant interior has changed as well. The walls are brighter, and I believe the service is faster. The best change, though, is that the burgers are bigger and better.

The menu here is pretty typical for an Oklahoma burger joint. Burgers of different sizes and varieties abound. You can find burgers showcasing cheese, jalapeños, bacon, onions, chili, and of course, there is a “theta” burger. I had never heard of a theta burger until I moved to Oklahoma City. In fact, no one can tell me where it comes from, what it means, or anything. If you know the origins of this burger, please let me know. I think it is an Oklahoma City thing. Maybe it originated as the 8th item on a menu, and the inventors named it “theta” after the 8th letter in the Greek alphabet. The theta symbol is also a symbol of death, and theta.com is a link to the Church of Scientology. I’m reaching here, I know, but there has to be a meaning somewhere.

Anyway, they also serve hot dogs with various toppings, a few salad offerings, sandwiches with various fillings (fried and un-fried), and now they even have a few BBQ offerings, introduced by the change in ownership. I still refuse to review BBQ, as I stated in my Pappy’s review, in an effort to ward off the BBQ Nazi’s. However, I will say that friends of mine who have ordered the BBQ offerings here haven’t been impressed. They say, “stick with the burgers.”

The burgers here are really good. They feature hand-formed fresh beef, very similar to what you would find at Jamie’s Grill. These are pretty large and thick patties as well. I went the other day with a Johnny’s first-timer and warned him that a single would be enough. He wouldn’t listen. I’m sure visions of paper-thin onion burgers were dancing in his head as his soul weighed my sage advice against the hunger pangs he felt deep in his gut. Sure enough, he ordered a double with a side of tater tots (which is a side big enough for four people to share). Needless to say, he couldn’t finish his meal. By the way, the onion rings are hand-battered and they run out on occasion. So, if you are dead-set on onion rings, get there before the big lunch rush.

Any drawbacks, you ask? I wish you could get a burger cooked medium or medium rare, like you can at Irma’s. But alas, every burger will be cooked thoroughly. Also, some of the tables have had the laminate removed from the fake wood-grain picture top, leaving behind a weird, sticky film. These tables are easy to identify as they are the longer, four-seaters that have duct tape around the edges to hold down the fake wood-grain picture. I avoid these tables. Something about a sticky table seems to scream hepatitis.

My other complaint is that the side items are too large. The daily special usually includes a burger of some variety, a drink, and side item for around $5.99 - 6.99, depending on the offering. I would cut it down a buck and cut the fries or tots in half. Seriously, who needs 2 pounds of fries?

Johnny’s Burgers and More is, in my opinion, the best Johnny’s in town. Go try it out for yourselves, avoid the duct tape tables, and let me know what you think.

Other articles you might like:

• The great OKC onion burger tour, part one: Johnnie’s Grill
• The great OKC onion burger tour, part two: Little Mike’s Hamburgers
• Nic’s Grill: possibly the best burger joint in Oklahoma City
• R-Way-Cafe: stick with the breakfast and burgers.
• Red Brick Restaurant: just about as plain as its name

This article was posted by Andrew Littleton on Thursday, May 1st, 2008. It is filed in Burgers and Dogs, South OKC. Please leave your comments below (we'd love to hear from you), or trackback from your own site.

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