Max Burger: Shady Restaurant of the Month
by Andrew | February 19, 2008 | 13 Comments
(votes: 11, average: 2.55) 
Loading ...Max Burger is located in Oklahoma City on the SW 2900 block of Western Avenue (map).
Ladies, Gentlemen, and Shady Restaurant lovers everywhere, I’m extremely pleased to present you the latest Shady Restaurant of the Month … MAX BURGER!! That’s right, the epicurean purveyors of one of my favorite places in town, Max Pollo, decided the world, or at least south Oklahoma City, needed another Max restaurant.
Shady restaurant adventurers will be glad to know that Max Burger is in a particularly shady location just North of SW 29th on Western Ave. Across the street is one of those “we finance anyone” used car lots (I’m pretty sure the Fair Credit Act is ignored in places like that) and just down the road from one of those used wheel stores. You should definitely read my disclaimer from the inaugural shady review, which will be particularly important for your excursion to Max Burger.
I have known for several months that Max Burger was opening and I have been driving by often, just waiting for it to finally “go live.” Our first time to catch it was a real treat. They have taken over a building that was probably an old bar of some sort. It’s not a real big joint, but big enough to seat 30 people or so. The building is bright blue and orange. The sign features the Max Pollo chicken holding a burger high for all to see. It’s not quite as disturbing as the same chicken waving a chicken leg around at Max Pollo (that one reminds me of that classic Saturday Night Live commercial, “Clucky Chicken“). As we walked up to the front door, we found a flyer posted advertising a booty-shaking contest down the road. Our excitement soon turned to disappointment, however, when we saw it was last week. Oh well, maybe next year.
Inside Max Burger, we were instantly hit with the smell of hamburgesa de carbones (grilled burgers). What a great smell! The color mosaic was kicked up another notch on the interior with bright orange, purple, and blue plastered everywhere. The bathroom was an interesting experience as well. First, there is graffiti everywhere. I’m assuming it’s left over from the last owners. Second, you get your soap out of a ketchup squirt bottle. Awesome! At first, we were the only ones enjoying a Spanish version of Judge Judy on the flat panel displays, but soon a few tables of local blue collar workers, who also enjoyed a satisfying Hispanic take on the American classic, filed in.
At Max Burger, you order at the counter and then sit down while your food is prepared. The menu consists of the Max Burger, the Max Max Burger (double the meat), max papas (french fries with various toppings), plus several types of tacos, quesadillas, tostadas, taquitos, and more!
Let me begin by describing the Max Burger. It’s a grilled all-beef patty on a toasted bun, and between each patty a thin slice of grilled ham, yellow cheese, and white cheese. It’s topped with mustard, shredded lettuce, tomato, and a smear of what appeared to be mashed avocado. It’s a sloppy masterpiece with a really unique flavor. I just got regular papas, which were pretty boring crinkle cut fries. I should have gotten the Max Papas where they cover the fries with everything in the kitchen including jalapenos, cheese, sour cream … etc. The Max Papas look like a meal unto themselves. I didn’t get them because I just wanted to keep from spending over $10.
The tacos al pastor (pork-ish taco) were on special. They are served on a couple warm corn tortillas with onions and cilantro. Nice, simple, tasty, and only $1 … the way tacos should be.
Also, they brought out three squirt bottles of sauce with our meal. The first was a green tomatillo-looking sauce that had a hint of avocado taste in it and just a little bit of heat. The second was an orange-colored sauce with a little more heat that tasted kind of like a thousand island hot sauce. I know, bad description, but it was the favorite of our table. Finally, there was a dark red sauce full of visible chili pepper seeds. It was quite warm.
You know what I just realized weren’t on these burgers? Onions. Weird. You would expect onions on a Hispanic burger. I didn’t miss them, though. Maybe Max realized that every burger place in town does an onion-fried burger and he just wanted to stand out.
Great food here. It really is a unique burger unlike any other burger in Oklahoma City (to my knowledge). The ham adds a nice smoky flavor, and the white cheese (I’m not sure what it is — maybe Queso Blanco or Quesadilla, or just a simple Mexican farmer’s cheese) was a real compliment to the grilled flavor of the burger. I also really liked the avocado on the burger. Good idea, Max Burger! In fact, Max Burger is full of great ideas. I really want to try the taquitos and a few types of tacos, but not sure if I’ll ever get past the burger. If I could offer them any tips it would be to invest time into developing a hand-cut french fry, but until then I’ll just squirt that orange-colored hot sauce all over them and eat them anyway.
Max Burger really does sit at a less than desirable location. You probably want to stick to keeping this a lunch spot. But hey, that just adds to the fun right? It’s what shady restaurant dining is all about.
I’m not sure what Max has in store for us next. Maybe Max Pizza? Or perhaps Max steakhouse? I don’t know, but I would wager that whatever it is, I’ll be writing about it when it comes along.
We want to hear from you!
So far, 13 people have responded to this article. Won't you join in?February 25th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
Tried this today and man, oh man what a great find! That burger is one of the most interesting and well put together I’ve had. Definitely unique.
The true highlights were the three sauces you mention. Absolutely unique and tasty. I got the Tacos al Pastor on special too. For 99 cents you get two tasty little tacos. Nice!
On the flip side, I can tell I’ll be feeling the effects of my lunch on my stomach for the rest of the day. Not sure my body could handle eating here regularly, but I would definitely go back on occassion.
February 27th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I went here twice while on my way to a church event in the area. Very good food. Although this is not the only Hamburgesa in town. They are all over the south side of town and they come in all varieties. I concur, the sauce is “The Bomb”!
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:05 am
I have eaten at the Zacatecas, what Max Burger used to be. I wonder if Max Burger is open until 3 am, like the former place. It was really good mexican food, for that late in the night. I will have to try out the new Max Burger. The taco stand El Pariente is really good too, very fresh, and they are open late late. Everyone has always been really friendly, and I don’t think any of these southside mexican places are “shady”. They are not predominately “white” if thats what you mean.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Where’s our March shady place? Its already April!
April 28th, 2008 at 4:40 am
We ate here for lunch on Saturday late in the afternoon. The Max burger was fabulous. It was not clear on the menu, but fries are included. They were the frozen variety, but they were fresh from the fryer. We ordered at the counter per the review. However, two young hispanic gentlemen arrived when we did and they went directly to the table. The waitress brought them a menu. I noticed that they both ordered the burgers as we did and received their food just after us. They were brought 3 different bottles of salsa. I had to ask for the salsas and we were brought two out of the 3. The green and the spicy one. I was sad that I didn’t get to try the orange one! Maybe on the next visit. Great burger and fairly friendly service. We will be back! How about posting pics of what you order when you review a place? I think we need a little food porn action on eataroundokc!!
April 28th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Bizzle, I’ve thought about pics of the food but every place I’ve seen that done, the food never comes out looking very appetizing. You really have to have good lighting and good photography to make food look appealing in pictures, I think. So, that’s why we’ve opted not to include food photos.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Wow! Went today and the tacos al pastor were soo good, just like Mexico! I guess they only have them on Monday?? You are right about the green sauce; I wanted bathe in it! Discovered a great Mexican ice cream place too on SW 23 and Western. They have ice creams and aguas frescas. I am soo happy right now.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Yes, $1 taco day, and it’s accompanying green sauce, should be enjoyed by more Oklahoma Cityans, or would that be OKCians? You may have been enjoying your tacos the same time as I.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
nice post - i love grilled food.
July 25th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I wen to the Max Burger on Wednesday and they have 2 for the price of one.
Really tasty.
But you have to tell the waitress,do not over cook the burger.
I love it….
July 25th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
If you’ve ever been to mexico, you’ll adore this place! Amazing food!!! yyouk you’ll
August 7th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
I drive past MaxBurger every day. I really need to try it.
October 13th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
The burger was awsome, loved the ham and cheese on it. The sauces, we did get all 3 were very good. My friend I was eating with had the potatoe dish with sour ccream,cheese,meat, and jalapenoes. We thought it was going to be french fries but it was a potatoe cake that had the disti nct taste of instant potatoe flakes. I also tried the hot dogs the were very good they were wrapped in bacon and had onions cheese and mayo on it. Service was good people friendly thanks for the tip.
Please tell us what you think.