Ron's Hamburgers & Chili

In the interest of full disclosure, I grew up in Tulsa, where Ron's is from.  In fact, my father took me to the original Ron's, on 15th street (which sadly, no longer exists) more than twenty years ago.  I've been a fan since that day.  In fact, during my time in Norman and Austin, Ron's was on the "must go" list for almost any trip back home.  In the last 20 years, they have sent out off-shoots across the state, and now into NWA.

There is a large part of me that would like to state the following:  "If you go to Ron's, and you do not order some chili, be it a bowl, or something covered in chili, there is something wrong with you."  There is a part of me that believes that statement to be 100% accurate.  That said, I recognize that, particularly in the South and the Southwest, chili is subjective, and even deeply personal for some.  What i consider to be a killer bowl of red, someone else could have an equally strong opinion that it is twisted and wrong.  And neither of us would be wrong, because chili is just that kind of a thing.  For me, and this goes right back to my childhood tales up top, Ron's sort of IS chili.  In other words, when i think of a bowl of red, the first thing i think of is Ron's.  I personally like to just order a bowl, rather than have it as a topping (though the chili cheeseburger at Ron's does not suck).  You can get it with or without beans, and can add cheese and onions if you like.  I take mine without beans, and with cheese.  I also bring a little ketchup to the party.  Now, I could give you a bunch of chef babble for how that particular combination increases the flavors, and yadda yadda yadda, but really, i do it that way cause i've done it that way for 20 years, and it just works.

Ron's also does a flat patty, flat top, greasy style burger, and they come in two sizes, a 1/5th lb and a 1/3 lb, both of which can be doubled.  I personally go for a 1/3rd with cheese and a bit of grilled onion.  Fries are hand cut, and the 1/2 order is large enough for a sensible couple to split, or for one fat food critic to eat by himself.  Many like to go with the spanish fries, which adds onions and jalapeños.  They also now have boneless fried chicken bites, which are apparently quite tasty.  I wouldn't know, i get the same thing every time.

The above, goes for ALL Ron's.  For me, that's all 5 stars.  But this particular Ron's, in Lowell, not quite there.

On the plus side, the chili is absolutely to the standard.  Mine may have had a touch too much cheese on it, but big deal.  It delivered the same quality as the chili at any Tulsa location.  Likewise, my burger was properly cooked, and came out with just the right amount of grilled onions.  It was delicious as always, and, for me, is a player in the NWA burger wars.

Two bad notes:  First, the service was hit and miss.  To be fair, both of the servers appeared to be high school age girls, and one does not expect world class service from high schoolers.  And, in my server's defense, she was friendly and polite.  That said, I sat with a view of the pass-through from kitchen to front of house, and my chili sat in the window for nearly five minutes while both servers (two on staff, with about 4 tables occupied), before one of them finally brought it out to me.  Part of that time was spent with the two servers engaged in casual conversation with one another, which i wasn't terribly happy about.  Again, that is kind of what i expect from high schoolers, so while it wasn't great, it didn't terribly detract from the meal.

On the other hand, my fries were not up to standard.  Ron's serves hand cut fries.  When hand cut fries are done right, nothing beats them.  For a prime example, visit Hugo's here in the 'ville, or a Five Guys that has its act fully together.  They should be double fried, golden on the outside, with a crispy exterior and a fluffy inside.  They should not be overly greasy, and what grease there is should be on the outside of the fries.  They should be properly seasoned.  Visits to my usual Ron's in Tulsa or Broken Arrow, tend to always yield that result.  The fries I had in Lowell?  missed on pretty much all counts.  These were a dark brown on the outside, which indicates that they were cooked too long, and that the fryer oil needed to be changed.  they were not crispy, they were extremely greasy, and were not fluffy.  Frankly, they kinda sucked.    I'll chalk that up to a bad batch, and give them another try, but i do hope the next batch is significantly better.

All in all, killer (for me, anyway) chili, a very good greasy burger, so-so service, and bad fries.  The negatives could make it a 3, and the chili alone could make it a 5, so i'll settle for 4 stars.

Good place for a great burger!