Today, it's the Classen Grill in Oklahoma City that is the restaurant of the day at Jane and Michael Stern's Roadfood.com site. I haven't eaten there, but I will after learning that it serves migas.

Classen Grill is within the Classen Circle in OKC, which is an old alignment of Route 66. According to Jim Ross, who wrote the "Oklahoma Route 66" book:

The junction of Classen and Northwest Expressway was known as the "Classen Circle" from the early 1950s until it was reconstructed in the 1980s.

The Tulsa World recounts the fascinating story of Amos Adetula (subscription required). In short, Adetula, a former Oklahoma State University student, was in the United States when his parents in his native Nigeria were killed in a car wreck. He decided to try to make it in America instead of returning to his homeland. Through sheer hard work, he established a successful electrical contracting business and has U.S. citizenship.

Two years ago, he was persuaded by Wilson's BBQ's dying owner to buy the restaurant. Wilson's BBQ has been a landmark in north Tulsa for decades, and Adetula has overseen several improvements to it since. Wilson's BBQ was recently featured on the Roadfood.com site.

Here's the item of interest for Route 66 fans from the World article:

Adetula just bought a property at 3616 E. 11th St., where he plans to open a second restaurant to be called Wilson's MidTown.

He picked the spot for its high-traffic location on Old Route 66, a road that generally divides the city down the middle.

Adetula hopes his efforts might be a signal to others in Tulsa that blighted businesses and shrivelled dreams are more of a state of mind in a boundless reality.

"We as black people need to take responsibility for our community," he said. "I'm here because I love north Tulsa. It's hard work, but that's all right."

Wilson's BBQ has a slogan: "U Need No Teeth to Eat Our Beef." I concur. I also advocate buying the miniature sweet-potato pies.

Wilson's MidTown should be a great addition to Tulsa's Route 66 corridor.

People often complain about how crime is so much worse now.

But crime was present even in the "good ol' days."

Route 66 advocate Delbert Trew writes in his column (free registration required) for the Amarillo Globe-News about criminal activity on Route 66 in the 1930s, including a near-fatal bank heist in Alanreed, Texas, along with the notorious exploits of Pretty Boy Floyd and Bonnie & Clyde.

Hank's Hamburgers, a venerable diner on the old Admiral Place alignment of Route 66 in Tulsa, became a new entry to the Jane and Michael Stern's popular Roadfood.com site.

I'm getting hungry just gazing at the first photo — the Big Okie burger, which is four quarter-pound beef patties and lots of condiments. I don't think I'd ever be able to eat that behemoth, however.

Here's an excerpt of Michael Stern's writeup:

Hank's is a tiny place with just a few booths around the counter, which is high enough that no seat affords a good view of Mr. Felts, chef and owner, orchestrating events at the griddle. We recommend standing up, or going to the walk-up to-go window at the front because watching him create his burgers is a scene of beauty. As is the custom down in El Reno, onions are pressed hard onto the surface of each patty before it hits the hot surface so that as the burger cooks under a heavy iron, the onions caramelize and virtually become one with the hamburger itself. When the iron is lifted and the burger is flipped, Felts sprinkles on some of his secret seasoning, then cheese. If he is creating a double, triple, or quadruple, he applies the bun top on one patty, uses a spatula to lift it onto another, and so forth until the pile is ready to be placed onto the bottom half of the bun, which has been arrayed with all other condiments.

Even the largest creation is presented as a tidy package, but I found that by the time I was halfway through, onions and tomatoes were slithering out and patties had gone out of alignment, creating an extremely delicious mess.

And I didn't know Hank's also serves a chocolate-robed peanut butter candy. Yum.

Another fact about Hank's that Michael Stern didn't mention — country star Waylon Jennings ate there once. Apparently Waylon's bus driver was a Tulsa native and recommended Hank's to his boss.