“Christmas in the Park,” Ackley Park on Route 66, Elk City, Okla.

(Photo courtesy of Kevin Latham.)

Michelle Thompson, the bicycle rider who’s trying to raise awareness of oral cancer because of her brother’s serious health struggles, has made it on her cross-country Route 66 trip to Albuquerque. A local TV station, KRQE, interviewed her there. You can view it here.

Thompson’s Web site is here.

We decided to check out a new eating spot on the 11th Street alignment of Route 66 in Tulsa, even though the restaurant itself isn’t new.

Freddie’s Hamburgers has been a favorite of Tulsans since 1954. It has spent most of its years at 802 S. Lewis Ave. But in May, it opened another location at 9130 E. 11th St., east of Memorial.

Freddie’s reportedly fries chopped onions in its hamburger meat. I didn’t detect the onions, but it was a mighty tasty burger regardless — lots of flavor, crisp edges on the meat with all the fixin’s in a toasted bun.

Oklahoma is an embarrassment of riches with hamburger joints — outstanding ones like Hank’s Hamburgers, the Anchor Inn and a slew of onionburger places in El Reno, to name a few. Freddie’s deserves to be included in the higher echelons.

What really impressed us was Freddie’s “fresh cut fries.” Freddie’s manages to fry the fries crisp on the outside but the potato remains soft on the inside.

Freddie’s also serves Frito pies, ribeye steak sandwiches, grilled chicken sandwiches and coneys. It has what it calls a char-burger on its menu — instead of frying the meat, it’s seared on a grill.

We also noticed that Freddie’s had a Route 66 Special on its menu: two junior burgers, french fries and a small milkshake for $5.66. To “upgrade” the fries and milkshake sizes, it’s 66 cents more.  And for you Southerners out there, Freddie’s serves sweet iced tea.

We knew Freddie’s was going to be a good place when we saw one police officer and two members of a local transport union eating there. It’s a good harbinger of a cafe’s food when both cops and union grunts are spotted.

Freddie’s only has about four tables, but there’s plenty of counter seating. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed Sunday. The phone number is 918-836-5600. It’s just down the road a bit and across the street from the Oasis Motel.