First of all, understand that we’re from Georgia. Whataburger doesn’t truly exist in Georgia, at least in any real capacity, so when we drove by one in Oklahoma we popped a U-turn and wheeled right in. We had only eaten at a Whataburger one time, ever, and that was near Broussard, Louisiana when I was dog training a couple of years ago. Since then, our mouths have been watering for more and Tulsa, Oklahoma answered the call!
First thing anyone needs to know about Whataburger is that their meals are ridiculously massive. They give you a small drink and it looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. I’m pretty sure if you order a large they give you the whole soda machine. The hamburgers are almost as big as your face. The only semi-normal sized portion of the meal is the fries, and that’s probably because they can’t fit anything else in the bag.
Besides the epically oversized portions, the actual Whataburger itself is pretty amazing. I know I’m basically just stating the obvious for like…half of America right now, but you don’t understand if you’ve never lived in a state that has these restaurants! The struggle is real; we don’t have any truly great hamburger franchises. That isn’t to say we don’t have outstanding burger joints, but in the states that have Whataburgers, you can find them all over. The best way I can describe it is if you were to grow up somewhere that didn’t have Chick-fil-A. Surely you know of Chick-fil-A, but eating at one would be highly inconvenient. That’s our problem with Whataburger because our nearest one is well over 100 miles away, so when I say the burger was awesome, it’s because it was an absolute rarity! Don’t judge!
The spicy ketchup is where it’s at, too. By the way, do y’all spell it ketchup or catsup? Catsup always seemed to me to be like a really terrible thing to happen to a feline. Anyway, Whataburger’s spicy tomato paste is one of the best condiments in the history of mankind. It goes well on the burgers, fries, and whatever else you want to put it on. Also, I’m not sure if this is indicative of every Whataburger, but their customer service was solid. I can’t stand that I even have to say this, but the employees actually seemed legitimately happy (maybe a strong word, but at least they had good manners) about being there.
Maybe one day we’ll make that 100+ drive to our nearest Whataburger, but part of the glamour of this chain is the simple fact that it’s seemed like the Holy Grail of burger chain restaurants to us for so long. Just like we probably take Chick-fil-A and Waffle House for granted, I’m sure people in places like Texas just see Whataburger as just another fast food restaurant. And that’s okay, but for us it’s a treat we can’t pass up.