Road Trip Out West; Exploring, Wandering and Photography; Part XVII; Sid's Diner

Sid's Diner.  Quite famous.  El Reno, Oklahoma. (click any image to enlarge)
All of these images were made with my iPhone 14 Pro Max

Okay, I know many of you are tiring of this travelogue.  One pose road trip post then I’m done and will get back to my regular topics.  Thank you for sticking with me.

As we continued east, I definitely wanted to make a stop in El Reno, Oklahoma.  I’ve been to El Reno before and thought it a worthwhile stop.  There are lots of Route 66 related things to see in El Reno.  But there was one place I had missed.  Sid’s Diner.  As we arrived in El Reno about lunchtime, stopping at Sid’s would be perfect!

The diner is small and really a unremarkable building.  But I had seen and read that the food
was great so a stop seemed mandatory.

Cooking the hand made hamburgers and great french fries.  The place is really small.  A half
dozen stools at the counter and 5 tables.  We arrived just in time to beat the crowds 
that arrived just after we did.  Lots of people started streaming in.  Lots of take-out orders also.

I've never seen this before.  They grill the name of the restaurant into the top of the bun!
I love it!

My famous ‘Onion Burger.”  Delicious!

Sid's Diner has been in business for over 50 years.  Started by Marty Hall, Sid’s Diner opened in 1989 when Marty Hall built the restaurant in memory of his dad, Sid Hall. Marty and his brother Bob named it Sid’s in his honor .  

As for the "onion burger," locals in El Reno created the “Depression burger” in the 1920s/30s by piling thinly sliced onions on raw beef patties and smashing them together on the grill—stretching meat supplies while adding flavor.  Whatever the origin, mine was delicious!  Oh!  The french fries are really, really good as well!

I have seen Sid's Diner featured on television shows and in articles about Route 66.  It is quite famous.  Still family run, ownership passed from Marty to his son Adam Hall, who now operates alongside his mother and wife.  That's Adam at the grille in the photo above.  If you want to read more about Sid's Diner, which I recommend visiting if you are driving near El Reno around lunchtime, you can read this story on the Family Destinations website.

After a very tasty and filling lunch, we hopped back on to I-70 toward Oklahoma City.  It was there that I would have to make a decision whether to continue east on I-70 to Arkansas and Tennessee or detour northeast toward Tulsa.  The upcoming weather was the wild card.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

All content on this blog is © 2013-2025 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.