4.5 out of 5.0 stars
I was looking through a Venezuelan restaurant’s menu wondering what most of the items were since it wasn’t in English and I just didn’t understand enough of the words to have an idea what I would like. Then to my amazement, which then became my curiosity, I saw a burger with the name Oklahoma Style. No translation was needed.
𝙀𝙡 𝘾𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙤 – 𝙏𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙖 / 𝙊𝙠𝙡𝙖𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖 𝙎𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚 𝙎𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙧
This is a family run, small business, that started out as a food truck about 5 years ago and then moved to a brick & mortar in Orlando in 2023. Owner Alfonzo and his wife, Alexandra, love Tampa and had an opportunity to expand here, so they jumped at the chance. I’ve visited their Tampa restaurant twice, and Alexandra’s brother, Francisco, has made me a couple of fantastic Smashburgers. Why is an Oklahoma Style Smashburger on this Venezuelan menu? It’s simple according to Alfonzo. He loves burgers and knows the history of this burger and the unique flavor you get by smashing onions into the beef.
There are no surprises here. This is your authentic Oklahoma Style Onion Smashburger. Thin sliced onions are smashed into the 4oz. ball of beef. It’s 100% beef. They use 4 different cuts. It gets a good crust on it. The onions are cooked nicely after the flip. Seasoning is fine. The patties are smashed pretty thin, but there’s still actual beef along with that great crust. They use cheddar cheese, and it gets melted like it should. I added a few pickles. The bun is a soft potato bun you will be familiar with. You can get it as a single, a double or a triple. I had the triple first and then the double. Either will satisfy.
This Smashburger is executed very well and it is delicious. It doesn’t come with any specific sauce, but there are 5 different house-made ones to choose from. I recommend the Chica Sexy sauce first and then the Garlic sauce second. Sauce or no sauce, you will enjoy this burger.
There are quite a few American type menu items you will be familiar with. There are also 8 different burgers you can try including the Venezolana, which is a beast of a burger and their most popular one. This being a Venezuelan restaurant, I did try something Venezuelan. I tried one of their gourmet Pepitos, the California with chicken. It’s similar to flatbread, but uses baguette bread. It was fantastic.
