Mooyah: Burgers-and-fries joint keeps its menu simple
BY SCOTT CHERRY World Restaurant Critic
Thursday, November 08, 2012
3/28/13 at 7:59 AM
On the heels of Five Guys Burgers and Fries' entry into the local market comes another national burger chain, Mooyah, which opened recently in south Tulsa.
Mooyah features shakes, burgers, a hot dog, french fries and sweet potato fries. Other than tea and some soft drinks, that's it.
The burgers and hot dog come with a choice of nine free sauce toppings and eight free veggie toppings. Five cheeses and fried onion strings are 75 cents extra, bacon 85 cents and sliced avocado 95 cents.
One cool feature is Mooyah bakes its own buns daily - a sesame seed white bun, a whole wheat bun and white hot dog bun. Those watching carbs may order an iceburger, a hamburger wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun.
The way it works at Mooyah is diners pick up an order form when they enter, mark the form with what they want and take it to the cashier. After paying for the order, they receive a number and the number is called for pickup when the order is ready.
We ordered a couple of burgers ($5.25 without extra-charge toppings). One had Swiss cheese, mayo, ranch dressing, lettuce, tomato, pickles and sauteed mushrooms, and the other was topped with Mooyah sauce (like Thousand Island), lettuce, tomato and grilled onions.
These were big, thick, juicy, two-patty burgers that I managed to make a pretty good mess out of before I was through. One oddity we noticed was the pickles tasted a lot like the cucumbers from which they were made.
We also got sides of fries, and I preferred the sweet potato fries (small $2.45) to the standard french fries (small $1.95), which were a little oily.
A children's burger is $3.75, and ages 10 and younger may order a Little Moo Meal with burger, hot dog, grilled cheese or chicken strips with fries or applesauce and a drink for $4.95.
Diners may add flavor to their orders with Cholula Hot Sauce and ketchup on the tables, plus malt vinegar and Tabasco located at the drink station.
We anticipated having shakes - they come in nine flavors - with our dinner, but the shake machine was out of order.
The dining room has a festive atmosphere with large, lime-green exposed duct work and lime-green accents on white walls. Those waiting for orders may take a booth, a table or relax in one of the five easy chairs throughout the room.
Light fixtures look as though they were made from old glass milk bottles, or something similar. Mooyah also has a Noodle Doodle, a wall-sized chalkboard for artists of all ages.
Ken Ferriabough and George Charlton are co-owners, Don Grimes is director of operations, and Silva Little and E.J. King are managers. Some may remember Charlton, also development agent for Oklahoma, from when he operated the diner in the old City Hall a decade or so ago.
"This is the first Mooyah in Oklahoma, and we plan to have 30 to 40 more franchise operations in the future," Charlton said.
Mooyah has free Wi-Fi and a free printer to accommodate college and high-school students who dine there.
Mooyah is located on the east side of Lewis Avenue, across the parking lot from Panera Bread.
MOOYAH
6921 S. Lewis Ave.
918-938-7077
Food: 
Atmosphere:
Service: order at
counter (on a scale of 0 to 4
stars)
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven
days a week; accepts
all major credit cards.
Original Print Headline: Easy eats
Scott Cherry 918-581-8463
scott.cherry@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Diners may load up their Mooyah burger with a selection of 25 toppings. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
Sweet potato fries (shown here) and french fries are the only side dishes at Mooyah. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
The interior of Mooyah burgers has a colorful, festive atmosphere. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
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