About Us
Hooker’s Grill, located in the Fort Worth Stockyards, is a female Native American owned eatery! Hooker’s Grill is owned and operated by Ruth Hooker and her mom, Kathryn Hooker. The Hooker girls are enrolled members of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and have set their roots and heritage in The Fort Worth Stockyards!
Originally, the plan was to bring the “famous Oklahoma fried onion burger” to Texas but, soon after opening, the pair decided to include another Oklahoma classic, the Indian Taco!
While neither have had experience in the restaurant industry prior to opening their flagship location, feeding others has always been a long standing tradition! It made perfect sense to combine their love of the Fort Worth Stockyards with their passion for serving others, hence Hooker’s Grill was born!
“Our goal is to have the BEST burger, the BEST customer service and educate our customers on the history of the “Oklahoma fried Onion Burger” as well as the origin of the “Indian Taco”! One of the best ways to introduce culture is with food and we do that every day! We are proud of our Choctaw Heritage and proud to celebrate the foods we grew up eating with our customers! To us, we are not just serving food but, rather, we are serving history, one bite at a time!”
The History of the Fried Onion Burger
The Oklahoma Fried Onion Burger has a long history, tracing back to the early 20th century, during the Great Depression. Oklahoma, like the rest of the United States, was hit hard by the economic downturn. People needed inexpensive meals, and diners in Oklahoma came up with a solution: the Fried Onion Burger.
The birthplace of the fried onion burger is El Reno, Oklahoma, a small town located just outside of Oklahoma City. During the Great Depression in the 1920s and 1930s, inexpensive diner food was in high demand. Meat was costly, so in an attempt to stretch beef further, cooks began to add thinly sliced onions to the meat patties. Not only did this provide more volume to the burger, but the onions also added a unique, delicious flavor that made the burger stand out.
Sid's Diner and Robert's Grill, two of El Reno's local diners, are often cited as the establishments that made the Fried Onion Burger famous. These burgers were traditionally cooked on a flat-top grill, with the onions getting caramelized directly into the thin beef patty. Served on a bun with pickles and mustard, the Oklahoma Fried Onion Burger was simple, affordable, and deeply satisfying.
As the economic conditions improved, the onions could have been removed from the recipe, but the locals had grown to love the distinctive flavor. Thus, the Fried Onion Burger continued to be a staple in Oklahoma's culinary scene, moving from a meal of necessity to a beloved local tradition
The History of the Indian Taco
The Indian taco, affectionately known in Native American communities as a "frybread taco," is a testament to the adaptability and culinary creativity of indigenous peoples. Its foundation, the frybread, was innovatively crafted by Native Americans using staple ingredients like flour, lard, and sugar. Over the years, this simple yet delicious bread became a canvas for a medley of flavors. By the mid-20th century, inspired by the vibrant combinations of traditional tacos, diverse toppings were introduced to frybread, culminating in the birth of the Indian taco. Today, the Indian taco stands as a proud emblem of indigenous culinary heritage, celebrated at gatherings, festivals, and across homes, bringing warmth and unity to every bite.