News that Oklahoma City’s beloved Charcoal Over is closing its gates after 50 or so years of business is hitting people pretty hard, with lines stretching out onto Northwest Expressway as bereaved burger-eaters desperately try to get one of the joint’s final famous sandwiches before the oven is turned off forever.
Absolutely beautiful to look at, Charcoal Over, with its bright white paint job, manicured lawns and 1950s aesthetic, always reminded me of a classic burger drive-in from a David Lynch film, like it should have been prominently featured in the opening sequence of Blue Velvet in-between the firemen waving and the finding of the ear.