The Glass Kitchen, a little hole in the wall on Old Iowa Park Road, serves up a delicious cheeseburger worth that is worth the 5.6-mile drive from campus.
Although the diner looks a little worse for wear from the outside, the meal made up for the restaurant’s appearance. Besides, a parking lot full with pickup trucks—and even one freight truck—is always a good indicator of quality food. You can tell from looking at the place that it has been there for a long time, so even before ordering, I assumed they must have been doing something right.
Upon entering, the whole restaurant smells faintly like grease, but it wasn’t strong enough to be off-putting. I ordered a medium (they come in small, medium and large) traditional cheeseburger with fries and a soda—typical diner food. The burgers come with all the toppings so I advise future customers to tell the person taking your order what you do and don’t want on it, otherwise you’ll get everything. The woman taking the orders was prompt and asked a lot of questions to make sure she got your order right.
The place has both indoor and outdoor seating so my group sat on the covered patio to enjoy the weather while we waited for our food. Despite being outside, the picnic table was very clean. Our food came out quickly but we had to watch the kitchen window because there was no table service. The restaurant is pretty small but their drive-thru had a constant stream of trucks lined up in addition to the handful of eat-in tables. The Glass Kitchen seems to be a pretty popular lunch spot, so make sure you plan for that if your lunch break is short.
The wall on the front of the restaurant advertises ‘old-fashioned burgers’ and The Glass Kitchen delivered. The well seasoned patty was the best part, but I also enjoyed the toasted bun. This is a classic burger done right: the patty should be the star of the show, and mustard is the only condiment that belongs on it.
The most disappointing part of the meal was the sides. We ordered fries (a bit greasy) and onion rings. Both lacked flavor and seasoning so I ended up neglecting them altogether. For a restaurant with great burgers, I expected the entire meal to impress. I was told by my company that the milkshakes were good but nothing spectacular, although the strawberry shake did have actual strawberry pieces in it.
In total my meal was slightly less than $9, which seemed fair. The burger was tasty enough to make up for the extended drive and the lackluster fries. Had my meal been any more expensive, I don’t think I would be a return customer.
Despite minor disappointments, The Glass Kitchen is the best homestyle burger joint I have visited in Wichita Falls. If I have the time for a longer lunch, I would definitely return and bring a few friends to sit with outside and enjoy a burger with. I definitely suggest this place to anyone who hasn’t yet been.
The Glass Kitchen
2614 Old Iowa Park Rd.
(940) 322-6620
4 stars
The above food review article first appeared on The Wichitan website on Jan. 27, 2015. It is reproduced here with permission from the author, myself, and the publication.
