I just put on a new dealer in Wichita. It had been some time since I was last in that city, so I decided to look for a good burger place. Checking out some local reviews on line I found a rather intriguing place where people either hated the place because of varying reasons (owner was crude and a opinionated redneck, place was dirty, too long of a wait for a burger), or they absolutely loved the place (excellent burger, charming dive bar, coldest beer in town). So with a combination of apprehension and anticipation I sought out a place called Bomber Burger on the far south side of Wichita.
(WARNING - If politically incorrect and some foul language offends you, stop here. I'll spoil the ending - it's a great burger.)
Bomber Burger has been around since 1951, undoubtedly named for the bombers that were made in Wichita and flown out of the nearby McConnell Air Force Base. The small place garnered a reputation for making a good burger and served civilians and Air Force personnel alike. It had gone through a series of owners before Paul Rickard bought the place in 1985. Paul's son Chris - who was going to college at Wichita State in the physician assistant's program - ran the place at night.
Paul died in his sleep in 1997 and Chris decided that he'd rather cook burgers than work with sick people. At that point, Chris' "Burgernazi" persona was born. Chris Rickard took what was a pretty darned good burger already and knocked it a notch or two up by using a special 81/19 blend of fresh Kansas Angus beef, using only high quality oils in the deep fryer, and buying a more heavy duty and dense bun to be able to handle his 1/2 pound burgers. When more restaurants in the area went to a 1/2 pound burger, Chris upped his burger size to 2/3rds of a pound. Recently, he decided that there were now too many 2/3 pound burgers in the Wichita market so he went to a 3/4 pound burger. "And if they start going to 3/4 pound burgers, f*** 'em," Chris told me. "I'll just go to a one pound burger patty."
I found Bomber Burger on S. Clifton Ave. just south of S. 47th St. (see map) A small sign on the door alerted potential criminals that the owner was packing a gun and that he would use it. I walked into the place and found Chris Rickard behind the small counter. The place was - and I'm putting this mildly - a dump. The bar - with just seven stools in front of it was worn, the chairs and tables - four small two-seaters - in the front by the bar were old and mismatched, it looked like it hadn't been updated since - well, it's been around since 1951. A small back room for overflow, well, that was just plain junky. It was cluttered and featured a four seater booth and a circular five seater booth. You would have had to move piles of whatever off the seats to sit down. Now, if you're a regular reader of Road Tips, you know I like dive bars. But this place was a REAL dive! Yes, the place had character.
The grill was a well seasoned flat-topped gas model. The zest that was cooked into that grill from thousands and thousands of burgers over the years just added to overall flavor of the grilled meat. It wasn't a large grill - I could easily see where people would be upset if it took awhile to get a burger. I couldn't wait to try one.
I sat at the bar and noticed that there was a fine layer of salt and pepper on top of it. It hadn't been wiped off recently. But for as dirty as the place seemed to be, I noticed that Chris Rickard had a near-compulsion with cleanly hands. There had to be a couple three rolls of paper towels near a small sink off to the side of the grill. Another six or seven rolls were wrapped up on a shelf above. Each time Chris touched something - a beer glass, moving something off the bar, before he hand-pattied a burger - he washed his hands, thoroughly.
I could tell from the posters and paraphernalia on the walls that Chris was a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan. The NFL Network was on the small TV attached to the wall at the end of the bar. He has a burger called the Bus #36 - it's a tribute to former Steeler running back Jerome Bettis and features three 3/4 pound burger patties each topped with two slices of American cheese. (I was sick the day we had math in high school, but I think that's two and a quarter pounds of beef.)
When I sat down, Chris was kibitzing with four guys sitting at two of the tables and one guy sitting down at the other end of the bar. He came down to my end of the counter and asked what I'd like to drink. I saw that he had a Miller High Life sign and I said that I'd take one of those. "Don't have High Life any more," he told me. "They quit makin' High Life in kegs. Just have Miller Lite." He also had Boulevard Wheat on tap, but I don't care for wheat beers. I took a pint of the Miller Lite.
The menu at Bomber Burger isn't vast and is burger-centric. A double cheeseburger is one and a half pounds of total meat. The Pigburger is a ground pork burger. The Gumby burger features jalapenos and guacamole. The RoethlisBurger (named after Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger) is basically a double Gumby burger. Bomber Burger also has deep fried mushrooms and French fries to offer as sides. Rickard has a special way that he prepares his fries, soaking them in cold water for a good amount of time before throwing them in the fryer.
I ended up ordering a cheeseburger from Chris. (Here he is showing me my hand-pattied burger that he was getting ready to throw on to the grill.) He seasons each burger with a special blend of spices, something that he worked on for a number of years before he perfected the combinations. (When asked, he told me that the special ingredient was "nunya", as in "nunya f***in' business.)
To cook a big fat burger like that takes some time. While my burger was cooking, I was "entertained" by Chris and his observations of current events (his politics are firmly on the hard right, but not extreme), why American football is better than soccer ("Ever see a terrorist play football? I rest my case!"), his disdain for his ex-wife ("She's a loser f***in' b***h. If I could kick myself in the ass for marryin' her..."), and his complete and utter contempt of a local chain of burger joints called Spangles. He went into lengthy detail of the burgers wars that he's waged against Spangles in the past who claims they have the best burger in Wichita. He even has a sign on the outside of his building that declares Bomber Burger as home of the No. 1 burger in Wichita and that "Spangles can kiss our ass." I thought to myself, "My God, this guy is ballsy! I love it!"
Chris served up the burger to me on a sheet of wax paper with the juices oozing out of the burger. He put pickles and a sliced onion on it while I added ketchup and yellow mustard. This was a big-assed burger.
From the first bite, I could taste some of the seasonings. At first I wasn't certain that I liked it, but as I went on I could taste garlic and some salt, but it wasn't overpowering. The burger was cooked to what I would call medium with a bit of pink showing in the center. Even though he pressed the burger a couple times to let it cook in its own juices giving the outside of the burger a crispy texture, it was still juicy in every bite. The bun was dense, easily holding together under the weight and juiciness of the burger, but it wasn't doughy. Chris told me that he has to pay extra for the buns, "but they're f***in' worth it."
As I was sitting there, Chris came over with a basket containing a handful of fries that he had left over from a previous order. He sat them down in front of me and said, "Here, try some of the fries." Well, it was all I could do to try and finish the burger, but I did try a couple of the fries and they were all right. They were a little limp, but I still got a good potato taste out of them. Having good oil - that's changed regularly - is a big plus to having good fries.
Chris was telling me that once he got the "Best Burger in Wichita" award, a number of people that he never saw before came to his place. "These f***in' yuppies would come in here and there was no middle ground - they either hated it or they loved it," he told me. "And most of them loved it."
He said that on a Saturday he would sometimes be backed up for 45 to 60 minutes on the grill. "That would piss a few of those f***ers off, but you know what? Once they figured out that I don't work around their f***in' lives, they kept comin' back," he told me. "Even if they get 'em to go, I don't give a s**t, they're still comin' back."
The burger and a couple beers came to $13.50, I dropped off $15 bucks at the cash register. (As it says on his "to-go" menu - "Cash only Dumbass!") Chris asked me what I thought of the burger and I told him it was damned good. "You're f***in' right it's damned good," he bellowed back. If you can get past the fact that Bomber Burger is a real dive, that the owner is crude, opinionated and very right wing, and that you may be in for a bit of a wait at times, then you've got to try one of the burgers there.
Update - April 2023
Chris Rickard was involved in a train/car crash on Thursday, April 6 after leaving work for the day. It was reported that he drove into the path of an oncoming train and was hospitalized with what was then called minor injuries. Up and walking the next day, Rickard was told by doctors that he could be released as soon as that afternoon. He just needed to have a CT scan to make sure that everything was OK.
However, during the scan, Rickard fell unconscious and it was determined that he had bleeding on the brain. There was evidence that Rickard may have suffered a stroke as witnesses to the car/train accident said that Rickard had initially stopped at the rail crossing, but then slowly drove into the path of the oncoming train. Never regaining consciousness and on life-support, his wife and step-daughter decided to take him off the machine on April 22 and he passed away on Monday, April 24 at the age of 50. The future of Bomber Burger is currently in doubt.
This is just HILARIOUS! The guy would be worth putting up with the place being a dive. This was a fun read.
Posted by: Anne Trennady | January 28, 2015 at 07:52 AM
Bomber burger is ok... seasoning on burger a little too salty and pricey. I recommend Jack's Coffee Shop on South Hydraulic. Way better taste and huge for $6. Be prepared though, this place is a shack but best burger in Wichita and I should know, I'm a fat a$$!
Posted by: Dan | May 05, 2015 at 12:56 PM
Chris is a Wichita original. if you want PC go to a chain restaurant. Chris does business on his own terms, a quality that has been lost in our "the customer is always right" society. Top quality food in a less typical environment. You can go to places that appear "cleaner" but what you don't see going on in the back where they make your food is infinitely worse than anything you will see at Bomber Burger where everything is made right in front of you. I no longer live in Wichita but when I do visit, Bomber Burger is first on my list! Long live the Burgernazi!!
Posted by: Ron Dolecek | May 05, 2015 at 02:36 PM
One of the few things I miss about being stationed at McConnell AFB!
If I worked long on a Friday mid-shift it was a nice treat to stop by and have a burger and a beer before heading home. The looks the civilians gave me drinking a beer in uniform that early was priceless! It was a nice start to my weekend!
Posted by: Keith | May 06, 2015 at 07:43 AM