Northgate Soda Shop

Mon-Fri 9am-8pm Saturday 9am-5pm Closed Sundays Just up the hill on Main Street in Greenville, SC, where the high rises give way to trees and homes, I discovered an excellent spot to enjoy a Southern favorite — the Pimento Cheeseburger. The menu at the Northgate is classic soda shop diner fare — tuna, peanut butter and jelly, hot dogs, grilled cheese, and egg sandwiches, but the big seller is their fantastic pimento cheese burger. “Either you’ll love it or hate it” waitress Brenda warned me before I bit into my burger. I have to admit I had never had one even though my mother is from South Carolina. Fortunately, I fall into the “love it” category. The pimento cheese for their sandwiches and burgers is a tangy mix of mayo, cheddar, and diced pimentos. “We make it right here, fresh every day,“ veteran waitress Maudie told me of the over forty year- old recipe. The beef is also fresh, picked up daily from a butcher just up Main Street (this fact is also proudly announced in their menu, complete with the butcher’s name and address). The burger starts as a fresh ground beef that is pressed in a vintage burger press. The press produces a three and one-half ounce patty that is cooked on a flattop griddle. The burger comes to you on a toasted bun with tomato, lettuce, and a large dollop of pimento cheese. I also had a cherry smash, a drink made from cherry syrup and soda water, dispensed from the Northgate’s vintage soda fountain. Owner Catherine Christophillis couldn’t be a more perfect fit as the new owner of this South Carolina time warp. She is active in community-theater (she had just starred as the Witch in the Wizard of Oz), she served on the city council, and her husband grew up just down the street. “He has been coming here forever. Now my kids do too.” Source: www.hamburgeramerica.com

Moonshine Store

Mon-Sat 6am-1pm, grills closes at 12:30 Closed Sundays & major holidays : The Moonshine Store is at a crossroads in east central Illinois surrounded by cornfields. The drive to Moonshine (population two) is a blur of corn stalks and soybean fields for hours on two-lane roads and the nearest city is Terre Haute, Indiana. There’s a reason the lines are not out the door with city people — it’s too damn far away. But it’s true; the Moonshine does make one of the best burgers in America. The large country store-turned-burger-spot does a brisk business regardless of its remote locale. There are no tables inside, just recycled church pews and chairs that line the counters and cases. You place an order at the back of the store and when your burger is ready take it to the bountiful condiment table in the center of the room. If you can’t find a spot on a pew, there is ample seating out back at the picnic tables. The staff is a sight to behold — a bevy of chatty country -women all taking turns at the grill and register. “I don’t work here, I’m just helping today,” laughed one behind the counter. Helen Tuttle owner and grill master explained, “Friends and family all come down for the lunch hour to help out. When we’re busy we’ll even ask someone in the store to do dishes — We’re not bashful.” The Moonburger is a beauty. Pure and simple, 80/20-ground chuck cooked on a hot gas griddle until moist inside with a delicately crunchy exterior. I asked what the size of the burger was and Helen told me, “All sizes. Depends on what my hand grabs.” They look to be around a third of a pound and served on an un-toasted white squishy bun. Cheese is treated like a condiment and tossed on cold. Trust me — this burger needs no cheese. The new gas griddle can hold up to fifty burgers, which is an improvement over the previous electric griddle that only held fifteen. “We can sell fifty to six-hundred burgers a day depending, and at least four-hundred on a Saturday,” Helen told me. Over twenty- five separate motorcycle tours made the Moonshine a destination for food last year, and one visit resulted in a record. “We made seven hundred and twelve that day. “ Helen then mused with a serious gaze, “We do no advertising. I believe the Lord has a hand in this business.” Believe it. These burgers are touched by something. Source: www.hamburgeramerica.com

Nick’s Hamburger Shop

Mon-Fri 11am-7pm Sat. 11am-4pm Closed Sunday : Dick Fergen is my kind of guy. Dick left a job in farm management in Texas to return to his home town of Brookings, SD. Upon his arrival, he inquired about the landmark burger joint Nick’s and soon thereafter purchased it from the notorious and sometimes volatile third owner Duane Larson. I watched Dick at the grill for one and a half hours, waiting patiently to speak to him. He was in a zone, pressing small balls of ground round into a puddle of bubbling grease, transferring them to buns and serving them at a rate of about seven hundred per hour. When I finally got his attention, he was taking a break and eating, not surprisingly, a burger. “I eat mine dry,” he said. This meant he had squeezed some of the grease out, “Makes it a little bit healthier.” Dick doesn’t really look like your typical hamburger stand owner. He is a sixty-something impossibly fit, tanned, self-described Harley nut. What brought him to and keeps him at Nick’s is pure nostalgia. Amazingly, Dick creates his own “solution” for the deep-frying of his burgers. This is not just any old grease. He starts with solids and adds seasoning according to a recipe that has been handed down for decades. Orders are not taken they are yelled. “We just holler at Dick what we need,” Laurie said. First, you tell the counter person what you want. When your burgers are ready you tell them what you want on them. They arrive at your counter spot on a square of wax paper and can be consumed at a rate of roughly one every twenty seconds, which is good because you will need to make room for the thirty people waiting for your stool. A man named Stewart sitting to my left told me he had been coming back to Nick’s every time he visited his alma mater, South Dakota State University. “I’ve been coming ever since I graduated in ’52.”Old timers refer to their visits as getting their “Nick’s fix.” “If you are not from South Dakota, then you wouldn’t understand.” Dick pondered seriously while gazing at the ceiling, “There’s something about these people. I wouldn’t trade them for anyone in the world.” source: www.hamburgeramerica.com

Bill's Hamburgers

The drive to Amory is quintessential backcountry Deep South —miles of two-lane roads lined with cotton fields, cotton gins, and when I visited, lots of loose cotton all over the road. Amory is a small town and Bill’s is a small restaurant at a spot where Main Street bends. Locals affectionately refer to this spot as “Vinegar Bend.” Bill’s has twenty-three stools and about two tables so chances are you’ll probably be sitting at the counter. Nothing fancy here — in keeping with tradition, burgers are still served at your spot at the counter on wax paper. “I grew up eating here. It was such a big part of my childhood. When it came up for sale I had to buy it,” owner Reid Wilkerson told me as he emerged from the back room of the restaurant where he grinds fresh beef every day for the burgers as it has been done since 1929. Another tradition Reid and Janice adhere to — mustard and onion only — also dates back to the beginning. “Not much has changed here, except that the burgers got bigger,” grill girl Amy told me. Toney’s bakery closed in 1970, which led Bill’s to start using standard 4” buns. The new burger size was determined by the size of the buns. The burgers start as quarter pound balls of beef that are pressed onto a well-seasoned flattop griddle. The burgers at Bill’s are unbelievably tasty, beefy, and rich with grease flavor. The mustard, onion, beef, and bun combination is heaven. Cheese is unnecessary, though available and tomato and lettuce are nowhere to be found. If you really need ketchup or mayo, Amy hides packets behind the counter. “They’re really only for takeout orders.” As I was leaving an old timer at the counter told me, “The first time I came here the burgers were .25 cents.” When I pressed for just how long ago that was he said, “A long time ago.” Source: www.hamburgeramerica.com/

Bobo’s Drive In

Mon-Sat 11am – 8:30pm Closed Sunday : Bobo’s is one of only a handful of original drive-ins in America still using carhops. That’s right, the ones that come to your car, take your order, then come back with food and clip a tray onto your car door. Sonic may have capitalized on the modern version of the drive-in, but there’s still nothing like an original one-of-a-kind like Bobo’s. Bobo’s plays the part of the mid-century American road icon with a neon tower shooting out of it’s roof and a large arrow pointing the way. There are twelve stalls for cars and two carhops during the day running orders and food back and forth from the kitchen to waiting drivers. You can see why so many fast food restaurants moved to the economical drive-thru; the drive-in is without question a lot more work. The burgers at Bobo’s are excellent. They start as fresh ground 85% lean one-eighth-ounce patties and are cooked on a super-hot flattop griddle, pressed flat. “You don’t always get a perfect circle,” grill cook Robert admitted. The thin patty is sprinkled with salt and pepper then griddled until crunchy on the outside but perfectly moist inside. A strange burger creation proprietary to Bobo’s competes equally with their flavorful double cheeseburger — the Spanish Burger. What’s on the Spanish? “Spanish sauce,” Jonette told me bluntly. Turns out, the Spanish sauce is a tangy, sweet tomato sauce. Just then, someone sat down an ordered one. “You see? We sell as many of them as cheeseburgers.” Carhops Kim and Jonette know just about everyone who drives up or walks in the door. “For a lot of people who pull in here,” Jonette said, “we can have their order on the grill before they even tell us.” Now there’s a perk that could lure you to Topeka. Source: www.hamburgeramerica.com

Heinnies

Mon-Thurs 10am-10pm Fri-Sat 10am – 11pm Closed Sunday : When I first visited Heinnies, Bill DeShone, third generation owner, was doing what his grandfather and father did for decades before him — he was walking around the dining room, greeting people, and checking on their food. “There’s always a family member here,” Bill told me, “whether it’s me or my brother.” It’s that kind of pride of place that keeps people loyal. That, and of course, a world-class hamburger. The menu is loaded with burgers but the ones to focus on are the classic Heinniecheeseburger and “The Claybaugh.” The latter is a larger version of the classic that includes two one-third-pound patties and a wild pile of ingredients including, but not limited to, bacon, mushrooms and four types of cheese. This one should be reserved for the truly starved. The burger is named after a local policeman and regular named Scott Claybaugh, who Bill explained, just like the burger, “is big and full of shit.” But it’s the Heinniecheeseburger that they come back for, a moderately priced, well-seasoned, great tasting burger. Made from fresh ground prime beef, the Heinniecheeseburger, in its simplest form (no condiments, on a bun), is a taste explosion. That’s because of a not-so-secret ingredient included in the DeShone family burger recipe — chopped onions mixed into the beef. “We used to mix in bread crumbs and egg too,” Bill told me, “It was sort of like a meat loaf.” But because the meat turned bad quickly, the DeShone family decided to stick with the basics — chopped onion, salt, and pepper. Bill is slightly befuddled by a newfound group of fans that have discovered the decades-old tavern — the Amish. On Friday nights the back room is full of people from the nearby Amish communities of Nappanee and Shipshewana. Bill assumes they are drawn to the restaurant by the huge horse stable themed dining room that was added in 1985 to the back of the restaurant called “Heinnies Back Barn.” Knotty pine frames each booth like a horse stall and vintage farm equipment lines the walls. “They come in by the vanload,” Bill told me. “Strawberry daiquiris and steak for two!” Source: www.hamburgeramerica.com

Folger’s Drive-Inn

Mon-Fri 10:30am-7pm Closed Saturday & Sunday : If you didn’t know what you were looking for you could drive right by Folger’s. The unassuming little 50’s prefab on the east end of downtown Ada has only two neon signs in the window — one that reads “Folger’s,” the other “open.” A short flight of red concrete steps leads directly into hamburger heaven. Inside you’ll find a bright, sunny, clean restaurant filled with the friendliest people. I’m not kidding. Within 15 minutes of my visit to Folger’s I knew everyone in the place. “We have a few other things on the menu but hamburger baskets are 90% of our business,” a very busy lunchtime Jim Folger told me. I stood and watched him methodically flip and manage over twelve quarter- pound burgers on the griddle at the same time. The Folger brothers engage in a sort of silent culinary dance in their open, narrow kitchen — Jim flips burgers, Jerry dresses them, and Wanda delivers. The dance is repeated over and over again for hours at lunch until hundreds of burgers have been dispensed to happy customers. A regular customer named Mike told me, smiling and rubbing his belly, “You can tell I’ve had a bunch of them.” The burger at Folger’s comes with mustard, onion, lettuce, and tomato. Make it a ‘basket’ and you’ll get to experience the other reason you came to Ada – for their outstanding fries. Everyday, Folger’s manages to go thru over two hundred pounds of potatoes for their fresh-cut fries. Ask for an “Educated Burger” (not on the menu) and you’ll get a burger that replaces the onion with mayo. “The produce and meat are fresh, everyday,” Jim told me as he flattened another hand-formed patty on the griddle with a long spatula. Jim uses large Wonder buns that are perfectly toasted on the griddle. The finished product is a wide, flat, burger that is bursting with greasy goodness and flavor. “The grill used to be right behind the counter, and was smaller,” Bill Peterson, the District Attorney in Ada, told me. If it had not been for Bill and mutual friend Tom Palmore I may never have found Folger’s. Both Bill and Tom grew up in Ada and were classmates with Jerry Folger. They agreed that Folger’s was not to be missed on the hunt for great burgers in America — they were right. Source: www.hamburgeramerica.com

Bud’s Bar

Mon-Sat 10AM – 10PM Sunday 11AM – 7PM : Bud’s is one of only a few businesses in the small downtown of Sedalia. The 60 year-old bar sits between two busy railroad rights-of- way that are only a few hundred feet apart. It’s not uncommon to be stuck at either crossing for longer than 20 minutes waiting for a long coal or cattle train to pass. “Some guys walk out, see the train, and say ‘oh well!’ and head back inside for another beer,” Mike Steerman told me. Mike should know. He owns the place. The burger at Bud’s is a classic, griddled, quarter-pounder with American cheese on a white squishy bun. It’s absolutely amazing and transcends the standard notion of bar food. The burger bursts with flavor and is one of the juiciest griddled burgers I have ever eaten. People go to Bud’s for two reasons – because they know everyone in the bar and for the burgers. Outside of drinks at the bar, Bud’s has served only burgers since the beginning. “It’s simple,” Mike explained, “We don’t offer lettuce, we don’t offer tomato, and we only use one kind of cheese.” Fries? Nope. Chips will have to do. But trust me, you’ll be focusing on this burger and nothing else. The burgers start as 80/20 chuck hand pressed in a single patty maker. They are cooked on a smallish flattop griddle in a bright, clean kitchen next to the bar. As a burger nears doneness, both halves of a bun are placed on the burger and covered with a lid to steam the bun to softness. Your order is served with a bag of chips and a slice of onion in a plastic mesh basket lined with wax paper. “That’s it,” Mike told me, proud of the simplicity of his product. Locals in the know request jalapeno slices that Mike has stashed in a small jar in the kitchen. Bud’s interior is cozy and simple. The small, square box has a bar on one side lined with vintage stools, booths on the other side, and a few tables in the middle. An original jukebox sits just inside the front door and one wall displays a unique item – the branding board. Of course, being from New York I was very intrigued by the branding board, something that probably seems mundane to a ranching community. The idea is simple – It’s a long piece of wood attached to one wall of the bar that displays actual cattle brands of the local ranchers. Brands are of fairly intricate design and obviously each one unique, which makes the branding board a viable piece of ‘bar art’. Also, one glance at the board and you are reminded of just how close you are to fresh beef. Source: www.hamburgeramerica.com

Western Steakburger

Mon-Sat 10am-9pm : Western Steakburger sits on the edge of the up-and-coming San Diego neighborhood of North Park. Opened in 1983 by Greek immigrant “Gus” Constantinos Anastasiu and his effervescent wife Maria, the Greek influenced restaurant kept burgers and gyros separate for the first year. But sometime in 1984, Gus piled a wad of slice gyro meat on a finished burger and the Western Steakburger was born. The restaurant is set back from the street fronted by a large palm tree. If you sit on the small front patio, the soundtrack for your meal is the rustling of palm fronds and the occasional thump-thump of a passing urban party-on-wheels. Members of the San Diego Police Department make regular stops at this burger restaurant and have been for decades (cops always know where the good burgers are). But before you plan to sit beneath the palm fronds on University Avenue, plan on taking the afternoon off —this burger is a beast. The burgers are cooked over an open flame in full view of waiting patrons. Oval-shaped patties of fresh-ground beef are grilled to perfection and placed on toasted white squishy buns. Grill man Ricky then places a one-third pound pile of the salty gyro meat on the patty and delivers the burger with mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion. After my first bite I was in heaven. The familiar spice to the gyro meat complimented the burger well and somehow the pound of ingredients managed to stay neatly tucked into the soft bun. About 20 minutes after ingesting this glorious grease-bomb, I had to pull over in my rental car because I was having food coma hallucinations. My advice to you — do not operate heavy machinery or a motor vehicle after enjoying this burger. Maria was working the counter when I visited, “You have to love what you do. Mom and pops are a dying breed.” Western Steakburger was the first burger available to residents of North Park. Today, the tiny, family owned burger joint feels the heat from a McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and a Burger King only a few blocks away. But thanks to recent development in the neighborhood (a condo just went up across the street) people are starting to take notice of Western Steakburger and their flair for coupling Greek and American foods. Maria told me laughing, “How come after 24 years people are just starting to come? Why couldn’t they come when we were younger and had more energy!” Source: www.hamburgeramerica.com

Matt’s Place Drive-In

Tues-Sat 11:30AM - 6:50PM Matt’s Place is a drive-in on the edge of the boom-bust old west mining town of Butte, Montana. As you approach the hillside town on I-90, you’ll notice first the abandoned copper mining equipment and the brick buildings of a somewhat under populated downtown. The streets of Butte are lined with vintage neon signage that reflects its colorful past – Irish pubs and Chinese restaurants among many others that existed to entertain and feed the large number of immigrant mine workers. Matt’s Place opened in 1930 during the peak of copper mining in Butte. Through it all, Matt’s has survived, so much so that it can proudly boast that it has a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Recognized as historically important for its contribution to early American road culture, Matt’s also serves amazing, fresh-beef burgers and milkshakes made from homemade ice cream. I visited Matt’s for all of these reasons, but mostly to sample their fabled ‘nutburger’. Of the thousands of burgers I have eaten across America, few piqued my interest like the nutburger. Maybe it was the remote, beautiful, western locale, or the fact that Matt’s has been in existence for over 70 years, but it was the description of the nutburger that had me planning a trip almost immediately. Matt’s is split in two; one half is a horseshoe counter, the other an efficient short-order kitchen. Paula works the counter while Brad flips patties at the freestanding griddle in the kitchen. “This is the original cast-iron griddle from the 1930s,” Brad told me. “There’s nothing like cast-iron.” He’s right. Very few burger restaurants in America cook on vintage cast-iron because they are impossible to find. Brad and Paula use an ice cream scoop to make balls out of the fresh, lean, ground round. When I asked Brad about the size of the burgers, he shrugged and showed me the scoop, “They’re this big. We should probably have better portion control, but be don’t.” Brad believes the burgers are around a quarter pound each. The most popular burger at Matt’s is the double cheeseburger deluxe, which comes with mustard, pickle, onion, lettuce, and tomato. But do yourself a favor and indulge in a nutburger. Paula spoons chopped, salted peanuts from the sundae bar into a coffee mug and adds Miracle Whip. It’s that simple. The texture of the nuts and the creamy sweetness of the Miracle Whip synthesize perfectly with the salty, greasy, meatiness of the burger. Standard condiments are available to dress up the nutburger but why mess with the simplicity? I understand if you are a little squeamish at the concept, but after your first bite you’ll be a convert. Source: www.hamburgeramerica.com