Location - Blue Top Grill, 212 Aiken Rd, Graniteville, SC 29829
The competition is officially under way, and I have to say that so far the competition is stiff, but still beatable. However, I feel like it is just heating up (pun very much intended).
Today's contestant is a new one for me- Blue Top Grill's Large Cheeseburger.
So, a little bit about what you are seeing here and the experience. Like the Red Shed, the Blue Top grill is a small location, but they have been there a lot longer, I feel. And yet, I've never been there? How is it possible that I have lived in Aiken for nearly all of my 28 years and I have never eaten here? If any of you ever ate at Airi's grill on Whiskey Rd before it closed (luckily I can say that I have), then I feel like you know the type of place that this is. When I arrived there this afternoon, two things struck me right away: it's small and has limited parking and then the smell.
Oh that smell. Oh, wait, I mean a GOOOOOOOOOD smell. It slapped me in the face as soon as I got out of the Jeep and had my mouth watering. Greasy goodness. We're not talking a McDonald's or Burger King greasy smell. We're talking.... well, I don't know how else to describe it other than fried goodness waiting to get in your belly.
Anyways, the rest of the description of the actual place can wait. I'm here for the burger. Now, their menu is a three-panel menu, but the entire back page is pretty much advertisements. All you need to know is on the inside, mostly on the two first panels. They have little burgers and big burgers, hotdogs and sausage dogs, and plenty of other not good for you, but good smelling and looking food listed. Trust me, I continue to stand by the saying that if something tastes good, it more than likely isn't actually good for you... There are VERY few exceptions in my book.
I ordered the large cheese burger over the small. I'm kind of curious what a small looks like, because I felt like the large was average size and comparable in size to every other burger I have ever had. Is the small burger a slider or a Krystal burger? Seems to me like burgers should really only come in one size, but that's just me. I asked for it all the way and with fries and a sweet tea (FYI, both Red Shed and Blue Top have good sweet tea. Not like that fake crap that McDonald's tries to pass off as sweet tea). Trying to stick to the same for as many of these as humanly possible.
When it arrives, I immediately notice a few differences from the first contestant. First off, at Red Shed, the burger came opened up; as in the top bun was off and upside down with the toppings on it so you can remove whatever you want. This one is already closed up which isn't a big deal. If I didn't want something on there, I would have told my waitress so. So it's really just a "how do you want it presented" thing. The thing that did have me kind of wondering was that the bun appeared smushed. It's obvious that whoever cooked my burger, wanted to make sure that nothing got away in the time it took the waitress to go from the kitchen to my booth. I'm not a big fan (like most people, I like things to look good as well), but I'm also not too worried. And the bun isn't toasted. I like my buns toasted (again, pun very much intended today) but that isn't a deal breaker, either.
As for presentation, it's generic. It's a diner/grill so I'm not looking for swirls on my plate of ketchup and such or for firecrackers sticking out of the bun. The fries look really good and really grabbed my attention. I mean they looked REALLY good. They really looked hand-sliced and were nice and crispy. But this isn't about the fries, it's about that burger.
After my first bite I had two immediate thoughts. 1) The burger has a good taste. That grill may be cleaned every so often per health code and regulations, but it still has flavor cooked into it from the last how-ever-many years. It's cooked well-done, not over-done and the flavor of good beef is definitely there. 2) The cheese is melted just perfectly. My one big criticism of Red Shed was that the cheese seemed to have melted off and was cooked on there too long. While I got to choose my cheese there, I didn't at Blue Top, but they more than made up for it by melting the cheese perfectly. That first bite was the perfect blend of toppings, condiments, burger and cheese. Well-done.
As I continued on with the burger I took mental notes of things like the toppings. They were very fresh and crisp (so far, both locations are definitely getting points for not trying to pass off wilted lettuce or over-ripe veggies). The mustard and ketchup were nicely separated (no mayo, much to Glenn's dismay. Oh, by the way, Glenn Cox joined me for this excursion. The man enjoys his hole-in-the-wall food places... and he knows about a bunch of them. I may be calling on his knowledge of locations for future excursions). The ketchup was on the top bun and the mustard under the patty on the bottom. I like this approach and it also meant that there wasn't too much of either. I honestly don't recall tasting either condiment, but I did see them. Like I said in the previous post, I like this because you shouldn't be masking your food, you should be accenting it.
Overall, I think it was another good burger, but I am not willing to crown this burger "Best of Aiken County." I feel like it and Red Shed are tied and will ultimately end up somewhere in the middle. Red Shed had the toasted bun, a slightly more appealing look in the build, but was lacking in taste. This one, the bun was squashed, the presentation was average, but the taste of the burger was good and it was a near perfect blend of cheese, burger and condiments in nearly every bite.
Price - $8.00 and some change (burger, fries, sweet tea)
Ambience - Hole-in-the-wall. Very clean and small, interior that holds maybe 10 or 11 tables, so you're looking at around 50 people. It was almost completely full when we got there around 12:30 so that is a very good sign. They have a lot of little things on the walls from Graniteville's past and I have a feeling that not much has changed in there in the last 50 years or so. Not even the grease. There were three ladies working the kitchen, counter and service. All three were very nice.
Being my second stop on this trek, I feel like it was a good follow up. No big let down of, "Why did so-in-so tell me to come here?" It was another good experience, but still not the best, I feel. I'll be back again, probably on a Thursday for their fried chicken salad with potato salad on the side... now that sounds really good as well.
By the way, I have now added two more locations to my list at the recommendation of some other people. You will notice on the first page that Betsy's on the Corner and Iron Horse Bar and Grill have both been thrown into the fray. Betsy's is a piece of cake (and they have good cakes, too, I understand), but the Iron Horse I will need a member to volunteer to take me one day.
