Best Burger in Aiken Part 2 - The Red Shed

Location - Red Shed Diner, 212 Ascauga Lake Rd, Graniteville, SC 29829
Facebook Page

OK, so I may have told a little fib in the first post. I said that the order of those restaurants was in no particular order... but I posted the Red Shed first and that is where I went first. Oops. Well, from there on out, it will be totally just dependent on where I wake up craving the days I choose to go. I promise.

So, the contest has begun and my first choice to visit was the Red Shed on Ascauga Lake Rd in Graniteville. I have eaten there before a handful of times, BUT I have never had their burger. I have always had their Angry Meatloaf Sandwich (seriously, try it. It will change your life) and the potato salad.

First, the picture and it's name. I give you the Shed Burger (original, right?):

I'll go ahead and say, I wish I had gotten the potato salad, but I got fries (generic crinkle fries). I guess my subconscious was telling me to be fair because some places just won't have potato salad, and this is about the burger, not the side item.

Anyways, overall I say this was a good burger. Solid. The presentation is nice and appealing with your typical burger condiments of lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup and mustard. For me, there was a little too much onion, but that's probably a personal choice. I was very pleased with how fresh everything seemed. The lettuce was not wilted and all the veggies were very crisp. The bun (brioche) seemed to be lightly toasted (FYI, I LOVE good toasted buns. Take that how you will) and it wasn't too hard or too soft. It also never got soggy or fell apart as I tore into it like a caveman.

As for the patty itself, I wasn't asked how I liked my burger to be cooked. Maybe that was just the waitress, but I prefer to be able to say, "Medium well-done, please." Luckily, it was exactly that. It wasn't over-done or under-cooked. Just a hint of pink in the middle and not too juicy. Near perfection in my book. This is where my next criticism of the food comes in, though: the cheese was a little too melted into the burger. I think it should have been added just a touch later because I never tasted it and think some of it may have cooked or melted off.

Speaking of taste, I never really tasted the burger much. The menu boasted "special spices" or something to do with the ground beef, and I never tasted it. I mostly tasted the veggies (which were good) and the ketchup and mustard. But hardly the meat.

Something I have heard said about various foods is you should be able to taste it. Like steak. You shouldn't be "masking" the steak with steak sauce, you should be tasting the steak, the burger, the sushi (no soy sauce is apparently the way it SHOULD be). This burger, while good, didn't leave me with an overwhelming flavor that made me have to have it again. Now, I remember how their angry meatloaf sandwich tasted. That had just a slight kick and a very memorable taste. But, that's neither here, nor there (well, I guess it really is "there"). This burger, not a memorable taste. It was a burger.

Something I did like about this burger was that it never fell apart. I wasn't constantly scooping up bits and pieces off my plate except for one pickle that thought he was too quick for me. I don't like it when food falls apart and cause a big mess (unless you know it will be like sloppy joes). If properly cooked and constructed, it should stay together save for the part that you bite or cut off. That's just my opinion, though, I think.

Price - $12.00 and some change (burger, fries, sweet tea)
Ambience - Some-what hole-in-the-wall. I like this place because it has walls covered with old signs and tokens from Graniteville's past. It is very clean and I like how they have actually remodeled a little bit, giving them more inside seating (there is patio seating available as well). Also, the servers all seemed very pleasant.

So, for my first visit I would say this was a good measuring stick. The burger didn't blow me out of the water, but I also didn't walk out upon seeing it and it did taste good. The price is in line with what I have paid for similar burgers and I didn't leave needing to make a stop somewhere for a snack. Guess we'll see how the rest stack up to it from here!