Best Burger in Aiken Part 10 - Magnolia Cafe & Natural Market

Location - Magnolia Cafe & Natural Market, 210 York St SE, Aiken, SC 29801
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I know, I went over a week without a post. I know, I'm not the most regular writer on the face of the earth. But, what I have for you today should more than make up for it. And besides, part of the fun is not knowing when or where I'll pop up next.

Now then, I bring you three words: New. Number. One.

That's right. As I sit here writing this up about my lunch experience today, I am certainly satisfied and happy I went and ate local today as well as listened to a buddy's recommendation, as well.

Now, I have to admit something, before this quest/challenge I was pretty narrow minded on where to find good burgers. I figured the best burgers would come from a diner or hole in the wall grease trap-like place that either hadn't cleaned their grills since the day they were purchased used from another place or from places that had "grill(e)" in the name. Don't get me wrong, I knew full-well that the other places had good food, I just did not associate them with burgers.

I stand corrected.

I was wrong, and I am sorry.

My friend Jamey Cook is a chef at the place I went today and he is the one who made sure that I didn't overlook Magnolia Cafe & Natural Market (just across York Street from the original St. Mary's sanctuary). And boy am I glad I listened to ol' Squirrel. Like I said above, there is a new number one burger atop my list.

Before I get into it any more, let me show you this beauty, it's called the Magnolia Burger:

If you're not drooling right now, you need to adjust your screen or fix your taste buds or have your momma slap you good. Seriously.

This thing is hand-made and grilled to your liking (I went medium rare this time). I'm not 100% sure what all was on it but I can tell you the beef is seasoned well and the veggies are home-grown. But I'll get into that in a minute.

The patty was juicy, tender, large (and in charge) and full of flavor. It never fell apart and had great flavor the entire time. From that first bite all the way to the last, every ingredient was included. And that bun. Mmmm that bun was toasted just right and not smushed at all.

As for the veggies ON the burger (I need to differentiate because of the side that I will get to in a second), I caught some really awesome tastes from them. The lettuce, first and foremost, is not your normal lettuce. It is what you would get if you were to go get the salad mix seeds from a garden store and grow your own lettuce. We're talking real green leaves that weren't ripped off a head of lettuce, but grown amongst a spring or fall assortment. YES! Loved that. The tomatoes on it, I'm guessing were also from their gardens out back and must have been picked at just the right time. They had a very good, juicy taste to them as well (a piece fell out onto the plate by itself in the middle of the experience so I can tell you that, yes, it was good and ripe).

My one critique was there was a little too much sauce. I read the menu, but I didn't pay close enough attention to be able to write the ingredients but I believe there was blue cheese involved (if you don't like blue cheese you should try this anyways and just pretend you didn't read this part because it was so good). There was a lot of white sauce on this thing, but I'm not really complaining. It was really awesome how there were a couple bites where I could taste something very sweet in there...  Jamey, what was that because it was pretty dang good!

As if the burger itself wasn't enough to set itself apart, the side did it as well. I have said already, this is about the burgers but I do like when a restaurant sets itself apart and having grilled mixed veggies as a side for a burger? Nobody does that. Correction, Magnolia does that, and they do it well. We're talking mushrooms, red peppers, yellow squash, zucchini squash, and broccoli. Yum, yum, yum, and did I mention yum? Again, I'm not sure what they cooked or marinated this all in, but it was so, SO good.

And, as if that wasn't enough, I went ahead and splurged a bit. I had dessert. I enjoyed (and that word is not strong enough for this) their chocolate zucchini cake. Slap. Your. Momma. Good. Slap. Your. Own. Face. Good. They're not paying or bribing me in any way shape or form to tell you this, go for that cake alone. I am serious as a heart attack or stroke on that one.

Price: This one was a little more pricey than just about any other burger so far, but man was it worth it. $16.25 before tax (burger is $13.50, substitute veggies were $2.75, and I went with water) - side note, the piece of cake was $6 and I do believe you could share it... but why would you want to?
Ambience: It's a cafe. It really reminds me a lot of Aiken's New Moon Cafe with a little of Stoplight Deli. It's in what appears to be an old house, and I remember it being a couple other things before (I have never stopped in until now so don't ask me what the other places have been, but there was a fake Brittish royal guard standing out front at one point). None of the tables and chairs match, which I love, and there is local art on the walls. You can see into the kitchen from the dining area, and the dining area inside is small and intimate.

Your new rankings:
1) Magnolia Cafe & Market
2) Betsy's on the Corner
3) Brew Pub
4) Ray's
5) Playoffs
6) Malia's
7) Red Shed
8) City Bs
9) Blue Top

I went for lunch and it was not crowded at all (we need to change this people!) but it was a steady flow. In the 35 or so minutes I was in there, I think I saw 10-15 people come in. I don't want to overwhelm them, but I would love it if my reader(s) would flood this place over the next month or so and show the love. It's local and it is great food.

I'm over halfway done with this quest, but I may add another place to the list. I passed somewhere the other day and just about slapped myself for forgetting to have them on the list just because they are in North Augusta (this is about Aiken County, after all).

By the way, I cannot say THANK YOU enough to you all who read my ramblings. I have had over 1,050 views on this particular blog and 177 unique views alone on my Stoplight Deli post. The fact that some of you go back to re-read some of this either tells me I have some people critiquing my writing or you're just enjoying torturing your taste buds. Either way, I really appreciate it. Now then, excuse me while I slip into a food coma.