In sifting through my book collection, I stumbled upon one from 2008 that I had yet to really read, titled Hamburger America: A State-By_state Guide to 100 Great Burger Joints. As I thumbed through it, I realized I had actually been to a few, including the Northgate Soda Shop in Greenville, South Carolina.
During my one-and-only trip to Greenville in 2017, I dined at this spot located on Main Street.
I had to get their classic Pimiento Cheeseburger. According to the Hamburger America book, “You’ll either love it or hate it,” one of the waitresses was quoted as saying. Made fresh every day, the Pimiento spread is a combo of mayonnaise, cheddar, and diced pimientos.
The place was a veritable museum of antiques that I could have spent days looking at.
This vintage photo shows how the Soda Shop looked “back in the day.”
…and how it looks now (or at least when I visited in 2017):
In reading the book, I realized that many of these old joints have bit the dust, including one in San Diego (Western Steakburger) that I’d never sampled. I also learned that while I was in Memphis in 2009, I shot the neon sign for another legendary burger joint:
…without even knowing the history of what was going on inside. The burgers have been cooked in the same grease for the last 90 years (or at least until the time of the book being published). Talk about tasting history! When the restaurant was moved from its original location to Beale Street, police escorts accompanied the van that carried the historic buckets of grease to make sure they got to their destination safely!
Folks, don’t ever take history for granted. Now you see it, (chances are) now you don’t. With that in mind, I plan on hitting the Apple Pan next time I'm in LA!
See more Greenville photos at my main website.
So much in one post. I love when people make these travel/dining books about places to visit you never thought about. Congrats on one that made the list. I had to google who Dickie Dietz was, then felt back when I realized I should have known. He was pretty famous but I never followed sports.
ReplyDeleteThat shot of the soda shop from the past hits levels of organization I can only strive for. As a Pepsi fan that collection is pretty amazing, but I've recently lost 30 lbs by cutting out "the light refreshment" so I'd debate how "light" it is.
That red art deco styled counter at the far end ( circa 2017 ) is interesting. Very sorry you missed out on Western Steakburger ( me too, didn't know until now ) but reading your blog taught me several things, mostly to enjoy what exists while it's around and don't expect it to be there next week. Thanks to you I visited Clifton's before the end ( figuratively ) occurred.
You didn't tell us what you thought of the pimento burger. Good? Bad? Questionable?
What a great set of images. Thanks for sharing these.
ReplyDelete