Top 3 Burgers In Greenville Area

I love a good burger. So very very much. For me there are few culinary experiences that surpass that of eating a well-made hamburger.

Here are the best burgers in the Greenville area. I had originally intended to write a "Best Burgers Not In Central Greenville" post, but realized that these all surpass any burger offered downtown.

Before we get down to business, let me tell you where I stand with a burger. Given that all ingredients are well-made and well-prepared, I am a fan of the vegetabley burger. I love meat and grease, but I also want the crunch and contrast of onion or lettuce in the picture. That's how I roll. Some may love the simplicity of meat-bun-sauce, but to me a burger is not quite complete without some plant life.

All right, let's get into it. Starting at the bottom. The third best burger in town is...

#3. Mojo's Famous Burgers on Woodruff Road

There's some sort of ownership feud going on over there, so there's been some variation in the food recently. I can recommend all three locations to you, but I prefer the Woodruff Road burger, even though Cherrydale has the beer selection.

There's a walk-up menu with all sorts of named burgers (my wife likes the Big Kahuna, which has pineapple, provolone, and bacon), but I prefer to walk up and custom order the sandwich. You can see your choices here.

Mojo's is where I go for my grease fix. The patties are good-sized, but not huge, which is good. I usually order a double. They're slightly crumbly, and almost always perfectly cooked to a wet well-done. No one likes a dry burger, but a wet well-done is, I think, the best for hamburger. They're cooked at an open grill, and there's a bar to sit at right by the cooks. Occasionally you'll catch one of them pressing down on the patty as it cooks, but that's a very rare thing.

Because this is my grease burger, I usually go for sauteed veggies with this thing. They offer cooked mushroom, onions, and green peppers, which they throw on in generous portions on top of the lettuce and tomato that I eat with every burger I order anywhere.

The fries are solid, and served in generous, if not quite Five Guys generous, portions.

I like hot sauce with my burger. The house hot sauce is Texas Pete.

It is, of course, a two-handed affair. Between the meat juice and the mushroom juice, my hands are never dry when I'm done eating the burger. The Mojo's burger, by the way, hits that heaviness sweet spot: the one where I feel very full, but not tired or drowsy at all. That's a hard spot to hit.

If I order a chubby (that's a double) burger with all my toppings and no cheese, I get out of there for five fifty. Which is fantastic.

#2. Bacon Bros. Public House on Pelham Road

Full disclosure. Bacon Bros. is my new favorite restaurant in the Greenville area. Their thing is locally-sourced foods and cured meats prepared on-site. Their smoke house is sweet indeed. You should go there for all their food and beer.

This is the Bacon Bros. burger. Yes, I asked for extra onions.

Among the many jewels on their menu sits their burger, described on the menu as "two patties of house ground bacon, brisket and chuck. Served with pickles, American cheese, special sauce".

Did you catch that? The patty is made with great beef...and bacon! Not a side of bacon on top, although you can do that, which I think it would be too much. Bacon. Ground. In the patty. The standard burger recognizes the need for something to cut the grease, to which end they include pickles. I've had it with more veggies piled on, as is my wont, or simply made to standard. It's delicious either way.

Of the three burgers on this list, this is the one with the best meat. Which should be no surprise, since meat is what these guys do.

The meat has a heavy porky-bacon flavor and feel. The patties are relatively small, but the meat is so rich that you might consider getting the single, which costs only six dollars. The burger is not greasy at all, which allows you to eat it slowly, considering carefully the animal flesh that is feeding you. As you eat it, consider thanking the Maker of Heaven and Earth for both cows and pigs.

The first time I ate this burger, I was blown away by the deliciousness...then felt overstuffed and burped pig for a while. But I was also drinking plenty of stout beer and eating their tasty onion rings as well. If you have a generous appetite the standard double will be just fine for you, but you probably won't need a side.

They make their own hot sauce. It's fantastic. Try the XXX if you dare. Matt the bartender will be impressed.

If you only order the burger, which you won't do, you'll get out of there for $13 or $14 after tip.

#1. The Strip Club 104 Steak House, downtown Greer

Scarcity increases value. Everyone knows that. You can only have burgers at 104 during lunch. And they only serve lunch on Fridays. The window is narrow, once a week from 11:30-1:30. Make time next Friday, for your own sake.

The meat is ground filet mignon. I mean, come on. Here I have the patty cooked to order, at medium. And it's very good.

The highlight of the burger, however, is the multifariously exotic options available on their menu. The exotically named burgers, such as the Carolina Red-Eye, Southern Comfort, or the Kasseri, include ingredients such as tomato chutney, chevre, jalapenos, pimiento cheese, or a smoked chili ketchup. There are a couple of different bacons and several cheeses available. Now you know by now, burger brothers and sisters, that I'm a toppings man.

At no point does the playful spirit of the menu overcome the I'm-eating-a-burger experience.

French fries are not an option, but homemade chips are. Besides that there are several sides offered with the burger. I usually go for the collards, but you can do your own thing.

The burger at 104 for me is about all the options. I could get this, or I could get that. There's a world of burger possibilities!  The experience is what pushes 104 ahead of Bacon Bros. for me. There's a bit of excitement, not just anticipation, each time I sit down for a burger lunch at 104. Add to that the fact that they make me wait (genius!), and the excitement graduates to full-on tremulous excitement.

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Treat yourself, homey. Mojo's for the best "dive" burger, Bacon Bros. for the best meat plus beer, and Strip Club 104 for the exotic burger experience.