Shem Creek Outpost · Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
← The Outpost
Smashed, not stacked.
The Outpost Burger
Kitchen · Off the flat-top
No tower. No flag through the middle holding it together. Two thin patties with edges like lace, cheese, a soft bun, and the good sense to stop there. Best with a cold beer and a view of the dock.
The Story
Two Patties, No Theatrics
Somewhere along the way the burger got tall. It grew a second bun in the middle, a fried egg, a thing called “aioli,” and a steak knife stabbed through the top to keep it from falling over. We respect the ambition and we are not doing any of it. A burger should fit in two hands and disappear before it gets cold. Ours does. That is the whole idea.
The Build
What’s on it
- Beef
- Smash patties, fresh ground, never frozen
- Cheese
- American, laid on while it's still loud on the griddle
- Bun
- Soft potato roll, buttered and toasted
- Dressed
- Shredded lettuce, onion, pickle, Outpost sauce
- Basket
- Fries, a little salt, paper basket
- Served
- Counter service — order ahead or tie up and wait
How it’s made
The Flat-Top Doctrine
A ball of beef goes down on a screaming flat-top and gets pressed once — hard, and only once. That press is where the lacy brown edge comes from, the part everyone fights over. Cheese goes on while the griddle is still arguing about it. Then the bun, then the basket, then you. Total elapsed time is short on purpose. A burger is not a thing to think about. It is a thing to eat.
The press
Once, hard
One press makes the edge. A second one makes it sad.
The grind
Fresh daily
Ground close to home, never frozen, never yesterday.
The clock
Eat it hot
Built to disappear before it cools. Help it out.