Now, I haven’t eaten at every restaurant in Charleston, let alone had a burger at each one, but I feel totally comfortable proclaiming that Sesame has the best burgers in the area. I’m sure some people would argue for Moe’s Crosstown, and I would probably rank them second, but I don’t even think it’s that close.

Sesame is pretty out of the way for most of us, but it isn’t too bad of a drive. It is situated amongst a bunch of pretty terrible looking dives on Spruill Ave. in North Charleston, so to the people who live near it, it really must seem even more amazing by comparison.

Most of you are probably wondering what it is that separates Sesame from every other burger place? After all, there are only so many toppings you can add to a burger, and at this point a lot of us have tried almost every variation under the sun. What makes Sesame so great is that they make EVERYTHING in house.

The meat is ground in-house daily. This is great because you know you’re getting a quality product and it also lets you order your burger as rare as you want it without having to fear Mad Cow Disease. I asked for mine cooked to medium rare and it was spot on. They have about 10 burgers you can choose from, including the “Gourmet” burger with goat cheese and Shiitake mushrooms and the “New Zealander” which is topped with a fried egg and roast beets, but I decided to make my own. I ordered mine with Swiss cheese, tomato, and grilled onion which ran me $6.50. Fries were an extra $1.50.

When I said everything was made in house, I literally meant everything, including the ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard. The ketchup was out of this world, it’s sweet and just a little tangy. If you’re expecting a product that looks like Heinz, however, you’re in for a surprise; Sesame’s ketchup is somewhat chunky and is more of a tomato relish than what we’re all used to. The mustard is of the spicy brown variety and gets my seal of approval as a mustard connoisseur (it was not uncommon in my house growing up for us to have five or six different varieties in the fridge at once). Even the mayonnaise, which I’m sure a lot of people don’t realize there could even be a difference in, was great. Now, what I’m about to say next may shock some of you who know me, so you may want to sit down if for some reason you’re reading this standing up–I even liked the pickles (Mom, I know you’re reading this so go ahead and pick your jaw off the floor). It turns out that there are other varieties besides the disgusting dill atrocities that I have been picking off my burgers for the past 21 years. Sesame’s “bread and butter” pickles were sweet and really added another interesting element to my sandwich.

The freshly cut steak fries were good, but didn’t really have anything to separate them from anyone else’s hand cut fries. My only trouble with the fries was that it was nearly impossible to get ketchup onto them because this homemade version doesn’t stick to the fries like traditional ketchup does. This led to me leaving three really disgusting napkins on the table at the end of the meal as getting the condiment onto the fries became a two hand job.

As for the non-burger elements, Sesame also has really solid selection of beers. They have a board of monthly specials and for $2 I tried a Young’s Double Chocolate Stout, a beer that’s kind of like Guinness with a bit of a chocolate finish. I really liked it, but then again I love Guinness so it was right up my alley. They had several other interesting options on the list as well, which just added to Sesame’s aura as the perfect place to meet up with the guys after school, work, or whatever.

While the prices aren’t super cheap, the product is definitely worth it. Even if you’re super stingy and won’t spend $8 on a burger and fries, you can go on any Tuesday and the burgers are only $3. If I didn’t work Tuesday nights I think I’d have to make this a weekly trip.

In case you haven’t picked up on this yet, Sesame is somewhere every meat eater in Charleston needs to make plans to visit. Even the vegetarians of Charleston should give it a shot because you can get any burger on the menu with a beef, chicken, or black bean patty. So, next time you’re considering ordering Chinese takeout or getting some delivery pizza, stop being so damn lazy and get yourself a few miles up I-26 and thank me later.

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