Southsiders burger

Our family took a day trip to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia on Saturday thanks to this aforementioned deal. A good time was had by all; the penguins were my favorites for what it's worth.

We planned to eat on the way back, but really didn't come across any suitable restaurants, so we ended up in Waxhaw. We decided upon Rippington's because we'd never eaten there before and figured it was high time to take it for a test drive. (By the way, they've got a new bar.) Unfortunately for us, it was 5pm and Rippington's didn't open until 5.30pm.

Since we'd eaten an early lunch, waiting another half hour really wasn't an option, so we decided to walk up to Southsiders to take their new menu (Chef Darren?) for a test drive. Since I razzed Lisa in the comments of this post about her glowing review of Southsiders, it meant I, of course, would be practically required to order a cheeseburger.

For appetizer, we got the ultimate nachos, which we all found pretty tasty. My wife got a chicken Caesar salad (or something along those lines) that she really liked. I got a cheeseburger with American cheese, lettuce, mayo, ketchup, and mustard with the side of fries.

The fries were good; they reminded me of something you'd get at a state fair, The Potato Patch of Kennywood fame, or even those you might find at Great Steak & Potato Company in Carolina Place Mall. Or like my wife said, the kind of fries that work well with vinegar.

As for the burger, it was delicious. I ordered it medium and it was very juicy, almost a little too much so as it was soaking parts of my bun. But I ate the whole thing and nearly all of my fries. I spent a significant amount of time that evening lying on the living room floor explaining to all who weren't ignoring me how full I was.

The cheeseburger was definitely right up there with the Main Street Grill's cheeseburger if not ahead. Fortunately for me, I will have to try more before rendering my final verdict, but perhaps I should try Rippington's or the Stuffed Olive's burger before releasing my town rankings. Am I missing any other Waxhaw restaurants who serve burgers?

If I had a quibble with Southsiders, it would be the kids menu (which is not physically on the menu) as it only contained a PB&J, hot dog, and grilled cheese if I recall. I refuse to pay for a PB&J out of sheer principle, so that basically limited the kids to a hot dog or grilled cheese, the latter of which treads dangerously close to my 'never order' standards. Adding kids' classics such as chicken tenders or butter noodles would go a long way in winning over the younger folk -- if my kids are any barometer. For those curious, my kids ended up splitting the chicken & cheese quesadilla (appetizer) and a side of fries.