Hamburger Joe’s North Myrtle Beach SC

As I mentioned in my last post about Taco Mundo, we rarely eat out while camping with our son and his bride. But after a spectacular day at the beach soaking up rays, we were all too wiped out to cook. Eve did some research and read a lot of good things about a burger joint nearby called Hamburger Joe’s in North Myrtle Beach SC.

Our RV park is just a half mile from the beach and a parking lot just across the street from the beach makes it easy to transport all of our beach gear. So after slathering on plenty of SPF lotion the four of us went as often as the weather allowed. The cooling ocean breeze makes even the hottest day a delight. And the cool salt water is so refreshing.

I guess you could say that we are beach bums. Steve and I grew up spending our summers at the Jersey shore, as did Brian until we moved to Florida. Eve was born and raised in West Palm Beach. So if the sun is shining and the temperature is warm enough you will find us at the beach whenever possible.

What’s funny, is that when we’re at Barefoot RV Resort, we like to go to the beautiful pool after the beach. At the pool we just go in the water and stay there until dinner time. We have met lovely people just hanging out there. Many of whom we have stayed in touch with. It’s one of the many perks of RV travel. Often we learn of great attractions and wonderful places to eat, like Taco Mundo. But no one had mentioned Hamburger Joe’s.

The sun was beginning to set as we left for the restaurant. The sky was pink, purple, coral and blue which gave the pool and air strip behind it a very romantic glow. We even thought we might return after dinner for a late night swim. Yeah. Right. Like that would ever actually happen.

We felt like we were exploring uncharted territory as we drove up to this rustic burger shack. But when we found out that we’d have about an hour wait, we knew we were on to something. The place was mobbed so we just found a place outdoors to hang out and chat while we waited for our name to be called.

Several huge parties of between 10 and 15 people were seated before us. But it was less than an hour when we heard our name called for our party of four. Inside this hamburger heaven looked as rustic as the outside. It was bustling with hungry and thirsty diners and there was great branding everywhere you looked.

The Original Hamburger Joe’s opened shortly after Hurricane Hugo on October 11, 1989 by Joe Brooks. Joe started out in 1972 with a chain of successful seafood restaurants called 220 Seafood in North Carolina and Virginia.

He came to the beach in 1978 and opened White Point Seafood Restaurant which is currently the site of The House of Blues at Barefoot Landing. In the mid 80’s, Joe wanted to offer casual fine dining to beach and golf enthusiasts, so he opened Joe’s Bar and Grill. Having the name, ‘Bar and Grill’, many people thought it was a burger joint. This led Joe to actually open a burger joint! So he opened an old-fashioned burger joint and called it Hamburger Joe’s. Joe now has just the one restaurant, Hamburger Joe’s in North Myrtle Beach.

We all ordered the exact same thing – Bacon Cheeseburgers, French Fries and Onion Rings. The burgers are delicious with lots of melty cheese. What is unique is the way they cook the bacon. Slices of bacon are cooked together in a circle to create a perfect disk of bacon that covers every bit of the the burger! What could be better than getting a salty, smoky taste of crispy bacon with each and every bite of burger? The fries and onion rings were also perfectly cooked and crispy without being greasy. As an added bonus the prices are ridiculously in expensive. Which in this day and age of soaring prices is very unique. It was probably the least expensive dinner for four we have had in many years.

We returned to camp happy, full of food and beer and ready to just laze in front of the TV. We had completely forgotten about that dip in the pool.