Lefler’s Place Cafe and Grocery, Mount Gilead, North Carolina

After trying some thing new for breakfast at Carolina’s, I headed south toward Mount Gilead and Lefler’s Place.

Lefler’s is a small country grocery and cafe that over the course of 102 years of continuous operation has become a cafe and grocery, largely on the strength of their burger. The recipe for the hand-patted burgers is the same as on the day they first opened. Today, food service takes up all but a fraction of the building. That’s a smoker you can see in the shadows, and having a working smoker out front has been a boon to business. The people are as friendly as you’d expect in a country place in the South.

I was at Lefler’s at the opening time, and was the first customer — they unlocked the door and let me in. I ordered a pork sandwich with slaw and a cheeseburger with chili and slaw. I took the server’s advice on this one. If they’d been doing it the same way for over 100 years, who was I to question?

Here’s the barbecue,

and here’s a peek inside.

That’s a very good good medium chop, and I could taste the smoke. Unfortunately, it tasted a little stale, as if it had been cooked the day before. The special that day was ribs, and I probably should have ordered them, but I prefer not to eat ribs when I have a lot of driving to do, unless it’s someone else’s car. Have I mentioned that we have new car seat covers?

I turned my attention to the burger

and took a shot under the bun.

You’ll note that the slaw and especially the chili were applied pretty lightly, so that they dressed the salad rather than providing a strong flavor element. You’ll also see some grilled onion, which burgers welcome. The burger itself — the hand-patted meat — clearly is the star, and justifiably so. This is an excellent burger, and I say that as one who usually only wants mustard, raw onions, and pickles on a burger. It was juicy and had a very meaty flavor, and the meat’s texture was just about perfect. The burger cost $4, the pork a nickel less. I’ve paid five times that for burgers that were nearly as good. Not nearly.

If fate takes me near Mount Gilead again, I may call ahead to determine the cooking schedule for barbecue. I’d like to give them another chance. But I most certainly will get a burger, or probably two — one all the way, and one with mustard, pickle, and onion. Meanwhile, Lefler’s is well worth a visit for the burger alone. Try it.

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