It's a down-to-earth recipe, but the results, Bessinger's fans insist, are heavenly. Last summer, TV chef Emeril Lagasse visited the small red-painted wood restaurant just outside Charleston and tasted greatness, dished up with fresh-cut lettuce and onions, vine-ripened tomatoes and homemade pickles. He told Playboy that Melvin's served the best cheeseburger in America: "There's a bit of hickory in the grill. There's a great bun and real cheddar cheese, none of that processed junk. The guy is a fanatic." Bessinger heard about the story, but his wife, Betty, 67, wouldn't let him bring home "that magazine." So, he says, "I bought it anyway and cut out the article."
Since then, business at Melvin's, which opened in the mid-'80s, has sizzled. And despite competition from fast-food outlets, Bessinger expects his success to continue. "They just want to make money," he says. "We put all our emphasis on quality."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
