Golf course food is not among the world's exalted cuisines. An ordinary 19th hole cafe might not offer more than refreshing drinks and a menu of snack bar fare.
Sharing a building with the Aiken Golf Club – a space that once was the laundry of the grand old Highland Park Hotel – The Legends Grille goes beyond cold beer and quick eats.
Not that it is swanky. Far from it. Today's Legends Grille is very different from the Legends Grille I reviewed a year ago. Back then, the focus was dinner, which aimed to be the sort of high-end meal you might expect in a suburban supper club. When new owners Gahee and A.J. Glover came on board a few months ago, their goal was to create a more casual café. They based their menu on suggestions by golfers. (A.J. is the Aiken Golf Club's assistant superintendent.)
Club members said they wanted pub food more than deluxe food, and they asked that the restaurant be open midday to accommodate people coming in after a morning's 18 holes. As a result, even those who don't play golf now have yet another inviting lunch opportunity at the edge of downtown.
Décor evokes history: vintage golf clubs, pictures of the sport's bygone heroes, ephemera from the landmark hotel's glory days.
It's a nice place to come for a hamburger, which is cooked through but juicy enough to seep beef flavor into its soft brioche bun. A "Clubhouse" burger comes smothered by melted Swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions and is complemented by garlic aioli.
A balance of creamy texture and sharp flavor makes this kitchen's aioli a dandy condiment for French fries, especially when you get the fries supercharged by a mist of truffle oil and curls of parmesan cheese. Add-ons aside, the potatoes themselves are things of beauty – a diverse heap of soft blonde logs threaded with dark little twigs that are nothing but crunch.
Also from the fry kettle come shrimp, chicken tenders and thick catfish fillets destined for a po boy sandwich. Presented in an oven-hot roll, the catfish is encased in salty crust and enhanced by Cajun remoulade.
Of course there are wings. Sauce choices include Buffalo and devil Buffalo, Carolina BBQ and Korean sweet chili.
On the subject of Korean chili, I don't imagine that too many of the golfers asking for casual pub food suggested bulgogi tacos; yet here they are, every day. Gahee grew up in Korea, where bulgogi is the name for beef marinated in spicy/sweet chili sauce and cooked to a point of fallapart tenderness. She heaps shreds of it into soft tortillas with Asian pear slaw, creating cross-cultural tacos to remember.
One thing that does not change at this restaurant is the scenery. Have a balcony table overlooking the rolling green grass of the golf course on a blue-sky day or at sunset when the fireflies appear, knock back a cold one or sip a martini and Robert Browning's poem proves true: "God's in His heaven, All's right with the world!"
The Legends Grille: 555 Highland Park Drive S.W., Aiken, SC. 803-226-0137. https://thelegendsgrille.net
