New Conway, SC food truck makes a smashing entrance. Where to find its specialty burgers
“The key to a good smash burger is you gotta smash it flat,” Mike Hensley explained as he pressed down on a ball of hamburger with a burger press.
The meat flattens out like disk, with holes visible throughout the patty. When Hensley flips it, the entire burger is crispy brown and needs only a few more seconds before its fully cooked. He then tops it with pimento cheese, takes it off the grill to place on a toasted bun and tops the masterpiece with a special sauce and homemade pickled jalapenos.
Hensley opened Project Smashburger, a food truck based out of Conway, in July. The bright green truck is currently working out of the parking lot of Rob’s Auto Body, 901 Church St., but sometimes moves around.
The Asheville, North Carolina, native said he’s wanted to run his own food truck for several years and opening Project Smashburger is fulfilling a dream of his. Hensley wasn’t sure what kind of food he wanted to serve but ultimately decided to do his take on the cheeseburger.
“We went with something that we could do fresh and cooked to order,” Hensley said. “Nobody is doing it kind of like ours, so we felt like we might be able to get a niche on a pretty popular item.”
The food truck has four cheeseburger options, all costing $11 for a double burger. One of the variations is The Carolina, which has two patties, chili, cheese, mustard and onions. Hensley is also serving french fries for $4, which he can load up with chili, cheese and his special sauce for an extra $2.
Since it opened, the food truck has been a smash hit — pun intended — partially because of the support from his neighborhood. On Thursday, multiple neighbors stopped by to grab a burger and fries from him. He also said the admins of Conway Eats, a popular Facebook group, live nearby, so they’ve helped promote the truck online.
Currently the main employee is Hensley, and his wife when she’s not working. Dealing with the lunch rushes has been crazy, he said.
“I didn’t even know I could cook that much food within a two-hour period on the truck,” he said.
As he gets the hang of the business, Hensley will try to post online where he is. Check out his Facebook page for updates or keep an eye out for the green truck when driving around Conway at lunchtime.
