Eating Out

Mojo’s Famous Burgers & More

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When McB and I decided to try a new restaurant, we headed over to Mojo’s Famous Burgers & More, 2541 N. Pleasantburg Drive in Greenville. There’s a good buzz about Mojo’s and after reviewing the menu, I was eager to try one of their very unique burgers.

Mojo's Famous Burgers & MoreThe food is made-to-order. There are free peanuts for hungry dine-in patrons to enjoy while they wait. McB selected the “chubby cheeseburger” with bacon and an order of fries. I had the “Texan” with onion rings. As you can see from the photo, the portions are quite large. Neither of us came close to finishing our meal but then, I didn’t really want to.

The Texan Let’s start with my burger which came with jalapenos, cream cheese, avocado, and salsa. I know it seems like a bit of an odd combination but it’s also the kind of thing that could work if the ingredients were combined in the right measure. It’s not the case with the Texan. There is a thick slab of cold cream cheese stuck on the top of this burger. It’s roughly half the thickness of the burger patty itself. I think the cream cheese is meant to add a tangy flavor and balance the heat of the jalapenos. What it succeeded in doing was adding a cold gelatinous mass to the burger. The bun was so puny that it couldn’t begin to stand up to the heavy-duty ingredients. It was a messy, greasy sandwich that cooled down far too quickly. The onion rings were large and fresh but they were fried a bit too hard. The onion on the inside of the breading was hardly recognizable as an onion. It became a tough, transparent circle of nothingness.

Chubby cheeseburger with baconMcB’s burger was really thick. Even before he took a bite, he regretted getting the double patties. His bun also disintegrated. He did not think the bacon’s sweet, hickory flavor tasted right when combined with the oddly spiced burger meat. He also found the fries to be under-salted and just a bit lackluster.

Despite how others feel about the place, we found it to be bad Mojo indeed.

Mason Jar & Acme General Store

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Mason Jar Greer SCLast Sunday, Mr. McB and I decided to head to downtown Greer for lunch. After looking at a few menus, we decided on The Mason Jar, 202 Trade Street.

The restaurant is located in an old store; we selected a table in what would have been a display window. There were a number of families eating at The Mason Jar. The restaurant features a number of special nights and performances including family night, live music, trivia nights, and karaoke. There’s really something that appeals to everybody.

I think that universal appeal also applies to the menu. While they wouldn’t be classified as “gourmet,” there is a great selection of tasty burgers, sandwiches, salads and entrees.

grilled cheeseMcB selected the grilled cheese with fries. This grilled cheese is made in a cast iron skillet and McB said that you could tell from the flavor and golden crispiness of the bread. He was very happy with his selection. He also raved about the fries. As you can see, they are fresh-cut and still have peel on the ends. This is not normally the kind of fry that he likes but he was won over because they were hot, crisp, and perfectly salted.

I selected the “bird dog” which is chopped up chicken planks served with cheese and honey mustard on hot dog buns. The chicken was crispy and perfectly seasoned. The texture of the chicken was a nice contrast with the soft hot dog bun. I had “half-and-half” and really enjoyed the beer battered onion rings. Yummy!

We really enjoyed our lunch at the atmosphere of The Mason Jar and will definitely return.

We concluded our trip with a visit to the Acme General Store. I was curious about what was in the store and after receiving a tip about their ice cream counter, we had to stop in.

The store has a bit of this-and-that. In addition to apparel, toys, soaps, lotions, toys, and outdoor gear, there is a small selection of food products including condiments, specialty beers, crackers, cookies, and nostalgia candies.

Acme’s second floor houses a climbing wall for kids and a nerf ball battle zone for all ages. There are several cannons set up were you can shoot balls at each other. It’s a lot of fun and it’s free. McB wasn’t in the mood to wear a helmet so we shot on the same side but on our next visit, I think we’ll square off.

The battle zone is probably the best thing at Acme but the ice cream counter isn’t far behind. There are a number of fun flavors to chose from. I had Knob Creek bourbon butter pecan and very pleased.

McB selected his standard vanilla shake and wasn’t disappointed by this thick, creamy concoction. Look! It’s the same straw you’d be given for bubble tea and he still wound up eating most of the shake with a spoon.

It was fun, relaxing afternoon in Greer and one that I’m sure we’ll repeat soon.

Ford’s Oyster House and Cajun Kitchen

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During our friend’s visit, McB and I wanted to show her the many charms of downtown Greenville including Falls Park, Mast General Store, Liberty Bridge and the Swamp Rabbit Trail to visit Cleveland Park and the Greenville Zoo. We love Greenville and just get so excited whenever we have a chance to show it off. After our lunch at Ford’s Oyster House and Cajun Kitchen, we may make it required eating for every visitor.

We arrived just after noon on a Sunday and were seated on the patio per our request. The patio is fairly large but it’s popular and filled quickly.

The service was great. Our waiter was careful to check back often while assuring us that we should take our time when deciding our on orders.

We started with a basket of crawfish tails. Their slightly sweet meat was very tender and the fry-batter was just a bit zesty. The aioli that accompanied the tails had a nice kick and added to the flavor but the tails were also delicious with just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

crawfish carbonaraFor his entree, McB selected the crawfish carbonara. The folks at Ford’s were happy to hold the mushrooms per his request. He liked the dish and found the cream sauce to be light enough on what was an increasingly hot and sunny day. The only downside to the dish was the inclusion of diced green peppers. This was not mentioned on the menu and had he known, McB would have asked to have them held off the dish as well.

Our friend selected the blackened salmon BLT for her lunch. She enjoyed the large sandwich and the side of grilled zuchinni and squash. She did find the fish to be a bit spicy so consider yourself warned.

 

 

 

I could write an entire post about the heavenly flavor of my lunch. Even though it’s been two weeks since the meal, my tastebuds can still tap into their happy memories of the delicious fried oyster po’boy and red beans that graced my basket. We’ll start with the sandwich. This monster is served on Gambino’s french bread. Yes, the New Orleans Gambino’s. It is dressed with lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, and more of the delicious aioli. The oysters themselves are plump and juicy. When smashed together, the textures and flavors of the sandwich’s ingredients produce the most amazing delight. It’s a bit of a bear to handle but when you’re lost in food bliss, you don’t care who’s looking at you.

Of course, I can’t stop writing about my food until I cover the red beans and rice. My only complaint is that the portion wasn’t  big enough. It’s not a fair complaint since I could have had a quart and still not been satisfied. These are some of the best red beans  I’ve ever had. Smoky, spicy and peppered with bits of sausage – this is how red beans and rice should be done.

As I wipe the drool from my keyboard, I do have to amend my statement about bringing every visitor to Ford’s. I’m not sure it’s the spot I’d pick for vegetarians. I feel there are other places that offer better veggie entrees and I’m not sure that the average vegetarian is wild about Cajun food in the first place. If you’re a vegetarian who loves Ford’s be sure to leave a comment with ordering suggestions that we could pass along to vegetarian visitors.

Ford’s is now my favorite restaurant in the Upstate. The food and service are both amazing. The prices were very reasonable for the quality of the food and portion size. McB and I look forward to heading back for the Sunday brunch buffet which features bananas foster french toast, an omelet station, chicken and waffles, oysters on the half shell and many other choices. My belly can hardly wait.

Tupelo Honey Cafe

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Last Saturday was our first visit to Tupelo Honey Cafe in Asheville. Mr. McB and I were entertaining a visitor from Ohio and thought that we would try Tupelo Honey instead of going to one of the restaurants on-property at Biltmore. I borrowed the Tupelo Honey Cafe cookbook from the library so I knew that THC has lots of delicious, and somewhat complex, dishes. It has a great reputation so I had high expectations.

We visited the THC South (1829 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC) location. I’m sure some would say that it doesn’t have the same personality as the original but it does allow for reservations so that goes a long way in my book. The restaurant is in a strip mall but it’s a cute little place with fun decorative touches including old screen doors to separate tables, ceiling fans that are run by a pulley system, and pretty bathroom fixtures. They also have a mid-sized patio that was very popular.

We took a table inside and were waited on quickly. Our server was very pleasant and professional. After our orders were placed, we were given a plate of biscuits and blueberry preserves. The preserves were absolutely delicious but the biscuits were a letdown. I didn’t even push Mr. McB to try them.

The mediocrity of the biscuits was quickly forgotten when our entrees arrived. Our friend ordered the Grateful Dead blackbean burger with sweet potato fries. She was pleased with her selection.

McB had a bacon and cheddar omelet with a side of goat cheese grits. The omelet was big and loaded with full slices of thick-cut bacon. Even though he isn’t a big fan of the texture of grits, the flavor was good enough to win him over.

 

I ordered the veggie bowl. It’s a layered (and mostly delightful) mess of vegetable goodness. The dish’s bottom layer is the goat cheese grits and from there you’ll find salsa verde black-eyed peas, greens (a kale/swiss chard mix), a heaping helping of fried okra, and sunshot salsa to finish it off. By and large, I did like the dish. The black-eyed peas tasted just like “regular” black-eyed peas and that means I didn’t like them. The greens were some of the best I’ve ever had. The flavor was fresh, light and not at all bitter. The okra was tasty. The sunshot salsa would have been good if not for the fact that an unbearably strong onion was used in making it. Our friend’s blackbean burger had a very strong onion on it as well. It’s disappointing that no one in the kitchen thought to taste the onion. It had a strong smell that should have clued them in to the flavor.

All in all, we enjoyed the experience at Tupelo Honey Cafe and will go back to try something different.

Papas & Beer

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Last Saturday, Mr. McB and I hit Papas & Beer (317 Haywood Road, Greenville) for a late lunch. We have heard good things about Papas and their large menu meant we could both sate our cravings.

We arrived at the restaurant and were promptly seated.There was a crowd but the place was not packed. I assume there was an additional seating area since the noise level, which was high enough for McB to comment on, didn’t match the number of folks in our dining room.

Our server took our drink order and quickly returned with our chips, bean dip, and sodas. He then walked away before taking our order. His departure gave me time to consider the full menu so I didn’t mind.

McB and I continued to munch on our chips and take in the atmosphere for the next 20 minutes and still not a single server stopped by our table. I tried making eye contact. I tried pushing the menus to the extreme outer edge of the table but none of the servers even slowed down enough to notice us. We did get a quick notice as we left a few bucks on the table and walked out the door.

Normally, this kind of thing would make me mad but this time I just felt disappointed. I was hoping we’d find a delicious local Mexican restaurant. I’m sure we will find a great place one day but it won’t be Papas & Beer.

Huntin’ Camp BBQ and Grill

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After our big adventure at the Poinsett Bridge and Carl Sanburg House, we stopped at The Huntin’ Camp BBQ and Grill in Traveler’s Rest for dinner. Located at the corner of Highway 25 North and Goodwin Road, Huntin’ Camp is a wooden building with lots of outdoor seating and a large parking lot.

Inside, Huntin’ Camp has a fun rustic decor with lots of “stuffed” animals. People, it’s called Huntin’ Camp and you are there to eat meat. What did you expect? After visiting the men’s room on the way out, McB said there was a taxidermied wild cat perched over the urinal. That goes beyond the pale but the rest of the decor is within reason and goes with the theme.

This delicious basket of hush puppies arrived at our table when we were seated. It’s just a crying shame that McB doesn’t eat hush puppies and they were mine, all mine.

I love the sides that come with BBQ so after surveying both the menu and the buffet, I chose the buffet. Most of the items on the menu came with predetermined sides (fries and slaw) and I wanted something different. McB decided on a steak with fries and mac-n-cheese.

WHAT I WANT TO MARRY FROM THE BUFFET (You know, if marrying bacon is legal, why can’t I marry other food items?): the peach cobbler and Alabama white BBQ sauce

 

WHAT I LIKED FROM THE BUFFET: bbq chicken, pulled pork, mac-n-cheese, green beans and potato salad

 

 

WHAT I WOULDN’T PICK AGAIN: baked beans (not a strong dish for SC bbq restaurants) and hash and rice

 

 

McB’s steak and fries were good. The mac-n-cheese was cold and since he’s not a complainer, he refused to send it back. He enjoyed the meal and given the size of the portions, he was full despite skipping the pasta.

 

Overall, we give Huntin’ Club a good review. The buffet allowed for a nice variety and plenty of sides and may be the best of all options.

 

Wild Ace

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Last Saturday I was craving wings in the worst way. McB wanted pizza or maybe boneless wings. Given the foul weather, we decided to skip a trip downtown Greenville and instead set our sights on downtown Greer and The Wild Ace (109 Trade Street, Greer) as our destination for wings and pizza.

We arrived at The Wild Ace just after 2:15 p.m. The place was fairly crowded but not overwhelmingly so as there were still a number of empty tables.

The hostess stopped by our table to get our drink orders. After a short wait, our waiter brought the drinks and said that he would return to take our order as he had food waiting to come out to another table. We were both ready to order when he walked away but I was under the impression that he would be right back so I chatted with my husband and waited.

It turned out that I WAITED AND WAITED. After delivering food to the table in question and taking orders from patrons who had just walked in, our waiter stopped to help another staffer bus a table. That table wasn’t needed immediately or during the next hour that we were in the restaurant. At this point I started to fume. We were left sitting for at least 10 minutes at this point. If the decision were mine, we would have paid for our sodas and hit the road. McB reminded me that we weren’t in a hurry. In a compromise, we agreed until 2:45 and then cash out if the waiter had not returned. He made a few other stops and finally came back with about five minutes to spare.

The waiter did apologize for our wait and took our order. At this time I ordered wings and McB got a caesar salad and a 14″ pizza for us to split. He said “for us to split” when placing the order. McB’s salad came out (the croutons were quite good but the dressing came on the side and was so thick that he had to dip his lettuce into it) but my wings didn’t appear. The wings finally came about 25 minutes later when the pizza arrived with a single plate for McB. I had to ask for another plate.

The wings were reasonably good. It was a hot sauce, and I like heat, but it was also had a little of the hot-to-be-hot flavor that I’m not as fond of. I had a slice of the pizza and thought it was also tasty thought not any better than Mythos. McB agreed that the pie was good but not worth the hassle. At one point he was torn about whether to hope for good or bad pizza since he knew that no matter the flavor, there was little chance we’d be back again.

I do have to say that while he failed us in many ways, our waiter did do a good job of refilling our drinks. There is something to be said for that.

I don’t think we’ll be going back to The Wild Ace Pizza & Pub. I don’t mind a relaxed atmosphere but it shouldn’t involve this kind of service.

Lil Rebel 290

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I passed the Lil Rebel 290 last December as I was making my way down route 290 to catch up to 25 and then on to Tennessee. It’s a nice looking building from the outside and on the day I passed, the parking lot was pretty full. I love small, local restaurants and immediately made a note to Google it at some point.

McB and I first tried the Lil Rebel (2608 Locust Hill Rd, Taylors) the day after Christmas. On that visit we both ordered burgers and were quite impressed by the portion size, speed of service, and friendliness of the waitstaff.

Lil Rebel has a large menu with lots of choices but I’m not sure I’ll ever fully appreciate them all because I’ve fallen for their Calabash chicken dinner. It’s unlike me to order the same entree but during our last two visits, it’s been the Calabash chicken. The only change up has been whether I order all fries or a fry-onion ring split. Again, this is not like me but look at this plate.

Calabash chicken - little rebelThe succulent chicken breast planks are surrounded by a light breading that is perfectly seasoned to provide just the right kick for the palate. I used very little dipping sauce because frankly, it wasn’t needed. The fries are hot, fresh, and plentiful.

regular chicken fingersOn this particular visit, McB ordered the regular chicken fingers. He liked the fingers but was eying my Calabash. He loves the fries at the Lil Rebel. He likes very few fries so I’m glad that these can help fill the void left by our departure from a Raising Cane’s city. On this visit, McB also tried the house BBQ sauce. It is a slightly watery sauce made with Greek sauces. I found it to be curiously delicious. McB liked it but regretted not choosing the more traditional hickory sauce.

The portions are large and the prices are low. The quality of the food can’t be beat. It’s not a gourmet meal but it’s good homey cooking. There are healthy items on the menu; I’m just too stuck on the Calabash to get to any of those. I’ve also been unable to order one of their many dessert options. It’s not that I don’t want to but we generally leave stuffed to the gills with a doggy bag in hand.

The staff is so nice and friendly. They are always willing to make recommendations. I also like that you typically don’t have to ask for a “to-go” cup and our instead are asked whether you want one or not. I think local restauranteurs just have a better understanding of the role good service plays in customer loyalty. It definitely shows at the Lil Rebel.

Oh and for the parting shot, our “clean” plates from this visit. You can see the corner of the box housing our leftover chicken planks. It’s important to note that this meal occurred after 1:30 p.m. on a Saturday when I didn’t prepare breakfast. We were famished and STILL couldn’t finish all the food.

Lil Rebel 290 is a great little local gem. I can’t wait to take visitors there.

Yes, he picked Indian food. No, he doesn’t have a fever.

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Mr. McB is known for being a picky eater who doesn’t generally like to try things outside his comfort zone. This reputation is not entirely fair. He is pretty conservative in his choices but he has also become increasingly adventurous in recent years. That’s why I am so pleased that an office outing took him to Saffron Indian Cuisine; I know he would have never selected it on his own, but he gave into peer pressure and came to learn that he really did enjoy it.

After his visit, McB decided that he had to treat me to the lunch buffet. I enjoy Indian food and am always eager to try new things so I was pretty excited for our visit a few weeks ago. The restaurant, located at 1178 Woodruff Road in Greenville, is part of a small strip mall. While the exterior of the building might seem a bit bland, the inside is bright and welcoming. Inside you’ll find a relatively spacious dining area with Indian art and ample seating.

The buffet ($7.95 during the week, $9.95 on weekends) isn’t particularly massive but it still manages to feature a nice variety of choices in both vegetarian and chicken entrees as well as some salads and other specialties. Patrons pick up their own plates from the warming station and no one seemed to be bashful about making multiple trips to visit the buffet.

my plate from saffronMcB limited himself to chicken korma, naan, and basmati rice. I tried a small helping of almost every dish that was on the buffet including a lentil curry, lemon tofu, panir makhni and tandori chicken. I can’t complain about any of the dishes that I tried. They were flavorful and well cooked. I didn’t make a pig of myself but I did feel satisfied for the rest of the day.

My only disappointment was that the samosa tray was empty when we arrived and was not refilled until just before we left. I could have helped myself but I was far too full by then. Thankfully, they were very diligent about replenishing the naan. I suspect Saffron goes through at least 100 pounds of naan daily. It was very popular with everyone who visited the buffet.

Whether you love Indian food or want to try it for the first time, I highly recommend Saffron. The very affordable buffet provides a nice mix of spicy and mild dishes that can please any palate. The staff is nice and helpful and the restaurant is clean and bright.

If you don’t take my word for it, you might be interested to learn that Saffron is also Greenville’s highest rated restaurant on Trip Advisor. It just goes to show that no matter the cuisine, good food is bound to be noticed and respected.

 

 

Now that’s more like it

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It’s our every-other-Friday pizza treat. Mythos (6140 Wade Hampton Blvd) makes a New York pie that makes our bellies very happy. Our regular (half cheese – him, half pep – me) is a bit greasy but McB, and most native New Yorkers, would tell you that grease is part of a good pizza.

They are a bit stingy with the pepperonis but those that are there have a nice flavor. There is enough cheese that McB doesn’t find it necessary to order extra cheese. I haven’t tried it as cold pizza but it does reheat quite well.