| rev:text
| - My two friends and I were the very first guests on opening night, and I've been back again with two different friends. First night... We tried drinks, appetizers, main course, and dessert. The service was great! Our server was quick and knowledgeable. The atmosphere is distracting and beautiful! Well done and a far cry from the Rudder. My first letdown was the deviled crap dip. The dip itself was delicious, don't get me wrong, but the vehicle that it was driving on didn't match. It was like a BMW trying to drive with a pinto engine. Things just didn't match up. The dip was served with Lance crackers (or the like) still in their wrapper. I know I'm not at a fine dining restaurant, but I didn't think I was at Steak N Shake pouring my oyster crackers over chili. Okay, rant over about the crackers...it would just be better with something a little more tasty than that! Pita chip, maybe? I had the Ribs and Calabash shrimp plate served with avocado slaw. The ribs were pretty good, but they are not the best I've had. The rub was on point, but not quite as moist as I'd prefer. The shrimps were very good, as was the slaw. My dessert hand pie was good but not great. This may fall under a personal preference, but the filling was not a good ratio to the pastry, and I think the filling was a bit tart. I spent close to $100 on myself that night (drink, app, dinner, and dessert...) it really didn't live up to the price tag.
Second time I came, I tried to stay on the lower end of things. I ordered the chicken sandwich, and while I applaud the freshness (crisp pickles and crunchy breading that is Calabash) it's just, meh. The sesame buns are pretty fun but not something that I feel contributes to the flavor. I can live without the food here. Their salad was yummy but when's the last time you heard someone recommend a restaurant for a side salad?
Would I return? Absolutely. The location begs your company, and for the price of their sandwiches (not their plates) you can get a good lunch on the lake. But it's not a place I'm ready to rave about. I'm open to improvement because their still new-ish.
Update: tried it for a third time, and for me it wasn't a charm. I ordered hush puppies, the burger with salad, and creamed collards. For dessert I ordered their seasonal hand-pie which was bananas foster.
Here's me keeping it short and sweet. I was annoyed that my salad couldn't come out early. I requested it to come out before my burger (because last time I was here, that is how it was served, which I liked) and I was told it couldn't because it was served on the same plate. Head scratch. Once it arrived it was in a bowl, and why that couldn't have come out earlier? Beats me.
Second issue, my burger tasted like a Whopper from Burger King. Whatever the secret sauce is probably makes this true. The burger itself with the pickles were good, but the sauce...all I could think of was the Whopper
Third issue was my collards. While I applaud them for flavor, they didn't meet expectations. They were "creamed collards" on the menu, so I was expecting something much creamier than I received. It was your typical collards with bacon and breadcrumbs on top. I liked them (husband LOVED them), but like I said, they weren't creamy. So, either cream it up or change the name.
Finally, the hand-pie. It was truly yummy. While there was excess cinnamon sugar on the outside (for my preference) the filling was delicious. I loved it. It's not enough to change my mind about the 3 stars.
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