Saturday we had planned to go to Spartanburg's Spring Fling, but when we got up the weather looked like it could rain at any moment. After hitting a few yard/church sales we decided to take a chance on Spartanburg.
One of our main reasons for going to Spartanburg was that I saw David Ezell was playing at 11:30. We used to see David a lot at the old Handlebar when it was located on Mills Avenue. That's back when The Handlebar was a true "listening room" instead of what it has become today (definitely NOT a "listening room"). We saw David open for a lot of acts back then and even do a show once on his own. We were always big fans and over the years just never have caught back up with him. He's still the great singer songwriter that we remember, plus he does lots of cool covers (Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Hank Williams Sr, Harland Howard, Dusty Springfield are some of the artists he covered when we saw him Saturday). Check David out if you ever get a chance, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
We also got to walk through the Redwood Log House as seen above. A fully furnished three room house handcarved inside a 1900 year old giant California redwood tree. This was pretty unique and was a surprise attraction on our visit. Click on the link above to read more about it.Since the food at the Spring Fling was your typical street fair offerings, we were torn on where to eat because several of our favorite restaurants are in Spartanburg. We settled on Wade's Restaurant, the best meat and three I've ever eaten at (for those not from the South, meat and three = blue plate special) and I've eaten at a LOT of meat and three's. I've never had a bad meal at Wade's, plus the service except on a few rare occasions has been top notch.
After bringing your drinks, they bring you yeast rolls and/or cornbread. The cornbread is pretty standard, so we usually go for all hot yeast rolls. My goodness are they good.
I had the chicken fried steak with milk gravy, baked macaroni and cheese, and sweet potato casserole.
My wife had a vegetable plate: crowder peas, baked macaroni and cheese, sweet potato casserole and creamed corn.
Everything was just as good as it looks in the photos. I've never had anything that I didn't like at Wade's, so I would recommend just ordering whatever appeals to you off that day's menu. I will add that even though I rarely have room for dessert, I have tried several of Wade's and never found the desserts to be as good as the regular meal. That's why I usually go for the sweet potato casserole, since it's sweet enough to be a dessert. On top of the great food, it's really a bargain price in today's restaurant world. We paid just a shade over $14.00 including beverages, pre tip for the above meals. These type of meals usually cost us $17.00 to $19.00 anywhere else. You can also count on Wade's having a pretty decent crowd no matter what time of day you go and if you go during peak dining hours be prepared to wait in a short fast moving line.
