THE SKILLET

The Skillet, 435 E. Main St #1, Spartanburg, SC 29302

I've eaten at The Skillet several times and it's on my regular list of places to eat whrn I'm in Spartanburg. I think the first time we went, I ordered a waffle and sausage. My wife ordered Blueberry Pancakes with bacon, which is what I always order now. 

How good are these? Well, I don't even like blueberry pancakes, or at least I didn't think I did until I ordered them at The Skillet. As an added touch, the pancakes are served with warm syrup. I'm also not that big on ordering bacon in restaurants because most places cannot cook it  crispy, but The Skillet knows how to cook bacon that's crispy and tasty.

The above photo shows you the concentration of blueberries in the pancakes. No skimping at The Skillet. 

The Skillet is fairly small with just a few tables and counter seating. They're only open 6am to 2pm Monday through Saturday and 8am to 2pm on Sunday. Everything I've seen them serve looked good and if I lived in Spartanburg, I would try other things, as it is, I'll just keep ordering blueberry pancakes and bacon and be mighty happy.

SOUTHSIDE SMOKEHOUSE

Southside Smokehouse, 726 S. Howard Ave

Landrum, SC

Southside Smokehouse was ranked the #2 restaurant in Landrum SC and since their menu looked enticing with not only BBQ (which we're almost always up for), but also with a wide array of other sandwiches and seafood, we thought we would give them a try. 

We ordered a couple of sandwiches to split. The sandwich on the far side is The Figgy Pig: Smoked ham, fontina cheese, fig jam, topped with balsamic tossed greens on french bread. The combination of all these different flavors actually all combined to make a pretty tasty sandwich. The side was red beans and rice, oddly made with tomato sauce. They were worth trying once, but I wouldn't order them again.

The other sandwich is their BBQ, described as smoked tender pork with Lexington NC style dip on the side, served with slaw. The meat did have a smoke taste, but it was dry and tough. I tried to soak the meat with enough sauce to make it edible, but soon realized this was a lost cause. This ranks as the worst BBQ I have ever eaten (or in this case, tried to eat). The side was hush puppies, which were large and cooked hard. I'm glad I didn't order oysters, because I later saw a photo on the wall and they would have been breaded the same way.

They have a wide selection of homemade desserts (not made in house, but made at someone's house and served by the restaurant). I had read about the blueberry pie and since it was offered that day, we split a slice with ice cream on the side. It's been a long time since I had pie crust made with lard, but I'm pretty sure that's what this crust was made with, it was absolutely delicious.

Final thoughts: I should have known if a place doesn't just serve primarily BBQ, then there's not going to be much pride in their Q. At least there certainly wasn't at Southside Smokehouse. Would I go back to eat lunch, maybe; would I go back just for dessert....DEFINITELY.

CRIBBS KITCHEN

Cribbs Kitchen, 226 B West Main St, Spartanburg, SC

We have passed by Cribbs Kitchen many times on our many treks to Spartanburg and have always talked about eating there, especially since it always appears on any "Top Ten" list of Spartanburg Restaurants. Last week, we finally made it to Cribbs to give them a try. 

Seeing many raves about their burgers, I tried the Cribb Style burger: Gooey American cheese, house made mustard, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, $9.00.  It was a good burger, but it was just that, a good burger, nothing out of the ordinary. However, my side: Smoky Potato Salad was excellent. My wife got Cribbs Chicken Salad: Pulled chicken, goat cheese, pecans, onion, celery, bacon, craisins, lettuce, tomato, sourdough, $9.00. The taste was fine, although it appeared the goat cheese they used must have been really wet, since the sandwich fell apart from too much liquid. Just like the burger, this sandwich was good, but nothing other than just good. Her side of Parmesan fries had very little Parmesan, so didn't really live up to its description.

  

For dessert, we split a Mason Jar Creme Brulee, $7.00. I guess they thought the mason jar was a cute idea, when it actually made it a little hard to eat; but this was still the highlight of the meal, even though the strawberries were on a little on the hard side. 

My final thoughts on Cribbs Kitchen: Service was attentive, especially from the floor manager. I did have to ask for drink refills, and our waitress seemed like she might have been new, since she was unaware they had the Creme Brulee, even though it was on their chalkboard menu. Cribb's Kitchen is good, but nothing special. Will you be disappointed if you go to Cribb's? I don't think so, but I also don't think you'll be blown away. For the same type of food in Spartanburg, I would suggest the far superior Farmer's Table, although the latter is only open until 3 p.m.

GREER BBQ

Greer BBQ, 602 N Main St, Greer, SC 29601

17 years same location - Just off Hwy 29/Wade Hampton Blvd. Open from 7am - 3 pm serving breakfast and lunch. Although they list Saturday hours, I've found sometimes they are open on Saturday and sometimes not, so you might call ahead if you're going on Saturday. As with any good BBQ place, they're closed on Sunday.

Inside Greer BBQ - I've only been inside a couple of times, since we usually get sandwiches to bring home.

Non Working Drive-Thru at Greer BBQ - If you decide to use the drive-thru, then just drive around to the pick-up window and place your order. 

Above is the Chopped BBQ Sandwich from Greer BBQ, they put enouch meat on the sandwich that half of it will fall off while your'e eating it. This is a regular size, they also have a larger size. We get ours with slaw and mild sauce (which is vinegar based). This is some good BBQ (one of my top 5) and the people who run the place are super nice.