Smith Street Diner, Greensboro, NC

        Tucked away, just outside of downtown Greensboro lies one one the cities best kept secrets.  Smith Street diner is simply the best around.  I am a sucker for a good diner, and this one does not disappoint.  They are known for their biscuits, the size of your head.  Well, depending on how big your head is...  This establishment is an easy favorite of mine, as they serve mostly local groceries.  Even their coffee is from Ronnie's Beans around Raleigh.  The coffee is out of this world.  Enough about the coffee and the biscuits, it is the service that makes this place amazing.  My wife and I enjoy dining here for breakfast and lunch.  Depending on the week, you could see us there three to four times a week.  The servers are super attentive and just all around great people.  When my wife and I look to try a new restaurant, we look at three things.  Service, Food Quality, and Cleanliness.  This diner has it all.  I always order the same thing; Ham, cheese, and spinach omelette.  When you have found perfection, why ruin it with anything else?  Please give them a try, and tell them I sent you!  Oh yeah, they're open 8 days a week!

Oakcrest Family Restaurant, Greensboro, NC

Oakcrest Family Restaurant sits right off one of the busiest streets in Greensboro.  Located off Battleground Road, in a city of almost a half a million people, you can take one step inside and you are instantly family.  Olive Garden and other "cookie cutter" restaurants claim that title of being a family restaurant, but this one delivers.  Shanna and I come here at least twice a week.  I typically order a club sandwich and french fries.  Very basic and simple.  I can get a sandwich anywhere.  In fact, I could make one at home.  However, it is the service that has us coming back week after week.  The feeling of family and customer service in the purest and simplist form. This restaurant has been here for over twenty years, and they have never changed their price point. Obviously, to be in business that long in a booming economy, such as Greensboro, you have to be doing something right.

Honestly, I have waited a while to write this review because I was waiting on something bad to say about it.  Several months and counting, I'm still waiting.  So go give them a try, sit in Wendy's section, and tell her I said Hey!

Jordan's TOP TEN LIST

In this latest edition, I will be featuring what I call my "TOP TEN LIST".  This will include the top ten restaurants from around the country that I have enjoyed and dined in.  If there are any you would like to add to this list, please comment below.  I will be going in order of least favorite to ABSOLUTE BEST.

10) A.W. Shucks (Charleston, SC)

      Gator tail, chargrilled oysters, and gumbo as far as the eye could see.  Not too far off the beaten path you could find this place.  By far, one of the best places to eat in Charleston.  I speak of it in past tense because it has since burned down; due to a fire in the kitchen.  They have not rebuilt as far as I know.  This would be MUCH higher on my list if I could have a return trip.

9)  Razzoo's (Concord, NC)

     This place is about as close to eating on the Mississippi as you can get.  True authentic New Orleans Bayou style cuisine.  They have your etouffee, jumbalaya, and they can even throw a gator on the grill if you like.  My personal favorite appetizer is "Rat Toes".  It is a fried jalapeño popper stuffed with crab meat and cream cheese.  Delicious!  This used to be a place we would frequent when we lived closer to that neck of the woods.  

8) Nance's (Murrells Inlet, SC)

    Almost at the very end of the inlet, you will find this oyster shell paved parking lot.  With trash cans under the table, and a view of the inlet none can quite compare.  Trash cans under the table?  Oh yes, for the oysters you will be shucking.  I haven't been here since I was much younger, but several of my fondest memories come from shucking oysters with my dad.  We would get a double roast, which I'm not sure what that equates to bushel wise.  And we would share the load.  Once you shuck them, you just toss the shell in the hole in the table.  After downing the oysters, my dad always asked the waitress for a straw to drink the oyster juice at the bottom... He was always joking, but every time I hoped I'd see him do it.

7) Friendly's (Any location, USA)

    They advertise that in their hot fudge sundae's, everything is homemade except the cherry on top.  Homemade Ice Cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce... WHAT COULD BE BETTER?  Everywhere we have gone that has a Friendly's we stop.  It is absolutely amazing!  Their food is okay but their dessert is DIVINE!  They offer a whooping 12 scoop ice cream bowl... simply irresistible.

6) Captain Georges (Myrtle Beach, SC)

    If you want a fantastic seafood buffet in Myrtle Beach, this is your spot.  It is a bit pricey, but you get what you pay for.  And because it is a bit more than other buffets, it weeds out a lot of the "riff raff" and you can enjoy your dinner without fighting for it.  This is almost a tradition for us down there.  I enjoy the mountains of crab legs they offer, as well as the blackened Mahi Mahi they consistantly have on the buffet.  Located just across from Broadway At The Beach, it is a must check out seafood buffet.

5) Santa Fe (Greensboro, NC)

     Located just up the street from where we live, at the Shoppes On Elm, lies this Mexican Restaurant.  I have been to many mexican restaurants; some would even say I'm a connoisseur of sorts.  This restaurant is by far the best I have ever eaten, anywhere.  For the most part, mexican is mexican... a taco is a taco... an enchilada is an enchilada and so forth.  It's the freshness of the ingredients and the produce that really sets them apart.  And because they take such pride in freshness, their sauces and food they serve in nothing short of amazing!  If you are ever out in my neck of the woods, stop in... And tell them I sent you!

4) Cafe Du Monde (New Orleans, LA)

    Something about beignets piled high with powdered sugar and a cafe au lait, to wash it down, that is just so heavenly.  When we were in New Orleans, there was a man sitting right outside the cafe playing jazz music at this open air restaurant.  Cafe Du Monde is known around the world, and rightfully so.  It is located across from the french market, so after you have breakfast take a stroll over and check out the local merchandise.  I am truly jealous of anyone that is in "WHO DAT Nation".

3) Steak Street (High Point, NC)

    I have reviewed this place in a previous blog, and it sits among my top three.  The ambiance, the food, the service is just hard to beat.  Located in the quiet town of High Point, NC, you can be assured to travel from afar for this one of a kind experience.  With a New Orleans style menu, even their steaks have that "WHO DAT" flare to them.  A definite date night place and will be a sure favorite to clients and guest.  Check out my full review in this blog series for more on this restaurant.

2) 42nd Street Oyster Bar (Raleigh, NC)

    Get here early... after 5:00pm this place is packed. Come on in, and take a seat up at the bar, the oyster bar.  You buy them buy the bushels or pecks, and they will come bar side, and shuck them for you.  A bartender so to speak, just oysters and no adult beverages.  This is a place that I have grown to love and is just amazing.  Atmosphere is great, service is great, and most of all, memories made here are great!  Just keep shucking, because I'll keep eating!

AND MY NUMBER ONE BEST RESTAURANT IN THE UNITED STATES THAT I'VE BEEN TO IS....

ON A BOAT, A steamboat, that is.

1) Natchez Steamboat (New Orleans, LA)

    Imagine this if you will... Floating down the Mississippi River, listening to live jazz music, and dining on blackened catfish and the best jumbalaya New Orleans has to offer. Oh, did I forget to mention the sun in setting over the river?  The blackened catfish, okra, pintos, and cornbread made this a "soulful" southern experience.  This is a premier restaurant destination.  If you ever find yourself in New Orleans, make your way to the Natchez, jump on board, and enjoy the ride!  It will be an unforgettable experience!

-Jordan 

Captain George's: Myrtle Beach, SC

The year was probably early 2000's.  The setting Myrtle Beach, SC. The game: UNO.  My Grandmother and I had a friendly bet on that game.  The loser had to buy dinner that night wherever we decided to eat for supper.  It was myself, my grandmother, my dad, my mom, and my sister.  Holly, had not yet gotten married.  It was a family affair you could say.  Long story short, I ended up losing  that game of UNO.  Everybody decided a good seafood buffet would be nice.  I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.  Our tab for Captain Georges was well, over a hundred dollars, maybe even 200.  For grandma's alone, was thirty dollars.   That one trip alone, started a tradition with my family.  We always go to Captain Georges now when we are there.  As an am-age to my Grandma, I always pile up on crab legs.

Since that one trip, we have taken numerous other visits there.  We had our couples weekend in March with the Shaw's.  We also just recently took Shanna's mother with us there.  Captain Georges is always worth the higher price.  Their customer service is unspeakable.  The seafood is so fresh you can almost hear the ocean.  (However, I don't recommend holding the oyster shell to your ear) They boast Mahi Mahi, Salmon, Trout, Whiting, She Crab Soup, Oysters Rockefeller, Prime Rib, Crab Legs… Just about anything you would want, it's there.  And at the higher price point, it weeds out all the "riff raff" and children you might encounter at other buffets.  

They say the mark of a true Chef is that his cuisine, with one simple bite, can take you back in time.  That it can make you a child again, experiencing something for the first time.  The same can be said for restaurants.  Shanna and I, have probably been to this restaurant 25 times over the years.  Every time its a new memory.  This last trip, marked Addie's first time there.  As I'm sure it will be one of many.

So please take my recommendation if you ever find yourself strolling the boardwalk at Myrtle Beach, head up Highway 17 to Captain Georges for a memory you will not soon forget.  I am so confident in this establishment, that if it is not 110% to your satisfaction, I will gladly pick up your tab.  So, until next time, remember to KEEP YOUR KNIVES SHARP, BUT YOUR MINDS SHARPER.