Every time I visit Eastern North Carolina, I search out a Smithfields Chicken & BBQ. Smithfield’s is the largest BBQ chain in the state that is known for the best barbeque anywhere. According to Smithfield’s website, they pride themselves on serving a consistent product in all of their restaurants. You can enjoy fast service through the drive through or experience a full dining experience inside the restuarants. I am always throughly impressed by the friendly staff at any location I have visited and the fact that all locations I have visited have been impeccably clean. The lowest health rating I have ever seen at one was a 95, and I was surprised by it. Most of the time they are proudly displaying a big fat 100.

Smithfields is another one of those restaurants that I always order too much at. I can’t control myself. I only get it once in a blue moon and when I do, I want all of the good stuff I have not been able to get in months. This trip, I reigned myself in quite a bit and ordered a BBQ sandwich and a 1/4 plate of dark chicken. The sandwich was its usual moist and delicous. The slaw on it was perfect. Many places try to serve chopped cabbage with mayonaise and pass it off as slaw, but Smithfields does it right.

As I was driving home from a long week of fishing, I decided to save the chicken for the ride home. A couple of hours later, it hit the spot. Lightly breaded and fried to perfection - much the same way that my mom cooks it.

When you are in Eastern NC, stop at a Smithfields. I just wish they would open one near me. On the other hand, I do not know if my weight could handle it so close. I would easily put on another 25 pounds if it were close.

Just a short 10 minute drive past Lake Wylie, in the town of Clover, sits Courtney’s BBQ. When I hear the word “BBQ” around here, I always think of pork barbecue. Courtney’s has great pork BBQ, but it does not stop there. They have a host of other items on the menu as well, including award winning ribs and some of the best barbecue chicken you will find at any restaurant. They even have excellent fried seafood. For a long while, I was in the habit of ordering the all I could eat fried perch which are lightly breaded and fried to perfection. The fried shrimp are also great. Unlike many other restaurants who serve shrimp flavor breading, Courtney’s lightly breads their shrimp and fries them just right providing some of the best fried shrimp in the area.

Back to my review of this visit. As usual, the service was very good- although, I always seem to drink my tea faster than the glass gets full. This isn’t as bad as many restaurants though because all of the staff seem to help out in making sure all of the glasses are full -not just the tables in their section.

This time, I ordered a half-BBQ chicken and pork BBQ combo. As usual, my eyes were bigger than my stomach as I could not finish it. I think my mind was thinking 1/4 BBQ chicken instead of a half. The chicken was amazing. It was tender and juicy throughout and provided a great smoked flavor that could be supplemented with several of Courtney’s signature sauces. The BBQ was some of the best I have had in the area - moist throughout with a perfect blend of spices to flavor the meat.

The only bad part of my visit was that when I was placing my leftover chicken breast and wing in the to go container, I dropped it on the floor. I was so bummed out.

If anyone is in the area or if they are just tired of the same old chain barbeque joints in Charlotte, they should drive out and give Courtney’s a try. Just be sure to check their website for hours. They are only open full days on Thursday through Saturday, and a half day on Sundays (until 2:30).

I just got back from lunch at Damon’s Grill at 13230 Carowinds Blvd (Corner of Carowinds and S. Tryon St.) For those that are not familiar with Damon’s, it is a chain restaurant that is known for its ribs. Most of the restaurants have a sort of sports bar feel to them. The one on Carowinds Blvd. has four monster screen televisions located on the main wall of the dining area which broadcast varying games (or whatever is on at the time).

Overall, my food was good. The waiter talked me into a Marinated Prime Rib Sandwich special that they were having. The sandwich was good, but not spectacular -as the price would suggest at $12.95. The regular Prime Rib Sandwich was only $9.95. I don’t think the difference could have been that much. It was a good sized sandwich and was loaded with red and green peppers as well as onions smothered in cheese.

My wife ordered chicken fingers and for some reason, they had a strong cinnamon taste in them. Not being a fan of cinnamon - especially on chicken fingers - she only at about a half of one. I am not sure the purpose of putting these extra spices in the chicken fingers. My guess is that anyone wanting to eat chicken fingers is looking for something plain to begin with. Why make it something other than plain by adding extra spices?

My mother in law had the new Angus-Kobe Mini Burgers. She got 4 miniature burgers made of seasoned Angus-Kobe beef and toppings. She only finished three of them. The burgers were juicy and had a flame grilled taste. The burgers came with homemade potato chips which were a little dry, but crunchy. She felt that the meal was satisfying and filling and would be a good choice to share as an appetizer, instead of as her meal.

The sweet tea was really good, but it was borderline too sweet - even for me. So, if you don’t like it really sweet, I would choose another option.

All in all, I am sure we will go back there, mainly due to the location. Today’s service was very good for this level of restaurant. The food is above average but I have never been overly impressed enough to become a regular. Most of the sandwich items on the menu seem to be over priced by $1 to $2 compared to similar restaurants. The sandwich I had today was overpriced by about $5. It seems that every time I go, I am looking for something spectacular and I get something ordinary. Perhaps I should just lower my expectations a bit.

Since Cafe 49 opened several months ago just acrossed the street from my office in Lake Wylie, I have become a regular. The food is almost always excellent and today was no exception. If you are looking a family restaurant with a home-cooking type theme - I would highly recommend it.

I ordered a grilled pork chop and had 3 vegetables - okra and tomatoes, green beans, and fried okra with sweet tea. The pork chop was extra tender and juicy and was grilled to perfection. All of the vegetables were great today. The fried okra almost always comes out hot and crispy. The green beans are some of the best I have ever had at a restaurant and the okra and tomatoes were bursting with flavor. The sweet tea is some of the best around as well.

In the short time they have been open, I have probably eaten there 20-25 times. I usually go for lunch as it is so close to the office, but have also been to breakfast and dinner as well.

The wait staff is always friendly and doesn’t seem to have turned over very much since their initial crew which gives is a consistent “hometown” kind of feel. You will most likely be reading many review on Cafe 49, as you can see that I go there a lot.