Occasionally, I meet some associates in the Ballantyne area for lunch at the Carolina Wing & Rib House.  During lunchtime, they have a wing buffet/salad bar that is fairly good.  Typically, you do not get the highest quality wings on a buffet.  My guess is that they overcook under the heat lamps.  Wing buffets commonly have small, dry, shriveled up wings that are hardly fit to eat for true wing connoisseurs.

I am not sure what is different about the Carolina Wing & Rib House, but they have one of the better wing buffets that I have ever feasted upon.  The wings are always warm and of superior size.  They typically have 3-4 flavors on the buffet - usually the Carolina Rub, a Honey or Honey BBQ, and either a hot or mild.  The flavors change slightly from visit to visit, but these are the most common ones.   On a scale of 1-10, I would rate the wings from the buffet about a 6 (or of 10).  They may be higher if you order them, but the buffet is always a better bargain when available, so that is all I have tried.  They are not the best in Charlotte by any means, but they are a great option for a quick lunch since they are already prepared.

From a service standpoint, I would rate my typical experience at lunch time as very good.    Of course, the main function that the waiter or waitress has is to make sure the drink glasses are full (since it is a buffet) and that the bill comes out in a timely fashion.    It is rare that my glass gets empty there which is saying something considering the vast amounts of Diet Pepsi or Tea that I can consume during a meal. 

I guess this is where I am supposed to tell you about the ribs. Well, I can’t because I have never had their ribs.  I will have to put it on my list so that I can tell you about it.

Another great item on the menu is their All-You-Can-Eat Snow Crab Legs on Thursday nights.  I can not remember the price, but it isn’t cheap.  Around $25 I think, but it is crab legs.  I don’t think that they have ever come out on top when I have done the crab legs special.  The last time I went, two friends and myself had 56 reorders of crab legs.  I will say that at times, the service can be a bit slow on crab legs night.  I think it is more of an issue with the kitchen getting backed up than the wait staff.  They are always friendly and apologetic when your plate gets empty.

The rest of their menu consist of steaks, other seafood, and a large variety of sandwiches.  They have a link to a coupon on their website, but it just pulls up a blank Adobe file. You may want to check to see if they get it fixed.  Also, of note, the restaurant appears very clean and well-maintained.  This is always a plus in my book.

UPDATED 8/25/2008: THIS CAROLINA WING & RIB HOUSE LOCATION IS CLOSED. I do not know of any other locations in Charlotte; however, the Litchfield Beach and the Conway locations were open last week when I was down there. Of course, if you are in Charlotte, that is a long way to travel for wings.

The typical fast food restaurant experience is my going through a drive through, trying to talk into a bad microphone and hear through a static filled speaker and to communicate with an employee on the other end who portrays the fact the he/she really does not care one way or the other if you get your food or not.

Ever since the Bojangles opened in Lake Wylie, I have had a much different experience.  The service has always been extremely fast and accurate and the employees overly friendly.  They actually act as if they care.  I remember one morning, i timed them at the drive through.  I pulled in with 2 cars in front of me and was back on the road with my pork chop biscuit in a mere 39 seconds.  It was a fast, well-oiled machine.  I am not sure what has happened in the last two months, but they are not quite as fast or as well-oiled as they were at that time; however, they are still way above any other fast-food joint around.   Oh yeah, I forgot….the food is outstanding.

When I visited Bojangles a couple of nights ago for dinner, I did the unroutine task of dining in instead of the drive through.  The Lake Wylie Bojangles was clean and the staff very friendly; although, not as friendly as in the past.  I ordered a special deal (not on the menu) where you get four chicken legs and a biscuit - I think it was $3.79.  As usual, the legs came out hot and crispy - and absolutely delicious.

The biggest complaint I hear about Bojangles chicken is that is it too spicy. Well, I like spice, so it doesn’t bother me.  If you do not like Cajun food or spicy food in general,  you may not like it.  I know my wife does not care for it because of the spices.  She goes love the biscuits and Botato Rounds though.   The unique Cajun spices in the chicken, are definately much spicier than KFC.    I do find that I prefer the crispness of the Bojangles chicken over KFC.  To me, the KFC chicken usually seems a bit “soggy” compared to Bojangles.

Also, need to mention that the Pork Chop biscuit mentioned above was only available for a limited time. They bring it back periodically, so look for it.  It is [usually] absolutely amazing.  I have had it at other locations of Bojangles and have occassionally been disappointed.  It is also usually better hot.  Don’t let it sit around for 30 minutes while you drive to work - eat it immediately.  If they prepare it properly, you will be amazed too.

Anyway, I want to give Kudos again to the staff at the Lake Wylie Bojangles location - they are going a great job.   Unfortunately, as is the case with all fast food chains, they are not all the same just because the name on the building is. 

I am not sure  how many of you have had the chance to try the new Town House Flip Sides crackers, but if you haven’t - you need to.  These things are great.  They are one of the tastiest crackers I have ever had.   The best way I can desribe them is that they are half Ritz and half pretzel.  [Yes, I know Town House crackers and Ritz crackers are different Companies, but I am referring to that type of cracker]  They come in two flavors, Original and Cheddar, although since they are both newly on the market, aren’t they both Original flavors?  I had the Cheddar, so my comments are not yet ready to extend to the Original flavor.  I can not wait to try those too.

The price was about $3.50 for a 16 oz box, but I think we got them on sale at Harris Teeter - perhaps Buy 1 Get 1 Free because we ended up with a box of regular Town House crackers on the same trip.  For nutritional information, visit:   Original or Cheddar.

I found a number of other reviews out there.  The overwhelming majority of people seemed to like them - a lot, but there were a few people who were not huge fans. 

Amanda Compton, from AMomsReview.com did not care for the combined taste of the cheddar flavor with the pretzels.  See her complete review here.    She did acknowledge that she felt she was alone as they looked like they were becoming a big hit. 

I suggest you try some for yourself, but I think they are fantastic!

I am sure that by now most of you have heard that Subways is running a promotion where you can get any footlong sub on the menu for $5. I am not sure when the promotion ends. I looked on their website, but I could not find an ending date. I saw another blog that stated it was through May. Of course, it also stated that the $5 price included tax, but it does not.

I am going to use this as an excellent opportunity to “sample” all of the higher dollar subs on the menu that I could not convince myself to spring for before. I just did not see the reasoning in paying $7 or $8 for one of the premium items on the menu when I could get a perfectly delicious cold cut combo for a little over $5.

Anyways, I am sure most of you knew this news already, but enjoy your subs nonetheless.