Last Week, the family and I were looking a place fairly close by to get a good meal, and we decided to hit one of the local fish camps.  A short drive from our Lake Wylie home toward Belmont yields at least three fish camps, including:  Twin Tops, Graham’s Fish Fry,  and Catfish Cove.  Twin Tops and Graham’s are across the street from one another and Catfish cove is about a mile down the road.  On this occassion, we decided to visit Twin Tops so that is the one I will review here.  I am sure, I will eventually get to the others as well.

You will notice the biggest problem that Twin Tops immediately upon pulling into the parking lot - limited parking and VERY tight parking spaces. If you are driving a Suburban-sized vehicle, you may want to get their early to guarantee two spots next to one another.   If you are driving a SMART Car, you should be fine.   Of course, parking is a minor detail. 

The last two times we have been in, it has seemed like a long time before we were approached by a waitress - almost to the point of wondering whether or not our table even had a waitress assigned to it.  As usual, the restaurant was packed with people, so perhaps she just got busy.  Eventually, the waitress did come and took our orders.  A few minutes later, she returned with the iced tea - which was a bit rough.  Traditionally, fish camps usually have good sweet tea so this one was puzzling to me.  My wife recalled the tea being bad last time as well.    I would recommend going with a soda or something other than tea.  We will not be ordering tea there again.

At the same time that the tea was bought to our table, a basket of hush puppies were also delivered.  My wife liked them a lot.  I thought they were good, but I have definately had better on many occassions.  I would rate them about a 7 out of 10.

They had several all-you-can eat specials up on the board - depending upon the night of the week, as follows:

Tuesday, Perch $7.95
Wednesday, Calabash Shrimp $8.95
Thursday, Whiting $8.95

As is the case with most of the fish camps nowadays, the large platters are always all you can eat.  This is assuming that you can finish the large platter to begin with.  On this night, I wanted to try a little of everything [because I knew I would be writting about it later], so I ordered the all-you-can-eat three item combo platter for $11.95 which featured Calabash Shrimp, Deviled Crab and Flounder.   I would only rate the flounder about a 5 out of 10.   It was pretty average.  Next time, I will probably order something different in place of the flounder.    The Calabash Shrimp were a different story though.  They were lightly breaded and fried to near perfection - earning a score of 9 out of 10.  I will definately be eating more of these in the future.  The third item was the Deviled Crab which was also excellent.  It was some of the best Deviled Crab I have eaten in a long while - earning an 8 out of 10.  I ended up getting reorders of both the shrimp and the deviled crab, but had to fight my way through the reorders - I was so stuffed.

My wife who is not a seafood eater, ordered the 1/2 order chicken tender basket.  I am not sure if they messed up the order and gave her a whole order or if the 1/2 order is usually this big.  It was monsterous.  I have never seen anything like it and it was supposedly only a 1/2 order - see photo.    As far as the quality goes, she would rate them a 7 out of 10.

Also of note, since I mentioned the difficulty of getting a waitress, I must say that once she finally got to our table she was very attentive and very good.  Of particular note, my drink did not get empty which, as I have said before, is rare.

As with many fish camps, you pay up “at the front” when you are leaving.  The front area reminds me of an old time candy store with classic candies lining the wall - making it impossible to resist an extra purchase as you are paying your bill.  Next to the main door sits a Ms. Pac Man machine - how great is this! 

Also of note, Twin Tops does not take credit cards - quite a dissappointment considering it is 2008.  Even McDonald’s and Taco Bell take credit cards.  Twin Tops does take debit cards.  I am not sure the logic behind this.  Perhaps they are trying to save on credit card processing fees which are much more than debit card processing fees.  Who knows?  Just remember to take cash (or a debit card). 

They are also not open on Sundays or Mondays, so plan your visit accordingly.

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!