Myrtle Beach Message Board

Tuesday morning started out with a steady rain leaving me to seek my normal libations on the balcony for a while. I had gone jogging earlier and was barely recovered from the strenuous activity but still managed to consume a decent amount of beer. Again, we made like pack mules and trudged to the beach to enjoy the day once the rain diminished. It did return later but not until after we headed to dinner at NACHO HIPPO!!!

Don't you hate when you build something up to someone only to have it disappoint? Case in point with Nacho Hippo that night. It was raining when we walked in to get a table for 9. The place wasn't packed by any means and there were tables here and there empty. We waited patiently while they put together a few of them for our party. It took about ten minutes for Huey, Dewey and Louie to get the tables and chairs situated and we sat down to browse the menu. After 15 minutes, Kristi flagged down a random server and asked if she could find ours for us seeing as how we hadn't even been greeted yet let alone ordered beverages. The waitress obliged and came back a few minutes later informing us that she had no idea who our waitress was. I began to come unglued. I immediately asked to see a manager. Kristi calmed me down right away as I was taking my displeasure out on this young lady. I recognized my mistake and she offered to assist us herself as our server. Not a problem... so I thought.

The manager, at least his name tag said so, stopped by after we ordered drinks and asked if everything was ok. My reply to his excuse of employees not showing up: "You know, it's not really my problem. You know?" I don't want excuses. Get your shit together. Though I shouldn't be surprised by all this coming from a Divine Dining establishment. Generally, their service is horrible. Great food, good value but service is normally pretty bad whether it's River City Cafe, Nacho Hippo or whatever.

Anyway, the food arrived and it was good. It wasn't great in that the portions of nachos have shrunk considerably. Most of the chips were soggy and the jalapenos were non existent. Still good, mind you but not what I craved for the past year. Kristi and I were both disappointed but not enough to consider not going back. I'm going to chalk it up to a bad night for them. I'll let it slide.

Then the bills came. I got pissed off and went outside while Dawn and Kristi figured it out.

Back to the resort for some night time beach shenanigans!

_________________
Adios y via con dios.

I also don't appreciate getting excuses for bad food or service. It seems every time something isn't up to parr there is an excuse. Good managers have a plan B when issues crop up so things go as they should. I am enjoying your report and look forward to the rest. Thanks for taking the time.

_________________
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Winston Churchill.

I see things haven't changed at the Hippo since we were there in June. Most likely won't return.

Ditto what Christine said so well.

I'm disappointed to read you Nacho Hippo review. This will not bode well for the restaurant. It's a sure sign that things are heading downhill, and I'm sad to hear this.

>...Heading to the beach turned out to be a daily friggin chore. It was almost like work.
I've seen so many families in this same predicament, and I honestly wonder if it is worth the trouble. Then I remember doing it myself, even though the baby strollers back then were tiny compared to the small helicopter size they are now. Anyhow, looking back on it, I just remember the good parts. S

Thanks for taking the time to write this trip review. Love reading it!

_________________
Brought to you by:
FunBeaches Myrtle Beach Vacations!
Please like our message board on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Myrtle-B ... 550?v=wall

"Again, we made like pack mules and trudged to the beach "

Having a big family myself, my misery of packing items to the beach ended when I found that they sold beach strollers to help pack the stuff down. We usually pack 6 chairs, cooler, and three or four boogie boards on ours and I can get all of it down to the beach in one trip. I wouldn't recommend the wife trying to haul that much weight on the stroller, but I do okay taking it to our spot. Beats the heck out of making three and four trips back and forth.

I've enjoyed reading your report. Looking forward to the rest of it. For the record, we also waited a long time before a server came to our table when we ate at Nacho Hippo in April. They obviously have management issues.

As I mentioned before, my brother and family live just outside of Pittsburgh. Anyone from that area knows perfectly well that ALL Pittsburgh people vacation in Myrtle Beach. Lo and behold, one of their neighbors was staying in Surfside that same week and wanted to meet up with them for some go kart action at the place by Broadway at the Beach.

I was feeling pretty good already by 9AM. Chris wanted to go to Dick's Sporting Goods for some sort of substance they'd left at home. Body Glide I think is what it's called. I don't know what it's used for but I went along to navigate. I was in no shape to drive LOL. Anyway, we got back to the resort in time for Dawn and the kids to leave. They really didn't want to go. They'd rather stay at the beach with Uncle Tim. Chris stayed behind because he's rather anti social. Kristi and Devin joined us on the beach but we were soon interrupted by rain once again. We packed up what little we had on the beach including the lot of empty beer cans from Chris and I. We chilled in the room for a little while before Chris and I headed back out to the beach with more beer. The sun was back and the beach wasn't too crowded. We plopped in our chairs and people watched. Before we knew it, we'd crossed the threshold of enjoying responsibly.

I stumbled back to the room covered in sand because I wasn't able to balance at washing myself off. I showered-ish, dressed and sat down in the chair in the living room and passed out. I never even heard the rest of the gang come back from go karting. I was in trouble!!

Kristi wasn't too happy with me so I did my best to straighten myself up. No way could I drive to dinner so I let her take my truck while I was the passenger. I hate her driving but I had no choice. We were Carolina Roadhouse bound.

It had been several years since we'd gone and I know many of you on this board adore it. We arrived around 5:30 in the middle of passing steady rain. It was about a half hour wait for our party of 3 so we sat outside under the awning. Time moved quickly and we sat at a table in the front of the building with the large windows. I ordered water. I needed it.

We basically knew what we wanted already and placed our order. I also ordered a bowl of their gumbo which proved to be very good. It had been a long time since I've had ANY gumbo and I soon remembered why I like it so much. Kristi ordered the Chef Salad with their homemade dressing and I ordered the double rack of ribs. We intended on sharing with each other. Devin ordered the kids chicken wings which were actually pretty bad. They don't come with sauce on them. I'll repeat that. Chicken wings; no sauce. Say what???

The ribs were OUTSTANDING as was the salad. I ended up sharing almost an entire rack of them with Kristi and Devin. I had about a third of her salad and was very satisfied with it. The service was the best we had all week and quite possibly the best dining experience we've ever had in Myrtle Beach over the years. It's obvious why it's so popular with this board.

The rest of the gang had gone to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Or was it Planet Hollywood? I can't remember which tourist trap they went to. Either way, I think they wasted their money. But whatever. You can't tell some people anything.

_________________
Adios y via con dios.

>…Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Or was it Planet Hollywood?
>…Either way, I think they wasted their money. But whatever.

We have been to HR Cafe twice and Planet Hollywood once (in 17 years!) Each trip was because out-of-town guests absolutely HAD to go there. I don’t know of any locals who said “Let’s go to Planet Hollywood for dinner tonight.” Ever.

Glad you had a good experience at Carolina Dreaming. There are a few restaurants I feel safe suggesting because overall the food and quality are good. This is one of them.

_________________
Brought to you by:
FunBeaches Myrtle Beach Vacations!
Please like our message board on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Myrtle-B ... 550?v=wall

Wow.... was this off the kids menu ? Their online menu states:

Chicken Wings - a pound of crispy wings marinated in hot peppers. served with bleu cheese dressing.

Did you at least get the bleu cheese ? (though bleu cheese on plain wings would taste a bit.... off)

Glad to hear the salads/ribs were great. We have consistently had great prime-rib at CR.... one of the best we've ever had, anywhere.

_________________
Wag More.... Bark Less !

We go to Carolina Roadhouse every year and only one time have been disappointed. No doubt is was an off night. Their salads are the best and we always have prime rib & ribs at our table. Glad you enjoyed!

_________________
Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think. ~Robert Henri

We got greedy this year and tried to supplement Carolina Roadhouse with its sister restaurant California Dreaming and was highly disappointed. Not good when a place known for its ribs ends up without ribs available. Anyway, if we do venture back to one of their establishments it will be Carolina Roadhouse.

Sounds like we go about our beach days the same way. Wake up drink, go to the beach drink, eat drink, come back to the room drink and pass out, wake back up and go out for dinner.

_________________

I feel like a broken record here but Thursday was more of the same: Coffee, beer, breakfast, beach, rain, dinner. Not much exciting happened during the day other than the rain again shortening our beach time but not until the afternoon so no worries. Also, it's been 6 weeks since this vacation and my memory is slowly fading. I apologize for taking so long to do all this.

Once again, both families did dinner separate. My relatives chose Captain George's for their seafood fix. I can't imagine how much their bill was but I'm assuming around $220 for all 6 of them. Apparently, they sat and ate for over 2 hours getting their fill. From what they said, it was as enjoyable as any seafood buffet they've ever been to. As long as they enjoyed it...

Kristi, Devin and I chose to venture to Murrell's Inlet for some Drunken Jack's. Of course, traffic was hell on King's Highway all the way to Murrell's. No one knows where they're going and have to make left hand turns from the right lane and vice versa. People with South Carolina plates are the worst. You know damn well they've been there before but neglect to prepare instead of waiting until the last minute to change lanes.

We parked across the street as usual due to it being dinner time and the area was fairly busy. We put in our names and headed to the marsh side bar area to chill while we waited for our table. I ordered a beer (imagine that!) and watched the banana boat ride cruising through the marsh.

The chef's special was Blackened Mahi topped with scallops and mango salsa on a bed of grilled onions, sweet peppers and mushrooms. It was the best seafood meal I had for the week. Granted, it was $35 but worth every penny. I prefer specialty food over buffets for those of you wondering. I can steam some clams, broil some fish or scallops just like a buffet. Preparing that Mahi like the chef did? My hero.

Kristi opted for the salad bar which is par for the course. The service was decent but nowhere near Carolina Roadhouse level. We were spoiled the night before I guess. All in all, it was another enjoyable Drunken Jack's experience. Touristy? Perhaps. But still a great meal none the less.

After dinner, we walked over to the Express Watersports establishment to inquire about its services. We ended up talking to the owner of the business for a good 15 minutes. He was a "no bullshit" kind of guy and I appreciated it immensely. We learned some things about the area and will definitely use them for future watersports adventures.

_________________
Adios y via con dios.

Thank so much for this well written in-depth vacation review. I know that writing a report like this takes a lot of time, and I appreciate the effort that went into it. Great job!

_________________
Brought to you by:
FunBeaches Myrtle Beach Vacations!
Please like our message board on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Myrtle-B ... 550?v=wall

Friday was my last bee drinking day as I had only 8 left and was hell bent on not buying any more. I'd gone through 2 cases+ already and figured my liver could use a break. Besides, Kristi was glaring at me now with every one I opened.

Nothing special happened that day on the beach. It was the hottest day of the week and my beer supply ended too soon. I declined offers from my brother to have a few of his. Kristi and I contemplated taking the sunset cruise at Express Watersports. It sounded spectacular. We ended up not going but still wish we had.

Of course, it rained again that afternoon. Chris and I were in a debate about whether the rain would reach the beach or not. I think the margaritas and beer were affecting his judgement. Eventually, he realized that I was right and we packed it all up before the crowds hit the elevators. It started raining just as we got inside.

They were animate about going to Margaritaville. Kristi and I had no intention but the kids BEGGED us to go. How could I say no to my favorites? So we did the touristy trap thing and went. It was raining lightly and the heat died off nicely. We put our names in and I said we wanted inside seating. It was 4:30 and almost no line waiting. The young lady told me two and a half hours. I walked away. After a few minutes of arguing and noticing the line growing, Chris fought his way back to the front of the line and said first available. The time dropped to 40 minutes. Much more acceptable.

We ended up sitting outside and it turned out to be fabulous. As I mentioned, the heat subsided and it rained gently the entire time. The service was so-so but acceptable. I ordered a blender cup full of a tropical type libation: $14. For my meal, I had the Volcano Nachos, Kristi's meal was the Rancho Deluxe Burger and Devin had something off the kid's menu. If I remember right, the grand total with tip was $90-ish. Ok so the food was decent but nowhere near worth that price. The kids loved it though so I think small price to pay for their enjoyment. The bottom line for me is that I will NEVER go back...

...unless someone else is paying!

The last day is coming.

_________________
Adios y via con dios.

I'm surprised Margaritaville is still doing so well, and glad it has been a successful addition to BAB. Thanks for your trip report. I had fun reading it and I appreciate the time it takes.

Glad you had a good time and I appreciate your generosity to the Grand Strand by helping our local economy grow. I'm sure beer sales spiked during your time with us.

_________________
Brought to you by:
FunBeaches Myrtle Beach Vacations!
Please like our message board on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Myrtle-B ... 550?v=wall