Make your way to http://www.getspicychicken.com/ and make your reservation to try out the newest item that’s coming soon to the Chick-Fil-A menu.

This is a great national promotion, but I have to add that our local Chick-Fil-A restaurants really get how to use social media. [...]]]> I did, and I’m looking forward to trying it!

Make your way to http://www.getspicychicken.com/ and make your reservation to try out the newest item that’s coming soon to the Chick-Fil-A menu.

This is a great national promotion, but I have to add that our local Chick-Fil-A restaurants really get how to use social media. They use Facebook, email and text messaging to get promotions out to their local fanbase.

I’ll do a quick review of the results of my reservation on Monday.

UPDATE: It was delicious, with the perfect blend of spices in the breading. The pepperjack cheese worked well with the spice blend, though I probably won’t add the cheese the next time that I order this sandwich. You’ve got to try one of these.

Also, Chick-Fil-A “gets it”. The restaurant had two tables set up with black tablecloths and a “SPICY VIP” sign on top. The employees came to check on the taste testers and really wanted to know what we thought of the sandwich. It’s a big roll-out for the company, and they’re making sure that the word gets out.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is a franchise of a national chain with restaurants in 29 states. Their Danville restaurant is located at 1555 Meadowview Drive, just west of the Danville city limits. It’s in a small [...]]]> Dickey’s has been open for over a year, so it’s about time that I got there to eat.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is a franchise of a national chain with restaurants in 29 states. Their Danville restaurant is located at 1555 Meadowview Drive, just west of the Danville city limits. It’s in a small strip center that intersects with Berry Hill Rd. I’ve always wondered why they picked a location that was out by itself, but we’ll get to that later. I decided to give the place a try for lunch on Friday, getting there around 12:30 PM. I was quite surprised to see only 5 other people eating there at the lunch hour. I took some time to inspect their menu and it all looked good (as expected).

I picked the beef brisket sandwich and chose the “Fried Onion Tanglers” & “Baked Potato Casserole” as my side items. The beef brisket was served without any BBQ sauce (their two signature sauces are available (heated) at the drink bar). Based on the other BBQ restaurants around here, I was surprised at this method of serving. That being said, it worked out well as I was able to choose what I wanted. The beef brisket was very dry, but that was easily remedied by the choice of BBQ sauces. The side items came in very ample portions and the entire platter was more than I could eat at one serving. The “Baked Potato Casserole” side item had came highly recommended by a former co-worker and she was right. It was mashed potatoes with lots of bacon bits throughout, topped off with shredded cheese and sliced green onions. The “Fried Onion Tanglers” were bits of chopped onions lightly breaded in a slightly-spicy batter then quickly fried.

Let’s get to the ratings…

Service: I got a warm greeting when I got to the counter and felt comfortable taking my time to examine the menu. Bonus points for having two different employees walk around to make sure everything was good. I had a nice conversation with the manager after my meal and she was very nice. Score: 95 (A)

Food: I could easily make a meal off of their side items and they impressed me more than the BBQ sandwich did. That being said, the sandwich was also very good. You were able to clearly take the smokehouse flavor in the meat. I look forward to trying more of their choices. Score: 92 (A)

Atmosphere: There’s plenty of open space to walk around the tables. All of the decorations are the typical type found in franchise restaurants with nothing original to set it out from any other BBQ place, but that’s not a bad thing. The kitchen area was visible to the public and was very clean. Speaking of cleanliness, the rest of the place was also very clean. Two large-screen LCD televisions were good additions to the place. Score: 85 (B)

Intangibles: They leave the TV remote controls out for customers to watch what they want… nice touch. I still have serious doubts about the location of the restaurant because it’s so far away from any other business, but it’s been working for them so far. Pricing is an issue, with my lunch meal approaching the $9 mark. I got my money’s worth out of it because it was enough food for two meals, but the price points are on the higher end of BBQ restaurants in this area. The pricing issues are the main complaint that I’ve heard from others, as well. There’s plenty of parking, but that’s also a by-product of the restaurant being the only business in the strip center. They’ve also got a party room with plenty of seating for large groups and they offer a big catering menu. Finally, they offer an interesting choice of free add-on foods to your meal… whole dill pickles and soft-serve ice cream. Lots of pros and cons in this category, but it’s all worth of a good score. Score: 82 (B)

Overall: Dickey’s is a place that I’d like to go to more, but it’s just hard to choose them over any of the other places around town because of their location. That’s one big reason on why I hadn’t tried it until now. Now that I have eaten there, it’s a place I will want to try again. I have some doubts on whether this restaurant can survive with such limited customer traffic (but that doesn’t affect the rating score at all), but I do plan on eating there more often.

Overall Grade: 89 (B) – SouthsideCentral recommends Dickey’s for a “different kind” of BBQ restaurant and we think it’s worth the drive to go there and have a meal.

Cafe 99 is located in Reidville’s downtown area at 130 S. Scales St. It’s right across the street from Lucky City. They’re open Monday – Friday from 10 AM to 3 PM.

When you walk into Cafe 99, you’ll immediately notice [...]]]> It’s worth the drive to Reidsville NC to eat at Cafe 99.

Cafe 99 is located in Reidville’s downtown area at 130 S. Scales St. It’s right across the street from Lucky City. They’re open Monday – Friday from 10 AM to 3 PM.

When you walk into Cafe 99, you’ll immediately notice the color scheme of silver and the decorations that feature old time rock-and-roll. Combine the silver colors with the oldies music that they play in the restaurant, and you’ll be immediately hooked on the theme. Cafe 99 features a good selection of sandwiches along with Hershey’s ice cream for dessert. That being said, let’s get to the ratings.

Service: I was greeted when I got to the counter as I expected to be. I was very pleasantly surprised when I picked up my food and the kitchen staff thanked me and made some small talk. Grade: 92 (A)

Food: Yum! Homemade chicken salad on a croissant with a giant slice of tomato. The presentation of the food was good and the taste of their chicken salad was awesome. I haven’t tried any of their other sandwiches yet, but I will on the next visit and add it to this review. Grade: 94 (A)

Atmosphere: The decor works perfectly for a place like this. It’s unlike any other restaurant in the area and is eye-catching. It definitely adds to the dining experience (but don’t be surprised when you walk into their bathrooms. ). The kitchen area is visible and the restaurant is very clean. Grade: 95 (A)

Intangibles: The only thing bad I can say about Cafe 99 would be about their limited hours of operations. They used to be open until 9 PM daily but cut their hours back to 3 PM (assuming that was due to low traffic in the downtown area at night). Other than that, I’ve got nothing but praise for Cafe 99. One final thing, they also feature the lovely singing talents of Veronica Jones during lunchtime occasionally (I’ll have to find out the schedule). The first time we visited there, Veronica’s lovely voice just mesmerized us, and I’m sure she’ll do the same to you. Grade: 87 (B)

Overall: Make the trip over to Reidsville and have lunch at Cafe 99. You’ll be glad you did. Overall Grade: 94 (A)

UPDATE: We’re taking off the “Not [...]]]> There’s a new pizza restaurant in Danville. Primo Pizza is located at 1131 South Boston Rd. (former location of the Quizno’s Subs franchise that lasted less than 6 months). I’ve had two meals there so far but I’m not recommending the restaurant due to one horrible customer service moment.

UPDATE: We’re taking off the “Not Recommended” tag because of a very good repeat visit to this restaurant. We suggest you give them a try.

It’s a basic Italian-theme pizza place with pizzas, strombolis, calzones, subs, wings and Italian meals on their menu.

Service: I was greeted nicely on my first visit. On the second trip, there was only one person working and I had to wait a few minutes before even being acknowledged. The food was prepared at the time of order and the speed of service was excellent. There is a moderate language barrier with the staff having difficult accents, but it’s not impossible to overcome. Grade: 82 (for now… to be changed later) (B)

Food: The pizza was pretty good with a thin crispy crust. The Italian subs that I’ve gotten twice have been totally different. The one I got for take-out was semi-bland, but the one that I had tonight in the restaurant was very flavorful. The sub roll was toasted well on it’s run though the oven. The onions & tomatoes were cut weirdly and I got a lot of tough end-pieces. Their dessert menu looked good and I was about to try it, but we’ll get to that later as well. Grade: 85 (B)

Atmosphere: It is what it is. Mouth-watering food photos are all over the place. It doesn’t look like a pizza place but I’m guessing that it never will. The kitchen is completely visible to the customers, which I like. The menu board looks great and they’ve got menus to take home. Grade: 85 (B)

Intangibles: The prices are great. A sub combo (sub, fries & drink) costs $5.99 and their burger combos are even cheaper. Their calzones are huge for less than $9.00. Grade: 84 (B)

Overall: Oh boy, here we go. I decided to head over there tonight to try out their dine-in sub combo. It took me a few minutes to place my order because the one person working was making the other person’s pizza. I can live with that. As soon as he got their pizza in the oven, he came over to take my order and ring me up. Somehow in the language barrier, he thought I said my order was “to go”, but again, no big problem. The portion of fries that I got was huge and the sub was markedly better than the last time. I sat back and enjoyed my meal at a relaxed pace. The fries were a bit salty with their seasoning so I got a few drink refills (16 oz. styrofoam cup). Meal’s over and I take a look at their dessert menu. They’ve got a few things that catch my eye so I throw all of my trash away and get another drink refill before placing my dessert order. Unbelievably, a restaurant employee (owner? manager?) comes to the counter and says “Hello, my friend. There is only one free drink refill. You are getting too many and it’s fifty cents for more refills.”

What the everlovin’ hell? I politely said “Really? Thank you” and headed out the door. I’m not going to make a scene in a place like that even though it would have been richly deserved. First of all, I’m not “your friend”. I’m your customer. I’m the person that was about to spend another $3.00 on dessert. The additional 16 ounces of Pepsi that I was about to get cost you at most 25 cents. You just lost my dessert order income tonight and probably any other income that I’d ever think about spending in your restaurant ever again.

Before that incident, Primo Pizza was going to get a quite acceptable score of 84 (B). After that incident, I feel I’m perfectly justified in dropping that score down to a 40 (F) and not recommending the restaurant to anybody. To be fair, I’m going to give them one more chance sometime in the next month and will feature that experience here. That being said, at this time Primo Pizza gets an “F” rating on the SouthsideCentral scale and is not recommended due to poor customer service.

Overall Grade: 40 (F) – Not recommended.

In the spirit of fairness, it was time for a return visit to Primo’s Pizza. Let’s go to the criteria…

Service: There were no customers in the restaurant and it took about 30 seconds for an employee (the only one working) to come out from the back. No worries on that because I was looking at the menu. I made a special request on my Italian sub combo and the employee made sure he got it right by repeating it back. The food was delivered to my table. Grade: 86 (B)

Food: Wow. A very delicious Italian sub. The bread was toasted perfectly and the meats and cheese were grilled to a distinct crispiness. The seasoned fries were crispy and served very fresh. Grade: 91 (A)

Atmosphere: Nothing really changed from before except a TV in the corner and the tables moved around. One thing I just don’t understand about any business that has multiple doors… why do they only have one side of a set of doors open? The inside wasn’t spotless, shining clean but it was acceptable. The parking isn’t that great because it shares space with a gas station/convenience store. Grade: 82 (B)

Intangibles: The menu prices continue to be very reasonable. Grade: 86 (B)

Overall: I had no problem getting the drink refills I wanted. It looks sanity has been restored to this restaurant’s ownership and that means the “Not Recommended” tag will be pulled off of this place.

Overall Grade: 86 (B) – SouthsideCentral recommends that you give Primo Pizza a try.

Isabel’s Pizza is located at 1451 South Boston Road in Danville’s Cain Creek Shopping Center. They’re open Monday – Saturday from 10:30AM to 10PM (until 11PM on Friday & Saturday). They’ve been in business for 14 years but this was [...]]]> Make your way out to Cain Creek Shopping Center and have some great food!

Isabel’s Pizza is located at 1451 South Boston Road in Danville’s Cain Creek Shopping Center. They’re open Monday – Saturday from 10:30AM to 10PM (until 11PM on Friday & Saturday). They’ve been in business for 14 years but this was the first time I’ve tried them out. I definitely missed out by not eating there before.

The building doesn’t look like much from outside, but inside you’ll find a spacious seating area with the kitchen in full view (bonus points for that). It’s nice to be greeted as you walk into a business, and they had enough employees present to do just that. In fact, when I got to the counter, all of the workers acknowledged me as a customer (more bonus points). I ordered my lunch special and instead of being handed a cup and heading to the drink machine, I was asked what I wanted to drink and one of the employees fixed my drink for me and asked me where I wanted to sit (even more bonus points). My order was delivered to my table instead of a number being called and the waitress/counterperson even asked me if I needed a drink refill during the meal.

Let’s get to the rating criteria…

Service: As you can tell, I was highly impressed. It’s a lot more than I expected from this type of restaurant from first glance. Grade: 98 (A)

Food: I’ll add some more to this section on my next visit, but for today I got two slices of pepperoni pizza for their lunch special. The pizza was excellent with a thin crust and ample pepperoni. The rest of the menu looks good as well. Grade: 93 (A)

Atmosphere: The place was clean and the decor was what one expects in a restaurant like this. Grade: 84 (B)

Intangibles: I was just blown away by the hospitality they showed to a customer that they had never seen before… plus as a pinball master, they had a “No Good Gofers” machine in the back (although it was in bad shape). It’s also an excellent value for the money as well. Grade: 90 (A)

Overall: What was I thinking in never eating there before? Excellent food, excellent service, and excellent prices. Isabel’s Pizza is highly recommended by SouthsideCentral. Overall Grade: 92 (A)

Head over to Reidsville NC Friday evening for a great time!

This Friday night (12/11) is going to be really cool.

Jerry Stafford has signed on to whip up a batch of his famous homemade deer chili. Yes, [...]]]> Our friends over at Lucky City have came up with another creative Friday night promotion!

Head over to Reidsville NC Friday evening for a great time!

This Friday night (12/11) is going to be really cool.

Jerry Stafford has signed on to whip up a batch of his famous homemade deer chili. Yes, that’s right, Bambi is good for something besides banging into your 1988 Buick at night.

Come by at 6 PM to enjoy some wine, beer and free chili.

As we’ve said multiple times before, it’s worth the drive! They’re located at 125 South Scales St. in downtown Reidsville! If you have any questions, call them at 336-349-7144.

Compton family opens Altavista restaurant next week

The Turn One shopping center is located next to the Walmart which is located off of the Clarion Road exit off of Route 29. We’re planning to check the restaurant out soon.

(Edited to [...]]]> There’s going to be a new place to eat in Altavista this week.

Compton family opens Altavista restaurant next week

The Turn One shopping center is located next to the Walmart which is located off of the Clarion Road exit off of Route 29. We’re planning to check the restaurant out soon.

(Edited to fix link to news story)

You can’t top an announcement like this.

This Friday night (10/2) at 5 PM we host another Lucky City Throwdown.

We found a discount coupon and it’s definite now. We’re going to have a pizza and beer night. We’ll order [...]]]> Our friends over at Lucky City have came up with another interesting promotion.

You can’t top an announcement like this.

This Friday night (10/2) at 5 PM we host another Lucky City Throwdown.

We found a discount coupon and it’s definite now. We’re going to have a pizza and beer night. We’ll order a couple of pizzas from Pizza Hut, open some beer, and then have a Throwdown. It sounds tasty.

See you there.

Regards,
Renaldo
Lucky City Wine and Ale Senior Party Planner

Short, sweet and to the point.

SouthsideCentral was over in Reidsville on Friday night and took advantage of the new product line that they had to offer. I had a Carolina Blonde to start the evening off [...]]]> Well, at least in Downtown Reidsville. Lucky City is now able to serve beer by the glass, and they’ve got a good selection.

SouthsideCentral was over in Reidsville on Friday night and took advantage of the new product line that they had to offer. I had a Carolina Blonde to start the evening off and it was delicious.

As they say in their advertisements…

We have over 30 beers ready to pour for your enjoyment. You won’t find any Old Milwaukee or Bud Light in our list. We serve only real beer. We’re sure you’re going to love what you taste at Lucky City Wine and Ale 125 S. Scales St in beautiful and historic Reidsville.

That says it all… highly recommended.

SouthsideCentral had heard great things about the Backstreet Buzz Coffee House (234 SW Market St, Reidsville, NC), so it was time to check them out.

Two visits over two days… the first being a quick stop [...]]]> Editor’s Note: This was started this as a LIVE! review but has been re-written as a regular review.

SouthsideCentral had heard great things about the Backstreet Buzz Coffee House (234 SW Market St, Reidsville, NC), so it was time to check them out.

Two visits over two days… the first being a quick stop in to get some iced tea on Cruise-In night, and the second visit was the next day for lunch and a little relaxation.

Cruise-In night, the place was packed and had live entertainment. I was thinking about getting some food then but time was running short, so I settled for a glass of tea. The staff was hustling to keep up but I got my tea quickly. I decided to go back on Saturday and see what is was like during a non-busy time. It was different, all right. Very different.

Food: I ordered the “Grilled Southwest”. It was spicy mayo, jack cheese and roast beef. It arrived very quickly and looked delicious. Very nice plating as well, with an espresso cup of black bean dip & three-colored tortilla chips. The sandwich was grilled perfectly and very delicious. I had tea to drink on both visits and it was good. For $5.00 it was worth it. Their homemade desserts looked yummy, but I didn’t try any of them. Grade: 87 (B)

Atmosphere: Quirky but expected for this type of business. Vibrant colors catch your eyes as soon as you walk in with the walls decorated with colorful art that is for sale. The business offers free wi-fi internet service, and the music is soft & relaxing. There’s a small bit of furniture to relax on if you don’t want to sit at a table. Super, super clean. They had a A (101) rating from the health inspector and it showed. There’s a very limited amount of space inside the business. Grade: 90 (A)

Service: “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.” Well, if you’re a regular customer there, it seems that they know you personally. Me? First time sitting in the place. My food was brought to me and that’s the last time I was spoken to for 50 minutes. Sure, I was doing some work on my computer, but that’s no excuse for not coming around to check on the only customer in the business. Other customers that came and went were greeted warmly. I really did want to try some of their fresh-baked desserts but I passed because of the inattentiveness. One of the owners was over on the couch and fell asleep with the resident dog’s (that was a cool touch, having the family pet there) head in her lap. The other owner worked the counter and talked to the other customers that stopped in. Grade: 65 (D)

Intangibles: It’s a laid-back coffeehouse. It is what it is. The live entertainment is a cool feature but it takes a lot of floor space away from the limited area that they have. There’s no easy way around that but on a busy Friday night, I wanted to get out of there as quick as I could because of the crowding.

Overall: The lack of attention isn’t the way I’d run a business like what they have. That being said, it’s a nice coffeehouse and I really hope they continue to do good. Next time I’m in the area, I’ll stop by and get something to drink, at least.

Overall Grade: 78 (C) (Reminder, there’s nothing wrong with a “C” grade.)

Tonight, they’re going to be featuring two wines. Here’s the verbage from the bottles.

2-Up Shiraz – This shiraz is handcrafted from a blend of grapes from highly prized vineyards. The skilled craftsmanship in both the vineyard and winery results in a wine that [...]]]> Make your way to Reidsville tonight and visit Lucky City!

Tonight, they’re going to be featuring two wines. Here’s the verbage from the bottles.

2-Up Shiraz – This shiraz is handcrafted from a blend of grapes from highly prized vineyards. The skilled craftsmanship in both the vineyard and winery results in a wine that shows bright aromas and flavors of blueberry and plum with a subtle hint of chocolate and beautifully integrated oak.

Hayman & Hill Riesling – Our quest for the finest Riesling took us to Washington state. We drove east over the mountains and away from the rain clouds to the beautiful Columbia Valley. The slow and steady ripening conditions allow us to craft our ideal wine – subtle pear and floral aroma with a hint of sweetness, and a crisp finish that is beautifully balanced.

And according to the host of tonight’s gathering, “Debbie will be whipping up her usual concoction of delicious horse-doofers.”

Folks, it’s worth the drive to Reidsville to visit Lucky City. You’ll find a good selection of books and one of the best collections of wines and beers in this area. It’s a good time and you’ll meet good friends there. Be sure to have dinner across the street at Cafe 99… highly recommended.

Lucky City is located at 125 S. Scales St. in beautiful and historic downtown Reidsville about 1/2 block away from the Confederate Monument. There no cover charge, just walk on in the store and enjoy yourself. For more details, call Lucky City at 336-349-7144.

“Lucy’s” is located at 1050 Riverside Drive (the former location of Rax) in Danville. We went there knowing absolutely nothing about the restaurant.

We walked in and you’d never know that it was a former [...]]]> (Originally Published on: Aug 8, 2009 @ 22:51)
Editor’s Note: Updating this posting due to more reviews coming in.

“Lucy’s” is located at 1050 Riverside Drive (the former location of Rax) in Danville. We went there knowing absolutely nothing about the restaurant.

We walked in and you’d never know that it was a former fast-food restaurant. Tables and booths with nice tablecloths, tasteful decorations, and a good color scheme. Time for the first big surprise. Lucy’s is an Asian-themed restaurant. I would have never guessed that from any of the decor. The sign out front and a wipe-off menu board advertised a seafood buffet for $9.99. More about that later…

The restaurant has about 25 tables and 5 of them are occupied when we walk in. That’s not surprising because I haven’t seen any advertising that they’re even open for business. We’re asked to sit wherever we want and we choose a table. I’m heading to see what’s on this seafood buffet (consisting of 3 steam tables) and um.. that ain’t no seafood buffet, folks. We’re ordering from the menu tonight.

I get the General Tso’s Chicken and my dinner companion orders the pepper steak. Our orders come back in very good time and were delicious.

Let’s go to the report card…

Service: For a restaurant that was just opening, it was acceptable. Drink refills were a bit slow (especially knowing that I had ordered spicy food) and the waiter had a slight non-familiarity with the menu. Overall though, there was nothing bad about his service. Our orders came out of the kitchen very fast (even faster than I expected with the few people in the restaurant). Grade: 85 (B)

Food: Everything that I expected and a lot more. My chicken was stir-fried to a crisp and the sauce was clearly made in the restaurant. The dish was served with dried red peppers which added a good fire to the taste. The plates were garnished nicely with greens and a carrot flower. My companion’s pepper steak consisted of thin sliced steak, giant sauteed peppers and onions and was garnished the same way as my dish. We both got adequate portions of food for the pricing. Grade: 95 (A)

Atmosphere: Tastefully done. Nothing gaudy, nothing eye-popping. Grade: 88 (B)

Intangibles: Good hospitality. Very clean. No visibility of the kitchen area. For a new restaurant, I’d have expected the owner (?) to invite comments at the register. Good value for the money ($22 for two meals). Grade: 87 (B)

Overall: There’s been no advertising that I’ve seen so far. That was OK for us, but probably not for most people. Will the SouthsideCentral area support another sit-down moderately priced Asian restaurant? I’d put Lucy’s on the same level as Long River, but I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve been to Long River. There’s no way that I could ever come close to recommending the buffet there, but then I detest buffets when I’m dining out. Lucy’s is a place I’ll visit again. I won’t have any interest in the buffet, but I’ll be looking for another jackpot from the menu. I’m giving the place a high “B” grade which is very good. SouthsideCentral recommends Lucy’s Restaurant for a delicious Asian-themed meal. Overall Grade: 87 (B)

The New York Butcher Shoppe will be opening on Monday.

It’s a franchise that originated in Mt. Pleasant, SC and they specialize in top-of-the-line meats, prepared foods and sandwiches. Looking at the menus on their website, I can easily see taking a [...]]]> This is the kind of place that makes the drive worthwhile…

The New York Butcher Shoppe will be opening on Monday.

It’s a franchise that originated in Mt. Pleasant, SC and they specialize in top-of-the-line meats, prepared foods and sandwiches. Looking at the menus on their website, I can easily see taking a cooler down 29 to visit this place.

The store will open on Monday, August 10th. Next time we’re over in Greensboro, we’ll file a report on this place.

My selection was the BBQ Pork Dinner and here’s what came to [...]]]> Here’s the review of the Premiere night meal that I got from Checkered Pig BBQ. They’re open for business tomorrow and located at 155 Crown Drive in Danville (the old Backyard Burgers location). You can call them at 434-793-7747 for more info.

My selection was the BBQ Pork Dinner and here’s what came to my table…

Service: Super fast. Of course, they were working with a limited menu but the speed of getting the order to the table was impressive. The counter staff was very knowledgeable of what they had available and made suggestions when asked. The front-line supervisor knew exactly what she doing and she directed traffic better that any cop could ever dream of. The dining room was patrolled regularly with staff who made sure you were taken care of. Grade: 93 (A)

Food: The BBQ appeared to be a very dry pork but when you took a bite out of it, one of the sweetest BBQ flavors I’ve tasted just poured out of it. The portion was large. The baked beans had a smoky flavor with a hint of their BBQ sauce in it. The coleslaw was very sweet and served very cold. The hushpuppies were crisp and hot.
The fries were the last thing I went to (after trying a few as they were delivered hot) and they were close to an afterthought because the large portion of BBQ combined with the other sides filled me up quickly. The portions were so large that I had no desire for dessert but I’ll be trying that later. When that’s the only thing to complain about, that’s a great sign. The presentation of the food was very good with the cooks having an eye for detail in every food basket that went out. After the meal, I talked with one of the lead cooks and he said that he felt that the presentation of an entree added a lot to the total meal experience. Strong Agree on that one. Grade: 98 (A)

Atmosphere: For the amount of time that they had to retro-fit the restaurant, it wasn’t bad at all. Trophies abound all over the dining area just to remind you that these people know exactly what they’re doing when it comes to BBQ. There’s no getting around a lighting issue in the dining area because the sun beams in strong. They’ve got drop lighting which helps in that respect. They’ve got TV’s in the restaurant corners with the correct relatively low levels. The vestibule has a nice case selection of t-shirts and products for sale. There’s not much else in decorations, but there really doesn’t need to be for this type of restaurant. Grade: 87 (B)

Intangibles: Damn, what hospitality! Tommy & Lisa Houston, the owners, are extremely friendly and calm even on the big day. Joy Bradshaw, the manager, welcomed every single person that came in with a giant smile. The staff knew their job, the food was good, and again i say, “Damn, what hospitality!” Grade: 95 (A)

Overall: I got a good feeling that this place will do well. Grade: 95 (A)

The front line team is getting ready for the rush.

The first customers come in the door.

View of the front counter as customers order.

The kitchen is ready!

[...]]]> Here’s a photo gallery from Monday night’s Premiere Night at Checkered Pig BBQ. They’ll be open for business on Tuesday!

The front line team is getting ready for the rush.

The first customers come in the door.

View of the front counter as customers order.

The kitchen is ready!

The line starts forming.

Orders are delivered to the tables

The Walker family sits back and relaxes after a great meal.

Xylic Gunlickson really enjoyed his meal!

We’ll have a detailed review of Checkered Pig’s food up later tonight!

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

I had a nice visit Monday at the future home of Checkered Pig BBQ (the former Backyard Burgers location) and got a sneak-peek at their menu while I was waiting to talk to the owner. I’ll keep it a trade secret right now, but I promise that you’ll [...]]]> And the menu looks delicious.

I had a nice visit Monday at the future home of Checkered Pig BBQ (the former Backyard Burgers location) and got a sneak-peek at their menu while I was waiting to talk to the owner. I’ll keep it a trade secret right now, but I promise that you’ll like what they’ve got planned to serve. The owner is very friendly and I’ve got no doubt that they’re going to do great. The fact that it’s in walking distance from work has not biased my opinion (much).

They’ve got great plans in progress for the restaurant and are about ready to open. SouthsideCentral will be there for their special Premiere Night and we’ll be covering the event LIVE!

More to come as the date draws near.

It’s some of the best food around! They’re open on Thurday nights all summer long. Folks, you can’t beat their food and desserts and the [...]]]> It’s Thursday night, and one of SouthsideCentral’s favorite eateries is open tonight for dinner! Meet SouthsideCentral at Bronx Boy Bagels tonight for a quick meal before the Skywarn class!

It’s some of the best food around! They’re open on Thurday nights all summer long. Folks, you can’t beat their food and desserts and the prices are quite reasonable.

See you there around 5PM or so? We’ll even put up a few LIVE! posts from there if we get the chance!

Judy & Steve Salomon are the owners of Bronx Boy Bagels, located at 316 Main St in Danville. They have their own scratch bakery and they make not only the best bagels you’ll ever have, but muffins, caes, [...]]]> Make your way to downtown Danville for one of the best restaurants in the Southside area.

Judy & Steve Salomon are the owners of Bronx Boy Bagels, located at 316 Main St in Danville. They have their own scratch bakery and they make not only the best bagels you’ll ever have, but muffins, caes, cookies breads and more. But it doesn’t stop there… it’s also a great sandwich shop/deli as well. They get in Carnegie Deli and Thumann’s meats and cheeses and make the best sandwiches in Danville. We’ve eaten there more than a few times and have tried multiple things from their menu and have never had anything that’s less than great tasting. Be sure to save room for dessert, because they have also imported Carnegie Deli cheesecake to go with their scratch-baked desserts.

We ate there Saturday night during the Cruise-In and even got some of the biggest muffins that we’ve ever seen to take home. They didn’t last until the next day.

Check out Bronx Boy Bagels’ website at http://www.bronxboybagels.com/

UPDATE: During the summer months, Bronx Boy Bagels will be open on Thursday nights until 9 PM. That means that SouthsideCentral gets to eat there more! Yum! Hey, since they’re also a free wi-fi hotspot, SouthsideCentral just might be doing a LIVE! event there during the summer! More to come…