This is the last of my reviews from our recent vacation near Myrtle Beach, SC. One of my wife’s cousins celebrated a 21st birthday toward the end of our trip. And to celebrate we had a large family dinner at the Dead Dog Saloon in the nearby town of Murrells Inlet. I didn’t think it would be easy to find dinner seating for a party of sixteen, but my wife called ahead and the staff at Dead Dog was more than  accommodating.

Wall Of Honor

During our short wait while they made sure our table was ready, I spotted the Wall of Honor, where customers can bring framed photos of their deceased pets to hang on the wall. I also found out that the restaurant had just reopened earlier in the year after a major fire had destroyed much of the structure. The new building is very large and has plenty of seating, both indoors and out, for parties of any size.

View From Outdoor Deck

Our large party was seated on the uncovered outdoor deck, with sweeping views of Murrells Inlet. Some of the staff  apologized  saying that it was going to be pretty hot outside, but we were actually pretty comfortable overall. The sun was setting behind their large restaurant, so it provided some early evening shade.

Hush Puppies

While we looked over the menu and enjoyed some of their signature drinks, a few baskets of hush puppies with sweet honey butter were  delivered  to our table. These were delicious and our table quickly ate every last one. The menu has a wide variety of seafood options, Murrells Inlet is the seafood capital of South Carolina  after all, along with a handful of sandwiches, steaks, and fish tacos.

Heavenly Inlet Trio

My wife and her mother decided to split the heavenly inlet trio – grilled crab cake, shrimp & scallops ($25.95). Each of their meals comes with a choice of side and they selected the vegetable of the day, a combination of zucchini and squash. I only had a small bite of the crab cake, but I can agree with their  consensus  that this was a really good crab cake, and was their favorite of the trio.

Blackened Chicken Alfredo

I’m not much of a seafood fan, so I went with the blackened chicken alfredo ($15.95) which is again served with a choice of side. I went with the cheesy grits and they were very good. The blackened chicken had a good amount of seasoning on it, and a large amount of it was placed on top of the linguini pasta. It was a good dish. Not as good as something you’d find in a more  Cajun  inspired restaurant, but better than other similar dishes I’ve had.

Alaskan Snow Crab

Others in our group ordered the Alaskan Snow Crab ($18.95 for 1lb) which is served with corn and red potatoes, the Cajun shrimp Alfredo ($18.95), and a variety of other dishes. Everything I heard from our party was a favorable review of the restaurant.

Cajun Shrimp Alfredo

I would easily go back for more food from Dead Dog Saloon, and maybe try to stick around for some of the live music they have on the covered deck.

While on vacation near Myrtle Beach, SC my wife and I took advantage of traveling with her family to escape without our year and a half old son for a nice dinner. We haven’t had much success with babysitters back home, so this date night was long overdue. We were staying between Garden City and Surfside Beach, and decided to ride a couple of bikes up to Surfside to see what we could find. The only requirement was that there had to be non-fried fish on the menu for my wife. After a couple of strikeouts with beachfront restaurants, we headed inland a bit to Valentino’s II.

Bread And Garlic Butter

This menu at this Italian restaurant easily pleased both of us. I’m not a big fan of seafood, but I do love Italian food and they offered most of the classic dishes. In addition there is a large selection of seafood even a couple of steaks to round out the menu. All dinners come with a house salad and homemade warm bread with signature garlic butter. While I found the bread and butter to be fairly common and what you would expect, the house salad was large and fresh. Their  vinaigrette  dressing was incredible, easily one of the best I’ve ever had. It had an added tartness to it that I’ve never experienced before.

House Salad

All dinners are prepared fresh and cooked to order, but we didn’t experience a terribly long wait between our salad and main courses. During the downtime my wife sipped on a glass of sangria, while I enjoyed a cold draft beer. I should have went with wine after seeing the typical beer offerings, but I wasn’t in the mood. My wife on the other hand loved the white sangria, which was made with pinot grigio.

White Sangria

For dinner I went with the chicken parmigiana (16.95), which also came with a choice of pasta on the side, my choice was penne. The serving size was very large, two breaded chicken breasts served on top of the penne with tons of marinara and plenty of cheese to go with it. I was very happy with dish and somehow managed to eat nearly every last bite. I could have easily taken some home with me for lunch the next day, but we were on bikes and didn’t want to deal with that potential mess.

Chicken Parmigiana

My wife ordered one of the daily specials – the grouper  Florentine  ($23.95). Again this was served with a choice of pasta (she decided on angel hair) and rather than adding marinara to it just decided to have more of the Florentine sauce served with it. Again the piece of meat was large and though I didn’t have a bite of the dish, I’m told it too was very good.

Grouper Florentine

Our service was very attentive and extra friendly. I would easily return for dinner in the future. Note that the restaurant is not open for lunch and hours are 4-10pm every day. Even though we didn’t bring our son, they are kid friendly, so perhaps we will bring him along if we are ever back in the area. I think it would be hard to find a better Italian restaurant in south Myrtle Beach.

While on vacation near Myrtle Beach, I had the opportunity to do a ropes challenge course for the first time. The first level of rope bridges, balance beams, etc. was not too intimidating for me, but once I climbed up to the second and third levels, the height started to freak me out a little more. Thankfully I remembered that I was in a protective sling, which actually came in handy when I completely fell off one of the obstacles.

Outside WonderWorks

Some of my in-laws had visited the WonderWorks in Orlando and suggested we all check out the Myrtle Beach location. The first thing you’ll notice upon entering the parking lot, is the very large upside down  building. As the website says, “When you enter the building, everything will be upside-down, so in order to participate in the fun, you must be inverted. Step inside the inversion tunnel and be turned right side up to begin your journey.” This inversion tunnel simply used a swirling image on the walls of the tunnel, but the effect was really good. I honestly felt like I was flipping upside down.

Xtreme 360 Bikes

One of the first attractions we encountered inside were the Xtreme 360 Bikes where visitors pedal their way on tandem bikes as they try to generate enough power to complete a full loop over the top and back. Kim and I were not successful in getting the bikes to flip over, but were pretty close and still felt like we were upside down. The only people in our group who were successful in flipping the bike were my sister-in-law and her fiancée.

Astronaut Trey

There are over 100 different interactive exhibits throughout the three floors of the building. There is a space zone, lots of flight simulators, a bed of nails to lay on, a bubble lab, and so much more. It is pretty much a super interactive science museum. It’s obviously aimed to entertain kids, but it can be fun for parents too.

Ropes Challenge Course

Myrtle Beach on Dwellable

After driving overnight from Cincinnati our group of sixteen needed a breakfast stop before entering Myrtle Beach. We stumbled upon Mr. Waffles in Conway, a half hour or so outside of our destination. The restaurant doesn’t look that great on the outside and we nearly decided to head elsewhere, but with a group this large we figured we better take our seats rather than risk running into a wait at another restaurant.

Outside Mr. Waffles

Once inside we were greeted by our server, Gloria, who also happens to be one of the owners of the restaurant. The other owner is her husband James who works the kitchen. This truly is one of those small diners where the owners do all the work, something that is hard to find today. Gloria actually called her daughter and son-in-law to stop by and help out with our large group.

Inside Mr. Waffles

The breakfast menu is very lengthy and super cheap! I went with the single waffle combo which came with a choice of meat and potato for under $5. The single waffle is actually two waffles (the second is hidden underneath in my photo), and they were pretty tasty. This is not gourmet food by any stretch, but it is a very affordable and tasty breakfast food. Gloria was very friendly and  accommodating. I wouldn’t hesitate to stop here again on future trips to Myrtle Beach. My only complaint would be the number of smokers in the restaurant, but that is something you run into in tiny diners such as this one.

Waffle Combo

I attended my third Reds game of the season last night. Kim emailed me around lunch time to see if I was interested in free tickets to the game from her employer. Immediately I said yes, and that was before I knew that the tickets were Scout Box Seats valued at over $75 each. Our seats were directly behind home plate, about ten rows up. The Scout Seats earned their name as these are the seats that Major League scouts occupy during games, in fact one was sitting in the seat next to me.

Entrance To Scouts Alley

Trey Inside Scouts Alley

Included in the ticket price are a host of amenities, including in-seat food and beverage service, and access to Scouts Alley, a private lounge for scout box and scout seat holders only. In addition the seats are padded and two inches wider than the typical seats in the ballpark. I definitely have never been as comfortable or as close to a Major League game as I was last night.

Trey With Gapper

View From Scout Box Seats

Another Look At The Ball Park

And to top it all off, the Reds beat the Padres 7-6!

I have a few reviews to post from our most recent trip to Myrtle Beach, but before I get to those I want to share an excellent breakfast I had on another trip near Pittsburgh a few weekends ago. Some friends and I were staying at the Marriott near the Pittsburgh airport and decided to venture out for some local flavor one morning. The restaurant of choice was Eggs N’at, a funny named little diner not too far from where we were staying.

Eggs N’at

We arrived in two cars to find a mostly full parking lot, as well as a really full diner, both good signs of what was to come. The space is not very large, with just a dozen or so tables, along with a counter. We put our name on the list for a table for eight and waited outside the front door. When it was our turn we were told that we would have to split up as they can’t  accommodate  that many people together. Half of our group sat at the bar counter and my half found a table in the corner.

Looking Toward The Counter

One glance at the menu and I knew what I was getting,  Sausage Gravy and Biscuits ($6.95 for the whole / $3.95 half). I’m a sucker for this breakfast treat, especially when it is all homemade. The sausage gravy from Eggs N’at was great! Not too peppery, lots of butter flavor, and a good amount of sausage. The biscuits were sliced in half and toasted for an added crunch. I was very impressed and would easily go back for more when in the area again. I think all of my friends were pleasantly satisfied as well.

Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

If you couldn’t already tell by the lack of posts, I was on vacation last week. We left around 9pm a couple of Fridays ago for the overnight caravan drive to Myrtle Beach, specifically the southern beach near Murrells Inlet and Garden City, SC. After originally planning to return to Virginia Beach again this summer, my father-in-law found a 5 bedroom house for us all that would be cheaper than going the hotel route in Virginia Beach again.

Sun soaked family shot.

Though the house says it accommodates 16, we managed to squeeze in 23 at one point (though that was just for one of the nights). If I counted correctly 13 of us stayed for the full week, while others came and went as their life  commitments  allowed. I was a little scared that the house was going to be too small, but even on the most crowded night, it seemed large enough for the group.

Group Shot

Besides even if some felt it was a little crowded at times (early morning with Trey can be noisy), the house was right on the beach and shared a private pool with 11 other similarly sized vacation homes (a fourth of which seemed empty). Plus the Garden City Pier was just over a mile away where plenty of bars, rides, and shops were ready for the young adult crowd. With so much around we only managed to drive to the Myrtle Beach boardwalk one night and to Broadway at the Beach a couple of other times for entertainment. Obviously we spent the most time playing in the waves or on the sand.

Bodyboarding

Trey in the Ocean

Trey in the Fridge

Dressing Like Dad

Sandwich Counter

After my last day of jury duty service, I stopped in to Silverglades on 8th for lunch. The deli sits on the corner of 8th and Sycamore. They have another location in Findley Market but I don’t think the lunch sandwiches and salads are offered there. It is a little confusing when walking into the location on 8th. A made to order salad bar is off to the left side, while the sandwich ordering counter is to the right. In the middle is the cash register used for all purchases.

Salad Counter

It wasn’t all that crowded, but it was after 1pm on a weekday. I walked over to the sandwich counter and didn’t make it past the first item on their menu before knowing exactly what I wanted. The Renaissance sandwich features Silverglades signature walnut grape chicken salad with lettuce, tomato, and onion on a croissant ($5.99). A bag of “dirty” chips and a fountain drink can be added for $1.75 more, which I gladly took advantage of.

The Renaissance

The sandwich was prepared within a few minutes time and came with a massive dill pickle spear. After paying for my selections I filled my cup with fresh brewed tea and found a seat near the salad counter. After the first bite I knew that I was going to love this sandwich. The chicken salad is ground up very finely, but you can definitely taste the grape and walnut flavors even if their textures are missing. I’m always a fan of chicken salad on a croissant, and this croissant was one of the tops I’ve had. All of the toppings were fresh and the pickle was good too. I’m not downtown for lunch often, but if I were this sandwich would definitely be in my regular rotation.

A couple of weekends ago I took the family out to Mason to meet an old friend for lunch. After a quick online search we settled on the Lucky Dog Grille. Once we finally found the restaurant that is slightly hidden behind the gas station on the corner, we nearly decided to go somewhere else. The outside of the strip mall location appeared dark and there were only a couple of cars in the parking lot. However we decided to stick it out and see what they had to offer.

I was shocked upon entering the restaurant that is much larger and brighter on the inside than what the outside leads you to believe. There is a fairly large bar area as well as a massive dining room area filled with tables that can easily be pulled together to fit the largest of groups. As the parking lot indicated, there were only a few other customers inside. After waiting a few minutes to be greeted, I approached the bar to ask if we should just seat ourselves, and then found a table near the windows.

Before we could take our seats, one of the servers on the floor grabbed some menus for us and offered to get a high chair for our little one. The menu is a tad overwhelming and has everything from wings to salads, sandwiches, build your own burgers, and even steak or tilapia. They also have a nice selection of 24 different beers on tap.

Twisted Chicken Philly

I ordered the twisted chicken  Philly served with onion petals ($8.49). The sandwich was large and tasted good. I could have used a little sauce on it, perhaps the Teriyaki that is served on another Philly would have helped. The onion petals were great and the spicy  dipping  sauce that came with it was a nice touch.

BBQ Chicken Flatbread

As she so often does, my wife managed to order something that I cannot find on the online menu. However I do remember that it was a BBQ chicken flatbread. I don’t recall how much it cost but I think it was fairly cheap, and it better have been based on the size of the pizza. I had a couple bites and  fortunately  the taste made up for what it lacked in size. I don’t recall there being any unique toppings on it, but the toppings that were there were well plentiful.

Looking back on it now, I think I should have ordered some of their specialty big dog grilled wings, and I would definitely do that on a future visit. I don’t think Lucky Dog is worth a special trip to Mason. However if you are in the area you could do a lot worse.

I must have some amazing ticket karma currently, or perhaps a good plan along with a little luck. I spent the weekend outside of Pittsburgh, PA attending back to back nights of Dave Matthews Band concerts. If you recall from my experience at the beginning of the tour, I received a couple of free pit upgrades for showing my Volkswagen Jetta key. Even though I didn’t drive the Jetta to Pittsburgh, I still took along an extra key hoping for more upgrade opportunities.

My friend Will and I walked into the venue on the first night just as the opening band was playing their last notes. I quickly remembered that the VW girls were spotted during the set break, so we sprinted up the side of the lawn and immediately saw the distinctive VW blue shirt being worn by a girl holding a sign. She was walking away from us so we quickly ran toward her while yelling that we have a key. Guess what? It worked again, and we were rewarded with pit upgrades!

Unfortunately by the time we gained the wristbands necessary for entry into the pit, the standing room area was completely overflowing with people. Rather than trying to fight the crowds, we found another couple of friends that were down in the first ten rows of seats and were fortunate enough to watch the entire show with them. The people who had tickets for the seats next to theirs never showed up.

Finally got to use my tailgate for it’s intended purpose.

DMB Takes the Stage

A little too far for my crappy iPhone camera.

Awesome Light Show

Great Venue – take notes Riverbend.

When the second night rolled around all of my friends wanted in on the pit action. So we devised a plan to get in early and be ready to get as many pit upgrades as we could. I realized that they must start combing the lawn immediately after the opening band finished their set, so we found the VW booth and waited for them to work their way toward the lawn.

Apparently we weren’t the only ones with this plan, as the VW girls were quickly bombarded before they could even technically hit the grass lawn. A friend was told earlier that they couldn’t give out the tickets until they were on the lawn. Even with the large crowd we had no problem getting four pairs of pit upgrades for everyone in our group. Fortunately the pit wasn’t as crowded this night, at least not early on, so we all headed there to enjoy the show up close and personal.

I’m not going to make it to any other shows on this tour. However I would encourage anyone that is going to any future shows, be sure to find a VW key, get inside before the opening band finishes their set, find the VW booth, and be ready to get yourself an upgrade. I attended three shows on the tour and got the upgrade at all three.

Part Of Our Pit Group

Amazing Video Screens

Tim Reynolds

Great Views in the Pit

Lasers