Sparkle City Eateries

[alias007]

I want a Popeye's chicken. I just felt like saying that.

[Sparkleman]

Looks like the Tap Room is ready to roll.

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20091110/ARTICLES/911101016/1112?Title=Tap-Room-at-RJ-Rockers-in-downtown-ready-to-pour

[Spartan]

Croc's Sports and Wings and Main Street Pub are going to open up in time for the Palmetto Bowl. I'm looking forward to trying them out, though it will be a while before I can get back.

HJ Article

[Spartan]

Main Street Pub will be a mainstay in Spartanburg. This is the type of bar that Spartanburg has needed for years. Their food is all appetizers, but Spartanburg has lacked a true "bar for the sake of a bar" in downtown. The train that goes by only adds to the ambiance, and I mean that in all seriousness. It's just a good spot, good almost "college-town-like" atmosphere. Lot's of TV's to watch games. No smoking inside, but a nice smoking area outside for those who wish to partake. It's just a good place to go hang out. Like I've always said, if someone will just open up a good bar in the right place, it will do fine.

Crocs? Meh. It's ok, but I was unimpressed. Their food situation is lacking. They are connected to Sonny's, in the back. Sonny's re-tooled their menu to have wings instead of pasta. My group ended up going down to Sonny's. Croc's is definitely more of a bar sports bar extension of Sonny's than it is its own establishment. I'd be interested to know how this compares to the original on Pelham Rd.

At any rate, the fact that I can now walk two blocks in Spartanburg (and not on Morgan Square) and find 4 bars/restaurants is a big step in the right direction. Spartanburg is slowly but surely gaining on the downtown activity front. I think that the activity in the bars/restaurants tonight shows that the capacity exists if the right establishments can open up.

[Sparkleman]

Main Street Pub will be a mainstay in Spartanburg. This is the type of bar that Spartanburg has needed for years. Their food is all appetizers, but Spartanburg has lacked a true "bar for the sake of a bar" in downtown. The train that goes by only adds to the ambiance, and I mean that in all seriousness. It's just a good spot, good almost "college-town-like" atmosphere. Lot's of TV's to watch games. No smoking inside, but a nice smoking area outside for those who wish to partake. It's just a good place to go hang out. Like I've always said, if someone will just open up a good bar in the right place, it will do fine.

Crocs? Meh. It's ok, but I was unimpressed. Their food situation is lacking. They are connected to Sonny's, in the back. Sonny's re-tooled their menu to have wings instead of pasta. My group ended up going down to Sonny's. Croc's is definitely more of a bar sports bar extension of Sonny's than it is its own establishment. I'd be interested to know how this compares to the original on Pelham Rd.

At any rate, the fact that I can now walk two blocks in Spartanburg (and not on Morgan Square) and find 4 bars/restaurants is a big step in the right direction. Spartanburg is slowly but surely gaining on the downtown activity front. I think that the activity in the bars/restaurants tonight shows that the capacity exists if the right establishments can open up.

My group was also downtown Saturday night after the big USC win and I echo what Spartan says about Main St pub. We then hopped over to the Tap Room which is basically Terry's Tap Room in a new locale. It was ok, but nowhere near the place MSP is. After a couple there we headed to Crocs and what a mistake that was. Crocs is a serious dump. Its hard to believe any new $$$ went into this joint. it was smokey and the crowd was rough. I am pretty sure we will not head back when there are now other choices. We finished the night at Wild Wing for dinner and it was pretty good. At least the service was serviceable.

On another note a buddy of mine told me that there were lines around 2 downtown bars this past Wednesday night. I figure they were MSP and the Tap Room which is another good sign. This guy was at the Nu Way and he said it was packed as well with Shane Pruitt blowing the doors off the place.

[travey]

We walked in RJ Tap room last Saturday but didn't feel "the vibe" so went to Main St. Tavern. Concerte floors and tons of big screens... football on. My impression, mostly young crowd (25 -ish) yelling for their favorite teman. Had one beer and left. Service good. Nice but nothing super special. Another bar. More revenues from the hospitality tax.

I'd rather have a dessert bar !

[Spartan]

Exactly. It's just a good normal bar, which IMO is something lacking in Spartanburg.

[Sparkleman]

What Main St Pub really is is an upscaled Nu Way. Its bigger, has more flat screens, and is a lot more cleaner. I like the Nu Way a lot, but I am starting to love MSP.

[Spartan]

MSP's food selection leaves something to be desired though. Miscellaneous appetizers aren't enough for me

[drexel]

I love the Nu-Way burgers! I can not handle the smoke anymore...so THANK YOU Main Street Pub and The Tap Room. I believe almost every city with a population of over 40,000 in South Carolina has a non-smoking ordinance, except Spartanburg. In two weeks most NC bars and resturants will be non-smoking. Why not require any establishment that allows people under 21 to be non-smoking? I want a smoking ban, but believe places like the Cigar Bar and Lil D's should still be allowed to have smoking. Any thoughts?

[roads-scholar]

I love the Nu-Way burgers! I can not handle the smoke anymore...so THANK YOU Main Street Pub and The Tap Room. I believe almost every city with a population of over 40,000 in South Carolina has a non-smoking ordinance, except Spartanburg. In two weeks most NC bars and resturants will be non-smoking. Why not require any establishment that allows people under 21 to be non-smoking? I want a smoking ban, but believe places like the Cigar Bar and Lil D's should still be allowed to have smoking. Any thoughts?

Agree! Smoking is unhealthy, dirty, and generally offensive to non-smokers like me. Dining next to smoking restaurant patrons is uncomfortable. I totally support mandating that all restaurants become smoke-free. Years ago New York City adopted a smoke-free ordinance for restaurants and opponents predicted everything from riots in the street to the demise of the city. Nothing of the sort happened. Spartanburg too will eventually adopt a non-smoking ordinance and when it does, there will be the usual cries of doom and gloom but in due course everyone will adjust.

[Spartan]

Greeville tried it and it was opposed for a while. After the law was repealed the businesses kept it in place because their business remained the or increased (at least, that's my understanding of the situation). People don't like it because they think its intrusive government, but I'm of the mindset that someone has to represent the public's interest here, and government sometimes has to create an enforce laws that are "unpopular" initially. Of course, by that I mean that an extremely vocal minority of smokers and right wingers will argue against it... but I would bet money that if you put it to a referendum that people would vote in favor of the ban.

[lifeisajourney]

I recently tried Sahara, the new Mediterranean restaurant across from Ingles on 29. It was really tasty with a good variety on the lunch buffet.

I'm glad Spartanburg has a good Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurant now...I'll be back.

[travey]

I finally had the chance to try Converse Deli. It lived up to its hype. I had a Cuban. THere were several I wanted to try. 2 sandwiches with one side and 1 tea and 1 water..almost $20. Friendly staff, a good exp., and Tasty!!!

I also like the fact that the guy who envisioned this is about 30yrs. old and is delivering the goods and also on the line making the sandwiches

[hub-city]

I started to go there today myself, but drove on by... I'm ccurrently on my "New Year's" diet so did they have any low calorie offerings?

[roads-scholar]

I recently tried Sahara, the new Mediterranean restaurant across from Ingles on 29. It was really tasty with a good variety on the lunch buffet.

I'm glad Spartanburg has a good Mediterranean/Middle Eastern restaurant now...I'll be back.

Sahara was good - I tried the lunch buffet the other day. I'm looking forward to dinner there.

Also spoke with the owner - a Jordanian immigrant who has lived in Boiling Springs for nine years.

[westside96]

I just heard that a Longhorn Steakhouse will be built on Spartanburg's westside this summer.

[hub-city]

Do you know where the Longhorn will be?

Edited January 26, 2010 by hub-city

[spartanburgh]

Its about time they returned to Spartanburg. This is really good news, although I would have liked the Eastside better.

[Spartan]

I hope they choose to locate by the movie theater. I hate all of that vacant land. It's all going to be used for suburban development anyway, so Longhorn fits the mold perfectly. I think the developers envisioned that as a "restaurant row" ...though admittedly that could have been an idea we cooked up here on UP

[westside96]

Do you know where the Longhorn will be?

No, I was just told somewhere on Spartanburg's westside.

[roads-scholar]

No, I was just told somewhere on Spartanburg's westside.

The old Hops location needs a tenant.

[Sparkleman]

How about a good backward ass tale from 1 of our downtown restaurants?

So its the weekend and my wife and I am taking my 2 nieces out for dinner. They want to go to Mellow Mushroom which is fine with me as I love their pizza. There is a wait so I go to the bar to get a couple of brews. I order a Mich Ultra for the wife and a Rockers Downtown Brown for myself. Sorry sir we don't have the brown, that's fine I'll just take a pale. Sorry sir, we don't carry Rockers on tap, we only have the Patriot pale in the bottle, but we have Shock Top, Fat Tire, & Magic Hat on tap. I then proceeded to blast the bar tender for not having the hometown brew on tap. He said its not his call but the manager's. Well I ordered a Bud, killed it and (still fuming) then told the kids that there would not be a wait at Sonny's and would that do. They said yes and away we went.

Is it just me or does it defy logic to not carry the hometown brew (except 1 flavor in a bottle) in a Spartanburg Pizzaria where you have 15 other brews on tap? I am really considering taking 6 guys up to MM with me to start a pub crawl and telling them the deal ahead of time. When we get there we all order Rockers beers and when they tell us they do not have them, we just stroll to the next joint and remind them they are missing out on some serious coin.

I am pretty sure I am going to have to boycott MM unless I am getting the pie to go and even then that might take some doing to go there.

[roads-scholar]

How about a good backward ass tale from 1 of our downtown restaurants?

So its the weekend and my wife and I am taking my 2 nieces out for dinner. They want to go to Mellow Mushroom which is fine with me as I love their pizza. There is a wait so I go to the bar to get a couple of brews. I order a Mich Ultra for the wife and a Rockers Downtown Brown for myself. Sorry sir we don't have the brown, that's fine I'll just take a pale. Sorry sir, we don't carry Rockers on tap, we only have the Patriot pale in the bottle, but we have Shock Top, Fat Tire, & Magic Hat on tap. I then proceeded to blast the bar tender for not having the hometown brew on tap. He said its not his call but the manager's. Well I ordered a Bud, killed it and (still fuming) then told the kids that there would not be a wait at Sonny's and would that do. They said yes and away we went.

Is it just me or does it defy logic to not carry the hometown brew (except 1 flavor in a bottle) in a Spartanburg Pizzaria where you have 15 other brews on tap? I am really considering taking 6 guys up to MM with me to start a pub crawl and telling them the deal ahead of time. When we get there we all order Rockers beers and when they tell us they do not have them, we just stroll to the next joint and remind them they are missing out on some serious coin.

I am pretty sure I am going to have to boycott MM unless I am getting the pie to go and even then that might take some doing to go there.

Should you blame the manager or should you blame RJ Rockers?

MM is a chain and the manager may not have any emotional attachment to Spartanburg.

[Spartan]

I would take it up with the management. I"m not sure if any MM's carry local beers though... but that place is ass backwards for other reasons too. I decided a while back that I don't like that particular MM. The food is good, but I don't like how smokers get to sit up front and non-smokers get stuck in the back area looking at the kitchen or parking lot. I'm willing to tolerate smoking in restaurants, but I refuse to be treated like a second class citizen because I'm in the majority.

I think there is some blame on Rockers though. While I'm no beer salesman, I think they have to approach restaurants and bars to sell their stuff when its a local brewery. Do any other chain restaurants in Spartanburg sell RJ Rockers?