El Mexicano Restaurant: Spartanburg, SC

Do you ever get sick and tired of the same old "American" style Mexican food? Well, you get a lot of that at El Mexicano Restaurant in Spartanburg. The one thing that makes El Mexicano stand out from the rest of the other glorified American/Mexican restaurants is that they do it really well.

The lunch menu is your basic combo/specials with beans and rice. Nothing is over $4.99 and it is served up piping hot in a matter of 3-5 minutes. The ground beef had really good flavor compared to others and not greasy at all. The beans and rice were actually eatable and were not bland tasting like I am used to receiving. The addition of freshly grated Queso over everything added additional flavors and really tied everything together. My only complaint about my meal was that I waited too long to dig into the Chalupa. By the time I had finished everything else on my plate, the Chalupa shell had become soggy and was tough to eat. That's on me and not on El Mexicano though.

Overall, El Mexicano may be your typical American/Mexican fare, but it is well worth a stop. With five locations to chose from, you cannot go wrong with the prices and the quality of food that is served. In and out in under 30 minutes for a grand total of $7.17 with drink and tax. You will not be disappointed with the service either. They have about 10-15, friendly staff constantly running this way and that and each and everyone of them is more than willing to step-up and fill your soda or get you more salsa. Not too bad for a quick sit-down lunch all served up with fresh chips and two bottles of salsa (mid and hot).

Grille 33: Downtown Greenville

This past weekend the family and I ventured downtown in months of built-up anticipation on trying out Grille 33 @ The Channel. Being a "self-proclaimed" Juicy Lucy expert, I had high hopes that Grille 33 may be able to fill this void since relocating from Minnesota to South Carolina. After reviewing the online menu, I came across two particular burgers that could possibly be classified as a Minnesota Juicy Lucy with the description of "Stuffed w/(insert cheese here)". The Stone, ● Stuffed w/American Cheese, housed between a Glazed Doughnut and the Cleveland, ● Stuffed w/Monterrey Jack. Could this be true, does Greenville, SC really know what a Juicy Lucy is and is it available right in my backyard and it took me 4 months to discover it?

The answer, NO. It's just a double burger with cheese on top of each of the patties. Oh well, so much for finding a Juicy Lucy in the Upstate. Maybe someday, someone will figure it out, until then I will just have to enjoy a good old fashioned burger at one of many great burger joints in this town.

As for Grille 33 and its burgers, well, they are just OK. The wife's burger was burnt and over cooked, but mine was just your average frozen patties thrown on the grill. Nothing great and nothing terrible about them. The addition of the glazed doughnut for a bun is pure genius however. I know that this isn't the first restaurant to offer this, but I highly recommend that you try it at least once. My only words of advice is to leave the mustard off the burger as I made the mistake of adding mustard to my burger and it didn't go so well with the glazed doughnut. The doughnut melts in your mouth as if it just came out of the oven and acts as a good sponge to soak up all the grease from the burger. The O'Rings were average and maybe just a little under fried. The wife chose to go with the sweet potato fries and they were your typical frozen kind you would find at the supermarket. My 1 year old thought they were fantastic and we couldn't feed them to him quick enough.

I personally feel that the prices are a bit on the steep end for the quality and the portions that you are served, but I have no problem whatsoever paying for it here and would even return if they raised the prices as it is going to a good cause. Every dollar after expenses is donated to The Channel a 501c3 non-profit organization.

"So what exactly is The Channel? The Channel is a 501c3 non-profit with a mission to impact our city by providing an all ages, alcohol free music venue and gathering spot. We are an organization that creates authentic community by loving Jesus and loving people, no matter who you are or what you believe."

The restaurant itself has a bright future in downtown Greenville. The staff are some of the best in all of downtown and the service is top-notch. From the moment we walked in the door to the second we walked out with full bellies, we were treated as a guest. Always a smile and everyone in the entire place truly appeared to enjoy being here. I get the feeling that this isn't about having a job for many of the employees, but it is something they strongly believe in and are passionate about.

Overall, Grille 33 is not the best burger available, but one could argue that they offer some of the most creative burger options. They have a goal in what they are trying to accomplish and they make that clear. The food is your average, everyday pub fare and as long as they stick to that, they will be around for a long time. I personally will be back and will be back often with my family. This is arguably one of the best family-kid friendly restaurants in all of downtown.

"Each burger is named after a street in the downtown district. Some brave souls try the Stone Burger, which is an Angus patty stuffed with American cheese housed inside a grilled glazed doughnut…sounds bizarre, but EVERYONE loves it! For the healthier eaters, you’ll find phenomenal salads and black-bean burgers. Grille 33 also sports a 150” TV screen to watch your favorite team. And don’t forget the delicious sweet potato fries, or a Coffee Creation at the Moose and Mug Coffee Bar."

Silver Bay Seafood: Simpsonville, SC

So what do you get when you enter a restaurant and you are the youngest person in the entire establishment by at least 30 years? You get a very cheap seafood restaurant that offers dinner for $5.99. And when I say cheap, I only am referencing the price of the food.

As soon as you sit down, you are presented some of the best hush puppies in the world. And they are unlimited, if you want more, all you have to do is ask. The menu is your pretty basic seafood with every kind of fish, oysters to scallops and crab you could imagine. Everything is offered basically grilled, broiled or fried. You can mix and match whatever you want and get a portion enough to feed you for three days for very cheap. And it actually tastes great.

I went for the combo, broiled scallops and broiled red snapper. I think it was a whopping $14.99 for a dozed medium sized scallops and a 10oz portion of snapper. The scallops were the best scallops I have ever had in my life, broiled perfect with a nice crust on one side and nice and soft in the middle. It had some sort of butter/lemon/something or another sauce over the top that was baked into the scallop. The red snapper wasn't the best I have ever had, but for being cooked on not in the form of a sushi roll, it was good and served its purpose.

Overall, don't be afraid of the really strong fish smell when you first walk into this restaurant cause the food will not disappoint in any way. Their must be a reason why Silver Bay was voted "Best Restaurant in the Upstate". You can feed a family of 5 for under $20 if you order a daily special. Also, I'm not big on take out or left over seafood, but they do offer a drive through pick-up window if your into that kind of thing.