We had reservations for 6:30 but had to push them back. Riverside was very accommodating and it seemed no be no big deal. We showed up right on time and only had a brief wait. We were seated in a nice booth and a drink order was promptly taken and brought to us.

As I looked around the place I was really digging the historic photos and fish mounted on the wall. Our first taste of Riverside was the blackened shrimp nachos. I know, it sounds weird but trust me on this one. They are absolutely scrumptious. And after eating them I wasn’t sure I would have room for my entree.

Then came our salads, which were excellent as well. They weren’t the iceburg lettuce ones that you find in so many restaurants. These were the real deal, composed of nice greens and a real treat.

At this point, I was contemplating telling them to put the rest of my dinner in a box to go, since I would have to eat it later. But I resisted and decided to go for it.

Out came my filet, and lobster tail. I was expecting the typical Red Lobster type of lobster tail. However, this thing was HUGE! My wonderful girlfriend had the softshell crabs which were delicious as well.

So in conclusion I would have to recommend Riverside in Swansboro for a fine dining experience in the Crystal Coast area. It is my new favorite restaurant in Swansboro.

Well upon entering I think both of us were kind of digging the interior of the diner. It’s like stepping back in time or something. I really felt like we were in the fifties once we got inside. And that’s pretty cool to me, it at least looked like the place had some real history. No doubt countless visitors to Atlantic Beach have stopped in the 4 Corners Diner.

Well we sat at the counter and explained we were just going to have coffee since we were killing time. After our first cup of coffee it dawned on my dad that he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. I only ate a little sandwich earlier in the morning so we decided to give the $2.95 breakfast special a try. I mean how could you go wrong with one egg, choice of hash browns or grits, and toast for only $2.95.

I half expected it to be horrible due to the price. But thankfully it was actually very good. In fact I would have to say 4 Corners Diner has the best breakfast value of any Atlantic Beach restaurant choice. So I will be definitely be hitting this spot again the next time I’m in the area.

Thank you 4 Corners Diner for making a great breakfast at a great price. I know my dad and  enjoyed starting our morning in Atlantic Beach with a good breakfast under our belts.

As for the food, it’s outstanding. I’ve had about 4 or 5 of their different sandwiches and each of them are mouth watering masterpieces. Quiznos is by far the best restaurant in Cape Carteret in my opinion. I have it listed with some fast food places on my Cape Carteret Restaurants page, but its so much better than fast food. Not to mention they’re usually just as fast as any fast food place in town.

Cleanliness is king at Quiznos, even when they’re slam full of people they manage to keep the place nice and clean. I’ve used the restroom here a couple times and it was always clean enough to pass a military inspection. In the middle of summer when most restaurants are grossly over run with flies I don’t remember seeing any in Quiznos.

The price is comparable to subway, but you’ll see that the quality of a Quznos toasty sub makes Subway look like a joke. Personally I haven’t eaten at the Subway in Cape Carteret since Quiznos opened.

So if you’re in the neighborhood and need to grab a tasty, quick bite, head to Quiznos. I strongly doubt you’ll be disappointed. If you’re living here on the Crystal Coast I bet you make it there many more times after your first visit.

Of course the first time I tried to try them out was Labor Day weekend. Needless to say Chowdaheads was packed. Not even a parking spot available for me. A couple weeks ago I was down at the beach and it wasn’t lunch time or dinner time, it was in between those, so I figured I would be able to get in there.

All I can really say is WOW! I’m glad I made it to Chowdaheads. It’s one of my favorite Emerald Isle Restaurants now. My parents were right as usual. The fish tacos were off the chain. The service was outstanding. They make their own chips that are really good as well. Another bonus is the fact they even have Tobasco sauce!

I made it back about a week later for another round of tacos and took them to go so I could eat at the beach. They were just as good as the first time. This time I even sprung for desert a multi layer fudge/caramel cake. My only disappointment was the good looking gal my dad told me about wasn’t there either time I visited.

So if you find yourself in Emerald Isle and your stomach starts growling, be sure to check out Chowdaheads for lunch or dinner. Beware though, in the off-season many local restaurants operate on a limited schedule. I give this restaurant two thumbs up.

I’ll be truthful with you, the first time I ate at Jordan’s I was not too impressed. I had just moved to Emerald Isle several years ago, and went there for lunch on an early spring day. The waitress I had was not very friendly, or helpful. I wanted a shrimp burger, but I wanted them to buffalo the shrimp. It’s not a complicated process, and I’m sure they have hot sauce in the kitchen. I would have even paid extra for this. But too my surprise she acted like this was a big deal, and went to check if they could do it. Well to my dismay, they could not buffalo my shrimp. So I never went back for a few years.

Then two summers ago, my buddy was craving Jordan’s and I was like, “Dude I hate that place.” But he talked me into it, because he assured me if I ordered what he was going to get, I would love it. So I went. And he introduced me to the bay scallops. These little heavenly morsels are OUTSTANDING!

My mind was changed, and I now love Jordan’s. The bay scallops are a local favorite. All in all it is not a bad place to eat while visiting in Emerald Isle. So for completely changing my mind I figured I would give them the official two-thumbs up from Crystal Coast News. It’s still not my favorite Emerald Isle restaurant but it is definitely a great place to eat dinner and have a cocktail.

There will be burgers, dogs, wings, a nacho bar, and kegs of Miller Lite or Yuengling. To me this all sounds like the makings of an excellent super bowl party in Emerald Isle.

Ballyhoos will also be having a pig picking for you to enjoy outside. Plus there will be a 10ft. big screen to view the game on.

If you’ve never made it to Ballyhoos, you may want to check out the Super Bowl Party this year. And if you have other plans, cancel them. No just kidding, but do come out later since I’m sure the good times will keep on rolling even after the game.

The crew at this place will most definitely go out of their way to ensure you have a good time with them. The food here is always outstanding, and the service is second to none.  There is a reason it is my favorite restaurant in Emerald Isle.

I’m sure once you visit Ballyhoos once, you’ll be hooked and return again and again. Be sure to try a Crabby Patty if you get hungry. It’s one of the best crab cake sandwiches you’ll find anywhere.

Oh be sure to tell them Jason from Crystal Coast News sent you.

Only minutes from Emerald Isle and Cape Carteret in Cedar Point you will find some excellent BBQ. I was trying to call in my order earlier, but the answering machine picked up and said they were closed, but I knew they were open. They really need to fix that. 

Things like that usually are enough to make me choose another restaurant. But tonight I was craving Bogue House BBQ and chicken. So as much as I wanted to drive right past them and go to the Chinese restaurant in Cape Carteret, I had to pull in.

The extremely friendly gal at the counter took my order and told me it would be no more than five minutes. You know what? My food was in my hands in less than four minutes.

And when I got it home, I was in hillbilly heaven with the potato salad, fried okra, fried chicken, and Carolina BBQ. I’m so full right now, I might pop if I try to move. So for this Crystal Coast restaurant review Bogue House gets two thumbs up.

I also looked at their website and was amazed to see one Crystal Coast restaurant owner that understands how important the web is to their business. The Bogue House Restaurant site is modern and clean looking. As a matter of fact, it may be the best area restaurant website in my opinion.

I had no idea they shipped BBQ all over the country. What a novel idea! Another thing I liked about their site is the specials in the left sidebar pop-up with a nice picture of the meal. And these aren’t like McDonald’s pictures where it looks nothing like the food you get. Their photos are the real deal.

I’d like to wish Bogue House a great year in 2009. Keep up the good work.

I was surprised by the large number of people eating at Rucker’s on Saturday. I mean it is winter here on the Crystal Coast, which means us locals kind of have free reign of the place. 

But there was actually like a 10 or 15 minute wait before we were seated. Once were seated, my date immediately noticed their pictures in the rear dining area were all crooked. Typically I don’t pay much attention to these things, but when she pointed them out I noticed they were all crooked. VERY crooked. No big deal though. Just had to mention it, perhaps the manager will see this and fix them.

She had the spinach salad which looked awesome and she seemed to really like it. I however, needed something meatier. I’m a fish lover, and I know Rucker’s has a “catch of the day” which I’m sure wasn’t caught that day, but I had to have some fish. 

Usually you’ll never see me eating salmon. I lived in Seattle WA for several years and ate so much salmon I could probably go the rest of my life without it, but Saturday it sounded good. 

And as always Rucker John’s delivered. The salmon was outstanding. So if you’re heading out for dinner give Rucker John’s a try. You’ll probably like it.

It took 55 firefighters five hours to bring the blaze under control. Investigators say the fire looks suspicious. The SBI is now in charge of the case.

It doesn’t seem that long ago that the El Zarape in Emerald Isle caught fire. I can’t help but ask myself, “Are these guys burning their restaurants to collect insurance money or something?” I mean it strikes me as very odd that you own several restaurants and two of them catch on fire in a pretty close time span.

Anything is possible though, I guess. I imagine they have a few disgruntled employees and one of them may have done this. Either way its a bummer because when I’m in Atlantic Beach, I love to eat at El Zarape.

The one that just burned was my favorite too, because it overlooked the water and some fishing boats. I sure hope the owners are not guilty of any wrongdoing and that they re-open this restaurant in Atlantic Beach.