The Islander

The local watering hole. Every small town has one...and in Pendleton, SC the watering hole is most certainly The Lazy Islander (unless you are a biker babe...in that case The Twisted Spoke is your go-to). More commonly known as simply, "The Islander", this place has it all. Cheap booze, karaoke on weekends, and a heck of a good time. As mentioned in my previous post I LOVE karaoke, so if the ranch is good then I might as well move in because I'd never want to leave! On a recent visit home some friends and I decide to go fetch some drinks and sing a little karaoke. All of them know about Ranch Out and insisted that I get a plate of fries with some ranch so that I could make a new post. Little did I know, the fries Brittany ordered were no ordinary fries. The potatoes were jazzed up by being fried once, then covered in hot sauce and fried again for that extra crunch. BINGO! These paired with some homeade ranch could arguably be called "The Holy Duo". The cooling effect of the ranch compliments these spicy french fries perfectly. Add a Coors Light to the mix...Woah! I thought the ranch was great...thin consistency, cold temperature, nice coloring. Only complaints I have is the 1)the minuscule serving, and 2)a slightly sour aftertaste (let me stress the slight, only someone with my acute ranch tasting skills would even notice. I would highly recommend this place to anyone visiting the upstate, and the ranch too. 4.1 out of 5 stars. 

Silvertron Cafe

Long time no Ranch! Back in April, some of my best friends and I went to Birmingham, Alabama to celebrate my 23rd birthday. Those close to me know that I have another love in this life other than ranch dressing...singing karaoke. It turned out that Birmingham has a bar called "The Nick" where you can sing karaoke with a live band...so naturally I dragged my friends kicking and screaming to Bama so I could sing at this place. Anyways, one morning of this trip we weren't feeling too fresh and needed a nice meal (accompanied by some ranch of course) to put some pep in our step. Drew (my best guy friend in the whole world) knew of this great little restaurant called Silvertron Cafe, and so we decided to check it out. I ordered a burger, some thin & crispy french fries, and as always, a side of ranch. The waitress presented me with a very generous serving of ranch. Wonderful coloring, nice ranch aroma, perfect cool temperature, and that thin consistency I always look for. Drew took a picture for me and we were out the door. We went browsing at some nearby shops, and I was surprised when the man pictured below tapped me on the shoulder and said "Ma'am, I think you forgot your credit card." Sooo typical of me. This guy had overheard us talking at the table about shopping, and when he noticed that I had left my card, went into every store on the block to try and give it back to me. Talk about customer service! He was my hero!! I couldn't wait to get home and write my review! Unfortunately, Drew lost his phone that next day and had never sent me the photo. Without a photo there is really no point in making a new post, so I was super bummed. I shared my ranch woes with a work pal, and he informed me that he was going to Bham on business soon and didn't mind stopping by Silvertron to get some pics. What a great friend! I couldn't believe that he did it! To be completely honest, his pictures are much better than mine; I need to step my game up. I personally think that the second photo with the floral arrangement and the people eating in the background could be on a food magazine cover...just saying. As for the rating...with the combination of excellent customer service, large serving size, great taste, and all the trouble went to get this photo, the Silvertron most certainly gets 5 out of 5 stars! Here is Silvertron's menu: http://www.silvertroncafe.us/