June | 2012 | The Opinionated Woman's Musings

If you have travelled Interstate 95 North from Florida through Georgia and South Carolina, you have probably seen the signs telling you about South of the Border. South of the Border is a tourist trap at the SC/NC line. After years and years of seeing the signs urging me to visit, I felt like I had to go just to see what it was all about. Yes, I knew it was a tourist trap but my curiosity got the best of me. Once we took the exit to South of the Border, I saw a hotel, reptile lagoon, gift shop, and a small amusement park. I did not go to the reptile lagoon because I did not have a desire to see a bunch of snakes. The hotel, with its faded paint, looked like a downgrade from Motel 6 from the outside. Not commenting on the number of stars of the hotel per se becasue I don’t know what the rooms look like. Just saying, it did not look like much from the outside. The amusement park was not open but the rides looked like fair rides for children. I do not have children, so I did not check that out either.

The place is as kitschy as you can get. I thought that they go overboard with the stereotypical depiction of Mexican people. Brightly colored ponchos and other souvenir items were for sale in the gift shop.
Back in its hay day, I am sure that South of the Border was probably a happening, lively excursion for the enjoyment of the entire family. Now days, they probably need to figure how to revamp the place, slap on a new coat of paint, and come up with some activities to attract more people. Water park anyone?

Overall, since I do not have children, there is probably not anything that would inspire me to go back.

Going to Myrtle Beach means eventually ending up at one of the many pancake houses. Unfortunately for us, we went to Omega Pancake House on Kings Hwy near the Convention Center. The fact that there were only 4 cars in the parking lot should have been a clue that we should have went elsewhere. But it was 1:00 in the afternoon. I was thinking that we arrived after the brunch/lunch time rush.

In any case, we entered a nearly empty restaurant.

I ordered French toast, bacon, and 2 fried eggs. Dave ordered chicken sandwich and fries. I did not take a picture of our food because it was kind of sad. Scratch that. It was very sad. I only took a picture of the sign on the outside after I left because I realized that I need to tell people about the disappointment they should expect if they decide to dine at this restaurant.

1. The French toast was Texas toast that has not been fully coated in the egg mixture. It was more fried Texas toast than French toast.

2. The eggs were supposed to be fried hard, but had a very liquid center. I don’t like liquid center.

3. The chicken sandwich was inedible because the chicken was so tough. Dave tried to cut the chicken with a steak knife with little success.

The service at the restaurant was okay and our server was friendly enough. We did not send our food back because we were doubtful the cook would be able to bring us something better. I felt like we were on an episode of Restaurant Impossible BEFORE celebrity chef Robert Irvine shows up. I wanted to go Hell’s Kitchen on the cook and yell “What the #$%* is this mess you are trying to pass off as lunch?” But I did not feel like getting arrested.

I realized the best word to summarize the food was MEDIOCRE

Overall, unless they appear on Restaurant Impossible for a total makeover or have a change in management, I doubt the food will improve. Better to go to IHOP than this pancake house (and that is saying something because I don’t like to recommend chain restaurants).