Crafty Rooster, Conway, South Carolina

Sunday, 27 January 2013.  It's been much colder here the past couple days and that's limited what we can do outside as far as exercise.  We did manage to get out for a 20-minute bike ride yesterday, just around the campground and the lake.  The brisk, cold breeze was just enough to give us both the chills, and a hankering for something warm for lunch.  We both enjoy checking out the "local" restaurants wherever we're staying and this part of SC was no exception.  So far we've been trying various places in North Myrtle Beach or Myrtle Beach itself, and even points further south (check out the blog entry on our day trip to Murrells Inlet and the Dead Dog Saloon).  So, I hopped on the Internet and looked for any reviews of restaurants in Horry County.  I found a couple places that looked rather interesting over in the county seat, Conway, which is due east of us on SC Route 905, and about 20-30 minutes from our campground.  Originally named Kingston, Conway was founded in 1732, making it one of the oldest towns in SC.  With a population of just over 16,000, Conway turned out to be the quintessential small town. We drove around the town and found it very typical of the small towns in this part of SC.  We finally decided on the Crafty Rooster in downtown Conway on 3rd Ave as our lunch destination.  The Crafty Rooster was advertised as a "beer mecca" for the Grand Strand (a local tourist label for the greater Myrtle Beach area) -- and its selection of draft beers on tap did not disappoint. As an example, their Beer of the Week was something called Lips of Faith Biere de Garde by New Belgium Brewing out of Fort Collins, CO.  If interested, check out their website for their full selection of beers. While I eventually decided on something else to drink (a Hefeweizen) with lunch, this brew sounded interesting in its description of a slightly tart, intentionally dry beer with hints of bergamot citrus that pairs perfectly with French cheeses.  Hmmm.  That almost sounds pompous and the Craft Rooster is anything but pompous.  Anyway, here's an artistic poster advertising the Lips of Faith Biere de Garde.

The restaurant turned out to be something akin to the famous Cheers sitcom, with plenty of local flavor.  There was a small group of guys playing darts -- and having a great time -- as well as several small groups strung around the oval bar area chatting and laughing, enjoying the company of friends -- and of course, sipping on one of the many beer offerings -- both on-tap and in bottles.  The current list of beers on-tap appears on the all-too-common, overly-large chalkboard that lists a dozen or more beers at any given time.  As the restaurant says, it has an ever changing draft beer list. When one keg blows, we replace it with something different!  

After stepping close enough to read the list -- while at the same time trying very hard not to stand out among all the locals -- I decided on a beer called Mom's Hefeweizen, a Belgian style blonde ale brewed by Rogue Ales out of Newport, Oregon.  Turned out to be quite good and paired really well with my lunch, something called Bowl O' Bog, a delicacy in the Coastal Carolinas made with with chicken, sausage and rice. The dish was very tasty, although a bit thicker than I like; I was expecting something more along the lines of a red beans and rice dish.  Still, though, it was quite tasty and the serving size (I ordered a large bowl) was ample since I brought about half of it home.  Since the Mom's Hefe lasted only halfway through my meal, I decided to try something else, this time a chilled bottle of Fox Barrel's Blackberry Pear cider.  Fox Barrel, out of Colfax, CA (about an hour NE of Sacramento off I-80), brews only gluten-free pear ciders.  This was the first one I'd ever tried and won't be the last.  Considerably sweeter than the Hefeweizen, it was a very nice way to finish off my Chicken O' Bog.

Lynette ordered a sandwich called the Chant-I-Bull Sub, an original shredded chicken and homemade roast beef mixed with peppers, onions, and mayo then topped with provolone.  Since the Crafty Rooster focuses on beer, the wine list was limited to say the least.  With a such small selection to choose from, Lynette  opted to accompany her meal with couple glasses of the seemingly ubiquitous Sutter Home white zin. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention our appetizer -- something we had never tried before: Fried pickle chips.  The lightly breaded dill chips were served with Ranch dressing and were surprisingly quite tasty -- and went together amazingly well with our two meals and drinks.

All in all, our venture to sample the fare at a local restaurant turned out pretty good.  Decent pub food, excellent brews (the white zin of course was satisfactory at best),  very friendly staff, inviting environment ---and the total bill came to only $34.53, excluding tip of course.  Believe we got our money's worth. 

At the Crafty Rooster with my Mom's Hefe and their list of beers on-tap.