Top Five Picks for ”Myrtle Beach”
By Margit Bisztray, Food Critic

NOTE: The Myrtle Beach Top Five Video is available online. Just click to watch Margit's Summer 2006 Top 5 Restaurant Countdown

Hello all,

I'm sure everyone reading this has been to Myrtle Beach. Probably everyone you know has, too. It's that kind of place. But here's the deal: I went there once when I was fifteen (back in the 80's, that's all I'm going to say, but put it this way: Eye of the Tiger and Tainted Love were playing on the radio, ok?)

All I remember is wearing too little sunscreen, my very first bikini and subsisting on nothing but barbecue and ice cream and chocolate covered pretzels. Truth is, I don't remember much at all. Ok, nothing. So my orientation trip to Myrtle Beach this year was really like discovering a place for the first time. I think people love Myrtle Beach because it's comfortable. It doesn't try too hard. It's warm and welcoming and unpretentious, with miles of beach on which to stretch out and relax. My first Top Five picks program, shot over the summer during a long week of, sigh, EATING AND DRINKING, focuses on a survey introduction to the area. This means the Places Margit Kept Hearing About, and what she thought of them. Don't worry: a few didn't make the cut. I'm a picky eater! That's my job.

But while I do mostly focus on food, I'm a sucker for what is really and truly genuine. I like restaurants run by the people who care about them. I'm not one for big chains. I like to know that when I spend my dollar, it's going to the person at the door, at the bar, in the kitchen, or walkingthrough the dining room asking guests if everything's all right. I happened to be in MB just before the summer season kicked off. Guess what the locals were doing? Striking up the barbecue. Sitting on their screened porches with buckets-o-this-n-thats, listening to bands and dancing by the water. Dining out of doors!

I ate a lot of she-crab soup, grits, oysters, quail and Southern home cooking. I also ate pancakes at pancakes houses. I'm a well-rounded eater. As you can tell by my first Top Five, I covered not only Myrtle Beach, but Pawley's Island, just to the south, and a completely different atmosphere. While Myrtle Beach is all about what's BIG and plentiful and entertaining, Pawley's Island is more low-key, more the heart of coastal living. I definitely encourage EVERYONE to take a drive down there, at least for the day. Go to Flo's, Creek Rats, Wahoo's-all great beer joints with food that puts you in a good mood. For seriously good dining and wine to match, Frank's or Louis's are worth every penny, from food to service. In Myrtle, hey it's like a tunnel of giant buffet houses there, but in between them, restaurants that are large but still personal, like Cagney's, Flamingo Grill, Thoroughbred's. Classic, in their own way, these restaurants do manage to keep up with what people want, while still giving people what they've always wanted, what hasn't changed over time (a perfect steak with just the right sides, a gooey dessert, a cocktail served just like they like it, and excellent service.) A comment on the service? Myrtle Beach service is excellent. People are friendly and efficient at the same time. This is one advantage of a major tourist destination: they can choose the staff well. It works. I have many good memories of smiles, warmth and TLC, as well as great fried calamari, tender duck and the BEST butterscotch pudding on earth! Watch Top Five Picks if you want to know where to go!

NOTE: Margit Bisztray has been reviewing restaurants and writing about food for ten years. She has published three editions of The Complete Key West Dining Guide, and her work has appeared in such publications as Vogue, Gourmet, Islands and Metropolitan Home. To read more restaurant reviews, log your own personal opinions, rate your favorite restaurants and watch streaming video archives of this show and other reviews, visit Margit's Top 5.