Review: Artie Mac’s Grill & Catering Co.

Editor’s Note: This restaurant has closed permanently.

Artie Mac’s Grill & Catering Co.

2632 Pamplico Hwy. (Map)
Florence, SC
(843) 621-1928
Facebook Page

WHY YOU SHOULD GO

If you enjoyed all that Dr. Fishbone had to offer and miss it — delicious Low-country fare and treat-you-like-family staff — then you will also enjoy Artie Mac’s Grill & Catering Co.

WHY WE WILL GO (AGAIN)

We really missed Dr. Fishbone. What else can we say? The food was delicious, Artie, his wife Tricia, daughter Megan and their staff were always so accommodating and friendly, and the atmosphere was relaxed. The same is true with the new Artie Mac’s Grill & Catering Co. You are never rushed; you are always encouraged to sit and visit. That is so refreshing in this fast-paced, impatient, and instantaneous world we live in. Keep reading and we’ll tell you why it’s a 3 of 3 on our unique restaurant rating scale.

BACKGROUND

Chicken Bog & Sides

“We’ve always enjoyed cooking for family and friends,” said Tricia MacPherson. She advised that Artie and their son Jas (pronounced Jace) had put together the Dr. Fishbone cookbook, which is full of recipes from Artie and Trisha and their family and friends. Remember their Chicken Bog? The cookbook came out in December 2007. In the summer of 2009, the Dr. Fishbone restaurant opened on South Irby in Florence. Here’s The Flossip’s original review from August of that year.

We started eating there frequently after reading Leslie Carpenter’s review published here. Artie often gave Lil’ Pee Dee free dessert — we hear this was something he did often for others and not just for food blogger families. Around that time, their new chef Kenny Stetser started with them.

In March 2011, Artie & Tricia were looking for a name change; however, by mid-Spring, Dr. Fishbone had closed its doors. Our daughter noticed that the Dr. Fishbone signs had been removed, but soon we heard echoes of the same news from disappointed friends all around town. A sign on the door announced their new name, Gone Fishin’ and that they would be concentrating on the catering end of the business until their new location opened. Who knew when that would be? We didn’t and we were concerned with the lack of updates.

To our joy, we found Artie and Tricia at the Pee Dee Farmers’ Market serving Chicken Bog, Kenny’s Spicy Chicken Wraps and BBQ Sandwiches one Saturday in late May. A recent visit to the Dr. Fishbone’s facebook page noted they had begun serving lunches on May 6, 2011. Needless to say, Mrs. PDF and Lil’ Pee Dee began eating lunch every Friday at Artie Mac’s in the Farmers’ Market.

Artie and Tricia have a regular following well beyond our household. A group known as the “church ladies” were usually present and can be found at Artie Mac’s now as well. In fact, their suggestion was to name the new restaurant, Artie’s. However, that sounded too much like Hardees. The MacPhersons’ middle child, Lucas, or Sweet Lou as he’s known in Charleston, advised his parents to call it Artie Mac’s Grill & Catering Co. So, there you go. The successor to Dr. Fishbone was born.

We received a call from Artie on Tuesday, July 12th to let us know that they were doing a “slow roll” opening the next day and wanted us to attend. All they were served was Chicken Bog and Spicy Chicken Wraps; to test the recipes. By Tuesday, July 26th, Artie Mac’s Grill & Catering Co., with Kenny Stetser in the kitchen, had begun opening regularly.

DINING EXPERIENCE

Dining Room

We received a call last Thursday afternoon from owner Artie MacPherson. He had advised us of their upcoming Friday evening shrimp boil and asked if they could expect us. Of course, we didn’t hesitate as it has been a long time since we’ve enjoyed a good shrimp boil.

We arrived early in the evening and before entering the building we could smell the spices in the boil. As with all of their customers, we were warmly greeted by Artie and Tricia and then seated ourselves. Service was prompt and given the purposefully limited menu for the evening ordering was unnecessary except for drinks. I got the iced tea … they have good sweet tea.

The dining room is simple, clean and comfortable. It has that “local, family-owned restaurant” feel. Low on frills; big on welcome. Several furniture items from Dr. Fishbone will be recognizable to you. We were proud to see a PeeDeeFoodie.com™ chef’s apron displayed on the coat rack.

Shrimp Boil

As each boil was prepared fresh, after a few minutes ours made its way to the table. This shrimp boil included potatoes, ears of corn freshly picked that morning, smoked sausage and, of course, de-veined shrimp — lots of each for $11.99 per person. We’re used to boiling shrimp whole, as in head and all. These, however, were easier to peel, especially for little ones. Included with the boil was garlic bread, homemade cocktail sauce with horseradish and melted butter. It was simply the best seafood meal we’ve had in ages. I’ve got to add that the freshly-picked ears of corn and the potatoes had absorbed just enough of the spices to be wonderful on their own.

We were all stuffed and couldn’t eat another bite. The platter, a giant ceramic fish, was nearly empty save one lonely potato.

Artie, Tricia and Megan are like extended family to us at this point, so we may be a little biased, but I can objectively say that this review meal was as good as any we’d ever had at Dr. Fishbone. Essentially, the location is different, but the food and the experience are exactly the same.

It’s not often that you can discover the same great local restaurant twice, but in this case we have.

SELECTED MENU - The menu is limited at this time, focusing on daily specials.

Monday: Closed
Tuesday: Chicken and Dumplin’s Lunch
Wednesday: World Famous Chicken Bog Lunch & Supper
Thursday: Grilled Chicken and Vegetables Lunch & Supper
Friday: Fresh Catch of the Day Lunch & Supper
Saturday: Traditional Breakfast & Chef’s Choice Lunch
Sunday: Closed

“Day after Thanksgiving” Sandwich — Turkey is slow-roasted for nine hours and served with housemade cranberry mayo.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT

Location. While Dr. Fishbone was convenient on South Irby, Artie Mac’s is south on Pamplico Highway across from Greenwood Athletic Field in the Corbett Center. It’s more of a drive than it takes to reach the chains in the area and its not located in a highly developed part of the community. In fact, it’s a strip mall between a church and a mechanic’s shop. That said, we’ve been to many restaurants that are destinations in and of themselves. In fact, we base our restaurant rating system on how far we’d be willing to drive for the food and experience. We’d count Artie Mac’s in that destination group, as we did with Dr. Fishbone. That’s why it’s a “3″ on our blog. The location won’t keep those in the know from enjoying and sharing this re-born local favorite.

REMEMBER

Open Wednesday through Friday; 11 -2 p.m. and 4:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Open Tuesday 11-2 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Very Casual
Friendly Owners & Staff
Catering
Daily Specials

PHOTOS AND VIDEO

A Note on Reviewer Objectivity: PeeDeeFoodie.com reviewers are independent and opinions are uniquely their own. Writers research and write all Quick Bite restaurant reviews personally, based entirely on meals personally taken in the restaurants featured. Writers pay for all review meals from their own pockets. Writers do not accept free review meals, nor are they reimbursed by anyone for restaurant expenditures.

Category: Restaurant Reviews