Beach Blog Restaurant Spotlight - Longbeard’s: Country Lodge Sets an Urban Table
By Becky Billingsley
It's hard to believe Longbeard's, the seven-month-long labor of neighborhood love built by Ronnie Hribar, hasn't even been open for a year yet. It is such a firmly entrenched part of Carolina Forest lives, it feels like it was always there.
"We have found a little niche here," Ronnie says. "People slide across that bridge (over S.C. 31 from Myrtle Beach), and they can be in and out of here in the same time it takes to wait for a table at a tourist restaurant. All the people who come in here say they get a good array of choices. People from New York come in and say it reminds them of the Catskills, or hunters will say it reminds them of their old deer camp. It feels like home to them. It's not the beachy thing. This is a warm feeling, you walk in and it's like 'Welcome home'."
Longbeard's is stunningly handsome and attractively comfortable. Many stuffed animals, the products of Hribar family hunting trips, are on display. Most prominent are the turkeys with their red wattles, or "longbeards," for which the restaurant is named.
Light shades suspended over booths are upside-down tin buckets, and hand-planed planks lacquered up to high sheens are incorporated into almost every aspect of the decor. Plenty of windows allow the outside in.
The interior is shaped like an L, with a roomy bar on the L's short side. That bar has a vast array of beers, from Budweiser products to Shocktop, Mother Ship and Fat Tire. Outside the bar is a dining patio where parents can sit and enjoy food and drinks while keeping an eye on their playing children.
Children are a big part of the equation at Longbeard's. Ronnie has three of his own, and he has made his restaurant a place where families congregate. They have special events designed for families, and there is a fire pit outside where he cooks pigs and holds oyster roasts.
"It's welcoming here, where you can forget about the world out there and kick back amongst friends," Ronnie says.
The menu is not as heavy on wild game as you might imagine. A list of Sportsman's Entrees includes Turkey Meatloaf topped with mushroom sauce served with smashed potatoes and vegetables for $12.99; Quail & Grits for $14.99; and a new choice is a trio of Elk Sliders served with a side dish for $9.99.
The entire menu is resoundingly family-friendly, starting with breakfasts such as omelets, pancakes, eggs, French toast, bagels, biscuits and breakfast sandwiches.
The rest of the day, the menu offers everything from salads and sandwiches to hearty entrees.
A few of their sandwiches are the Famous Pork BBQ Sandwich, Classic Grilled Cheese on sourdough, Philly-style, Reuben, Grilled Chicken, and The Big Montana with roast beef and fries smothered in house-made brown mushroom gravy and served open-face on toasted sourdough. A long list of salads includes Buffalo Chicken, Grilled Cobb, Chicken Salad, Greek, and the Steel City Steak Salad. (The Hribars are Steelers fans, and that is a huge understatement).
Entrees include Shrimp and Grits in tasso gravy, Fried Shrimp Basket, Fire-grilled Ribeye, Chopped Beef Steak & Onions, and Haddock, Catfish and Cod baskets. Entrees come with two sides: fries (white or sweet), cole slaw, smashed potatoes, cheese grits, green beans or a vegetable medley.
Longbeard's is at 5040 Carolina Forest Blvd., in the Carolina Forest section of Myrtle Beach. They're open every day starting at 7 a.m., and the number is 843-903-2905.
Dear Ron and family,
My husband George and I were in twice last week, once for dinner and once for breakfast. As people from Western Pennsylvania, I thought you might like to see the picture of a turkey, Pittsburgh style. I don’t have your email, so if you’re interested in having the cartoon, let me know and I will forward it to you. And if you don’t want it, that’s alright, too, LOL :o)
We enjoyed the food and the talk about all things Aliquippa/Ambridge/PGH very much. We will see you again soon!
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving,
Elaine Molchan from Conway, SC