Coastal Cafe is On Your Way
By Becky Billingsley
Coastal Cafe is a handy diner serving three meals a day that's conveniently located near Coastal Carolina University and the golf courses along S.C. 544 such as The Witch.
Owners Betsy and Wes Albecker have a Chanticleer-proud restaurant with a bold teal and black décor, and the layout is simple to navigate. There are tables up front by the windows, a line of booths down one long wall, and nine classy black bar stools at the counter. Ladies will appreciate the purse hooks under the counter, and the counter itself is a handsome black and cream granite. A television hangs over the cash register, which is at the front end of the bar.
For breakfast there are three-egg omelets, and pancake choices include Pigs in a Blanket, Banana Nut Stack, Blue or Straw Berry Stack, a Chocolate Lover’s Stack, a Short Stack and a Big Ole Stack. Belgian Waffles and French Toast are also available.
Light eaters can opt for one egg and toast, or the Fresh Start with a cup of fruit, cottage cheese and wheat toast. Other choices include Corned beef Hash and Eggs, and the Coastal Special with two eggs, meat (one choice is pork roll), home fries or grits and toast. (Insider tip: Go for the Marble Rye toast. It comes fresh from a local bakery.)
Four breakfast sandwich choices are Uncle Wes’s Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese; Steak ‘n’ Egg; Classic Fried Egg; and Kaysie’s Veggie and Egg with bell peppers, onions, jalapenos and tomatoes.
A new offering from 6 a.m. to noon Saturdays and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays is a $7 breakfast buffet. The price includes coffee or tea or juice, and featured dishes are scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage patties and links, home fries, sauteed peppers and onions, grits, biscuits, sausage gravy, croissants, fruit salad, baked ham, and house-made macaroni and cheese. While Coastal Cafe does not have a Sunday liquor license, on Saturdays you can have a Mimosa to go with your morning meal.
Photo Gallery
Lunch entrees are mostly sandwiches and salads, and all sandwiches come with a choice of chips, homemade macaroni salad or fries and a pickle. I tried the Café BLT, and it was stacked with at least six pieces of thick crispy bacon. The generous serving of macaroni salad has a creamy dressing that’s not too sweet and contains tomato chunks and diced celery. Both the sandwich and the macaroni salad were wonderful.
Betsy and her crew can also whip up a burger, Corned Beef or Turkey Reuben, the Café Philly with steak or chicken, Chicken Tenders, Tuna Melt, Hot Dog, Chant’s Chicken Sandwich, and Jersey Lil’s Hot Pastrami. If you prefer you can build your own deli sandwich, or choose the Café Club, Vegetarian, Chicken Salad, Egg Salad or Tuna Salad.
If you need a little comfort food, Grandma Peg’s Comfy Corner offers Roast Beef with Mashed Taters and Gravy; Homemade Macaroni and Cheese; and Po’ College Boy, which is a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of homemade soup. Some people are comforted by French fries with brown gravy, and they have that too.
Daily lunch and dinner entree specials range from Blackened Pork Chops to Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps or a Cuban Reuben.
Some sandwiches have evolved as area favorites. One is the Corned Beef Reuben on that terrific marble rye, made with corned beef cooked on site. Another popular dish is the Coastal Dog special, which are two hot dogs on a sub roll with potatoes, shredded Cheddar cheese, peppers and onions.
Recognizing that some diners wish to watch their fat and calorie intakes, the Albeckers have also launched a daily Lite Lunch special, such as a Turkey Breast Wrap with a cup of soup or fruit. A low-calorie standby on the salad menu is the Chicken and Fruit Salad featuring tender seasoned grilled chicken breast, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and more on a bed of crisp greens.
If you can afford a caloric splurge, save room for dessert and check what’s under the cake dome on the counter. The day I visited it was chocolate layer cake with peanut butter frosting, and it was lusciously moist and delectable.
Coastal Café is at 1300 S.C. 544, and the number is (843) 234-4622. It’s open at 6 a.m. daily and closes at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, at 4 p.m. Saturdays, at 2 p.m. Sundays and at 3 p.m. Mondays.
There are no comments posted. Add yours below.