MARCH 8, 2010 – With all of the bigwig foodies in town over the weekend, we figured we’d listen to a recommendation and give a local seafood restaurant another try.

We knew there was no way we’d stay on the peninsula with all of the Wine + Food people packing downtown restaurants. So we decided to head to Mount Pleasant. Friends at the Oxford American‘s bourbon, benne and beef jerky party on Saturday unhesitatingly directed us to “The Wreck of the Richard and Charlene,” generally known as just “The Wreck.”

We’d been a couple of times through the years, but had been put off by slow service and expensive portions. Yes, the food was good, but there was something about the place that always rankled.

On Saturday night with open minds, we finally found the restaurant (it’s not easy to find in the dark) along Shem Creek. Once inside, we were surprised to get a table relatively quickly because we’ve waited in the past.

But once we got the table, that was it. We were ignored. That gave us time to peruse the menu, which seemed overpriced — a half-pound boiled shrimp plate for $19.18 and a fried seafood platter (“no substitutions”) for $21.24. And then we spotted a buried notice of something we’ve never figured out — the restaurant doesn’t take credit cards. We were going to ask the wait staff what happened to cash-less tourists who came inside, ordered and didn’t see the notice.

We didn’t, however, get the chance. After about 15 minutes of waiting without any help paying attention, we decided the heck with the arrogance of the place. So we left.

We went down the street to an old favorite, Shem Creek Bar & Grill – the place we should have gone in the first place. We went to the back bar and sat with our old friend Albert, who has shucked oysters at the restaurant for 23 years. We ran into some folks from West Of newspaper, had good conversation and a great meal.

And interestingly, when we mentioned how we’d been blown off in The Wreck, our friends recalled similar tales of poor service and institutional self-importance. Failure to be considerate to customers can be fatal to any service-oriented business. We hope The Wreck gets its act together.

To the best of our knowledge — confirmed by out-of-town foodies — The Wreck has great seafood. But we won’t try it again because the meal we had at Shem Creek Bar & Grill was just as good — if not better.

And they were nice.

* * * * *

SPEAKING OF seafood platters, there’s a place in Conway you’ve got to check out if you’re in the Grand Strand. It’s called the Riverwalk Grill. For about $16, the seafood platter was piled with lightly-fried large shrimp and oysters that were crunchy on the outside but sweet and juicy inside. A large piece of flounder was so expertly cooked and flaky that you didn’t want to put any sauce on it. What a pleasant meal. The décor isn’t anything to write home about, but this isn’t a place where you’re paying for white tablecloths. It’s a place to eat well.

Andy Brack is publisher of CharlestonCurrents, where this commentary first appeared. He can be reached at publisher@charlestoncurrents.com.