I was driving through town and decided to stop in for lunch. Â Tarpackers is right off I-95 and in the never ending search for "non chain" local places, this place fits the bill. Â
Me and a co worker walked in and waited about 5 minutes to be seated. When you walk in their is an extremely large display case of all sorts of Tarheel / Wolfpack memorabilia which doesn't allow you to see into the restaurant, so I peeked around a few times to let someone know we needed to be seated.
Contrary to what I thought by the lack of attention being paid to me standing there, the place was pretty empty. Â We finally were seated and looked at the menu which was pretty basic. Â They have a nice selection of things for lunch from looking at the menu and a daily special which the day I went was a pork chop with a few sides. Â
I ordered the blackened chicken salad which was average at best. Â Bagged salad from with a boring mix and 3 or 4 grilled and blackened chicken tenders which were overcooked and not well seasoned. Â The plate that it was served on was filled to the edges with lettuce so when I went to mix in the dressing the lettuce went all over the place. Â I hate that!!
Overall this experience was average at best.
I picked my mom's fish plate order but this review is from my mom mostly. Â Right away the layout is awkward and you're not sure when someone will come to greet you whether for a pickup or to dine in. Â There's a huge display of college memorabilia at the front. Â The cash register is way in the back! Â The attendee took my debit card and went back there to ring up the food which didn't give me a good feeling about it. Â
Once putting the plate in the car, the car immediately had a fishy smell like fish tank..smelt like a wet fish. Â I never smelt fish like this when ordering. Â My mom said the fish probably was frozen for a long time until ordered. Â She didn't enjoy her meal as she was anticipating fish for a few days. Â A baked potato was once of the items paired with it and something else perhaps baked beans. Â My mom was not satisfied at all. Â I advised her not to order from a restaurant you never eat at again. Â There's a reason why you don't return here!
We stopped here while on a road trip through the southeast. Â Very easy to get to from I-95.
Great atmosphere, very friendly service, and excellent food. Â We've often tried to stop on road trips and try to sample some of the "local flavor" restaurants, and never had as much success as we had here. Â Next time I'm driving through NC, I'll make it a point to stop here.
TARPACKERS is a fun place to eat. My wife is from Red Springs, NC (just a couple towns over from St. Paul), and for years I had been hearing about this wonderful restaurant owned by a husband and wife who both love their college sports. As the name suggests, the husband is a NCSU fan, and the wife is a UNC fan. I don't like either, but it's still a fun little place.
When we walked in, we were greeted by the owner (the State fan), and we immediately asked where the ECU section was. The locals who filled the restaurant really get into the spirit of things as well. We saw an awful lot of Wolfpack Red and Carolina Blue (and even one patron with an ECU sweater on...aaarrggghhhhh!).
They have a really great menu, filled with traditional southern fare, as well as pastas, steaks and fish. I had the Salmon with Mango Salsa and my wife had the lasagna (which I have heard her go on and on about for years). The salmon was a little over-cooked, but it did have a great flavor. As for her lasagna, it was really good. They also have a nice selection of local wines from Stevens Vineyards in Lumberton, which they allowed us to sample.
The real kicker for me was that the wait staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Our two (yes, two) waitresses spent a great deal of time at our table, and made sure that we had everything we needed. TARPACKERS will definitely be on my must-visit list the next time we are back in Red Springs visiting family.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this local restaurant but wow was I impressed. Order the daily special. It comes with a sour cream muffin that is very tasty. Lunch consisted of rice covered in a tomato sauce, fried pork chop, collard greens and peas and beans. A huge plateful for less than $8. It puts places like Cracker Barrel to shame. The decor is fun and the crowd is very local. It is easy to access off of 95 so if you are driving through, don't stop at a fast food place.
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