"Bank Day" in Southport, NC

After seven days straight pouring beers at a Harley Davidson store for Bike Week during some gorgeous weather, I figured I was due for some PWT...Personal Wind Therapy. And because the missus doesn't feel the same need, I figured I'd bribe her to take a ride.

I knew just what to use as bait, too. Her favorite restaurant down here in the Low Country is in the charming town of Southport, NC. It's called The Provision Company, and we first discovered it about seven years ago, ironically when we rented a Harley during a vacation visit.

It's situated right on the water and she claims its Crab Cakes are the absolute best, so we've been back at least four times since. Now that we live a scant thirty-five miles away, I figured I'd dangle that carrot. It worked like a charm, and we rolled into a beautiful, shady parking space in Southport just after noon.

As we walked toward the place (which offers "Charters, Provisions, Supplies and Advice"), we couldn't believe the lines waiting to get in, and we almost made other plans. But a carrot is a carrot, so she dutifully took her place in the serpentine line.

Fortunately, The Provision Company has its act together, and it runs like a well-oiled--if somewhat unorthodox-- machine. Tyler and Casey out front, take your name and the number in your party, then suggest you go inside, grab yourself a drink from the cooler--all on the honor system, mind you--and wait for your name to be called, which Tyler does.

When he finds you, he asks for a personal item--a phone case, a hat, an infant, or, for us, a glasses case. The he tells you to go back outside and come in the front door. A much shorter line is the one you'll be in, and you will order your food from a wall menu behind you. You'll grab more drinks from the cooler, too. Once your order is taken, you move into the seating area to locate where Tyler put your hat, your phone case or your infant. Runners will then call your name and deliver the food to your table. And it comes out pretty darned quickly.

There, you'll sit and enjoy some really good food (not to mention the best crab cakes) while gazing out over the water at the plethora of boats that come in and go out. You may even get a visit from a long-legged wader, who apparently has no fear of humans--or at least humans with food.

You pay on your way out. And the Honor System is still in effect. Tell them what you had, how many beers or drinks you had from their cooler and pay your tab.

It's actually a most delightful way to enjoy lunch in a most comfortable setting. What seems like a wildly chaotic scene to the uninitiated is actually a very smooth operation. And according to one server I spoke with, those lines we saw today were nothing compared to what will happen next week. From Memorial Day through September, the crowds only get bigger.

But there's a reason--clearly lots of reasons--for that. The Provision Company serves up quality food and drink at very reasonable prices, and delivers same in a neat dockside location with a rather amazing efficiency.

In all, The Provision Company, the crab cakes, the beers and the fabulous riding weather made today what I call a "Bank Day."

That's a day you put in the memory bank and take out to remember and warm yourself with when Old Man Winter pays his annual, dark, dreary visit.