Geaux, Team, Geaux!

Would The PubScout employ a kitschy title to a story about a place whose concept was “born on the bayou” in Baton Rouge?

Guar-ohn-teed.

You can read the story of “benchwarmers” Brandon Landry and Jack Warner on the Walk-On’s Website here. But don’t let your reading interfere with your dining experience at Walk-On’s, a sports bar in Myrtle Beach that’s been open for just three days.

Situated just a crawfish’s throw away, Walk-On’s will certainly provide some competition for The Grumpy Monk right next door. But the consumer becomes the winner when a business attracts even more business.

That much was proven as both parking lots were filled on a Wednesday weeknight.

And there are plenty of ways to win at Walk-On’s, starting with Managing Partner Doug Hornsby’s very impressive Cajun menu and the beers available to complement it. With everything made from scratch—including the garlic butter on the toast that will accompany your outstanding Crawfish Etouffé—the food should satisfy any hungry fan of Cajun cooking.

And hungry is a good thing to be at Walk-On’s, as the portions are huge. I didn’t want to have to leave any of my Catfish Atchafalaya on the plate, but said plate could have easily served two. And my buddy Ty’s “Louisiana Combo” with fried shrimp, friend catfish, waffle fries, hush puppies and crawfish etouffé could have served four.

The missus and our friend Angie couldn’t stop praising their “Pepper Jelly Shrimp Salad,” either, though they both managed to finish their huge portions.

The service was outstanding, and our Kaitlyn, an aspiring teacher, was as efficient and friendly as she was knowledgeable and committed to her employer.

Kaitlyn was a proper cheerleader for her “team,” and even in her requisite mask, she was a 5’2” package of pure sunshine, one of 187 staff and five managers employed at Walk-On’s. Manager Doug Hornsby fully expects some attrition to occur as the business “shakes out,” but he still anticipates having a staff of about 160 when it does. That's a lot of folks working, and a few of them were responsible for bringing my Catfish Atchalaya (below) to the table.

Sports bars are supposed to have TV’s and Walk-On’s has seventy-two of them—both inside and outside, where folks can play cornhole and where a biergarten is being readied. Oh, about that beer. The PubScout has noticed that in many places down here in both North and South Carolina, higher ABV beers, like the delicious New South’s Dirty Myrtle, often come served in smaller 10 oz. glasses. That requires serious beer drinkers to buy more than one serving--and maybe more than two. But 8.9% is not inordinately high. In fact, it’s a “session beer” in some circles—like mine. And as long as you’re drinking responsibly, eating while you do it and not making a jerk of yourself, why should you be restricted to a 10 oz. pour?

“Shoot, I’ll sell them a pitcher of Dirty Myrtle of they want,” said manager Hornsby. “ I’ve got high demand for Dirty Myrtle—that’s why I have three taps of it.” And if you sit at the right booth like the one above, you can have a tap of it right at your table. That’s a refreshing approach, certainly. What’s also refreshing is the knowledge that Doug will be bringing the Walk-On’s concept to Wilmington, NC in about eight months. Situated on Oleander Drive near UNCW, the place will be NC’s second Walk-On, the first currently in Fayetteville.

But, for the time being, NC lovers of made-from-scratch-with-secret-recipes Cajun food, healthy pours of good beers and Krispy-Kreme Bread Pudding (above) made with seventy-two donuts (!) will just have to roll down Rt. 31 to 501. And Walk-On.

Where you’re guar-ohn-teed to make the team. Cheers! The Original PubScout—immersed in the craft beer scene since 1996

As always, feel free to share!