Iama Critic Rating - Petee's Drive In - 2 Stars
1785 White Horse Road, Greenville, SC
Overall:
You ever read some of those critics who hand out five star ratings so much that their ratings are worthless. I mean they write two, three hundred reviews and 75% of everything they rate is five star this and five star that. They walk into a $5 CiCi's Pizza Buffet and say, "This is the best pizza I ever had in my life!" You got to be kidding me, they must be selling their reviews!
Yea, that is not us! Chef Iama Critic and his critic friends of Five Star Restaurant Reviews only rate restaurants. We eat out numerous nights per week and we almost always dine together as a group. And when we critique the food, we do so not based on our own opinion, but on the value of the food itself. We analyze and critique food all the time that we do not even prefer, some that we even dislike, but our opinion is irrelevant, we rate every entree and dish in comparison to all the other thousands of similar entrees we have had. So now that you understand the difference in our reviews we can move on.
Recently we decided to review all the "Pete" restaurants in the Upstate of SC, so naturally we had to go to Petee's to see why they have such extraordinary ratings for a fast food place.
Pete's says they have the best onion rings and are the best "Family Restaurant" in Greenville. And critics galore have handed them at least 4 stars on nearly every rating website. So can Petee's really be that good? We had certainly hoped so because we have been searching endlessly for the best gyro in the upstate, and have yet to find the best one!
WHAT WE ORDERED:
$4.59 - Double Burger - 2 Stars
Cook Out's burgers are cheaper and better.
$2.39 - Chili Dog - 2 Stars
Cook Out's chili dogs are cheaper and better.
$7.59 - Flounder Seafood Plate - 3 Stars
The top filet was magnificent, the bottom piece was greasy and gross. How can two fillets be so different?
$3.29 - Onion Ring Large - 3 Stars
Petee's loves their onion rings, you get one or two with every major entree. But they are not even close to the best. The king of rings is still Cheddar's Casual Cafe!
$6.99 - Gyro Platter - 3 Stars
Not a bad gyro for the upstate, but the meat was flavorful, but extremely dried out and very thin. It would make a great jerky though.
$6.99 - Steak Fingers Dinner - 2 Stars
My guest hated it so much the rest of us were afraid to try it. And I have seen this guy eat almost anything!
$6.99 - Bone-in Pork Chop Dinner - 2 Stars
The flavor was simply awesome but the meat was wayyyy overcooked.
SIDE ITEMS:
Tiny Side Salads - 2 Stars
Nothing special here.
Toasted Bun - 4 Stars
What a magnificent bun, but why did they give them to us? I made a great flounder sandwich out of the one good filet I received.
Hush Puppies - 3 Stars
Bigger than normal and crispy, but oh so dry.
Cole Slaw - 4 Stars
Wow, the hit of the night is cole-slaw! Most people have no idea how to make it! So my ratings for cole-slaw have never been good. But this stuff is very finely chopped, pretty and filled with flavor.
If everything at Petee's was as good as their cole-slaw I would eat at Petee's every night! Oh, and I hate cabbage, so I hate cole-slaw, but my opinion and preferences are irrelevant, good food is good regardless of if I like it or not, and this is good cole-slaw!
Final Thoughts:
As you can see my rating is not nearly as high as most reviewers. We were aware of this almost as soon as we started eating. We considered our results for some time, but there was just no way we could justify rating the food we received any higher. In fact, as we discussed each of our ratings, I ask each of my guest critics if they would ever come back, and they all responded "NO, not even if you paid for it". You see, its a private joke because I ALWAYS PAY FOR ALL MY GUESTS!
When a person would not go back to a restaurant even when it is free, there is no way that restaurant could possibly be rated as even three stars! read more