Wagon Wheel Restaurant

Two words: fried squash. This is one item that’s synonymous with the Wagon Wheel and universally known to all residents of upstate South Carolina. Longtime patrons travel from Charlotte, Columbia, and all points in between to enjoy this gem with its expansive menu of steaks, seafood, and traditional meat & two (or three) vegetable lunch specials. After more than a decade of procrastination, we reacquainted ourselves with the Wagon Wheel along with RF connoisseurs Nancypalooza & Julie.

Like many Southern steakhouses, every entrée includes a trip to the sprawling salad bar, and many folks make this their meal. Veggies of every shape and color are featured alongside sundry macaroni and potato salads. Nancy described it best: “It’s like they tried to completely reproduce a Western Sizzlin salad bar circa 1979, which is not at all a bad thing.” Classic staples such as pickled beets, garbanzo beans, and thick Thousand Island dressing are here, but the Wagon Wheel’s versions seem fresher than others. It’s a salad bar that immediately puts a smile on your face.

All BBQ ribs and pulled pork are pit-smoked in-house with hickory wood, and steaks are hand-cut and char-grilled over open flames. The Wagon Wheel Special is a twelve-ounce ribeye, thick and juicy as expected, but we can’t get over the fried chicken. Crispy skin envelops impossibly juicy meat with an internal temperature that is maintained throughout the meal. The country ham steak with red eye gravy is huge and salty enough to crush any sodium cravings. And the fried squash is in a class by itself! The Wagon Wheel is closed Monday, open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday, and for brunch on Sunday.