Goober's, Binky's don't quite hit what they're aiming for

The bike dangling from the ceiling says "relax." The chalkboards and wooden signs say "beachy," perhaps "margarita o'clock."

Goober's 52 and its sister establishment a few doors down, Binky's Burgers and Fries, want to win your heart. And they work hard at it.

Goober's is part Myrtle Beach seafood shack, part roadhouse, part Applebee's kitsch -- that's where the signs, bike and other ephemera dangling from the rafters come in. Binky's leans toward sports bar, with some sand, palm trees, large black-and-white family photos and onion rings tossed in for good measure. Both menus are voluminous. There are drinks with names like "Foreplay on the Beach." All this is supposed to feel fun. It feels forced.

Goober's and Binky's are part of plans to redevelop Deacon Boulevard into Wake Forest University's version of Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. This fall, they were opened by developer David Parks. He owns the original Goober's 52 in Mount Airy.

Student-friendly areas happen organically. And neither restaurant on my combined four trips seemed particularly populated with the college crowd.

Instead, we found families and middle-aged meet-ups, tended to by a frazzled but energetic staff who shouted welcomes as people walked through the door.

Goober's menu rambles from the oceans to the Southwest, stopping in the South and Midwest to pick up pulled pork, ribs and brisket. There are Cubans and Reubens, hoagies, grinders and po'boys.

Blackened tuna salad is one of the simplest dishes I tried, and one of the best. The fish was pink and rare, wearing a crown of fruit chutney and a tangle of thin fried onion rings. Caramelly bits of roasted tomatoes poked through the greens. The combination of cool and sweet, hot and yes, salty -- pitch perfect.

This, next to dishes that taste bloated from their own sodium content. "Bayou Blast" is penne with lobster, shrimp, crab and a mix of two sauces (roux and Alfredo) that likely tasted better on their own. It was backed by alarming fishy and sweet notes. The muffuletta is as big as a dinner plate (you can order half), but any authentic New Orleans flavors are lost among the salty ham, salami, melting provolone and Swiss.

Other dishes come across just underwhelming -- blah, sweetish brisket and ribs -- or as a comfort food free-for-all. The macaroni and cheese is -- yes -- fried, dense squares of pasta with lashings of cheesy béchamel on top, and the mix of crunch and cream is hedonistic, novel and terrific. Coarsely-chopped slaw gets a nudge from blue cheese. The nachos, though, were limp in a sea of cheese and white bean sauce.

The over-the-top desserts are something to look forward to. Chocolate spoon cake is a wedge of cake with much of the cake taken out, replaced by squishy, fudgy icing. The peanut butter pie was a Reese's Cup without the wrapper.

Though both restaurants opened this fall, the staffs have taken some time to get their sea legs.

On one visit to Binky's, our server told us that they didn't have a beer list; she wasn't sure what they had on tap, either. (Fat Tire was there!). At Goober's, we waited while our server went missing to find out what was in a drink, then for minutes more while she fetched a bartender who could actually answer the question. All the while, a line piled up at the register near the door.

By my second visit, service was better. If anything, we were checked on by zealous servers too often.

Down the street, Binky's has a solid bar menu -- wings, chili fries -- until you see the hot dogs and burgers. These are extreme meats. Many come with such accoutrements as fried eggs. They come topped with bacon and slick nacho cheese. You can build your own from a list of trimmings, old (chili, onions, slaw) and new (pico de gallo, feta, salami, peanut butter).

If you're not interested in meat, there are alternatives: veggie burgers, eggplant burgers, mushroom burgers and a passable tuna burger with avocado and Binky sauce, a kind of a spicy mayo.

Yet the crinkly french fries taste like my memories of school cafeterias. Slaw saves the hot dogs from being too salty. Nothing helps a French onion and bacon dip with potato chips.

Let's talk about the pork-chop sandwich instead. This is a reason to come here, say, if you can't drive to Mount Airy's Snappy Lunch, the place that made it famous. At Binky's, it's a sloppy, delicious mess, fried and flattened pork tenderloin poking out of a bun, dripping chili, onions and slaw all over your table, your napkins, your hands.

Mr. Parks, are you showing your Mount Airy connection?