When it comes to eating in downtown Little Rock, a whole gamut of culinary delights are available, from filet mignon served on a white-tablecloth to fast food burgers wrapped in foil.
But for people who can still hear their mother whispering in their ear, "Eat your vegetables," the plate lunch restaurants throughout downtown Little Rock present an opportunity to eat like you used to at your mother's or grandmother's.
The great thing about plate lunch restaurants is the menu is ever changing; most offer catfish or some other type of fish on Fridays. The other plus - especially when you are in a group - is that they offer a selection of two or more entrees, and usually five or more vegetables. And for the vegetarians in the group, most offer a vegetable plate free of the entree. Finally, most plate lunch restaurants allow patrons to carry out their delicious edibles.
I'm not known for my culinary taste. So this is by no means a critical examination of the downtown plate lunch operations, just one man's week and a half of pure lunchtime gluttony.
Because of time and the limited space set aside for this story, I did not venture to other central Arkansas cities, though several have their own tried and true downtown plate lunch restaurants. All of the following Little Rock restaurants were just a short walk or drive from the Sync offices - and just about any point downtown.
Cotham's in the City
1401 W. Third St.
(501) 370-9177
The first thing you notice when you walk into Cotham's is that a lot of people run for political office. Seemingly every square foot of wall space is covered in an old advertisement for public office. The second thing is the tables also are covered in ads, except they are for radiator and tree services instead of Pulaski Circuit/County Clerk.
But the main focus of the downtown Cotham's location is the food - fried chicken on the particular day I was there. And not the fast-food version of fried chicken, all crunch and no meat, but fried chicken covered in just the right amount of batter. It was light (or as light as fried can be), and the meat was moist.
Sides included fried okra (Does every plate lunch restaurant offer this staple?), mashed potatoes with a dark gravy and jalapeño cornbread.
But the pinnacle of the meal at Cotham's was a piece of the restaurant's fried peach pie with Cool Whip. The total for the whole meal, including sweet tea, tax and tip, was $11.60 ($2.75 for the fried pie).
Dave & Ray's Downtown Diner
824 W. Capitol Ave.
(501) 372-8816
Located in a nondescript building along Capitol Avenue, the simple mantra of Dave & Ray's Downtown Diner is "take all you want but please eat all you take." Yes, it is a self-serve buffet lunch, complete with several entrees, freshly cooked vegetables and dessert offerings.
On a recent Wednesday, the diner offered fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, meatloaf and fried chicken livers as its entree options along with corn, fried okra, pinto beans, string beans, mashed potatoes and other vegetable options.
Passing on the chicken livers that one neighborly diner professed to love, I settled on chicken and dumplings, corn, mashed potatoes with white gravy and perhaps the best green beans ever cooked. Mixed with bits of onion and various seasonings, the key might be fried potatoes mixed in or the fact the diner allows the beans to cook for a long time, soaking up the juices.
A piece of homemade cheesecake finished off the meal, after a second trip through the line for more chicken and dumplings and green beans.
Monday through Thursday, you can get the all-you-can-eat buffet for $7 with water, $7.50 with tea and $8 with soda. Fridays also include fish and shrimp, with a $1.50 increase to the regular buffet prices.
Franke's Cafeteria
400 W. Capitol Ave., No. 1243
(501) 372-1919
I'm still peeved at my co-workers for not disclosing Franke's to me sooner. Located inside the Regions Bank Building, Franke's is self-described as Arkansas' oldest restaurant, family owned and operated since 1919.
Walking in, the smell grabs you: The mouthwatering mixture of appetizing entrees and vegetable dishes. While the set-up reminds you of a modern-day cafeteria that serves the same foods at every location, there is nothing mass-produced about Franke's except maybe the cafeteria trays.
Offering the greatest selection of any downtown plate lunch restaurant, my Franke's meal included chicken blanketed in Monterey cheese, fried zucchini, macaroni and cheese, macaroni salad and jalapeño cornbread. But I could have had Cajun fish or a Caesar salad because the combinations to fill up my plate were numerous.
And the jalapeño cornbread? The best I had in my week and a half of eating comfort food.
My meal came to $6.69 with water to drink, a good deal for home-style cooking.
J & S Cafeteria
601 S. Gaines
(501) 378-2206
Tucked in the Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield building is J & S Cafeteria, serving up a collection of meats and vegetables. Like Cotham's, it is a little bit of a drive from downtown but worth it. There's plenty of free parking around, and you enter the cafeteria through the main doors of the building on South Gaines Street.
The operation is simple, just walk up to the nice ladies on the other side of the counter and tell them what meat will be your lunch's centerpiece. After that you slide down to another counter and request your vegetables. On the Thursday I went, J & S featured smothered steak, ham and dressing among other items along with several vegetables.
I chose the smothered steak along with fried okra (see a pattern here?) and macaroni and cheese along with cornbread and a drink.
The trouble for my delectable meal: $7.41.
Legion Club
315 E. Capitol Ave.
(501) 372-2608
The Legion Club is one of Little Rock's best-kept secrets when it comes to downtown plate lunches - mainly because it is located in the American Legion M.M. Eberts Post No. 1 building on East Capitol Avenue.
But inside the office-looking building is Lunch at the Legion. For $5.95, a patron can get an entree, two vegetables and a drink, or for $6.95 an entree, three vegetables and a drink. The Legion Club also offers several dessert options.
On the day I popped in, I settled for the smothered pork chop, green beans and mashed potatoes, but the Legion offers a revolving menu of two entrees and four vegetable options daily. Sometimes, the menu includes grilled Cajun flounder, grilled chicken breast and chicken and dressing.
The Legion Club offers plenty of seating, but most patrons prefer to take their meals with them. Also of note: The Legion Club does not accept debit or credit cards.
Timmons Lunch Cafe & Takeout
103 E. Seventh St.
(501) 378-7799
Another hard-to-find gem is Timmons Lunch Cafe & Takeout, on the first floor of the Donaghey Building. All you need to do is look for the sandwich board on Seventh Street between Main and Scott streets, and enter the building.
The cafeteria offers up several meat and vegetable selections daily with a seating area with about 10 tables. For $5.50, people can choose from one meat and two vegetables, or three vegetables for $3.50. Meals include a choice of yeast roll, cornbread or jalapeño cornbread.
The day I visited I went with the hamburger steak, mashed potatoes with a rich gravy and green beans. (Once again, there is a pattern here.) But as with all plate lunch stops, the menu changes from day to day.
Save room for dessert as Timmons also has homemade pies, including key lime and chocolate.
Your Mama's Good Food
220 W. Fourth St., Suite 130
(501) 372-1811
Your mother probably doesn't cook for you downtown, but with Your Mama's Good Food, it almost seems that way.
It's cafeteria-style cooking, always offering three or four entrees, a collection of vegetables, and choice of yeast roll or cornbread. On Fridays, Your Mama's Good Food delivers fried catfish nuggets and hush puppies along with their usual entrees, including meatloaf, which is seemingly always on the menu. Also, Your Mama's Good Food cooks up some mean lasagna and chicken fried steak.
When I happened into the place a couple of Fridays ago, I got the fried catfish along with hush puppies, fried okra and green-bean casserole with a little Louisiana Hot Sauce added to the catfish to kick-start the weekend.
You can get an entree, two vegetables, choice of yeast roll and cornbread, and drink for less than $8.