Cow's eats are mooo-licious

The Monte Cristo served with breakfast potatoes is a brunch option at the Purple Cow.
The Monte Cristo served with breakfast potatoes is a brunch option at the Purple Cow.

The Purple Cow, with its two locations in Little Rock and outlets in Hot Springs and Conway, has built its reputation on burgers, shakes and being a terrific dining experience for families.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Sippers at the Purple Cow include the Orange Freeze and a chocolate shake.

But some people hear "family friendly" and immediately think it translates to "corn dogs and mac 'n' cheese."

The Purple Cow

Addresses: 8026 Cantrell Road, Little Rock; 11602 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday (Cantrell); 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday (Chenal)

Cuisine: American

Credit cards: A, V, MC, D

Alcoholic beverages: Wine, beer, mixed drinks and adult shakes

Reservations: No

Wheelchair accessible: Yes

Carryout: Yes

(501) 221-3555 (Cantrell), (501) 224-4433 (Chenal)

Yes, Purple Cow has those delicacies on its children's menu. It has activity sheets and crayons and a cute mascot named Polly. Hit it at the wrong time and it can be full to the brim with overstimulated children. But is it safe for adults without children?

Actually, yes.

Maybe it was the timing, but two recent trips to the Cow were easy and blissfully (almost) shriek-free. And it doesn't forget the adults in its menu options, giving a nice range of choices for a variety of tastes. One can visit without children in tow and not be at all out of place.

After all, even with a long list of innocuous milk shake flavor options such as PB&J and the Famous Purple Vanilla ($4.40), adults who prefer their childhood treat to have a grown-up spin can sample ID-requiring creations such as the Grasshopper -- mint chocolate chip ice cream with shots of Creme de Menthe and Creme de Cacao ($6.95).

While burgers and shakes are the Purple Cow's stock in trade, it also serves a fine weekend brunch.

Soon after its 9 a.m. opening on a Saturday, the original Cantrell Road location was far from crowded, with only a few occupied booths and tables -- mostly by couples without children.

Our booth (colored purple, of course) was next to the eclectic collection of cardboard cutouts that have been part of Purple Cow's decor for years: Presidents Clinton and Reagan, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Boop. In keeping with the retro, 1950s-diner feel, oldies played over the speakers and the movie Grease played (on mute) on the wall-mounted TV.

My 9-year-old brunch companion may be years away from beverage options like mimosas and bloody Marys ($4.50 each), but he has moved past the stage of ordering pancakes ($3.50) or scrambled eggs ($3.25) off the children's menu.

Instead, he chose the very adult-size Monte Cristo ($5.50) of tasty honey ham and provolone on Texas French toast, sprinkled with confectioners' sugar and served with syrup for dipping. The syrup posed a bit of a problem at first -- where to pour it and dip on a plate full of sandwich and breakfast potatoes?

The problem was solved when he polished off the side of bacon he'd ordered (two rather skimpy, chewy pieces for $1.25). The empty plate made a perfect syrup receptacle for his sandwich and for our shared side order of French toast strips ($4.50) -- thick, extremely soft, dusted with confectioners' sugar and cut into strips just right for picking up and dipping.

There's an entire menu section devoted to three-egg omelets like the "fan favorite" Purple Cow with mushrooms, Jack and cheddar cheeses, salsa and sour cream ($6.50). My Florentine omelet ($6.50) with sauteed spinach, mushrooms and melted Swiss cheese was thick and cooked to perfect fluffy firmness.

Our orders came with a side of breakfast potatoes, which were not the usual shaved or cubed hash browns. These were really fried potato wedges -- thick-cut and skin-on, crispy outside, soft and fluffy inside. Delicious, but they turned a lot of food into a lot of food. Substitutions of fresh fruit cup ($1.95) or cheese grits ($2.95) are available.

Shakes aren't on the brunch menu, but since my companion isn't a morning ice cream person, he was perfectly happy with a mug of hot cocoa ($1.95). It comes with whipped cream, but he asked for his without and proclaimed it "just the way I like it."

The restaurant never really filled up, staying quiet and low-key. Our waiter was cheerful and attentive without hovering, although he did forget to bring the jam-and-butter basket for my wheat toast until reminded.

A dinner trip on a rainy weeknight, this time with an adult sidekick at the Chenal location, was similarly low-key and light on diners. The Chenal establishment is larger, but with the same purple-tinted diner theme as its older Cantrell sister.

We wanted something frozen and sweet up front, so we turned to the shake menu. The Orange Freeze, orange sherbet with soda water and a ruffled crown of whipped cream ($4.15), was excellent: refreshing, sweet, not quite as heavy feeling as a traditional shake or malt. And my companion was happy with her old-fashioned chocolate shake ($4.40), simple but perfectly chocolatey.

Hungry souls who feel like they have the stomach space can start off with one of eight appetizers or spring for the sampler platter of fried pickle spears, onion rings, cheese sticks, herb fried mushrooms and potato wedges for $6.75. The herb fried mushrooms we tried ($4.95) were fine but rather bland. The parsley mayo dipping sauce provided nice and needed flavor.

Much tastier was the Grilled Turkey "Lite" Reuben sandwich entree ($7.25), rye bread grilled to the proper crunch, piled with sliced turkey breast with a distinct smokiness that went perfectly with the sauerkraut and Swiss cheese.

The list of burgers is long, from the classic ($5.50) to the BBQ Bacon Cheddar Burger ($7.50) with optional add-ons such as avocado (95 cents), chili ($1.95) and fried eggs ($1). And the sandwich list is pretty dizzying itself. The portabello mushroom sandwich ($7.50) with grilled onions and peppers is a particular chewy, messy favorite.

Sandwiches and burgers come with chips, but there are possible substitutions of onion rings, sweet potato fries, salads, fruit or soup for a fee. The regular french fries ($1.50 substitution, $3.15 for a basket) are hand-cut, thin, golden and cooked to a crispy outside, soft inside perfection.

There are soup, platter and salad options as well. My companion decided on the Santa Fe Salad ($9.25), made of mixed greens, seasoned and grilled chicken breast, black beans, hot Pepper Jack cheese, tomato, purple onions, peppers, tortilla strips and a barbecue vinaigrette dressing. While she loved the crispy tortilla strips and approved of the tangy dressing, she said the sliced grilled chicken could have had more flavor.

There are desserts but we were too stuffed by that point to try any of them, which is just as well since our server didn't even give us the option, although he did offer to-go cups for what little was left of our shakes. The Purple Ice Cream Pie with whipped cream and Oreos ($3.75) the child at the next table was devouring looked mighty tempting.

Weekend on 04/09/2015

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