Many of us are aware that Little Rock and, to some extent, North Little Rock are close to running over with restaurants, and it seems like more and more are opening every week.
While there is something to be said for shiny new buildings and gourmet flavor-of-the-month menus, there is also something special about oldies but goodies.
Case in point: Bobby's Cafe, a small restaurant that's big on service, affordability and flavorful food. The establishment's address is on MacArthur Drive, but it took me a couple of tries to actually go far enough out on the highway (Arkansas 365) to find the place. To say it's off the beaten path is an understatement.
The restaurant is open only Tuesday through Friday. Because it sits on a street that probably sees most of its traffic during morning and evening rush hours, I can see why.
Thankfully, the sign is big enough to be seen from a distance.
The interior is divided into two dining areas, with an open-front kitchen in the middle. The overall effect is like that of a friend's house, comfortable and homey.
We took a seat in the corner and our friendly server quickly brought menus and took drink orders. I would have loved to order breakfast, but it's served only in the morning.
Bobby's Cafe's Facebook page features a photo of an older woman holding a huge hamburger. That would be the Bobby Burger ($7.75), a 1-pound whopper the size of a small dinner plate or large saucer that comes with bacon, cheese and your choice of toppings including tomato, onion, lettuce, mayonnaise or mustard. We also ordered tater tots ($3). And from the "South of the Border" section of the menu we chose the three taco plate ($4.50).
We ordered the Bobby Burger with the idea that we'd share it and the other stuff we'd ordered, but the joke was on us. There was no way we'd finish the behemoth, even shared.
We'd asked for it to be served cut in half; the kitchen sent out a knife instead so we could cut it ourselves. After gingerly halving the burger, we decided we'd never be able to eat even a half, so I cut one of the halves in half. It's a bit unwieldy, more so because the bun is sized for regular burgers.
Other than that, it was delicious -- flavorful, and, thankfully, not fatty or greasy. Most importantly, Bobby's uses good quality ground beef. Some of the toppings had slid off the small bun, so we ended up picking up pieces of the onion and lettuce to eat with each bite. The bacon wasn't thick cut, but it was substantial enough to taste, even given the size of the hamburger patty.
The tacos were delicious too. The crunchy shells were packed with lightly seasoned ground beef and topped with cheese, lettuce and chopped tomato. We ended up eating one apiece; the other went home with half the burger and some leftover tots.
Bobby's Cafe offers daily homemade dessert specials. We ordered a piece of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Ooey Gooey Cake ($3) to take home and share later. A couple of hours after dinner we had enough room to try it and it was delicious. It had a chocolate crust and the decadent, smooth peanut butter filling had just the right amount of sweetness. It seemed more like a bar cookie than a cake, but whatever you call it, it was good.
Bobby's serves breakfast until 10 a.m. Selections include a couple of combination specials, eggs, omelets, oatmeal, pancakes, sandwiches and biscuits with gravy.
The rest of the menu consists of sandwiches -- a patty melt, BLT, a foot-long hot dog, chicken fried steak and barbecue -- in the $3.50 to $5.75 range; sides like fries or onion rings are extra. Also available on the side: chili, corn dog, cheese sticks and waffle fries with ranch dressing.
Dinners include chicken fried steak ($9.50), jumbo fried shrimp ($11) and catfish ($11.50). The restaurant also offers a daily plate lunch special that is usually posted on the Facebook page.
Bobby’s Cafe
12230 MacArthur Drive, North Little Rock
Hours: 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday-Friday
Cuisine: Burgers, plate lunches and breakfast
Alcohol: No
Wheelchair accessible: Yes
Carryout: Yes
Credit Cards: V, MC, AE, D
(501) 851-7888
Weekend on 10/09/2014