Goodbye, Mr. Chip.

As of July 6th, 2016, Chip's Barbecue location on West Markham has closed. The fact that the sign said "this location" has me hopeful it'll open somewhere else, but my neighborhood classic is now gone. - KR

Arkansas Business reports on July 18th that Chip's and its owner have declared bankruptsy.

I was on my way home Saturday night about 8:30 when I noticed the action over at Chip’s Barbecue. It’s the closest restaurant to my house, and I’ve had many a dinner there. The sign was being changed. The next morning, I was surprised to see what it said: Goodbye Mr. Chip.

That’d be Tom Chipman. Back in 1961 he opened Chip’s Barbecue as a drive-in in a strip-mall on Markham, back when there wasn’t out much down West Markham but a few neighborhoods here and there. Five years later he moved the business into a spot on the other side of that strip mall and opened a dining room. The place is still there today.




I have to be honest -- even though I’ve lived in Little Rock most of my life, I didn’t have my first meal at Chip’s until the day we found the house I live in now. I didn’t even know there was a neighborhood tucked in back there. After seeing this particular house and falling in love, my then-husband and I went and had a late lunch at Chip’s. I can even remember we shared a big order of nachos. It was a nice family place.

And Chip’s? It’s about family. Along the wood-paneled walls of the restaurant are numerous family photos from over the years, many with hand-lettered or typed labels explaining who’s who. I found that the former owner of my house raised kids with the Chipman’s. From the photos they appeared to have had an idyllic teenhood, swimming and playing and working in the restaurant together.

I only met Mr. Chipman once, and it was by chance back in the early oughts. What I know of him is that he raised a heck of a family, a family dedicated to running that restaurant. What I didn’t know was that he was a World War II veteran, or that he’d been married to his wife Tina for 66 years -- or that he had great grandchildren. He was, after all, 91.

But I do know Kara, his daughter. Back when I was writing my first cover story for the Arkansas Times, she let me come in and photograph pies... for over an hour. Pie after pie
after pie... and that’s a noteworthy thing. That’s because Chip’s pies are Little Rock’s sweetest secret. You have to know about Chip’s to have some of that pie... but folks who know about it guard it and keep it to themselves, and order pies weeks in advance for holidays. There are cream pies galore -- banana and lemon and coconut and chocolate and banana, and sometimes sweet potato or pumpkin, too. There are variations, like the marvelous chocolate walnut pie. And then there are the cheesecakes -- big, four inch thick affairs served up plain or with raspberry sauce or strawberries or chocolate or... and there’s pecan pie and seasonal pies like strawberry or blueberry. Every one of them made from scratch from a family recipe. Every one.

Last year, Chip’s Barbecue turned 50... quietly. There could have been a fantastic spread somewhere about the cheese dip, or something about the Muffin Special or the nachos or the ribs or whatever. Instead, Chip’s stayed as it always has. In fact, the only big change I have ever seen from the place is when the family decided it’d be open on Mondays. It still is and will always be closed on Sundays.

The restaurant will be closed until Wednesday. Visitation for Mr. Chipman will be tonight and services tomorrow -- you can look here for more information. A sign on the door of the restaurant reads:

“Chip’s will be closed July 9th and 10th, 2012 due to a funeral being attended in honor of one of the founders of Chip’s Barbecue. Chip’s was established May 6, 1961 by Thomas and Tina Chipman. Mer. Chipman has recently passed and gone to be with our Lord. His employees were so very special to him. It was impossible to keep the restaurant open and allow all family members and employees to pay their respects without being closed. We cincerely regret any inconvenience to all our customers. We will reopen July 11, 2012. Please keep us in your prayers during this very difficult time. Sincerely, the Chipman Family.”

So goodbye, Mr. Chipman. Your legacy and your restaurant will continue on.

The Box: It's Back.

There has been these past two years a great wringing of hands amongst burger lovers in Central Arkansas, all over a single burger joint. And that wringing has been justified.

See, it’s all about The Band Box, or The Box as it is affectionately known. In June 2010 the proprietors announced the place would be closing its doors ahead of a move to 7th and Ringo. The building it used to be in had been purchased by USA Drug for the construction of a neighborhood pharmacy. I even wrote about the whole mess. They swore the new place would be open within a month.

Well, that didn’t happen.

First it was permit issues. Then something with the plumbing. Then this. And that. And frankly, a good number of people wrote off The Box. They assumed that if the place didn’t reopen on time, or even within a year, it was gone for good. There was no way it would be right.

I’m happy to say, those of little faith? They were wrong.

Today The Box reopened in its new location, finally, after all those months. Heck, let’s be honest, years -- it’s been about two years since the old joint closed its doors. I dropped in right before the official soft opening at 11 a.m. to see what was going on.

The new place is spiffy. It’s painted red along all walls, and there are plenty of new tables and chairs. Remember the old formica-topped bar in the old place? It’s been replaced with a smart new granite countertop and chrome-and-black barstools.

But there are bits of the old place there. On the wall you’ll see one of the old joint’s most memorable features -- decades of preserved bumper stickers for generations of radio stations and politicians. How’d they do that? Look closely. Those are the old refrigerator doors. You remember those, right? They were on the fridge that was between the big dining section and the kitchen. Yes, you can still read “Wilbur... Kiss Your Fanne” and other sorts of things on those doors. And if you don’t know who Wilbur was or why he needed to kiss Fanne... well, you musta not grown up in Little Rock, at least not back in the day. You probably also don’t know what the alternate name is for I-630.

The griddle is there... the same griddle as you remember.  And they even kept the ketchup bottles from the old place.  Don't worry, they've been washed.  When I first got there I saw the wait staff filling the bottles with a funnel.

Anyway, a lot has been preserved, but a lot is new, and it’s just shiny and pretty. And one major thing has changed. Instead of table service, you now order at the counter and go find a seat. They’ll bring you your burger, but you gotta go order it yourself and get you a drink. See?

I was one of the first to place my order today, and I sat at the counter and watched Miss Mae work her way through several orders while I was there. She’s always double-checking. Arthur is still on the griddle, too.

I did notice something I’d never witnessed before... I made it there early enough to see the seasoning of the grill. At least part of it. I was surprised to see Arthur turn out a pile of jalapenos and bring them to a glorious sauteed perfection. Then Terry went and got a bowl of grease out of the fryer and poured that on there. I don’t think that’s everything to do with the flavor, but I gotta wonder.

Which brings me to the burger. You can get yours with cheese -- American, Swiss, Cheddar or Hot Pepper Jack -- and with grilled onions or bacon or whatever you like. But a traditional Box burger comes with mayo and mustard, lettuce and tomato, pickle and onion on a toasted seedless bun. Mine was a little off-center, thanks to the instant glue the Cheddar cheese made when it came into contact with that top bread. But it was every bit as good as I remembered it. The patty, charred and packed with flavor, was a trip down into my deepest grease-lined burger memories.

And then there were the fries. I have to say, they were a little different. Yes, there’s still that great spice to them, but the ones I got were crispy and not the least bit greasy, which was a surprise. My dining mate and I came to an agreement that they were better, and likely as not they were that crisp since they were the first ones out of the fryer.

By the time I had finished, there were three dozen people waiting to order and a couple dozen already seated, some dining and some waiting. Someone had placed a humongous order of more than a dozen burgers, and that was slowing things down. Still, everyone seemed to be in a good mood and everyone was patiently waiting for their chance to experience a flavor that’s been missing from the Little Rock burger scene for so long.

The Box is now at 7th and Ringo. For now it’s only open for lunch Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Click on this picture here and you’ll see all the things that are on the menu. They didn’t have onion rings for opening day, but those are coming. If the burger is any indication, it’ll be worth the wait.

Burger Highway: Little Rock's Cantrell Road.

A lot of towns across Arkansas have good restaurants that make great burgers. Little Rock has more than its share. But there’s a particular bit of highway that runs through town that seems to draw good burgers in.

That’d be Highway 10, known as Cantrell Road within the city limits. Within two blocks on either side of the road, you’ll find some of the best examples of all-beef nirvana on a bun. Here’s a quick rundown, west to east.

Start out at Thirst N’ Howl. This little Gilligan’s Island themed restaurant utilizes names from the popular TV show to denote its different burgers. Served with American cheese, the Skipper’s Burger is a classic All-American burger (you can also have it with Swiss or pepper jack). It’s a nice Cavender’s-and-black-pepper flavored half pound burger patty cooked medium well, sitting on a soft untoasted and unseeded bun, griddle-cooked with cheese melted into the patty. It comes with ridgy hamburger dill slices, red onion, a couple of chunks of tomato and green leaf lettuce with a gob of mayo under the top bun and a good quality stoneground type mustard on the bottom.

Head further east to the Pleasant Ridge Town Center and you’ll encounter the only national chain operation on this list... but it would be strange to talk burgers and not mention Cheeburger Cheeburger. The Little Rock outlet is decorated in neon and 50s style; trivia cards on the table hold your interest while you wait for your custom made burger. You choose and pay for the size, then you choose what comes on the burger. There’s everything from onion rings to black olives, artichoke hearts to pepperoni that can go on your burger.

Cross I-430 and pass the reservoir and you’ll find The Purple Cow on the left. This is a fabulous spot to get a good ice cream soda or banana split.

The Rodeo Burger is a big star here. It’s a traditional quarter pound burger topped with onion rings, bacon, Cheddar cheese and honey mustard barbecue sauce.

Down a quarter mile on the left, you’ll find Burger Mama’s. The restaurant recently moved from its location at Shackleford and Kanis... I suspect to take advantage of being on Burger Row. The double is a lot better deal than the single -- and you can always split it and share. They are messy burgers. There’s no guts and glory to these burgers — at nearly a third a pound each, these smashburgers are hefty and tall.

Within spitting distance is Crazee’s Cool Cafe. This bar (21 and older only, smoking allowed) serves up any burger, fries and a beverage for $7.50 for lunch. And there are several to choose from, including a Mexican burger, an Italian, a Cheeseburger and a Hamburger and a Bacon Cheeseburger and a BBQ Burger. The Mushroom Swiss Burger is a hot mess of sliced button mushrooms and Swiss cheese melted into a big flat patty on top of lettuce and tomato. It all comes out in a paper-lined basket with fries and you’re going to need a whole heck of a lot of napkins.

Then there’s Arkansas Burger Company, past Mississippi a few blocks on the left. Look for the green roof. The big two-fisted burger comes on a buttered sesame seeded bun — that end up three inches apart thanks to two gigantically thick half pound patties coated in cheese, hamburger dill pickles and white onion on the bottom, shredded iceberg lettuce and a big thick slice of tomato on the top. Those loose-packed hand formed patties have a nice light burger crust, seasoned with a little salt, pepper and Greek seasoning, loose packed and juicy. Get some cheese dip while you are there.

On the other side of University, take a left and go a block in to R Street. Look for the white and red awning of Burge’s in the Heights. The classic burgers are charbroiled and served toasty, old-fashioned style in that white wax paper with the toothpick, with either some of those crispy fries or a tray of cornmeal-crusted onion rings and a chocolate malt or a pineapple shake. If you miss this location, check out the original in Lewisville.

A block and a half north of that is Sushi Cafe, which sells sushi. It also sells mean, lean burgers like the impressive Titanic Burger. Made from Black Angus beef, the three-patty burger doesn’t squish much, making it that much harder to put in your mouth. But what a flavor! The tempura-battered sweet potato fries are excellent.

Just down Kavanaugh and still within two blocks of Cantrell Road is Cheers in the Heights. They do great food all the way around, and they do a great burger called the Old Fashioned. Half a pound of griddle fried lean ground beef on a toasted Kaiser roll, meat salt and pepper seasoned with a little of what tasted like Tony Chachere's in the background, red onion slivers, tomato, mustard, lettuce and hamburger dills. This Old Fashioned is named after the traditional dairy-bar favorite where the mustard usually goes directly on the meat.

Head down Cantrell Hill, and at the foot you’ll find the Rebsamen Triangle. This conjunction of Old Cantrell Road and Rebsamen Park Road is a mecca of good restaurants, several with their own burgers. The grand-daddy of all these burgers is the Town Pump Burger at the Town Pump, a great local watering hole. Swiss and Cheddar cheese, “special mayo” and black olives give this burger a great salty-tangy flavor that’s unmatched just about anywhere.

A block away you’ll find Maddie’s Place, a New Orleans inspired joint that serves up a Hamburger Po’Boy with your choice of side (get a half salad, it’s good for you). Doled up on buttered French bread, this chargrilled patty covered with cheese is paired with remoulade for a Crescent City flavor.

Buffalo Grill is next door, and its traditional burger comes with chips and a pickle spear, toasted and seeded bun and plenty of vegetation. The default condiment is mustard, which goes along well with the flavor of the patty, a traditional salt-and-pepper hand-patted medium-packed patty with a light char and decent thickness. The mustard (and/or whatever other condiment you want) goes on the top bun, followed downwards by pickle, shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato, white onion and nothing between the patty and the bottom bun, prime for absorbing any residual griddle juice. It’s tall, requires both hands and smushery to get it consumed.

And there’s Red Door, with its Mamma’s Manna bun. The Really Good Burger is a classic double smashburger smacked with a liberal amount of cheese (Cheddar, Provolone or American) and served with a pile of regular and sweet potato fries. This is where good burger meets gourmet.

Head further east on down to Downtown and turn off on Ringo. Over on Markham you’ll find Doe’s Eat Place and its cheeseburger, a half pound of medium-well cooked beef on a white seedless untoasted bun, pasted to that top bun with a slice of American (not pasteurized-processed) cheese. The bun is chilly, the meat is hot and the big pile of iceberg lettuce on the bottom is cool and crispy and coated with the mayonnaise that also covers the bottom bun. A hearty slice of tomato and some somewhat thick ridgy dills accompany -- and there’s nary an onion slice to be found.

And then at the end of Cantrell, when it gets up to Markham right at the River Market, you turn right and go down two blocks to the Capitol Hotel, where just about the best burger I have ever eaten lives. Capitol Bar and Grill’s burger is sirloin steak ground fresh served with locally raised produce, housemade pickles and, if you’re smart enough to ask for it, pimento cheese on top. Oh man.

Fifteen burgers, eleven miles... that’s what makes Cantrell Road/Highway 10 Little Rock’s burger corridor.

Go Early, Go Often to the Greek Food Festival.

This weekend is the annual International Greek Food Festival at Little Rock's Greek Annunciation Church out on Napa Valley Road. It's the 28th year for the event. I've been going since it was pretty darn small -- and since I was pretty darn small. And I've learned a few things.

The biggest thing about going to the Greek Food Festival is to get there early. That's not to say you' won't have a good time whenever you go, but you'll do better to find those Greek dishes you really want if you head over there on Friday afternoon. That's because the baklava, butter cookies and such will all sell out before Sunday afternoon, mark my words. It's not that the folks at the Greek Annunciation Church aren't trying to meet the demand -- after all, they start working on those pastries six months before the event! -- but that they're so popular there's no way to make enough for everyone to take home so much.  I try to visit early, usually Friday around noon, so I can go on in to the air conditioned hall on the property, peruse the wares and pick up my sourota. That way I know I'll be able to take home those fabulous pastries.

The next thing to know about is the parking. It's free. It's not just free across the street, it's free down the block. There's parking at several locations and trolleys to get you to the front door of the festival. Still not comfortable enough? As far as I know, the International Greek Food Festival is Arkansas's only food festival that offers valet parking. I kid you not! For $10, follow the signs to the festival and let someone else do the parking while you go about your eating and relaxing.

A third thing to know about: the festival is a great place to shop. There's the market, which offers Greek cooking specialties such as oil, vinegar and olives. There are Greek costumes, toys, those fascinating little dolls that live inside other dolls, scarfs, lamps, paintings, jewelry and more. This is a great place to shop for that person in your life who has everything.


Another thing to note -- while there's a lot of food available to eat right there, you can also take home frozen pastichio (think Greek lasagna), tirapetes (cheese-filled triangles) and spanikopita (spinach and cheese filled triangles). Over by the end of the pastry section there's a man with a cooler who will sell you frozen goodies to put in your freezer and cook up later. The kids will never know how you managed that fancy Greek cooking months from now!
There's also the drive-thru. See, the International Greek Food Festival is the state's largest food festival, and there's a big demand on what's available. For some, the only reason they go is for a hot gyro plate. You can get a gyro, a k-bob, hummus or pastries without ever leaving your car.

My last bit of advice -- go often. There are so many things to see and do at the festival, it's hard to choose just a few. Go shopping. Come back and eat and enjoy the entertainment. Return the next day. It's a unique experience and it's tasty, too.

I just gotta mention -- that pastichio platter is $10, comes with a block of pastichio, a square of spanikopita and some Greek salad and a half a pita. The pastichio? It's light and airy on top and full of flavor, thanks to a homemade bechemel sauce that ties cheese, ground beef and pasta together.

For more information on the International Greek Food Festival, check out the event website.

Burger joint of the week: Doe's Eat Place

It must have been 20 years since I set foot in Doe’s Eat Place in Little Rock -- or close to it. I was a young ‘un, nearly 19, 10 feet tall and bulletproof and hanging with the young bloods that wanted to see the Guv’n’r go to Washington. I can recall sitting elbow to elbow with five or six other people, mostly in shirtsleeves, packed around a four-top table one evening. I was too young to drink but I was the only one not partaking of brew that night. I listened to stories told as I sucked down a Dr. Pepper and picked at the rather greasy-wet steak dropped in front of me. The one thing I really took away from that night was that if you ordered a salad there, you were a sissy.

I’ve dined in most all of the city’s establishments since then, excepting a few of the more uppity places, and I’ve made friends with folks who work at Doe’s and who frequent the place. Yet it did not occur to me recently that my burger trek should have me heading that general direction.

I went on a hot, sweltering March afternoon -- those words should NEVER be put together, but such are the weather patterns of late -- to feast upon a burger and enjoy some memories. I was stricken right away by how damn bright the place was. I guess not having entered during daylight hours, I had the preconception that it was one of those great back-lit night spots where rumors were started and beef was consumed. And that it may be.

Every wall is decked with memorabilia -- from Clintonesque things to general bits here and there about the food, a Reader’s Digest of grub lit to partake of if one is just a-standin’ around. I... was not. I found my table with its slightly torn plastic red and white checked tablecloth and sat my butt down. Eventually a waitress found me and asked what I wanted to drink.

Click to see a large menu

The menu for lunch at Doe’s is simple -- hamburger, cheeseburger, chili dog, catfish, ham & cheese sandwich, grilled cheese, broiled chicken breast sandwich, grilled turkey and swiss. The “world famous” hot tamales are $4.25 for three with chili, $7.25 with a salad and $6.75 with fries. And then there are the legendary steaks -- a 2-3lb. T-bone for $16.50 a pound, a 2 ½-3lb. Porterhouse for $19.50 a pound and a 3 ½-6lb. sirloin at $15.50 a pound. They’re served up with marinated salad, French fries and Texas toast. I can’t even comprehend eating that much meat in a sitting.

There’s also a hamburger steak, spaghetti and meatballs, spaghetti with chicken, a catfish platter and chicken pasta -- and, a surprise to me, a Garden Chicken Salad. Well, I guess you can order a salad at Doe’s. How about that.

But as I mentioned, I only had eyes for burgers, and I ordered my cheeseburger ($6.25 with fries) straight-up how they make it. Took about 10 minutes to get it, in which time I watched a fellow diner consume an abnormally fat packed ham and cheese sandwich and another pick at a salad while she talked to that dude. No one ordered a steak while I was there, but I did notice several chili-stained tamale plates.

While I was waiting, I had myself a fine selection of Arkansas appetizers to choose from. This is a joke, of course. For some reason -- and I have commented on this before -- the older eating establishments around these parts feel compelled to bring out a basket of crackers -- sometimes Saltines, sometimes club -- to sate your appetite while you wait for your food. It’s no different at Doe’s, except this time there was no butter or salsa offered. Which was fine. I wasn’t there for the crackers.

I was there for the fine cheeseburger that was delivered to my table, a half pound of medium-well cooked beef on a white seedless untoasted bun, pasted to that top bun with a slice of American (not pasteurized-processed) cheese. The bun was chilly, the meat was hot and the big pile of iceberg lettuce on the bottom was cool and crispy and coated with the mayonnaise that also covered the bottom bun. A hearty slice of tomato and some somewhat thick ridgy dills accompanied. There was nary an onion slice to be found.

That, I assume, is because there are tidbits of onion in the meat, the only spicing I could determine in that nicely crusted beef patty. Nay, mayhaps there was just a slug of Worchestershire sauce in its inception, but the patty itself was devoid of all but the slightest enhancement with salt, pepper or spices. In fact, the high quality of the beef itself was the star, unencumbered by the fine quality American cheese that it carried. A fine burger, even if the bun did become smushy from its lack of toasting.

The fries bore their own need of mention -- firm, fresh-cut fries brought up to a defiant golden brown and enhanced with only a little table salt. They were nice and mushy in the center and firm on the outside, just a bit crispy, ketchup-soaking fries that were irresistable, a whole Idaho potato cut skin-on and, I am guessing, double-fried. I’d go back just for those fries.

So, the verdict? Good burger, good fries, and there’s a lot more light in the daytime than at night when you’re packed shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of twenty-somethings with big dreams. Though, for the true evaluation of that last bit, I need to make a night visit.

You’ll find Doe’s Eat Place down from City Hall and the police station in downtown Little Rock at 1023 West Markham. It’s open for lunch Monday through Friday and dinner Monday through Saturday. Check out the website or call (501) 376-1195.

Burger joint of the week: The Spot

This restaurant has closed.

I grew up in southwest Little Rock. During the week, it was the central portion of my world. I went to Geyer Springs Elementary, lived off Gum Springs and had friends that lived from about where I did out down south to far out on Arch Street.

Now, we’re not talking about the downtown portion of Arch Street that passes some of the most important real estate in the city. We’re talking Arch Street that used to be “out in the county;” i.e., the area beyond the gravel operations. Arch Street did and still does meander from 65th Street down past Baseline and way out to the edge of the county, through some of the more scenic rolling hills and timberlands.

Most of the businesses that lined the thoroughfare in the 70s and 80s have dried up and disappeared, but one place we grabbed many a milkshake at still stands, changed very little since those times of my youth. That’s The Spot.

Indeed, people still hit The Spot to this day, as I did one day this week, just to see if the place was still serving up shakes and burgers like it used to. It was a remarkably warm March day with temperatures nudging 80, and as I pulled up I discovered finding a parking spot would be a challenge. There were more than a dozen cars on the lot.

That’s saying something for a place with no indoor seating and very little outdoor seating. In fact, the only places to sit besides the ground are on one of two weathered benches (assumingly reserved for people waiting for their orders) and a couple of picnic tables way off to the side. It’s a red building with two windows, a pull-up and a sign out front, situated on a gravelled lot. And it smells like burgers when you drive up.

I found my parking spot, got out and went to the front, where I was able to walk right up to the window. There were at least a dozen people quietly waiting on their orders, some in cars and some standing around. Numbers were called, orders were collected and people left. Other people came.

I barely glanced at the menu, just ordered a Jumbo Cheeseburger ($4.05), onion rings ($2.30) and a small Pineapple Shake ($2.25, medium $2.85, large $3.35). I walked around in the spring air, took some photos and looked around. Outside of the new sign out front and the new paint job (which is probably a few years old), nothing had really changed.

Not even the menu. It’s still burgers, a chicken sandwich, a steak sandwich, barbecue sandwich (the sort that comes from a bucket) and ham sandwich. They still sell chicken and fish dinners, too -- though no one I saw that day ordered one. They still do a taco salad too, and nachos, and a super salad with all sorts of stuff on it. I think they’ve added the cheese sticks and stuffed peppers in the 20 or so years since I last dropped by, though.

While I was waiting, a woman went up to one of the windows and asked if they had steak sandwiches that day. She ordered it with a large banana shake.

Right after she’d placed her order, they called me to come get my pineapple shake while they finished the rest. My small shake was 16 ounces (medium is 20, large 24) and thick, but not too sweet, a blend of soft serve and canned pineapple. I was really ready for that. I wish I hadn’t given up cola for Lent, because they do fountain Cokes there and they add cherry or vanilla or both if you want them.

Wasn’t too long until my number was called. I took my bag and headed for the car, there to unwrap my spoils and check out the consumables.

What I discovered was a large wax paper-wrapped bundle of onion rings that had been set closed with one staple and a wax paper wrapped burger secured with a toothpick. The onion ring bundle was huge, larger than the burger and heavy. The onion rings inside were thickly battered and deep golden brown. The onion bits within that battered coating were translucent and soft, pliant and juicy. If I could fault them anything, it would be that they could have used a touch more salt -- but then again, I could have asked for ketchup to dip them in. That would have worked, too.

The burger... a half pound griddle smashed patty with an impossibly crispy crust. That’s right -- the surface of the burger was crispy, as if it had been cooked in a perfect layer of grease on a hot griddle. Which, I’m sure, it was. Surprisingly, it was very low on seasoning, with just a hint of salt to it. But the beef was high quality, which made all the difference.

The barely toasted top bun rested directly on top of the patty, which was oval-shaped and quite certainly hand patted. Under the patty, in order: a slice of American cheese, ridgy dill pickle slices, a tomato slice, iceberg lettuce, very fresh white onion and a slight slathering of mayonnaise. The bottom bun was buttery toasted.

Even without mustard (mayo is the default), this burger retained a tartness in its complexity, thanks to the liberal application of the pickle slices. Furthermore, it had a nice meaty bite to it, with a strong assist from the pungent onions. The cheese was just overwhelmed -- though I suspect that has something to do with the lack of meltage.

All in all, a good burger. And the rings were good, but I could not finish them -- not because they lacked in their goodness, but because of their plentitude. There were easily a dozen big fat rings in that wax paper.

The Spot has been on Arch Street there for more than 50 years. It has a steady clientele and a lot of character. Glad it came to mind the other day... that’s the good kind of trip down memory lane.

You’ll find The Spot at 11320 Arch Street. It’s south of Dixon Road, so you can either get there from I-530 via Dixon, take Baseline out as far east as it goes or take 65th Street as east as it goes and head south. It’s open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. except Tuesday, when it closes at 2 p.m. Closed on Sunday. (501) 888-5333.