Pieday: Strawberry ice box at Susan's Restaurant.

• KAT ROBINSON
• ANY TIME OF DAY: Susan's pies can be ordered at breakfast

I can recall as a child big restaurants where you were seated at a table, where the waitresses would hover over you and touch your shoulder when they talked with you, where there was always a big round case full of cake and pie slices. You don’t find too many of those any more, but you can find one on the main drag in Springdale.

Susan’s Restaurant feels like the kind of family restaurant you want to sit up straight in, eat your green beans and behave your best so you can earn one of those pie slices.

• KAT ROBINSON

Mind you, seems like every time I darken the door at Susan’s I’m there for breakfast. It is one of the better breakfasts I’ve found in northwest Arkansas. Part of that has to do with the Chili and Cheese Omelet ($6.29). I’m a sucker for a good omelet but so often have to pass because the options will be ham, bacon or sausage. The beef chili inside this particular omelet contains beans, onions, peppers and lots of tomatoes. I’m totally cool with that, especially with the cheese blend that’s melty all through. Ah, pardon me, I started to drool there.

• KAT ROBINSON

Portions are relatively large at Susan’s… take, for example, a half order of biscuits and gravy. Big hunks of sausage gravy over two fluffy biscuit halves for $1.99 (a full order is double for $3.19). Enough to satisfy the average diner for breakfast.

• KAT ROBINSON

And then there are the O’Brien Potatoes, which if you have them as a breakfast side will cost you another 79 cents. They’re worth it. Big hunks of potato sautéed up with peppers, onions, black pepper and salt. They’re filling and delicious and should not be missed.

• KAT ROBINSON

But I was going to talk with you about pie. Doesn’t matter that I’ve never been able to get to Susan’s for anything but breakfast (oh, did I mention that Susan’s serves breakfast until 2 p.m.?) — pie is available any time there’s a pie in the cabinet. Which is always. There’s chocolate and coconut meringues, cherry pie and whatever else happens to be in there at the time. Last visit there was a lovely strawberry icebox pie. It was the lightest whipped cream on top dusted with graham cracker on a graham cracker crust — with a light whipped and frosty filling of cream and strawberries, fresh Arkansas strawberries with that tart bite you only get when they’re fresh. Thing is, strawberry icebox pie is only available in the spring at Susan’s; it’s seasonal. When I placed my order and asked the waitress who came and touched my shoulder what’s normally available, she told me that — and that peach pie would be coming in late May. Aw, yeah.

You’ll find Susan’s Restaurant at 1440 West Sunset Avenue (Highway 412) in Springdale. (479) 751-1445 — and it’s open every day.

Burger joint of the week: Myer's Cruizzers in Mena.

Sonic may currently have the corner on chain operations attempting to replicate the historic pull-up-and-order drive-in, but a little operation in Mena does the chain not one but about eight better. Myer’s Cruizzers, in short, has it going on.

This article was originally posted here alongside a digital copy on the Arkansas Times' Eat Arkansas blog in May 2011. Prices have changed since then.

The old style order-at-your-station restaurant carries what you’d expect at such an operation — burgers, fries and tots, shakes and drinks and dogs. But there’s a whole depth of menu going on that caught my notice on two different visits to the southwest Arkansas city.

The menu is loaded — and your passenger won’t really be able to see everything on it unless they have very good eyesight and can read everything on the backside of the next stall’s menu board. Crazy things like Nacho Nuggets ($2.59/3.49, not a clue what they are); a Country Boy sandwich ($3.89) with beef, ham, American and Swiss cheese and fixings; the Flaming Cruizzer Dog ($3.59) with its selection of grilled onions, bell peppers and BBQ sauce on a Polish sausage. There are Pickle-Os and Texas Toothpicks and fried zucchini and fried green beans and whatnot. The menu is vast.

Yet the best way to tell the value of any operation like this is to try their burger. Myer’s delivers here. The single (#1 with mayo, #2 with mustard or #3 with hickory sauce) is $2.49 — 40 cents more with cheese. We took advantage of the special: a double cheeseburger, tots and beverage for $4.79, done up #1 style.

It’s a big flat burger. There’s a reason for this that dates back to the golden age of drive-ins. With a small griddle and large volume, patties that can cook quickly are a bonus, and the thinner they are the quicker they cook. This tight flat burger contained not one but two patties of ground beef in a very smushed round; shredded lettuce, a slice of tomato, ridgy dills and a few onion ringlets sat under the patties; two slices of American cheese glued the patties together and to the top bun. The toasted bun was buttered. Very classic.

The meat? Not a whole lot of room for flavoring, just the salt and pepper treatment and the flavor picked up from a grill used constantly every day. Yet it works — because it’s a drive-in burger. It’s meant to be eaten out of a foil and paper wrapper without falling in your lap. Oh, the tots were decent, too.

But if you drive all the way to Mena and don’t get a shake, you have made a critical error. Myer’s Cruizzers offers around a dozen different shake flavors — the expected ones like chocolate and vanilla and strawberry, pineapple, butterscotch, hot fudge and banana. But peanut butter? Mocha chill? We had to try the blueberry… and boy, were we surprised. Not content to just put a little blueberry syrup in the mix, it’s a blend of blueberries in their own sauce, vanilla ice cream and graham cracker, giving it the flavor of a blueberry cobbler or pie. Irresistible.

And you can have it malted.

Then there are the sizes to be considered — not content with the standard sizes Sonic uses (14 and 20 ounces), Myer’s Cruizzers offers its shakes in 32 and 44 ounce versions as well. That… that’s a ridiculous amount of shake. You were planning to share that, right?

I have been enamored with the cherry phosphate and with the dipped cones (though I wish they’d dip them a little deeper and get the shell down onto the cone itself), but I just don’t feel like I’ve done enough research. Going to have to go back, I guess.

You’ll find Myer’s Cruizzers at 409 Highway 71 North. No website, no Facebook page but you can call (479) 394-5550.

Click to enlargen menu (2011 menu)

Say hello to Haru

• KAT ROBINSON
• MONGOLIAN BEEF: Asian fusion at Haru

Sushi? In Cabot? The heck you say.

But indeed, there is another sushi bar to replace the departed KoPan on Cabot’s main strip. Japanese fare can now be found at Haru Asian Bistro… and at lunch it can be found relatively cheap.

Though, to be honest, the lunch boxes at Haru are more Asian fusion than any one particular sort of cuisine.

• KAT ROBINSON

Took the girlchild with me for lunch the other day. I was just driving through town checking things out (like the fact that the former Grandma’s Butter Lovin’s is now a Shipley’s Donuts) and saw the sign. There weren’t many cars, but it was worth a stop-in.

Hunter, of course, had her current favorite, seaweed salad ($3 as a side). Took nothing at all to figure that out. One of the waitresses gave her chopsticks that had been banded for her ease — which fascinated my girl to no end.

I had a harder time choosing. Haru offers 18 different lunch boxes for $6 (Salmon Teriyaki is $8 and a Sushi and Sashimi box is $10) with items ranging from Beef Bulgogi to kebabs to General Tso Chicken. I settled on the Mongolian Beef.

• KAT ROBINSON

• KAT ROBINSON

My box was large — more what I had come to expect from a dinner serving than a lunch serving. It included a number of items — a ginger dressing soaked salad, fried rice with plenty of sesame seeds, orange slices, four pieces of California roll, a cucumber kimchi and the entrée. The rice was nutty, very separate (I prefer stickier rice, but this was all right) with bits of egg, pea and sesame seeds in it.

• KAT ROBINSON

I feel I need to mention the sesame seeds — they were present in the rice, in the seaweed salad, in the Mongolian Beef. They seemed to be everywhere.

• KAT ROBINSON

The little cucumber kimchi pickles were fresh, crispy and spicy from the red pepper flakes they’d been prepared with. They didn’t really go with anything in the box, but they were tasty.

The California roll was just a bit on the tiny side. The avocado seemed fresh enough, indicating it had been made that morning, but it was just sort of there — not really adding anything more than a bit of starch to the meal, filling one of the many segments of the box.

So, how was the Mongolian Beef? Sweet. Very tangy, sweet and a little peppery — the caramelized flavor of the white onion overcoming any of the sharpness you get when sautéing green onions for the same dish. It had a strong flavor of hoisin sauce. But it was tasty… the beef wasn’t overcooked, it was soft enough to be easily chewed and it was fun to pick up with the chopsticks.

• KAT ROBINSON

I’ll have to go back and try the dinner menu. I suspect it’ll be quite a bit more expensive than the lunch menu, but I could be wrong. I’m glad to see this continued Japanese presence in the Cabot cuisine scene; I just wonder how much more the restaurant is going to merge offered cuisines. It’s not offensive. Maybe it will survive where its predecessor failed.

You’ll find Haru Asian Bistro at 701 West Main Street in Cabot. (501) 843-8898 or check out the Facebook page.

Uppity and Downhome: Savory Pantry and The Pancake Shop.

You can’t get more high-end than a specialty food shop in some cities… and you can’t get more laid back than a country diner.  But can you have both? 

You can -- and thrive -- when you’re Keeley DeSalvo and you own next-door neighbors The Pancake Shop and The Savory Pantry.  She’s managed to do it without sacrificing a bit of quality or respectability on either side of the coin.


I was invited along with several other Arkansas food bloggers, journalists and the like to a special gathering at The Pancake Shop last week.  We had a lot to accomplish, but before we got started with the neat little nitty gritty about this and that, we had ourselves a breakfast.


I’ve written about The Pancake Shop before.  It’s been around since 1940, starting out across the street and then moving to its current location in the 1950s.  The current location is purportedly the former location of an Italian restaurant; Keeley says she’s not brave enough to tear up the floor to see if the original mosaic floor is under the tiles in the shop.  The original place was called Mason’s. 

Keeley’s folks, Tom and Ruth Ardman, bought the shop in 1990.  She came back from the Washington DC area in 1995 with her husband Stephen and joined them running the place. 

And here’s where the uppity bit comes in.  Keeley found right off the bat that there were a lot of items she couldn’t find in Arkansas, things like lemon curd and specialty salts and gourmet olive oils.  In fact, it was olive oil that drove her to open The Savory Pantry in 1998.  At the time, the idea was to bring in a few items that couldn’t easily be obtained here and sell them alongside The Pancake Shop’s signature items -- hams smoked here, special sausage blends, apple butter and the restaurant’s coffee. 

Thing is, The Savory Pantry filled a gap that needed to desperately be filled.  There weren’t any specialty foods shops in Hot Springs -- heck, I don’t think there were any in Little Rock at the time, either.  Customers gladly absorbed what was already available at The Savory Pantry and begged for more.  The shop was moved to the other side of the restaurant into a larger space.  The website was launched in 2000 and was an immediate hit. 

Today, it’s home to a couple hundred different items that you can’t find elsewhere in the state.  Keeley has fine brands of what could be considered to be exotic foods right next to homegrown favorites such as J&M Cheese Straws, Liz and Linda’s Pepper Jelly and MaryClare Macarons.  Pantry and gift baskets are available.

So… there you are.  Our group enjoyed breakfast at The Pancake Shop.  It was nice to be able to hear the reactions of others who shared the table; I’ve found the place to be one of my must-stops on any Hot Springs visit, and I’m glad to report others will be adding it to their list.  I had my usual -- a single pancake, a cheese omelet and toast with that amazingly good apple butter.

Pancakes at The Pancake Shop are huge.  I laugh when I hear first-timers come in and order three -- they have no idea how much food that is.  I love the light, fluffy ‘cakes and the butter that’s house-patted for easy serving.  I know my omelet’s going to be just fluffy enough and stuffed with plenty of cheese and that the apple butter itself will be perfectly fruity with a nice flavor of cinnamon.  It’s just a given.

We went from there next door to The Savory Pantry, where we were allowed to wander around a few minutes and try some of the many items available at the shop.  There are always several samples out -- a dozen or more on any given day, all sorts of dips and jams and syrups and condiments and sometimes even tiny tarts, crackers or chocolate.  The shop is set up perfectly for this with wide counters, clean lines and uncrowned shelves.

After a few minutes we were given the chance to enjoy a couple of special tastings.  This was a new experience for me -- I’ve been to wine tastings and cheese tastings but never before to a salt tasting. 










We tasted several different varieties -- fleur de sel, which comes from evaporated salts; pink Himalayan; dark Hawaiian salt and a beautiful smoked salt that screamed about barbecue adventures in my mouth.  It didn’t take much to absorb and enjoy each one… a tiny bit on a spoon turned out into the palm of one’s hand, a touch to the tongue, a moment to savor and a bite of cracker or swish of water before heading on to the next one.  Keeley and the girls who work at the shop broadly discussed each one and its attributes.

But we weren’t done with that.  We went directly on to an olive oil tasting, divining the differences and flavors of a selection of different oils with different pressings.  Flavors and scents were discussed.  My favorite of these was a delicate oil pressed with lemons.  It was almost like a lemon cordial.

We also sampled vinegars, including a couple of balsamic vinegars served up on salad and with bread.  Each flavor was discussed at length, with suggestions on uses and the like.

I also had a chance to speak with the ladies who just started MaryClare Macarons last November; their macarons are only available through special order or through retail at The Savory Pantry.  I have fallen in love.

We went from there back to The Pancake Shop for a cupping.  That’s a coffee tasting, in case you were wondering.  Peter Guerin from Westrock Coffee had come in just to share with us the art of coffee tasting.  He showed us each individual step of sniffing the grounds (best done lightly with mouth open), creating a crust with boiling water, breaking the crust and slurping the hot coffee for flavor.  We tried three regional coffees -- one from Brazil, one from Guatemala and one from Rwanda -- that had a medium to dark roast. 

This sort of event may seem out of place in Arkansas -- and I dare say, elsewhere in the state you’re just not going to find it.  But that’s the sort of thing The Savory Pantry makes possible.

So yeah, it’s uppity.  And you can’t get more down-home than The Pancake Shop.  It’s an interesting parallel, but I don’t think it’s a study of opposites.  Keeley’s attention to detail is evident in both places.  High quality details are attended to quite well.  Makes me kinda proud to say I’ve been talking about both places for quite a long time.

So if you find yourself in Hot Springs, make your way north of Bathhouse Row and drop in.  And if you can’t, check out the website and order something good. 

Also, check out Michael Roberts' review of The Pancake Shop from our visit over at Arkansas Foodies.

Baking up a storm of support.

• KAT ROBINSON
• FUNNY POPS: Gigi's shared Angry Birds for the bake sale

The big event this weekend for this blogger was the National Food Blogger Bake Sale for Save Our Strength. Christie Ison did a fantastic job of coordinating donors from local food bloggers and area bakeries alike. It was fantastic. The game-plan had been to start setting up around eight Saturday morning, open at nine and finish up around two. The crowds didn’t see it that way. We were mobbed. Folks came right over from the Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers Market and from Argenta Market to see what we had — and when they found we were raising funds for Share Our Strength, they opened their checkbooks.

• KAT ROBINSON
• Cupcakes from Brown Sugar Bakeshop

• KAT ROBINSON
• Oatmeal raisin cookies from Make Life Delicious

We had donations from local food bloggers — oatmeal cookies from Sunshine Crawford ofMake Life Delicious, fantastic Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cupcakes from Heather Nabres ofClassy and Fabulous, Christie’s Sweep the Floor Cookies, a double chocolate pound cake from Ashli Ahrens (Lisa Fischer bought that cake, by the way!), a couple of Coca-Cola cakes from Kelli Reep and my own plain old cheese muffins.

• KAT ROBINSON
• Mini-cheesecakes from Cabot Cheesecake Corner

We also had a ton of donations from local bakeries eager to help the cause — chocolate chip cookies, mini-pies, margarita cupcakes and Earthquake Brownies fromGimme Some Sugar in Greenbrier; croissants, muffins and sugar cookies from The Peabody Hotel; four different types of rich cupcakes from Brown Sugar Bakeshop; a whole cooler full of chocolate and vanilla mini-cheesecakes from Cabot Cheesecake Corner; fancy cupcakes from Blue Cake Company; espresso buttercream cakes from Peace By Piece Foods & Gifts; scones and apple pies and reusable bags from Whole Foods; the cutest cake pops featuring Angry Birds fromGigi’s Cake Boutique and Mary Mann’s sweet and adorable red velvet cupcakes from the Arkansas Culinary School at Pulaski Technical College. The quickest sales came from the items from Dempsey Bakery — gluten free breads and cookies that were scooped up so quick we were out by 10 a.m. Dempsey Bakery will be opening soon… I’ll keep you up to date on that.

• KAT ROBINSON
• Earthquake brownies from Gimme Some Sugar

We had fully intended to keep going until 2 p.m. — but by noon we were down to less than a sixth of our original stock. The remnants went to Homeless Heretic for dispersal to the hungry. In the end, we raised $843 dollars through the sale of baked goods and the Foodista books Christie appears in.

And we’re still going. Christie noted that the Chicago group of food bloggers raising money for Share Our Strength had $1000 in donations. Heck, we can beat that. So we’re still accepting donations through the program. I’m throwing in $25 myself… and challenging each of you to match it. You do that, I’ll mention you here — and maybe give you a bear hug when I see you next. I just saw that Amanda Galiano has already matched up. We’re up to $913 dollars.

Thanks to the folks at Argenta Market, who helped us with finding a location and with our packaging needs; with the Argenta Downtown Council; with the Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers Market and with Signs First for donating our sign. We’re going to do it again next year and see how much bigger we can go.

Which reminds me — I believe it’s time we got an official Arkansas food bloggers group together. Interested? Watch this space — or contact me direct at kat@tiedyetravels.com.

UPDATE: Michael Roberts has met the challenge. How about you?

UPDATE: Larie Morgan has donated $20... we're just $32 from the $1000 mark!

Bake sale raises money for Share Our Strength.

• OH MY: Ashli Ahren's double chocolate pound cake

Whatcha up to? Not much? You need to come over to North Little Rock. That's where our band of fellow bloggers, restaurant folks and friends are all participating in the National Food Blogger Bake Sale today.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. we'll be selling cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, cookies, muffins and what-not made by folks right here in Arkansas just for this special project. Christie Ison of Fancy Pants Foodie has made some fantastic Sweep the Floor cookies. Notorious chocoholic and dear friend Kelli Reep is ponying up with a couple of Coca-Cola cakes. Sunshine Crawford of Make Life Delicious is selling Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. And Ashli Ahrens... well, that's her contribution to the left. I can't even compete with any of that with my little fluffy cheese muffins, but what the heck?

Our local bakery folks have also stepped up to the plate. I hear Gimme Some Sugar is bringing some of those fabulous Earthquake Brownies, Brown Sugar Bakeshopis serving up cupcakes and there will be duck-shaped cookies from the Peabody Hotel. I've barely scratched the surface — there's far more listed here.

So yeah, come buy some sweets. All proceeds go to Share Our Strength as part of the Great American Bake Sale. Share Our Strength hopes to end childhood hunger by 2015. We hope to at least satiate your hunger this morning and afternoon! Come join us at 6th and Main in North Little Rock (across from the Argenta Certified Farmers Market and catty-corner from Argenta Market).

UPDATE: So much going on, I am late in reporting this fabulous news — the bake sale raised $843 dollars! Christie at Fancy Pants Foodie has more on the sale and how you can donate. There's also talk of getting together a group of Arkansas food bloggers. Interested?

All Aboard for Kid Fun in Little Rock.

Looking for a neat experience for the kids? How about a restaurant where dinner is brought to you by a tiny train? It's time to check out All Aboard.

Pieday: Pecan cream cheese at the Red Rooster Bistro.

This restaurant has closed.

I’ve been hearing about the Red Rooster for years. Alma’s best place to grab a good hearty bite of something. Good pie. GREAT pie. But I’d written it off when it closed a few years ago.

Then… well, there’s this pie, you see. This great and awesome collection of pies that have been popping up at all places — a truck stop in Dyer. Great pies. Strawberry. Millionaire. Chocolate cream. Sundae. Butterfinger. I mean, some serious pies.

It's all the Buzz (B-Que).

• KAT ROBINSON

Saturday teams will burn meat to help kids attend a pediatric burn survivor camp. The 7th Annual Buzz-B-Q will run 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the North Little Rock RV Park. The proceeds will benefit the Arkansas Professional Firefighters Camp Sunshine.

Tickets are $10 at the door — or you can go to www.1037thebuzz.com and find locations where you can do a buy-one get-one offer. Children 12 and under get in free.

More than 90 local BBQ teams will compete in the Twin City Tractor Fiser Kubota BBQ Contest for $5000 in cash and prizes. They'll grill pork, ribs and chicken. about half are competing in the Average Joe Division for the laid-back griller while the other half will vy off in the more serious Pro Division. More on the jump.

the 7th annual buzz-b-q
to benefit camp sunshine
A pediatric burn survivor camp funded by the local firefighters association

LITTLE ROCK, AR. (may 6, 2011): The 7th Annual Buzz-B-Q, hosted by KABZ 103.7 The Buzz and presented by Doublebee’s, will be held on Saturday, May 14, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the North Little Rock RV Park. The Buzz-B-Q barbeque and music festival benefits the Arkansas Professional Firefighters Camp Sunshine.

“Camp Sunshine is an annual 4-day camp for pediatric burn survivors completely funded by The Arkansas Professional Firefighters and is free for the camper,” said Captain Mark Warford, President of IAFF Local #35. “By partnering with The Buzz on Buzz-B-Q, we are able to help fund this camp and assist the kids’ transition from being a burn victim to burn survivor through fun activities with other kids who are going through a similar situation.”

Camp Sunshine is held every August at Camp Aldersgate. Counselors and volunteers are firefighters, adult burn survivors and Arkansas Children’s Hospitals personnel such as their Burn Center nurses. Volunteers participate in many activities with campers including fishing, swimming, canoeing, arts and crafts, a dance and even a trip to Magic Springs.
“The atmosphere is relaxed and happy. Kids can catch up with old friends and meet new ones, all having survived the same devastating experience,” said Warford. “We get as much out of the camp as the kids themselves. It brings it home, and to the heart, as to why we do the job we do.”

Tickets to Buzz-B-Q are on sale now. The public can buy one ticket for $10 and get one free at participating ticket locations before Buzz-B-Q. Ticket locations can be found on www.1037thebuzz.com. Tickets are $10 a person at the door on the day of the event. Children 12 and under are admitted free.

Over 90 local BBQ teams will compete in the Twin City Tractor Fiser Kubota BBQ Contest for $5000 in cash and prizes in the categories of pork, ribs and chicken. Forty-five teams are competing in the Average Joe Division for the laid-back griller. Forty-seven teams are competing in the more serious Pro Division.

“The first year of Buzz-B-Q, we had 17 teams compete in the BBQ contest. Seven years later, we are just amazed that we have 92 teams competing, all from Arkansas. It’s definitely become the event to kick-off the summer,” said Steve Jonsson, General Manager of 103.7 The Buzz. “The Local 35 Firefighters have been a valued partner in Buzz-B-Q over the years, and we are proud to be able help bring more funding to Camp Sunshine.”

Half of the teams will be handing out free samples of their barbeque to the public. These teams will be competing for the People’s Choice Award that will be judged by a random sampling of Buzz-B-Q attendees. Teams will also be voted on for a showmanship prize for originality of the BBQ team space. Teams handing out free samples and participating in the showmanship contest will be recognized by signs located in their BBQ team space.

Local live music will be featured all day on the Bryant Music Center Stage by Josh Green, The Moses Tucker Band, Jeff Coleman and the Feeders, Taylor Made Rocks and Canvas. There is a Wendy’s Kids Zone area complete with rock wall and the Bryant Brake and Tire Buzzaritaville will have food, drinks and entertainment for the whole family. KABZ personalities Tommy Smith, David Bazzel, Roger Scott, Justin Acri and Pat Bradley will help emcee the event.

The night before, the Buzz is hosting a Kick-off to Buzz-B-Q party from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the RV Park that is free to the public. Buzzaritaville will be open and there will be local live music by Steele Jessup, Breaking Eden and Sharpe Dunaway and the Meanies. The Kick-off Party is sponsored by Fleet Management Services.

The 7th Annual Buzz-B-Q is presented by Doublebee’s and sponsored by Fence Brokers, Gravely Mowers, Centennial Bank, Antique Brick Outdoors and the Fish Tank.

Burger joint of the week: Starlite Diner.

• KAT ROBINSON
• CLASSIC BURGER: Starlite Diner's The Original

There has been a lot of hubbub over the North Little Rock Streamliner-style diner these past few years. It’s changed hands, it’s battled with whether or not it’ll be 24 hours… but one thing’s for sure: its burgers typify the American Classic style.

Starlite Diner offers seven variations on its griddle-fried burger. The Original ($5.25, $6.25 with cheese) comes with green leaf lettuce, tomato, white onion and ridged hamburger dills and choice of condiments, along with a handful of fries.

• KAT ROBINSON

Like most good classic burgers, The Original comes on a toasted bun speckled with sesame seeds. In this case, it’s a buttered bun — which adds a nice extra layer of moisture and salt to the sandwich. The meat has a nice char to it, not over the top. Inside, it’s medium well. You don’t get an option on that.

• KAT ROBINSON

The fries are skin-on, sometimes spot-on and sometimes a little spiritless. They almost always come a little undersalted, an easy fix.

• KAT ROBINSON

All together, it’s a pretty decent burger. You can double up on the patties for $2 more or go for other variations — including the Levy Burger (same with bacon and cheesE), the Swiss Patty Melt (with caramelized onions on rye), the Buffalo Burger (with buffalo sauce, Swiss cheese and blue cheese crumbles) and the Japaleno Cheeseburger (jalapenos, pepper jack cheese and “Bub” sauce, whatever that is).

• KAT ROBINSON

I still maintain that the best burger on the menu is the MacArthur Chili Cheeseburger ($7.95). The buns are turned inside-down on the plate, a beef patty is put on top in the middle and the whole affair is smothered in homemade chili, Cheddar shreds and white onion bits. It’s the chili that really makes it great, a beef-bean-tomato chili that soaks into the bun and patty equally. But I’ve talked about that before.

If there is one gripe I have about the burgers at Starlite Diner, it’s that they’re a little pricey for what you get. These aren’t gourmet burgers, they’re road food, and they should be accorded the same sort of pricing structure.

• KAT ROBINSON

You’ll find Starlite Diner at Military Road and MacArthur Drive in North Little Rock. I’d give you a phone number, but both the numbers I have for them won’t connect this morning. Still, they have a Facebook check-in page. I guess that’s something.