DJ's Restaurant Review

DJ's Drive In has opened in the location that was previously a Sonic Drive In that failed. I'm not sure why the Sonic failed, because it seems that Eureka Springs is lacking in the fast food department and the Berryville location is always hopping with business. I would have expected someone to jump on a franchise opportunity to open it again, but maybe they have rules against re-opening in the same location.

We went to DJ's for dinner last week and it was good. The service was pretty quick, and the food was decent. We ordered crawfish po'boys, fries, and shrimp baskets for the kids. They loved their food and I thought the fries were really good. As for the po'boys - they were good, but my husband is from New Orleans and let's just say that after you've had the real deal, everything else falls short. The crawfish were a bit chewy and there was no remoulade sauce. Our overall impression was good, and we would eat there again.

Another time later in the week, my husband took the kids there for "happy hour" to get slushes. He was disappointed to find that the price seemed a bit high for half-price drinks, and when he looked closer at the receipt, found that they charge twenty cents for every flavor added to the slush, including the main flavor. So if you order a strawberry kiwi slush, they add forty cents. This seems a bit misleading to me, since no one would order a slush with no flavor, so at least the first flavor should be included in the menu price. The slushes didn't taste as good as Sonic slushes, according to my family, and the consistency was very hard and frozen in a ball.

We have not tried their breakfast menu at all, the sweet potato fries, fried okra, nor any of the other desserts or ice cream. I suspect we will be going back to DJ's in the future.

Restaurant review: Sonny's Pizza

We have known for awhile that Geraldi's pizza is fantastic, and we eat it regularly. The people are nice, the service is great, the pizza tastes awesome, and the price is very reasonable. The Geraldi's in Eureka Springs is closed on Sundays and Tuesdays, however, so if we feel like getting pizza on those days we have to go elsewhere. Usually we get Pizza Hut, but I've heard good things about Sonny's, so we gave them a try last Sunday.

My first impression was not great. I called to order a pizza for carry-out and when I asked for the total amount, the guy said, "You'll find out when you pick it up. We're really busy right now." So I said, "Well, I need to know how much because we are paying with cash and splitting the bill." After a loud exhale, he said, "Hold on, I'll get you an estimate." I waited a few minutes and he finally gave me the total, "$28.10 plus tax." That sounded a bit high for two medium pizzas with two toppings, but they are supposed to be "gourmet" pizzas, so I didn't say anything.

When I picked up the pizzas at the restaurant, one guy was very rude (same guy from the phone) and the other guy was nice. I didn't really see into the seating area of the restaurant, so I can't give my opinion on that. When we got home and opened the pizza boxes, the pizza looked impressive. The toppings were abundant and the crust looked good. The pizzas were bigger than your average "medium" size, which explains the high price. Unfortunately, the taste was just OK. There wasn't much flavor and one of the pizzas was burned on one side. For the price, we will definitely be sticking with Geraldi's from now on for pizza. One large pizza at Geraldi's is $14.00 and if we take a short 10 mile drive to Berryville, we can go to the Geraldi's there on Tuesdays, where they have medium pizzas for $6.99 each and the employees there are super and always nice.

Restaurant review: Sparky's Roadhouse Cafe

For my birthday, we went to eat at Sparky's. It is a very popular restaurant and has won awards for their burgers. We've tried eating there before, but the wait was always over an hour, so we hadn't yet experienced Sparky's. Since my neighbor works there, I asked her what time we should come to be sure to get a table. She said anytime before 6:00pm and you'll get a table right away. We got there at 5:30 and were taken right to a booth. My husband and I both noticed the booths were pretty worn down and could use re-stuffing or replacement.

Our chips and salsa came right away, so that was good. They brought over coloring books and Crayons for the kids and the atmosphere is fun and retro - so kids like it there. Our order came in a good amount of time, not super fast, but not too long either. We enjoyed our meals and the taste was good. It seems my husband liked his chicken dinner more than I enjoyed my veggie burger. Since they won "best burger" award, I expected the veggie burger to be out of this world, so I was a little disappointed. But all the food was good.

We didn't tell the waiter that it was my birthday, but my neighbor must've remembered because they brought me a piece of turtle cheesecake for free. It was super rich and wonderful. I would definitely recommend Sparky's for dessert or for a fun meal for the family.

PS. In case you are wondering, the S.U.A.E. that they have on their T-shirts and billboards stands for "Shut up and eat."

Restaurant review: Myrtie Mae's

We ate lunch at Myrtie Mae's today and I just wanted to say that their lunch buffet is truly a great deal. They have it every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday and the cost is only $6.95 per person, $3.50 for kids. We're talking a full soup and salad bar complete with muffins, fruit, and a variety of pasta salads. Plus a full buffet which includes catfish, fried chicken, roast beef, fried okra, chicken fried steak, and meatloaf. Everything tasted wonderful and I honestly can't complain about anything. I highly recommend Myrtie Mae's lunch buffet!

The results are in

To quote the Lovely County Citizen: Eureka Springs Eateries Rock Arkansas Times Poll
Our little town recently won 13 of 22 state-wide awards in the annual Arkansas Times Readers’ Choice restaurant competition. Here's the list of winners:

• Autumn Breeze: Best Wine List
• Geraldis: Best Pizza
• Little Bread Company: Best Bakery
• Mud Street Cafe: Best Coffee

  “Runners Up” award winners and their categories include:
• Bavarian Inn: Other Ethnic
• Bubba’s: Barbecue
• Ermilio’s: Italian
• Mud Street Cafe: Breakfast
• Mud Street Cafe: Dessert
• Myrtie Mae’s: Family
• Oasis: Home Cooking
• Rogue’s Manor: Romantic
• Sparky’s Roadhouse: Hamburger

I am so proud of our hard-working restaurant workers! I am especially happy that Geraldi's got the recognition they deserve for best pizza. They've always been our favorite pizza!

Fresh food?

Last night, I tried to order a pizza from our favorite place, Geraldi's. No one answered the phone, so I guess they were closed. Then I tried to call Sonny's and they didn't answer either. Usually both places are open all weekend. I finally found a place that was open, and ordered a pizza from Forest Hill restaurant. It was very inexpensive - $8.50 for a large pepperoni! The taste wasn't that great, though.

Then I got to thinking, if a restaurant owner decides to stay open in the winter and they are so slow, how can they possibly keep their food fresh? Since the tourism fluctuates, how do they know how much to make or order? I would think a lot of food would be wasted and have to be thrown away. Then you have to consider the staff. Do they keep full-time waiters on staff "just in case" they get any customers?

Unfortunately, I think it is probably in a restaurant's best interest to close for at least two months in the winter. Apparently, the residents of Eureka Springs don't go out to eat very much. This is a good thing for families, but a bad thing for restaurants.