In our Lunching in Little Rock blog series, Michael Kirkpatrick will explore and review the best restaurants in Little Rock and its surrounding area – all in time to get back to the office. This week, Michael ate lunch at Bobby’s Country Cookin’.
Wednesday was 3/14 and National Pi Day. What better excuse to go out and get yourself a piece of pie at lunch? For some reason, most people rarely have dessert at lunchtime. It’s like dessert is something that is saved just for dinner. Let’s break the rules this week, in honor of pi, and get some delicious pie for dessert at noon! At Bobby’s Country Cookin’ it’s not about IF you’ll get pie, but which pie you’ll pick.
Bobby’s Country Cookin’ on North Shackleford is legendary for their plate lunches. This is shown through the packed dining room daily and the regulars who show up at Bobby’s on their favorite day to get their favorite special. We were lucky enough to go on a Wednesday and get the amazing fried chicken. The line was almost out the door, but it moved quickly. The restaurant is cafeteria-style, so you get a tray, silverware and a drink while practicing your order in your head. The fried chicken was an easy choice for me, but the sides were where it got difficult. Mashed potatoes with gravy, four kinds of beans, greens, corn, carrots and more! I went with the black-eyed peas and the fried okra, accompanied by a fresh cornbread muffin.
Finally, I got to the end of the selection line and it was my turn to pick a pie. The selection was extensive: coconut cream, chocolate, pecan, cherry cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, turtle cheesecake, lemon icebox and strawberry. I went with strawberry. The whole meal was perfect and hit the spot. The chicken was amazingly crispy and the peas were good, but the okra was the star; it was crunchy, salty and bursting with flavor. The pie was the perfect complement to the meal. My substantial slice had strawberries whipped with cream on a crumbly crust and was topped with more cream and garnished with a big fresh strawberry.
Who says you can’t have dessert at lunch? Who says it has to be a special occasion like National Pi Day? Go get yourself some pie at Bobby’s Country Cookin’ today; you deserve it.
Related: More about Arkansas pie » 
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Make your own fried pie »