Food Review: Minute Club in Mountain View, AR

The Minute Club is a long-awaited new restaurant that took over Mikey’s Smoked Meats and Deli down Hwy 5. I went in to dine solo after a hike one day and was thoroughly impressed. Here’s the breakdown:

ENVIRONMENT

The bright blue of the outside of the newly updated building does set the perfect precedent for the entire atmosphere of Minute Club. Everything is updated, new, clean, and shiny! With a blue and red theme (your drink even comes in a red solo cup), tv’s playing sports all around, and a digital juke box, this place is fun! While there’s plenty of tables to sit at, there’s also a bar. There’s even a nice patio outside for when the weather isn’t freezing.

What stuck out to me most when I arrived, however, was how genuinely friendly the staff is. The waitress was beyond nice and patient with me as I tried to quickly decide on what to order. She let me know her favorites and didn’t rush me in the least. Then, I believe the owner (or manager?) came by a couple times to answer questions, make sure the food was good, and he was just as friendly as could be! I really appreciated everyone being so kind and talkative, especially when I was dining solo.

MENU

While the menu is typical southern food, mostly sandwiches, they have some unique items not found around the area. They have cheese curds, fried mushrooms, beignets, fried oreos, and daily specials. However, they are best known for their many different burgers, which are supposed to be the best in town. Their pizzas look very enticing, as well!

FOOD

The first thing you see when you walk into the restaurant is this full dessert display case full of at least one thing you’ll want to try. I couldn’t decide, so went with the owner’s suggestion of the strawberry pie to go. I know we should talk about dessert last, but we’re already here.

STRAWBERRY PIE- $5

With a graham cracker crust, a sweet and creamy filling topped with perfectly delicious macerated strawberries, this pie was very tasty!

BIG ROG- $12 with hand-cut fries.

This sandwich comes with fried bologna, cheese, bacon, lettuce, and mayo on a hoagie bun. I got mine without the cheese, but added an over-easy egg, which they did not charge for. Yay! Instead of house-cut fries, I opted for the beer-battered onion rings instead for $2. These rings were delicous! Crispy, not greasy. Dang near perfection! I didn’t even need the ketchup they provided.

The sandwich was the star, however. Was it messy and required me to use SIX napkins?? Yes. But that’s okay- any good fried bologna sandwich is a big ole mess to eat. It was sooo good! There’s the right amount of bolonga and all the toppings. The crispy bacon was a delicious addition I had never tried on fried bologna sandwiches before. The egg, though MADE IT! Perfectly cooked egg with nature’s gravy (egg yolk) running throughout the sandwich. I loved it!

The only downfall was the price. I ate all my food and took home a dessert for almost $20, not including tip. This is a little steep for the area, but worth it for a nice meal out.

If you give this place a try, let me know what I should get there next!

Food Review: Coffee Corner in Maumelle

I’ve heard such great things about the new Coffee Corner in Maumelle, so I had to check it out. Here’s the breakdown!

ENVIRONMENT

Sitting in the shopping center between Boudreaux’s and Se´ñor Tequila, Coffee Corner is a small coffee shop, but with huge flavor. It’s nothing fancy inside, but the coffee and food sure are!

(A sneak peek over the counter to watch the croissant process.)

MENU

The menu is mostly coffee and homemade croissants and croissant sandwiches. I love a simple menu where you know everything on it has been perfected.

FOOD

I ordered lunch to go for my husband and I. I tried a white chocolate mocha with skim milk that I sipped on while I waited for my food. It was one of the best coffees I have ever had. Wow! I’ll be back for that, for sure.  It was in a to-go cup, so I missed out on the pretty froth design on the top I saw many others had in their coffee cups. I did get my Hershey’s chocolate bar with it, just like everyone who dines in gets with their coffee as well. I love that little detail!

For food, I tried the last chocolate danish, a plain croissant, and the Classic croissant sandwich which came with bacon, cheddar, tomato, and omelet.

The plain croissant was massive! It was so flaky and buttery, so you can’t go wrong here.

The sandwich I ordered without cheddar and was happy to see some pickled carrot strings to add to my sandwich. It really brightened it up! While there wasn’t much bacon, the egg and tomato with the carrots was delicious.

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The star, however, was the chocolate danish. It was crunchy and flaky on the outside, but the interior has a decadent chocolate filling that was very flavorful. I’m not surprised I got the last one, I bet these go quickly!

Lastly, I want to mention the people that own and work there. They are SO friendly and make everyone feel right at home. And I must say, we all love the Italian accents!

Hours are 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.