Marty?s Cafe Serves Up Down-Home Deals

Marty’s Cafe

Bentonville

Lunchers should tote a hearty appetite for the trip to Marty’s Cafe in Bentonville. Not only are the Southern comfort-style foods delicious, but the portions would suit a ravenous lumberjack any day. Sandwiches that require two hands to manage tactfully, generous helpings of side vittles and monstrous slabs of pie fill the simple white plates.

Although we had been warned that we might have to wait a bit before getting a table, our party of three was seated immediately. Service in the diner was prompt and friendly. Tartar sauce and ketchup in plastic squeeze bottles set the casual atmosphere.

We enjoyed sodas with old-fashioned crunchy ice before an order of six mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce (about $2) arrived. Crisp and hot, the appetizer could only have been improved by warming the chilled dipping sauce.

The fellow in our trio tried the mushroom and Swiss burger ($4), and he said the sandwich reminded him fondly of the burgers at a county fair. Served with potato chips and a dill pickle, the quarter-pound hamburger came dressed with mayonnaise, lettuce, onion, tomato, sauteed mushrooms and Swiss cheese.

Another diner sampled the chicken-fried steak sandwich ($3), because she said every home-cooking restaurant should be judged on that meal.

“It was among the best chicken-fried steak sandwiches that I’ve had,” she said. Served on a sesame seed bun, the meal dwarfed the plate. She said next time she plans to split the sandwich and a side order of french fries with another person.

The third member of our luncheon ordered the special of the day ($6), fried fish with two sides, a salad or soup, and a roll. The soup of the day was potato, which was rather bland. But brown beans seasoned with ham, a small roll and mashed potatoes with white, creamy gravy surrounded three chunks of lightly fried white fish to create a meal too big to finish.

Both of the side dishes could have come right from any upstanding grandma’s kitchen, and the fish was good, too.

Finally, we spotted towers of meringue topping near the front of the dining room. Unable to resist, we split a piece of lemon meringue pie ($2), but it received mixed reviews. Gigantic, the piece was not very creamy and it seemed sort of gelatinous. We had hoped for a stronger bite of lemon flavor, but the meringue topping lived up to its appearance.

We wanted to try a bit of everything on our outing to the diner, but we’ll have to go back to try some of the other dishes that made our mouths water.

“Home-cooked meals with hometown prices” is the motto of Marty’s Cafe, and the author of the line pegged the restaurant just fine.