Adam & Eats: Skinny’s White Spot Cafe

Editor’s note: Adam Brandt is a graduate from the Cobra Kai School of Culinary Callousness, where he received their highest award, the Red Apron of Merciless Eating. Aside from eating and talking about eating, he makes pots, paintings, prints, books, photographs, and generally, a big mess. He has been the studio assistant at Mudpuppy Pottery for almost nine years and is attending a local university in a desperate attempt to earn a biology degree.

review by Adam Brandt

I went out this week hoping to eat turkey and dressing. But I went out too early. No turkey for me. Instead, I’ll settle for a cheeseburger at the White Spot.

For more than 60 years there has been a White Spot Café in Fort Smith, in one location or another. Its current spot, no pun intended, is on the corner of North 17th and Rogers and they still offer the same trusty, inexpensive diner food, friendly service, and lively atmosphere that we have come to expect from this hometown staple.

Despite the somewhat sparse décor of Skinny’s, the place still, somehow, feels really quite comfortable. On the wall of Skinny’s is a copy of one of the original price sheets for the restaurant back in 1947. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the prices haven’t really gone up that much over the years. You can still get a burger for 90 cents. You can’t even get a crappy fast food burger for that these days.

If you are going to get a burger, however, I recommend the White Spot Deluxe Cheeseburger, mainly because, unlike its lesser counterpart, it comes with the decadent luxuries of tomato and lettuce. Okay, sure the word “Deluxe” might be a little strong for describing the burger, but for $1.65, who’s gonna complain? Now, that burger comes with chips, but not fries. That won’t do. What? I can substitute fried okra for chips. Sign me up. The fried okra is pretty good, too. The same goes for the fried squash, which is a rarity in restaurants around here, as well.

I might be beating the crap out of a dead horse a little bit, but you can get an order of beans and cornbread for a buck and change. The beans are well seasoned and the cornbread is homemade and surprisingly spongy.

Now, here it comes, my big gripe about Skinny’s is not one of food or service, but one of music. The cooks have their radio on and that’s fine by me. The less I hear other people chewing, the better. Even the choice of music was fine by me. I listen to KOOL 104 quite a bit, in fact.

But what killed me was one of the cooks quite vocal mistake when he proclaimed that Bob Dylan sang “Stuck in the Middle With You.” You sir, are incorrect. Stealers Wheel sings that song, not Mr. Dylan. It is understandable, though. Sometimes the trilling of the two-man harmonies of Rafferty and Egan can, in some cases, sound like Bob, but it is not Bob. Sorry. I just had to say something. Having rocked the "Reservoir Dogs" soundtrack for many years of my younger life, I felt compelled to correct you. Thank you for understanding.

Okay, where was I? Right.

Skinny, you are carrying on a great tradition in this town and, for that, I salute you. You manage to give this town wonderful service and cheap, consistent food, all wrapped in wonderfully happy atmosphere. Good show, old chap.

If you haven’t tried the White Spot Café, I want you to go to your room and think about what you’ve done. Now, go eat there. The food is not spectacular, but it’s good. And if you haven’t figured it out by now, it’s cheap. I hear the $10 all-you-can-eat catfish on Friday nights is worth every penny.

Until next week, good eating, and have a Happy Thanksgiving weekend.

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Adam also has this thing called Sandwich Control.