(Staff Photo: Richard Davis) Rick's Iron Skillet at 1131 S. School Ave. in Fayeteville. Also, if you look closely, you can almost make out the face of Northwest Arkansas Times reporter Kate Ward's face on the front of the newspaper rack.
(Staff Photo: Richard Davis) Rick's Iron Skillet at 1131 S. School Ave. in Fayeteville. Also, if you look closely, you can almost make out the face of Northwest Arkansas Times reporter Kate Ward's face on the front of the newspaper rack.
Green beans only thing that pleases
By Rachel Birdsell
TFW Contributing Writer
Preamble Ramble
I’ve heard for a while now that I needed to try Rick’s Iron Skillet. I’d been to Rick’s once before for the breakfast buffet and wasn’t impressed, but I received an e-mail the other day with the suggestion that I try them for a review. So I did. Let me say that I really want to like every restaurant you guys recommend. I promise I do. In fact, I want to like every restaurant I try. It’s a lot more fun to write a good review than it is a bad one. However, sometimes my taste buds get in the way of what I want. This was one of those times.
Food For Thought
I have been searching for a place that serves really good chicken fried steak, so when I saw it on the menu at Rick’s, I thought I’d give it a whirl. My plate came with chicken fried steak, gravy, mashed potatoes, cabbage and green beans.
My meal got to the table in really good time and there was a lot of food on my plate.
I poured some of the gravy over my steak and when I took my first bite, I was so sad. It tasted like a pre-fab, filler-added, previously frozen chicken fried steak — or a PFFAPFCFS. Of course, they never use that acronym, because it’s really long and a little goofy. The chicken fried steak was so totally not what I was looking for.
But, I still had hope. My plate was full of veggies that were bound to be good, right?
They weren’t.
I take that back. The green beans were extremely good. They had chunks of bacon and onion in them, which is exactly how I like them.
The mashed potatoes unfortunately tasted like instant potatoes. I don’t believe instant mashed potatoes should even be considered real food. It’s kind of like saying that Glenn Beck is a real person.
I’m not sure what happened to the cabbage. It was chartreuse colored. It even tasted like chartreuse.
The Sporkcast
(1-5 sporks)
Atmosphere: 3.5 sporks forged by hand in 1732
The atmosphere at Rick’s couldn’t be more relaxed. There are cast iron skillets and baking implements covering the walls. I think it may have something to do with the name of the restaurant. See? I’m quick.
Food: 2.8 sad little sporks with floppy tines
The sweet tea was pretty good. I can say that the portions were generous, so you can definitely get full if you can finish your meal.
Staff: 4 sturdy sporks with pinstripes on the handles.
Our waitress was capable. She didn’t go out of her way to make me feel welcome or comfortable, but she also didn’t pull my hair or call me names.
Dollars spent: My tally was about $8. I think I managed to eat about $2 worth of food.
Chance of returning: If I’m missing something at Rick’s, please someone tell me. I keep hearing about the omelets. Is that what I’m supposed to eat there? If one of you can tell me that I need to try a certain dish at Rick’s, I’ll go back and I’ll even write a review on it. If I don’t hear from anyone, I don’t see myself ever going back.
If you know of a great eating place, drop me a line at rabirdsell@gmail.com. I’ll check it out and let you know what I think.
