Eat Arkansas

NICK’S BAR-B-Q & CATFISH Years ago, before the Interstate, before McDonald’s and KFC, there were locally owned restaurants on Arkansas highways that became semi-famous to travelers. The planning of road trips always included a stop at such a one. For students heading back to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville after a weekend at home, the chosen place was the Old South on U.S. Highway 64 in Russellville. Nick’s is on the interstate but it still reminds us of those old places. Part of it, we suppose, is the wall covered with pictures of celebrities who’ve dined there – mostly country-music stars in Nick’s case. Part of it is the menu, which lists four kinds of homemade fried pies as well as homemade pecan pie. The two specialties, of course, will nearly always attract a crowd in this part of the country, especially if you put a few signs on the highway, as Nick’s does. You can order the barbecue and the catfish separately, but we saw a lot of people getting combination dinners, and they seemed happy. Our beef sandwich had too much sauce, but we knew as soon as we’d ordered it that we should have gotten one of the dinners instead. Next time, we will. I-40 Exit 183 at Carlisle 870-552-3887 CC $-$$ No alcohol LD daily.