I’m going to remind you about Cotham’s Merchantile in Scott, home of the Hubcap Burger.

If you’re like us, you go weeks, maybe months, without thinking of this little out-of-the-way place, and then, something…the smell of honeysuckle, the sight of a large cottonwood tree, coming across the packaged Cotham’s hamburger seasoning at the grocery store…sets it off, and nothing will do but an immediate trip to Scott.

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The only dining experience I know of that even comes close to pulling up a chair in a restaurant-on-stilts that is perched on the edge of an oxbow off the Arkansas River is pulling up a chair next to the cast-iron stoves in the kitchen of the original Doe’s Eat Place in Mississippi.   A regular diet at either establishment would kill you dead, but as an occasional treat, you just can’t beat a jaunt out to what Cotham’s refers to as “Downtown Scott.”

We understand that there are many more items on the menu besides the famous burgers, but we’ve just never been able to NOT order a Cotham’s burger, so haven’t sampled them.  I was rather pleased with myself for at least sampling the fried green tomatoes this time around.  Holy cow, were they ever good.

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It still surprises me that there are people–people from the North Little Rock area, even–who do not know of Cotham’s.  I had the pleasure of introducing one such newbie to the Hubcap last weekend, when I met one of my favorite flickrites, Mandy, aka redjade75, “IRL” (In Real Life).  She may never be the same.

I’m no restaurant reviewer, but trust me when I say that there aren’t many hamburger experiences comparable to what you’ll find at Cotham’s.  They also apparently have a legendary Mississippi  Mud Pie, but I’ve never survived to the dessert stage with any room to spare, so can’t vouch for it.

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Mandy and Alex and I took our cameras, and were delighted to discover how many brilliant photo opportunities there were to be found around Cotham’s and the Plantation Agriculture Museum, which is worth a trip in itself.   Mandy took a BRILLIANT photo of the oxbow behind the restaurant, and it is well worth a click, so PLEASE go check it out!

Most of our photos revolved around our love affair with the beauty of rusted objects (speaking of which, Mandy even caught a shot of yours truly).  Think I’m kidding?  Rust can be beautiful, people.  Behold:

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So, in short, get thee to Cotham’s, in Scott, Arkansas.  You will not be sorry.  And if you go early enough in the day, after your meal you can continue on up the road a bit to Keo, and top off your lunch experience with some world-class antique shopping and out-of-this-world pie.

Mmmmmm….piiiiiiiiiie…….

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