LITTLE ROCK — The little stretch of road off Maumelle Boulevard looks like it might lead to a rustic lakeside resort - or to a restaurant with rustic offerings.
When we arrived at Cock of the Walk restaurant on a recent Saturday night, the Dad and 20-month-old Tallulah moseyed over to check out a peacock on the restaurant’s lawn.
Beans, 6, and I went inside where we discovered two old-fashioned wood benches pulled up to a checkers board, between one of those machines that lets you try to grab a stuffed animal with a mechanical claw and a vending machine full of bouncy balls. We didn’t have time to play a game because, even though the restaurant was crowded, we were quickly seated.
Beans noticed right off that everything in the restaurant was made of wood - our table, the straight-back chairs, the floor, even the walls.
Tallulah focused all of her attention on saying hello to every bird and fish she spotted, and there are plenty - real, stuffed, painted and plastic, you name it. They hang on the walls and from the ceiling and most of them got repeat attention from our girl, so this took a while. Her greetings gave me a minute to check out the menu.
A minute is really all you need when it comes to Cock of the Walk’s menu. The choices are pretty much fish, chicken, shrimp - either deep fried or grilled - or some combination of them.
The appetizer choices are - Pot-O-Greens (half pot of mustard greens for $3.95, whole pot for $5.95), fried dill pickles or fried onion rings ($4.95). Beans lamented that he had never tried onion rings. Despite the fact that he wouldn’t touch an obvious onion with a 10-foot fishing pole, we agreed that this shortfall in his culinary experience should be remedied and we ordered the onion rings.
Our server brought out our drinks in jelly jars and plunked down tin plates. The idea that we would eat our dinner on plates like those gave Beans a serious case of the giggles.
Before long the onion rings came out, and the Dad and I savored the light, peppery batter on the sweet onions. Beans nibbled on an onion ring but quickly moved on to the corn bread, which was delivered in a little cast iron skillet at the same time. I liked the bread, too, and I liked watching the kids’ faces when our server flipped it in the air before flopping it down on our table.
Slivers of the warm corn bread were crunchy on top and crumbly in the middle, but the coleslaw really stood out. The Dad said it was the best he had ever had, and he got a dreamy look on his face as he talked about how good it would be on barbecue. I am not a coleslaw fan, but I couldn’t stop eating this, with its crispy cabbage and tangy flavor. It was delicious … but I still wouldn’t put slaw on barbecue.
Thankfully, our server appeared with our meals before the tension escalated.
I got the Mixed Keelboat ($11.95) of fried catfish and chicken, fries, hush puppies and more slaw.
Tallulah found true love in the hush puppies. They resemble bouncy balls - her favorite toy du jour - and they’re edible. How can you beat that? She took two of mine, and I was happy to share because that meant more time and tummy space to savor the catfish, chicken and fries. And, really, there was so much on my plate that there was plenty to go around.
The Dad got the Mixed Flatboat ($12.95), with fried shrimp and catfish, and he proclaimed the shrimp the best he had eaten in years. Like the onion rings, they were lightly battered and oh-so-tender. He chose the baked potato, served with sour cream and butter, instead of fries.
Beans’ corn dog kid’s meal came with fries ($4.95). He only had a couple of bites of his corn dog, probably because by the time he got to it he’d had his fill of corn bread, fries and hush puppies.
Our plates were only half empty when we were full, but that didn’t stop us from ordering dessert. We asked about the “House Special” listed on the menu but our server said, like another intriguing item, “Sumpin Sweet,” it was no longer available. So, the Dad had blackberry cobbler ($3.95) a la mode (an additional $1.75), and I chose peach. I asked for my ice cream on the side for Beans to enjoy. I wondered if I was risking more sibling strife by not ordering ice cream for Tallulah, too. She was still occupied with the hush puppies, though, and Beans was kind enough to give her one of his so she could squeeze one in each hand.
Beans and I played checkers on the way out, and then hit up the bouncy ball vending machine for genuine bouncy balls to replace the hush puppies. (Tallulah had discovered by then that hush puppies don’t so much bounce as splat.)
Then we trudged out into the frigid air for a quick stroll over to the pond. It was dark by then but we could see the outlines of a couple of geese in the water.
Tallulah finished up our visit the same way she started it. As we ran across the parking lot she cried, “Bye birds !”
Cock of the Walk Address: 7103 Cock of the Walk Lane, North Little Rock, (501) 758-7182 Hours: 5-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday For the parents: Redfeather Special - fried catfish, chicken and shrimp, with skillet bread, coleslaw, hush puppies and potatoes ($14.95);
flatboat shrimp ($12.95), downriver chicken or farmraised catfish filets ($11.95), the chargrilled version of the Redfeather Special ($15.95).
The Family Keeler ($26.95) includes 10 catfish filets, two skillet breads, slaw, hush puppies and potatoes. The restaurant offers beer, wine and specialty drinks, too, like the Maumellerita and the Mighty Muddy ($5.50 each).
Kid-friendly fare: For the 10 and under crowd, fried catfish filet and fries or chicken and fries ($5.95), shrimp and fries ($6.95) or corn dog and fries ($4.95).
Highchair report: Standard wood ones.
Hire a sitter: No. Your kids will probably love the folksy adventure to be had, even if they don't eat their dinner.
Family budget: Reasonable.
Family, Pages 32 on 02/23/2011