A standing ovation for Susie's Bake Shop in Sikeston

Every once in a great while, as I journey across our part of the country in search of somewhere new and exciting to eat, I stumble upon a place that delights me to the core. Susie's Bake Shop and Restaurant in Sikeston, Missouri, is just such a place.

The menus are under glass on each dining table, so we sat down and perused the menu. I ended up going for the croissant sandwich, stuffed with cranberry nut chicken salad with a side of chicken and dumplings. My husband ordered the club deluxe, with honey-cured ham, turkey, Swiss and American cheese, lettuce and tomato on homemade white bread. His sandwich was served with a little container of honey mustard, so he could dress it as he pleased.

While waiting, we were served rolls in a basket — big, soft, beautiful clover rolls which immediately smelled of warm yeast. There was whipped honey butter on the side, but I didn't need it. When we took a bite of a roll, my husband said, "Wow," and we looked at each other. We had an idea then that we might be in for something special.

Our orders hit the table and visually impressed. My croissant was huge with a golden brown flaky top. The chicken salad was not too wet, not too dry, with tons of nuts and just the right number of sweet cranberries. I didn't hit a single bit of overlarge vegetable that could have brought the whole delicate balance crashing down into unpleasantness. The nuts and tiny celery bits added a nice crunch to the soft sandwich, and I enjoyed every bite.

I had a weird thought that I'll try to explain when I took my first bite of chicken and dumplings. I just thought, "Pure." That was the taste of Susie's dumplings. Pure, clean, not greasy, peppered just right and not under salted. It was simple, this chicken and dumplings dish, but like so many simple meals, so hard to get right. Susie's absolutely did.

The magical apple dumplin, an amazingly simple but sophisticated crave-worthy dessert, served up by Susie's Bake Shop and Restaurant in Sikeston, Missouri.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

The club deluxe was a surprise to me. I thought it sounded, frankly, boring, but my husband is a good sport on our excursions and let me taste test his meal. Like the dumplings, this sandwich was simple but done well. To start with, the turkey and ham wasn't thin-cut deli meat. Oh no, these slabs of meat were close to 1/4-inch thick each and something, I suspect the ham, gave the whole sandwich a delicately spiced flavor, a sweet clove hint that intrigued me. The sandwich was toasted and warm, and came out looking like a professional ad, all perfectly placed lettuce leaf and crisp tomato. The homemade bread was soft but stout enough to hold everything together and tasted amazing. The flavor held up all on its own, even without the honey mustard.

Of course, we were at a bake shop, so we had to try dessert. Online, people raved most about the carrot cake and the apple dumplin. That's not a typo. You have to drop the "g" on dumplin and say it with a sweet drawl. The dessert is worthy of the accent, as you'll see.

The carrot cake was moist, peppered with nuts and little artsy dashes of bright orange carrot, ground so fine that is looked like confetti suspended in the spice cake. The icing was sweet and cream cheesy. Look, you either love carrot cake or hate it, and if you love it, this will rank up there with the best you've tried. It was delicious, and I'm calling today to order two for my kid's graduation party. It was that good.

But that apple dumplin, though. Served in a bowl, this dumplin was a whole soft baked apple, wrapped and held in golden brown dough like a sweet sheltering hug. The dumplin was surrounded by a sea of warm simple syrup, thin, clear, and with the faintest hint of brown color. When I cracked it open, the syrup rushed into the dumplin, and I scooped up a spoonful of apple crust, and syrup. It was like all the best parts of apple pie packaged into a fancy display. That first bite exploded in my mouth. Unbelievable! There are few dishes that I think about afterward, but this dessert will cross my mind often until I make that drive to Sikeston again.

Kudos, Susie. Your bake shop is a gem, found at 112 E. Center St. in Sikeston.

A beautiful, moist, flavorful slab of carrot cake by Susie's Bake Shop and Restaurant in Sikeston.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair