Giving Lambert's Cafe the local treatment

There are certain things we take for granted, simply because it is so accessible to us. One such thing is the Mississippi River, which is the fourth largest watershed in the world. The Mighty River drains 40% of the land mass of North America. Being a transplant from another state as a teenager, I still feel a certain amount of awe at seeing the river, wide and muddy and fast-flowing — so much water. That awe is not what it once was however, because as that old saying goes, "Familiarity breeds contempt. "

So I decided to take a new look with fresh eyes at our most advertised restaurant in the area. Covered nationally in newspapers and on TV multiple times, Lambert's in Sikeston, Missouri, is famous, and I take it for granted because of how close I live to it. I figured it's time to give Lambert's Cafe the local treatment.

I recently found myself in Sikeston for other reasons (mostly buying some seeded watermelons for my mom to take to Michigan. She swears that seeded watermelons are sweeter, and it's proven that southern watermelons are better than northern-grown ones. She literally barters in southern watermelons up there, it's like a black market currency). My daughter and I decided to stop at Lambert's.

Now, I haven't been to Lambert's in at least a decade, and that means that my daughter couldn't remember the last time we went. So I tried to look through her eyes and act like it was my first visit. A lot can change in 10-plus years, and I was ready to taste how things may have evolved. We arrived at about 3:30 p.m., which was perfect because we walked right in. Seats were still fairly crowded, but our booth felt separated from everyone else and pretty private. I studied the menu, picked my plate (chicken potpie), and looked around the room. I appreciated the thousands of license plates lining the walls. There's also a fair amount of old pictures of the people who founded Lambert's, rooting the restaurant firmly in history as "a Very Old Place. "

One of Lambert's famous Throwed Rolls, ripped open and dabbed with sorghum and apple butter.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

No rolls were going airborne yet, but I did see a girl walking around with a big steel bowl. My daughter didn't know what was coming yet, but I was ready with a paper towel on the table and we got a heaping scoop of fried okra, hot and crispy and just like I remembered it. When the guy throwing the rolls arrived, I was rewarded by a "This place is so cool" from my daughter. We both got rolls (I was a coward and waited until he was right next to the table to catch mine), and they were just like I remembered, too. Bigger than my fist, soft and airy, with huge air pockets inside, perfect for holding sorghum or apple butter, or in my case, a dab of both. When I tore one open, I instantly got that wash of yeast rolling over me, warm and inviting and probably the most comforting smell in the world, fresh-baked bread. My daughter is a bread lover, so this secured Lambert's firmly in her mind as the best restaurant ever.

We had to wait for our meals to get more of the food that gets passed around by the staff. I was tempted, this go around, to just buy the Pass Arounds plate, and literally eat just the stuff that they walk around with, parceling out onto my plate with their magic steel spoons. My favorite is the fried potatoes. Now, I will swear to whoever will listen that my father-in-law makes the best fried potatoes that I've ever had (sorry Mom). Lambert's does a fair job at copying his technique and fries their potatoes far more often than my father-in-law does. Browned crispy in bacon grease, mixed with just the right amount of onions, seasoned simply with salt and pepper and maybe just a touch of a secret spice, these potatoes are heaven in a spoon.

My chicken pot pie was good, too. The homemade pie crust was crispy on top, flaky underneath, and deliciously doughy where it held the filling. Full of chicken, peas, and carrots, it was a simple dish well done, full of the flavors of my childhood. My daughter would happily go back to visit Lambert's today, and has helped me to remember to appreciate this famous restaurant in my relative backyard. Lambert's Cafe is at 2305 E. Malone Ave. in Sikeston.