Subscriber exclusive — I'll Take Famous Kirby's for $500, Alex

I had great history teachers in school but I had no interest in memorizing what I considered to be tidbits of trivia from the past. I wasn't a regular viewer of the TV gameshow "Jeopardy," yet when I came across it on TV, I paused to answer a few questions before moving on. I admit, I do well on social/cultural type questions. Today's restaurant gave me some tidbits of trivia and a glimpse of history.

I was in Sikeston, Missouri, on business and thought I'd find an interesting spot to dine for lunch. At the suggestion of friends, I settled on Kirby's Sandwich Shop at 109 N. Kingshighway in Sikeston. Why Kirby's? History. According to Kirby's logo, it has been around since 1907 -- that's 112 years. It opened three years after the World's Fair opened in St. Louis. Theodore Roosevelt was the president. Hersheypark opened in Hershey, Pennsylvania. John Wayne and Katherine Hepburn were born. Boys didn't wear long pants until their teens, and girls didn't wear them at all. Men wore suits, women wore long dresses, and it seems everyone wore hats. Cars were basically motorized buggies. The first electric ball would drop in Time Square at the end of the year.

I came across an old newspaper advertisement promoting six hamburgers for a whopping $1.25. That is what the world was like when Kirby's first opened its doors for business. I imagined the people who enjoyed meals there over the years. Businessmen passing through. Couples on a first date 60 years ago now dropping in for a burger with their grandchildren or maybe even great-grandchildren. I wanted to become a part of that history.

Luckily, it was just a hop, skip and a jump away from my work venue, so I headed over. I spotted the green awning, parked and quickly entered the restaurant. I took a seat at the counter. Coca-Cola and Pepsi paraphernalia adorned the walls and the furniture consisted of typical diner-style tables and chairs. I ordered a Kirby burger with cheese, onion rings and a Pepsi. The drink was served ready to go in a Styrofoam cup, which was perfect considering my time constraints. I watched as "Rose" slapped the beef patties on the grill, loaded each with a mound of thin sliced onions and swiftly moved over to the fryer to check on the fries, onion rings and okra. She returned just in time to flip the burgers and onions on the grill, eventually placing each on their respective buns and into baskets for dine-in or wrapping them in paper for orders to-go. I heard sizzling meat, sang quietly along as Shania Twain crooned "honey, I'm home" on the radio, and the murmur of patrons filled the air all around me.

My burger appeared along with golden-fried onion rings. If you are looking for the classic diner/greasy spoon burger -- this is it. Carmelized onions, two patties and melted cheese. At first glance, I thought the burger might be a bit on the light side, but by the time I finished eating, I realized two meat patties make it plenty filling. The service was friendly and I had a great experience.

Submitted by Mary Ann Castillo

I still had plenty of time left on my lunch break, so I headed over to The Original Fried Pie Shop at 2303 E. Malone Ave. I've been wanting to stop by for at least a year and I wasn't going to miss this opportunity. If you enjoy the classic Hostess fruit filled pies, this is similar but much larger and made fresh. I ordered the coconut cream-filled fried pie and it was the perfect dessert to top off lunch. I am not sure where I found the room, but I managed to eat every last morsel. I am also proud to report I staved off a food coma and remained diligently engaged and productive the rest of the work day. Thank you, coffee.

If you ever find yourself on a trivia show and need a few facts about popular "Kirby's," here are some tidbits I gathered along the way: Local radio personality Kirby Ray started with Real Rock 99.3 in 1997; the chubby pink Kirby character from the Kirby's Dream Land Gameboy game was created in 1992; the first generation Kirby vacuum was released in 1935; and last, but not least, Kirby's Sandwich Shop has steadily been serving the Sikeston community since 1907 -- and you still have plenty of time to try their famous Kirby burger.