I could give 4 or 5 stars to a hot dog stand, frankly, if it were the best hot dog stand I'd ever…read morebeen to. Like my parents always said, no matter what you end up doing, even if it's washing floors, be the best floor washer ever! This Arby's fits in that category: The best fast food joint ever and the answer to a traveler's prayer.
Magically, my fiancé and I were just on hour 6 of an 11 hour drive up from South Carolina when I started jawing about what a great business model it would be to create "fast" food places that advertised on the highway signs but where you could get fresh, organic food. Whole Foods Quick Stop, maybe? Having had this thought, we slide off 95 North into Petersburg VA and thar she blew: The realization of my dream, Arby's South Crater.
The first thing you notice are the big signs about grass fed beef. That's all they serve there, and it's advertised in the windows and on the napkins. For those of us who read Omnivore's Dilemma, that alone counts for a lot. An article "You Are What Your Animals Eat" by Jo Robinson is distributed in full-color glory on the counter to educate the food buying public.
But once you get inside and you see the respectful full color menus set about for you to actually read and ponder instead of the usual, ugly and illegible over-the-counter sign, you know you've arrived someplace different. The spot where the usual menu is was taken by a bright mural of grass and sky...nice! This, and the bright skylights, colorful banners and clean booths, gives this fast good joint the feel of a good family restaurant.
The menu reflects the positive, green feeling of the rest of the restaurant. Fresh lemonade (delicious, lemony and honey-sweetened if I didn't miss my guess); seasonal vegetables place (order 3 plus a fresh baked muffin for 6.99); four fresh salad choices including such yummy ingredients as gorgonzola cheese, kalamata olives, almonds and raspberry vinaigrette; turkey special sandwiches on corn and multi-grain breads, lightly toasted and featuring ButterBall turkey with avocado, pesto, baby spinach and cranberry mustard (!?): and much much more. All of this comes in addition to the Classic Roast Beef Sandwich and French Dip you're used to getting at Arby's, but with real, healthy beef instead of Industrial Steer Flesh. Oh yes, you can taste the difference.
The piece de resistance was our little little plastic cup (made from plant material and fully biodegradable) for 1.59 with 6 little, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Soft and delicious!
My partner's first question was: How can they do this? We thought that franchises had to follow in lock-step with the offerings on their menus and even the method of preparation. I asked our server, who had on a name tag that respectfully gave BOTH his first and last names, how long the restaurant had been like this. Well, a week and a half, he shyly admitted. I asked who was the genius behind it all, and he said, "oh, that's Mr. Rip, our boss. Mr. Rip likes quality, so we do things the way Mr. Rip wants." Needless to say, I am very curious about this Mr. Rip and intend to research him further if only to send him a note saying "Way to go!"
This Arby's, though slightly more expensive than the common Arby's, is well worth a special visit, if only to see realized what fast food could be: Healthy, respectful, clean and green.