"It'll be great!"--they said. "Don't dress up. It's really casual, but corporate dinners are held out there!"--they said. "Lose cell service and drive out into the middle of nowhere for the best steak in Arkansas."--they said.
Well... I get it now and they were absolutely right!
Admittedly, I was initially terrified. It's "country dark" at night- totally different from city dark- like pitch black dark, there are no street lights, there are winding roads and soft shoulders, until finally, you drive off-road to arrive at Toad Suck Buck's! Once out of the car, you see random dogs, a dirt parking lot, and what looks to be Deep South country living at its finest.
(P.S. It would also appear that the hubs and I may have been the only black people within a 30 mile radius. It may not have been my best idea to visit a new place, deep in the woods at night, but it was my idea and we went with it! "Livin' on a prayer!" ... don't tell my mom!)
Once inside, the place was teeming with people, there was live music, and (in a nutshell) it was the divey-est dive I've ever visited. And yes, we were the only black people in the building!
I've said all that to say, the place is great. Ken and his wife (owners, and although they were super busy) made us feel right at home as soon as we walked in. Cody (their son) happened to be our waiter, and was warm and awesome in helping us become familiar with the "lay of the land" if you will! He talked us through the salad bar setup and, although an order of steak was a MUST, he helped us with our other menu choices.
We ordered the ribeye and it was juicy, super tender, and flavorful. Mind you, I don't rant and rave over steak, ever. I usually don't even order steak as I'm more of a seafood girl, but I'll be back for that one. It's just that good. Right there at the table, the hubs and I were discussing the match up between Toad Suck Buck's and Ruth's Chris if that tells you anything at all!
By the time Ken came by to ask how our meal was, it was gone. We'd hoovered it down, and were starting on the lava cake which was also DELISH!
Upon leaving our table after a bit of small talk, Ken went over to sing few solos with the band (he has a beautiful voice by the way). I kinda' felt that TSB had a "Cheers" type of vibe going.
As the hubs and I were leaving, Ken alerted us that he hadn't had adequate time to chat and invited us to stay a bit longer for drinks as the place was clearing out at this point and closing soon. How sweet is that? We stayed, and I'm so glad we did as we found out that Ken and the hubs share the same alma mater and were both also student athletes. As the saying goes, it's truly a small world. Class of 77' and class of 09'! We fell in love and selfies were taken! Ken and family were the nicest people and the absolute best hosts!
While parking, we feared we might have to run for our lives, but ended up toasting our new friend and finding each other on Facebook!
All in all... Great night, great people, great time! read more