When I was a little girl, my mom, dad and I took frequent vacations. He worked with the public six days a week and she was a nurse in the public school system. They needed frequent vacations to stay anywhere near sane.

One thing I remember fondly about these vacations was the food.  My dad had a supreme knack for finding out-of-the-way, off the beaten path restaurants (with a penchant for Kentucky restaurants). The kind that made my mom and I ask one another (often), “Where does he find these places?”

Fast forward a “few” years and I find myself married to a man (Michael) who, in many ways, reminds me of my dad. He’s also a hard-working  food-lover with a killer sense of humor and, like daddy, tends to find the coolest little, under the radar restaurants. And again I’m forever asking, “Where does he find these places?!”

A lot of times he’ll just pull into a restaurant that makes me raise my eyebrow a notch or two. Or twenty. You know, the type of restaurants that only locals usually go to.

Fortunately, I get a serious kick out of these places, so I usually beat him out of the car.

On a recent trip, we stopped for lunch in Brownsville. He pulled into a restaurant’s parking lot and I knew, immediately, that he was at it again. The sign told me that this homey little restaurant’s name was Laura’s Hilltop Restaurant. Will all the beautiful hills around Brownsville, I have to give Laura (whoever she may be) her due.  The restaurant was named perfectly.

Michael told me that he’d stopped here once with a friend for breakfast and that the food was great.  Good enough for me.

I whipped out my beloved camera (always within reach) and snapped a few pictures of the sign and front of the restaurant.  I’m crazy about the humongous chair on the front porch, as well as the other giant work or wooden art.  I thought each set a fun, homespun atmosphere for the restaurant.

The inside was what you’d expect from a small, locally owned and operated restaurant in a small town. It was a step back in time.  It reminded me of something that was kind of cool.  Think back to when you were a kid – the word “restaurant” probably brought up the image of a homey little diner with decor you might see on your grandmother’s walls.  The “soundtrack” of a restaurant back then was small talk as neighbors caught up with one another and as strangers got acquainted.

Personally, I’d take that over music any day.

Laura’s Hilltop Restaurant is just the sort of restaurant you probably remember from days gone by or, as my grandmother loved to say, “back in the day”.

The atmosphere was cozy and friendly and the prices were (like they usually are in these restaurants) great.

I overheard this conversation between a man and his 6 or 7 year old daughter who were in the booth behind me.

Father: Your burger won’t take long.
Daughter: And the fries?
Father: They won’t take long either.
Daughter: Will you eat my burger for me?
Father: You aren’t hungry now?
Daughter: I am hungry. But for fries.
Father: I have to run out to the car for something. Stay seated and don’t touch that (I’m assuming he pointed to his phone.)
Daughter: (when he got back) I touched it.  You said not to and I did. (Then she giggled.)
Father: Shoot. I was going to order you ice cream…
Daughter: I didn’t touch it hard.
Father: So what do you say? (Not sure if he was going for an apology or “please”)
Daughter: Chocolate.

When she said chocolate, she reminded me of myself so much, I nearly turned around to see if I were time traveling.  I loved this kid.

When it came time to order, I did my normal song and dance (Step 1: I located fried catfish on the menu. I knew it was available because I’d seen the whiskered little fellow on the sign out front.). I found a fried catfish sandwich on the menu, so the dance continued (Step 2: Choose a side to accompany my catch.).  I told the friendly lady who was server that I’d love a fried catfish sandwich and onion rings.  Michael ordered a Mesquite Grilled Chicken Sandwich with Spicy Fries. She asked what he wanted on his sandwich and told her to run it through the garden.

One of these days, when he says that, I’m hoping his sandwich comes out with zucchini, carrots, okra, pole beans, and a rabbit sitting on top. I’ll have my camera ready – know that.

When our food arrived, we dove in. It’d been a long morning on the road, so we were fairly famished. My fried catfish sandwich was great. The bun was soft and tasty, the catfish was perfectly fried and there was so much of it! They certainly do right by you when it comes to serving sizes at Laura’s Hilltop. The onion rings were also really good. The onion rings and fried catfish both had perfect coating, perfect seasoning, and perfect taste.

The catfish sandwich, apparently, doesn’t come with any lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, or onions – so be sure to ask for these co-stars if you want them.  For me, personally, it’s not a problem. After all, I’m just there for the catfish – anything else just gets in the way. The sandwich does, however, does come accompanied by tartar sauce – which happens to be darn tasty.

Michael’s spicy fries actually lived up to their name.  A lot of times you’ll order “spicy fries” and they’ll taste just like regular fries – but with a hint of paprika. These spicy fries were actually spicy and were really good. His Mesquite Chicken Sandwich was also fantastic (with or without the rabbit).  The mesquite flavor was definitely noticeable but not overpowering.  The flavor was fantastic.

This homey little restaurant serves a mean lunch and I”ve heard that the same can be said of their breakfast and dinner.

Sure, there are people who’ll go into these locally owned little restaurants and complain about silly things (the color of wallpaper, “old tables,” blah blah blah). These are the sort of people I hope I never have to dine with.  People like that? They such the fun right out of life.  There’s something about these types of restaurants I love – IF the food is good.  At Laura’s Hilltop Restaurant, the food isn’t just good… it’s very good.

Laura’s Hilltop Restaurant can be found at 1409 Ky Highway 259 N in Brownsville, Kentucky.  They can also be found on Facebook.

As I’ve said a gazillion and seven times (maybe more), we have a wild obsession with locally owned and operated restaurants.  These small diners, cafes, and… dare I even say it… dives!..  aren’t just a great way to support your neighbors, they’re also a lot of fun. Some of the servers and fellow diners are downright entertaining.  Best of all, often the food is outstanding.

Good, old-fashioned, down-home country cooking that takes you back to simpler days.

If you’re lucky enough to live within reach of one of these restaurants, be sure to pay them a visit as often as possible. These restaurants are a dying breed and that’s nothing if not heartbreaking.

When you DO go to one of these small diners, be sure to check your fancy shmancy expectations at the door. They aren’t backed by a huge conglomeration and the owner more likely than not doesn’t have pockets any deeper than the rest of us. As a matter of fact, very often the owner is in the kitchen doing the cooking!

You also have to keep in mind that, just like your favorite aunt, your mom, or your grandmother, these restaurants make certain foods better than others. Their cornbread may be the stuff dreams are made of while their roll obviously was pulled out of a grocery-bought bag as the server made their way to your table! Again, like Aunt Sue (or whatever your aunt’s name is!), some foods are better than others.

And you can’t tell me Aunt Sue bakes all her own bread. She just doesn’t have time for that!

It’s all part of the charm of these small restaurants. You often have to go several times to discover which are their very best menu items.

The North South Cafe in Robards, Kentucky (also known locally as the Truck Stop) is a wonderful example of this type of restaurant.  There’s a laid back, everyone here is family type of atmosphere that is “genuine Kentucky.”  We went about a week ago and I look forward to making a second trip very soon.

Our server was great. He was uncommonly friendly and knew the menu so well I thought maybe he wrote it. I’m pretty sure I’ve never had a more likeable, friendly server ever.

The restaurant, which was established in 1956, reminds me of restaurants I visited with my parents as a child. The outside of the restaurant, the dining room, and even the food took me back to another time. Nostalgic trips are always cool, aren’t they?

My husband (Michael) and I both ordered fried catfish, fried potatoes, and coleslaw.  He chose fried cornbread and I chose a roll.  The fried cornbread was excellent.

He went on and on about his fried potatoes and I had to agree, they were really good. The catfish was good, too.  I liked it much better than some yellow, floppy catfish I had recently. When I saw it, I thought, “Yes! Brown like it should be.”

After we’d almost finished our meal, Michael remembered seeing white beans on the menu and asked our server for a bowl.

Great call!

The white beans were fantastic. If only he’d ordered them before eating all the fried cornbread – they’d have been an unbeatable combination. These beans were full of flavor and cooked for just the right amount of time.  I normally throw some salt and pepper on restaurant beans, after taking a taste to see how they are without them. I didn’t even bother with these beans – they didn’t need anything in them except for a spoon. Dang good beans.

Speaking of unbeatable, we ordered a slice of Coconut Meringue Pie for dessert and it was amazing. Absolutely amazing! It was big, beautiful, and couldn’t be more delicious.

I hope you’ll go to the North South Cafe (“Truck Stop”) when you get a chance. It’s a fun, enjoyable experience, the food is ridiculously inexpensive, and downright tasty! I will say this (with all due respect and love for North South),  the coleslaw wasn’t my favorite. If it comes with something you order, fine, but if you have a choice of another side, go with another side.

Say you’re allergic to coleslaw, it’s against your religion, or that coleslaw brings back ugly memories of an ex – whatever.

Unless we caught it on a bad night, it’s just not that fantastic. It’s beautiful… I mean just look at the pictures!  Did you ever see prettier coleslaw?

I actually kind of like it when a restaurant has an item that’s a weak link. It gives the place character. One of our favorite catfish restaurants (years ago, before it went to the dogs) had coleslaw that was horrific.  We’d go about once a week and, even though coleslaw came with our catfish dinner, we’d tell them to just not bring any.  One time we were there and a server we’d never had before brought coleslaw out anyway.  When she put it in front of me, I asked her, “What’d I ever do to you??!”  She laughed and said, “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

One of our two favorite present-day catfish restaurants happens to have (in my opinion) ridiculously bad hush puppies.  I just substitute with a roll. Bottom line – every restaurant has an item that’s not on par with the rest.  In the case of the North South Cafe, the coleslaw is pretty, but she’s doesn’t have the personality the other sides have.

The beans, cornbread, and potatoes are “lookers” AND have killer personalities. Date them instead.

[Review continued beneath the Heavenly picture of Coconut Cream Pie.]

Doesn’t the picture of Coconut Cream Pie above make your mouth water?!All that delicious, tender coconut in the filling and toasted coconut on top of the meringue.  Even the crust was flaky and fantastic.

This pie is out of this world good. I couldn’t decide which part was my favorite – the creamy middle or the flaky crust. In the end, I just called it a tie and wished that the entire pie was in front of me.

As you’ll notice in the pictures below, the North South also got it RIGHT with ketchup. If you read many of my Kentucky Restaurant Reviews, you know I”m a stickler for Heinz Ketchup (or Hunt’s).  It’s a personal mission to wipe out all of the cheap, nasty, foul-tasting off-brand ketchup that haunts far too many restaurant tables.  It matters, people, it matters!  That’s why, in my restaurant reviews, you’ll notice that if a certain restaurant has Heinz or Hunt’s Ketchup, I’ll take a picture of and let it show off.

As a matter of fact, yes, sometimes I get a few stares when I position and photograph a ketchup bottle. Their faces are like, “What the….” I want to tell them, “Back off people, I’m having a photo shoot with a beautiful red head!”

The North South is located at 14260 US HWY 41 S. in Robards, Kentucky. Well within reach of Madisonville, Owensboro, or Henderson. See the North South Website for more information, the menu, etc. I just noticed that they serve breakfast! The North South would be a really cool place to enjoy breakfast.  The atmosphere, friendliness… oh, yeah, I can’t wait to have breakfast there!