Archie's diner is tucked away in the A to Z shopping center in Alma-- situated right next to the Fashion store. Before you can even step inside, the smell of their delicious BBQ'd meats just permeate the parking lot. You can't help but to get hungry before you even hit the door.
The entrance is situated right off the sidewalk of the A to Z shopping center. You're greeted with two different side by side doors-- both of them go to the restaurant, so just pick one. Once inside, seat yourself. The inside is decorated in a legitimate country diner style. Photos of John Wayne, Texas Rangers, and other icons of the era adorn the walls. The tables are expertly handcrafted farm style, painted white with standard diner chairs. The tables are spacious and dotted with chalk menu tents with some handwritten specials-- including $2 sides like chips, green beans, and others. The waitstaff are locals and are graciously kind and offer their sweet Southern hospitality whilst taking your food and drink order or just checking up on you. The ambience is what you'd expect of a small, local community hub-- locals sitting around talking, eating, music playing, TV on-- but the wonderful BBQ smells are something to adore all on their own.
The menus are excitable diner laminates and feature both breakfast, lunch, and dinner fare on the front and back respectively. There is a wide variety of omelette, pancakes, sandwiches, bbq plates, and various American, Down-home cooking and BBQ options. The prices are absolutely reasonable-- with some crunchy round nacho chips and homemade cheese dip coming in around $4. Their BBQ Brisket salad was great-- the meat and their homemade BBQ-Ranch salad dressing being the real star of the show. The salad itself was a little small, but I was really going after the great meat anyway so it worked out well for me. The BBQ Brisket salad was a mere $8 and was well worth it for the price.
Their hamburgers and BBQ sandwiches sounded excellent and really are probably the stars of the menu. The Philly Cheesesteak sounded excellent. They also have a Blue Plate special-- ask about it. I'll be sure to return in the near future when I'm out this way and try out one of their more signature menu items like the BBQ sandwich or cheeseburger-- but even with ordering a salad at a BBQ diner; I had a great experience.
All in all-- this is a 5 star experience in Alma, Arkansas. This establishment meets all the stars for what they're doing-- they aren't trying to be anything they're not. This is a hometown diner that features delicious bbq and hometown fare; so stop in and get some of that sweet Southern Hospitality paired with some delicious vittles. read more
