Review No. 52: Stoby’s Restaurant (Stoby’s Express)
1310 Prince Street
(501) 327-6161
29.0 percent finished reviewing Conway restaurants
The Situation
She Said: I had had an overstimulating day, and I wanted some yummy food I could eat quietly at home without having to make it. We decided that Stoby’s Express was the way to go, as we had never picked up food here since the fire that gutted the restaurant closed them down. We were curious about this “express” outpost. We’d driven by it many, many times, but I wasn’t sure how it worked, so I fired up the Internets to figure it out.
He Said: It looks like a house. I suppose because in fact it is a house. But assuming you have called in your order (looking at the online menu), you pull in the driveway and up to the window on the east side of the house, give them your money, and then drive around the back and over to the window on the west side of the house, where they give you your food. Then it’s out the driveway and home again. It’s not the same as sitting in the old Stoby’s restaurant, but it does allow you to experience the food of what was a long-time Conway institution before the fire.
Ambiance
She Said: Well, as I said, you can’t go here to eat, but I can comment on the friendliness of the woman who took my order over the phone: I felt very at ease, even though I wasn’t sure how this new system worked.
He Said: We could never actually get into the old Stoby’s, because there was never a able available. So in fact the ambiance is just as good for us as it was when there was a building there.
Food
She Said: Now, I know you Conwegians love yourselves some Stoby’s cheese dip, so don’t freak out that we didn’t order any. First, He Said can’t have it (too fatty) and second, I don’t really like cheese dip, anyone’s cheese dip. I will stipulate to the fact that Stoby’s cheese dip is the best, if you like that kind of thing, so we can just move on.
Stoby’s was the first place outside of our hotel that we ate in Conway. Our realtor took us there on our house-hunting day in 2003, and I remember how great the fries, sandwiches and desserts were, but on this day, I had been eating too much of that and was really curious about their salads. I chose the grilled chicken salad with strawberries, that also includes healthy helpings of cashews and feta cheese on spinach with home-made poppy-seed dressing. It also has a lot of bacon in it, which I could have done without, healthwise, but this salad was really good: tasty, simultaneously light AND filling. My measure for salad satisfaction is that it doesn’t get boring before it’s gone or I’m full, and that afterwards, I feel like I’ve eaten. This met the mark, and I will definitely be getting this from Stoby’s again!
It’s also good to know that I can get something healthy there—I had Stoby’s on a kind of personal no-no list because of how heavy the food is that I have enjoyed in the past (but delicious! Oh, so delicious!), but now I know there are other very tasty options, and so, gentle reader, do you!
He Said: It’s always a challenge for me with this kind of restaurant to find something that’s going to be low-fat and pancreas-friendly. There are not a lot of choices here but there are some, and, for the sake my faithful readers, I decided to order two different entrées to give a report on them both. The things I suffer for my fans…
My first choice was the smoked turkey croissant, which is advertised as “shaved smoked turkey, cream cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato and smokey Dijon dressing.” I eschewed the cream cheese (too high in fat) but otherwise had the sandwich as described. It was fine, and the mustard was especially tasty, but it was, essentially, a smoked turkey sandwich and pretty average. Certainly nothing to write home about, as my mother used to say.
The taco salad, however, was another story. I had the spicy chicken (can’t have the red meat), but the salad contained shredded lettuce, tomatoes, red beans, shredded cheese blend, olives (which are taboo for me, so I didn’t eat them), and what is billed as “Stoby’s original taco salad dressing.” This was really a treat, and if you like tacos, or taco salad, you can’t go wrong with this dish. It was worth the price of admission.
Service
She Said: The service I received over the phone was stellar. I must confess, as a newbie to the express outpost, I made the mistake of using the menu tab on the Facebook page, instead of the menu listed on the online order form or on the Website (stobys.com), so He Said chose a soup they don’t have, and I tried to get fries. I wasn’t upset with the fries issue, because I was sabotaging my healthy dinner and Stoby’s Express kept me on the straight and narrow. But the woman who took my call was very friendly and patient, and helped me navigate what they did offer. I was pleased with how painless it was!
He Said: I did the drive-through for pickup, which was easy and slick, and the two people I had any contact with—the money-taker and the order-dispenser—were perfectly friendly and speedy. So no complaints from this end.
What We Got and What We Paid: Grilled chicken salad-strawberry, taco salad, turkey croissant for $27.65.
Rating:
She Said: I’ll be back for the salads for sure, and next time I’ll use the right menu!
He Said: I’ll be right back there with you, Jones.
So…He Said and She Said: Get your Stoby’s fix, cheesy or healthy, at this drive-up while you wait for the old, but new-and-improved Stoby’s to return.
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