Casey's General Store

Normally I don't rate convenience stores, but in this case I'm making an exception.  We were wandering around Bella Vista over the weekend and a new store had popped up at the corner of Lancashire and Forest Hills.  We stopped for gas and then Frank ran in for some coffee.  There was a huge line inside buying donuts, so Frank bought some.  Let me say right now, that Casey's has the best cake donuts in Northwest Arkansas!

I was amazed!  The regular donuts were very good too - they were moist and yummy.  But the cake donuts were fabulous!  The plain cake donuts were moist and tasty, with a hint of nutmeg.  Or, as Frank says, "that's how they're supposed to taste."  I usually don't eat cake donuts because they're so dry, but I loved these.  I also had a chocolate covered regular donut.  It sat around till late afternoon, and when I finally ate it, it was still moist too.  The donuts from Harp's and Royal are usually dried out by then.

We also tried the apple fritters.  I haven't had a good one in years - usually they're too sweet or too glazed.  The ones at Casey's were pretty good.  You can actually see apple chunks in the fritter, and it's not too sweet.  We were pleasantly surprised by that.  Overall, I'd have to rate Casey's as one of the best donut shops in the area.  Four stars.

Edit:
We finally ate something besides doughnuts.  Cookies:  I thought they were a bit generic, but the icing is good.  Brownies:  Fairly generic.  Subs:  Not bad.  At least as good as Subway/Quizno's if not better.  And the pricing is similar - $5 for regular 12" subs, $3.79 for regular 6" subs.  And they seem concerned about the quality.  The last time I ate at Quizno's I got sick, and ditto Frank for Subway.  I still say 4 to 4-1/2 stars for doughnuts, but 3-1/2 for food.

Ice Cream Delights

This is an ice cream parlor/sandwich joint in Eureka Springs, out near the Railway Station.  And they don't take plastic; cash or checks only.  They're a small place, with small tables and small chairs, and a bit of a Coca-Cola theme.  I had the Chopped BBQ Brisket Sandwich and Frank had the Reuben.  They each came with a pickle wedge and a small package of Lay's Potato Chips.

The Reuben was on a pumpernickel-rye swirl bread, about normal sandwich size.  Frank liked it, but said it had more Thousand Island dressing than he prefers.  My BBQ sandwich was pretty good.  Not a huge amount of meat, but enough, and an okay sauce.  It was on a large hamburger bun.

Overall, not bad.  The sandwiches were about $6 a piece, which isn't too bad for Eureka Springs.  The owners were nice and kept filling up my ice tea.  Say 3 to 3-1/2 stars.