Monday Munchies: The Purple Cow

The vibe: The dining room is outfitted like an '80s kid's imagination of a 1950s diner, with extra purple.

The food: I tried a half-pound burger in a smokehouse style, with bacon, barbecue sauce, onion and pickles with a side of fries ($15).

• Of course, I had a purple milkshake ($6.80).
• My date tried the grilled Reuben ($11).

The verdict: I'll be blunt: I didn't expect much. I've fallen for the schtick in Little Rock and Hot Springs before and wasn't impressed.

• To my udder delight — yeah, that was intended — this was a great lunch.
• The burger was cooked well and had the flavor of a patty that was made in-house, not at some faraway food factory. The sauce, a tad sweet, worked with the bacon, a tad salty.

It may not displace my Rogers fave on the four great Northwest Arkansas burgers list, but it's more accessible, straightforward and honest. It's a working man's burger.

• The fries? Well, they're almost McDonald's fries.

The shake was vanilla. That's the actual flavor, but the experience was anything but.

• Schtick or no, the purple flair adds to the experience, and I found it rich, well-blended and delicious.

The Reuben, I'm told, was fantastic.

Check it out: The Purple Cow is located at 3300 S. Pinnacle Hills Parkway in Rogers. Serving Sunday-Thursday, 11am-9pm; Friday and Saturday, 11am-10pm.