Fly-Outs: Hot rolls!

Photography by Steven Jones

When you hear the warning, “Hot rolls!” at Lambert’s Café in Sikeston, Missouri, you’d better be ready to catch one—or duck. The servers literally whip softball-sized rolls, fresh from the oven, to your waiting mitts.

Lambert’s specializes in Southern comfort food—not to be confused with “Southern Comfort” food. The restaurant has been featured on the Food Network, and it is a popular stop for tour buses. That means lines around the block on weekends.

But not for you—if you fly into nearby Sikeston Memorial Municipal Airport. Land at this nontowered airport and tell the folks at Sikeston Aviation that your destination is Lambert’s. The restaurant will send a shuttle over to pick you up, and—even better—they’ll whisk you in the back door.

Getting there

• Sikeston Memorial Municipal Airport (SIK)
• Runways: 2/20, 5,202 feet by 100 feet
• Two miles northeast of the city
• Attended 7 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends; fuel available.
• If planning a nighttime arrival or departure, be advised that the taxiway lights are out of service indefinitely.

Getting back to those rolls. You’ll be tempted to fill up on the hot, yeasty treats—but resist that temptation. Still to come are platters of fried chicken, barbeque pork, chicken-fried steak, ham, and many other specialties, along with not-so-commonplace selections such as hog jowl and frog legs. Hungry yet? Make sure you are, because you’re just getting started. Servers—the ones who aren’t pitching rolls—will stop by your table with “pass arounds,” vats of fried okra, black-eyed peas, fried potatoes, and macaroni and tomatoes. Try not to doze off in the airplane on the way home.

Lambert’s accepts cash or checks only. An automated teller machine is available in the restaurant.

• Lambert’s Café, 2305 East Malone, Sikeston, Missouri 63801; 573-471-4261; www.throwedrolls.com