Good Eats: Timbo Dairy Bar

In Ark. 66 between the small, quaint towns of Leslie and Mountain View, the “Folk Music Capital of the World,” is the tiny town of Timbo. It’s just a blip on the screen with a few rural residential homes, a grocery/gas station, and one little place to eat. You can pass by it in your car in seconds.

But you shouldn’t. Especially, if you’re hungry. Because that one little joint offering food is the Timbo Dairy Bar, a quintessential “dairy queen” type eatery that stands above the rest.

While the dairy bar has been there for quite a few years, Kelly Parks and Kirby Seeley now own the place. In fact, tomorrow (Saturday, July 12) these sisters are celebrating their one year anniversary as dairy bar restauranteurs.

Based on the cheeseburger I had on Wednesday, I have to say they are doing an excellent job. It was a perfectly cooked juicy burger covered in melted cheese with a nice chunk of red tomato and lettuce plus the right amount of mayo. That’s how I like mine and they’ll make yours to order too.

I’m also a fried okra fan. That’s really too mild of a statement. I LOVE fried okra and they do that right too with ample but not too heavy batter and the right crispiness. Not greasy at all.

Like any good dairy bar, hanging overhead the counter where you order is the menu consisting of those little letters and numbers that have to be hand placed. They sell all the dairy bar fare you want and expect: burgers, chicken strips, fish, BBQ beef, French fries, tater tots, fried pickles, corn nuggets, fried mushrooms, nachos, Frito pie, chili dog, corn dog, hot dog, chef salad, baskets of catfish, shrimp and chicken, ice cream, milk shakes, soda floats and much, much more.

It’s clean and cute inside with Razorback valances over the windows – that good ol’ traditional dairy bar feel.

Kelly says in addition to locals, they get a lot of business from people driving through the area on their way to the White River, Mirror Lake or the Ozark Folk Center State Park and Blanchard Springs Caverns in Mountain View. “If you’re not from around here, we’ll stick a star of where you’re from on a map we have hanging on the wall in the back,” she adds.

You can stop in to get your star from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It’s closed on Sunday and Monday.