Issue date: 9/29/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment

If you're looking for a cheap meal on a Saturday night, a ticket of $11 at Oak Street Bistro, which serves gourmet sandwiches, quiches, and salads may not be calling your name. $11 for a sandwich? That's because the sandwiches are amazing. My roommate and I unknowingly chose items that our cafeteria also serves, mine being a Southwestern Wrap and hers being a Crab Sandwich. Maybe it was our frame of reference, but they were it was the kind of food that you hated to leave on your plate, one reason being because you know when you go back to school, the cafeteria wrap will have lost its zest and the cafeteria crab will have lost all flavour in general, and the two just won't ever be that good again. And for another, you just shelled out $11 for that food. In all fairness to the price, you do get a rather large wrap or sandwich with a smaller side of one of their gourmet salads. I had the pasta salad, which played to my weakness for oregano, and my roommate had the cranberry chicken salad.

The pasta salad was perfect, not too much oil, and was made with bow-tie pasta, which makes it that much better. The chicken salad got a thumbs up. We left so full that we needed a little nap before our next class.

The wait staff was very prompt with refills and the check. There was no waiting around trying to get their attention, and they didn't hover while we decided what we wanted to eat. No one likes to be pressured when deciding on a meal.

People from out of state are always shocked at the idea of a "dry county." Consider it a warm welcome to the Bible belt. However, there are ways around it, even in Conway. Oak Street Bistro joins Mike's Place and Outback Steakhouse in the possession of a liquor license in our dry county. The only downfall to this is that there's a membership required at the door. Oak Street is pretty low key about it, requiring only a signature and five dollars for a lifetime membership. However, being under 21, I'm not allowed to partake of the alcohol being served, so I can't speak to the quality or price, but it's a nice thing to know for those of you that are 21.

The restaurant doubles as an antique store, which is reflected in the atmosphere. With kind of a country-chic décor, it gives the feeling of a country-club sun porch area. There wasn't a lot of fabric in the eating area, which made me wonder about the acoustics. But there wasn't a moment that I couldn't hear the person sitting across from me, which can sometimes be a problem with smaller restaurants. There's also a patio that faces Oak Street for the outdoorsy types. If you have an extra 20 minutes, you should take a peak at the rest of the store. What looks like a small building from the street turns out to be a never-ending series of rooms full of antique furniture, paintings, fabric, fountains, and other odds and ends. If you have nine grand to spare, you should buy the grand piano as well.

Bottom Line: Oak Street Bistro isn't cheap. It is really good though, and a nice change from fast food and noisy restaurants. Plus, it's the only place in Conway you can by a martini and a piano in the same building.

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