Come with us to the home of those “throwed” rolls! Stu and I were on backroads heading south of St. Louis and found Lambert’s Cafe in Sikeston, Missouri. What a restaurant! We had read about this place and wanted to see if what we read was true. So we paid Lambert’s a visit for lunch.
Be ready for fun! Lambert’s Cafe in Sikeston is just one of several locations of this famous chain. If you like southern food, generous portions and catching hot rolls, this is the place for you! Order a great meal but don’t order too much because there are “pass arounds” at Lamberts. We tried the black-eyed peas and the fried potatoes. Once you catch a hot roll, you will be offered either molasses or apple butter straight out of huge buckets. Try them both!
Lambert’s Cafe HISTORY
The first Lambert’s opened in 1942. The Lambert’s website (www.throwedrolls.com) states that Earl and Agnes Lambert had 14 cents between them in March of 1942. World War II was raging and the two borrowed $1,500 from Tish Jones. The restaurant’s success grew. Lambert passed away in 1976 and Earl’s son, Norman, a former football coach, took over that year.
According to Wikipedia, Norman said,
“I started throwing rolls …in our old cafe, It was too crowded one noon for me to serve the rolls so a customer and somebody yelled, ‘Throw ’em.’ So I threw them…the rolls are fresh right out of the oven.”
The second Lambert’s was opened in 1994 near Branson, Missouri. The next year, Lamberts started building another restaurant in Foley, Alabama. Lambert’s claims that the rolls baked in one year, if laid side to side (the rolls are 5″ in diameter), would stretch for 177.27 miles!
Folks, Lambert’s Cafe has good food at reasonable prices and showed us out-of-this-world fun! Give it a try sometime.
Locations:
Sikeston, Missiouri
2305 East Malone
(573) 471-4261
Ozark, Missouri
1800 West State Highway J
Ozark, Missouri
(417) 581-7655
Foley, Alabama
2981 South McKenzie
Foley, Alabama
(251) 943-7655