A restaurant whose mascot namesake brandishes a Thompson submachine gun will always draw the attention of Liberty Watch staffers. But Ma Barker�s, �A Notoriously Good Eatery,� offers more than a kooky theme and cool black T-shirts ($13.50 each) for sale. The food here will absolutely slay your taste buds � and we mean that in a good way.
Ma Barker, of course, was born Arizona Donnie Clark in Ash Grove, Missouri, in 1873. She and her husband George Barker and their four boys were known as the Barkers, and they became notorious in an era when criminal gangs roamed the Midwest, knocking over enough banks to warrant �public enemy� status. Although not as celebrated as, say, Bonnie and Clyde, Ma retains her status as the best criminal chef this country has ever known. Her cooking was so incredible that, even when the cops weren�t on their trail, convicts and ex-cons would stay with the Barkers simply to enjoy her home-cooked meals.
The underworld lost its best culinary artist when, in 1935, G-Man Melvin Purvis killed Ma and her son Freddy in a four-hour shootout near Ocala, Florida. The gunfight brought a dramatic end to a major crime family and a cook heralded by hundreds of outlaws. Lucky for us, her culinary legacy endures at Ma Barker�s on South Durango near Flamingo, where the burgers, fish and chips, and salads are so triumphant you�ll do anything to sample them again � you know, short of holding up a bank or something.
Open now for just six months, Ma Barker�s does a brisk lunch business, with many customers ordering a dozen Killer Burgers ($12), mini-burgers served on �slider� buns and smothered with grilled onions. We opted for the larger patties, like Ma�s Monster Burger ($8.95), a giant one-pound burger (literally) bigger than Bill O�Reilly�s head, and the Getaway Car ($5.95), a half-pound burger served on your choice of a bagel or Kaiser roll and topped with lettuce and tomatoes. Far and away, our favorite is the It�s a Stickup Combo ($6.75), which is the Getaway topped with a Hebrew National hot dog.
The fries ($1.75 per basket) are a meal unto themselves, having been freshly cut and cooked. There�s nothing frozen or processed about them. And for those who worry about such things, all deep-fried products are cooked in zero trans fat oil to improve flavor and reduce saturated fat.
Which is even more of a reason to try the fish and chips, battered with homemade beer batter and fried to golden-brown perfection and served with homemade coleslaw and tartar sauce, with plenty of lemon wedges. Kill the Bum Cod comes in two giant pieces ($8.99) or three ($9.99).
Other fantastic items include the G-Man Hotdog ($4.75), an eight-inch, quarter-pound Hebrew National grilled and smothered with onions; and Barker�s Bites, five macaroni-and-cheese bites batter-dipped, deep-fried and served with fries. We didn�t get a chance to sample the chicken, but the Gangster Wings and Southern fried chicken look criminally good. On the salad end of the spectrum, more than few lunch-time diners dug deeply into Frank Costello�s Ham Cobb and Joe Bananas� Caesar.
If you�re looking for a place to hideout, lay low and enjoy some homemade food, Ma Barker�s is great little joint (and soon to be expanded) that is better � and likely safer � than anywhere John Dillinger ever ate. When your hunger reaches a dangerous level, go see Ma, OK?
Ma Barker�s is located at 4226 S. Durango Drive. For more information, call 702-247-8611.
