RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — At the intersection of Arkansas 7 and Arkansas 154 in Yell County lies the small town of Centerville, population: 95, where the Centerville Country Store and Brenda’s Café sit on opposing corners.

Both open in the pre-dawn hours to offer countrified breakfasts to the farmhands, postal workers, cowboys, truck drivers and hunters who gather around the tables.

At the Centerville Country Store, Jeannie Cross has cooked for 21 years serving up her specialty, biscuits and gravy, to a steady stream of 20 or more folks.

The convenience store/ lunch counter sees a lot of regulars because of the biscuits and gravy.

“They are the best,” Danville resident Phyllis Bewley said.

On any given day, Cross, who makes the biscuits from scratch, whips up 60 biscuits to serve with gravy or fill with eggs and bacon.

“We also sell a lot of Crispitos,” Cross said, pointing to the corn tortilla rolls filled with chicken and cheese. “And people are still eating specials into dinnertime.”

Another popular item on the breakfast menu is pancakes, said Clint and Tammy Bittle, owners for 11 years.

“But the store has been there forever,” Tammy said. “A tornado blew it away in 1976, but they rebuilt it.”

The lunch counter is busy throughout the day offering lunch specials Monday through Friday.

Chicken fried steaks, taco salads and meatloaf are standard fare, and fried catfish is offered on Fridays.

“Of course, we always have pizzas and sandwiches,” Tammy said, “and all our meat is Petit Jean Meats.”

Across the street, Brenda’s Café offers a sit-down-and order-off-the-menu setting. Brenda Gist has owned the restaurant for two years with the help of her mother, Naoma Underwood, the cook, and her father, Troy Underwood, the dishwasher.

“We run about 15 hours a day,” the friendly Gist said, with tea in one hand and a menu in the other. “My mom is incredible. She does all the cooking, three meals a day plus desserts. We do get a little tired sometimes, but we’re morning people. We love it.”

Naoma retired from Tyson Foods after 38 years.

“My daughter asked me if I could help when she got this place, and it’s going on three years now,” she said.

One of the favorite menu items is the homemade chocolate gravy on Saturday mornings, Naoma said.

“We have a young boy and his daddy that you can count on every Saturday to come inhere,” Brenda said.

Other favorite menu items are the home-dipped onion rings, fried dill pickles and omelets.

“Most everything is made from scratch,” Brenda said. “Even our hash browns are made fresh. It would be easier if we ordered them off the truck, but the customers don’t want them. You know, we country people get set in our ways, and, besides, we like spoiling them.” “These little hash browns here, I highly recommend,” Bill Tucker of Glenhaven Youth Ranch said. “My wife and I are regulars and eat here at least once or twice a week. The food is always good no matter what meal we come for.”

The restaurant, open Tuesday through Saturday, is attached to a tobacco shop drive through.

“Everybody gets something when they come here,” Brenda said.

Brenda’s Café also offers catfish on Fridays.

“We do an awesome fish fry,” Brenda said. “We even have a little music.”NAOMA’S CHOCOLATE GRAVY Ingredients: 3 cups milk 1 cup sugar 4 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons cocoa 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla Directions: Scald milk in saucepan. Mix together sugar, flour, cocoa and salt. Stir into heated milk and whisk until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve over hot, buttered biscuits.

WESTERN OMELETS Naoma likes to prepare eggs in the microwave because they cook up fluffier.

Ingredients: Pam 2 eggs 1/2 cup ham, chopped 2 teaspoons onions, chopped 2 teaspoons green peppers, chopped 1 cup tomatoes, chopped 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded Extra cheese and sour cream for garnish (optional) Directions:

Spray Pam on omelet pan. Beat 2 eggs and add the ham and vegetables. Stir in cheese and microwave for about 4 minutes. Top with extra cheese or sour cream if desired.

The Yell County Cooperative Extension office promotes the habit of eating breakfast. According to a brochure, put out by the office, people who eat breakfast have advantages over those who skip breakfast. A healthy breakfast helps you stay healthier, stabilize blood sugar and reduces risk for diabetes, reduce risk of heart attacks, improves learning, reduces appetite for the remainder of the day and reduces irritability.

Here are some quick breakfast ideas they suggest:

Banana dog (peanut butter, a banana and raisins on a long whole wheat bun)

Breakfast taco (shredded cheese on tortilla, fold in half and microwave;

top with salsa)

Sandwich (grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, or another favorite)

Leftover pizza (warmed) served with 100 percent fruit juice.

Pancake roll (microwave a frozen pancake, spread with peanut butter, top with sliced banana or other fruit and roll up).

Breakfast parfait (layer fruit yogurt, sliced fruit and crunchy cereal in a bowl)

Bagel (split and spread each half with peanut butter, add a sprinkle of raisins) with a glass of milk

Hot cereal (there are many quick cooking choices)

Eggs (hard boil the night before and store in the refrigerator)

Whole grain toast (spread with peanut butter) with juice and skim milk

River Valley Ozark, Pages 63 on 11/05/2009