Sometimes you need an emergency day trip. It could be that you can no longer bear to look at the same four walls, could be that you need a quick pick-me-up, could be that you have a slap-your-head moment when you realize you have a story due and well, you got nothing.

Whatever the case, there’s a sweet little spot about an hour south of East Memphis that will set you right. Batesville was a convenient spot to meet a friend who has recently moved to Oxford, so I asked someone in the know for a lunch recommendation and got a good one.

Day Tripper: Ripley’s ‘Small Town, Bright Lights’ display up through Dec. 31

We headed to Bread & Butter Bistro, and I knew when I parked in front of it that I was going to love it. Repurposed church pews were covered in Boho fabric with tassels, looking like indoor furniture sitting outside and comfy, adorned with a big velvet pillow almost the color of the velvet scarf I was wearing.

A dog wearing big Jackie-O sunglasses was painted on the glass, and the string lights and wicker chandeliers in the windows beckoned me in (they also whispered how nice they would look on my porch).

I opened the door and a string of bells jingled as I took in the large room of mismatched tables, soft seating areas, an old upright piano, colorful spots of art on the wall, and a small but lovingly filled bakery case that my nose was on to before my eyes landed on it.

When my friend came in, he was as taken as I was, and we both agreed that we weren’t leaving. There were couches and chairs to relax on, all the people there working or eating were happy, smiling and relaxed and then — y’all, I could not believe it:

Day Tripper: Ripley’s ‘Small Town, Bright Lights’ display up through Dec. 31

A dog came over. Not just any dog, but a goldendoodle, a huge soft sweetheart of a dog that could’ve been the sister of my dear departed Baxter. She even put her head in my lap like he used to, then nosed around in my purse, intent unknown. Her name is Butter.

It’s safe to say I’d visit there again, if it were in my neighborhood, even if the food wasn’t good. But as it turns out, the food is good enough to make it worth the hour drive for the whole package.

It’s a breakfast and lunch place and the menu is fairly small, but there’s a little something for everyone if you’re looking for an easy meal. It’s mostly salads and sandwiches, but there’s also a special or two and a quiche of the day.

We struggled to decide what to order, because I have to say, a BLT that has a crab cake added is mighty tempting. And I’m all but certain the burger is an excellent one, for reasons I’ll explain.

But we went with the salad sampler, three extremely generous scoops of chicken salad, egg and olive and pimento cheese. You can get it on a salad, on a big roll or with a side. We actually ordered it with homemade potato chips but got it served on a nice salad and just forgot. I was on I-55 before I realized I didn’t try the chips. There will be another time.

The soup of the day was chicken and dumplings with grilled cheese and we ordered it. The dumplings were how I like them — not too thin and not too fat. And it was really soup, a thinner version of chicken and dumplings with chunks of white meat. I added pepper, but I always load up chicken and dumplings with black pepper.

Day Tripper: Time to deck the Halls, Tennessee

The quiche we chose was sausage and cream cheese, and oh yeah, I’ll be making that. Here it was a layer of sausage and cream cheese topped with the egg and cheese mix instead of stirred in, which was a little different.

And the salads were all very good. The pimento cheese had a real kick, so be warned if spicy isn’t your thing. The egg and olive was solid, creamy and briny and there’s likely no middle ground here; I’m a fan so I liked it. If you don’t, sub in pasta salad. And the chicken salad was simple — no frou-frou fruit mix-ins — and good.

We nibbled, because we knew we were going to hit up the bakery case, but we couldn’t keep our hands off the onion rings. They were whole onions just minutes before they came to the table. They were sliced, dipped in a batter as light as tempura, fried and delivered hot. Perfect. That’s reason enough to believe the burger is also going to be excellent.

Yet I have one more reason. The burger is served with provolone and cheddar, and it’s also topped with hot bacon jam. We asked to taste the jam and here’s a pro tip: Slather a bit of that sweet, spicy and salty manna on your grilled cheese. It’s delicious, and I know it’s going to be good on the burger too.

So to the sweets. Save room, take them to go, or go just for them if you want, because you don’t find homemade Pop-Tarts everywhere. You find them; I’ve eaten them before and I definitely didn’t make them. These, though, were adorable. If Muddy’s made Pop-Tarts, they’d be a lot like these.

The pastry was soft, sweet and crumbly, so this is not road trip food; don’t plan on a car snack. The inside was filled with a little strawberry jam, but not too much. It gave it flavor, but you could still taste the pastry and the icing, which had sprinkles because Bread & Butter is a sprinkles kind of place.

Day Tripper: There’s plenty to do in Little Rock

The chocolate chip cookies were the size of a hamburger patty, no joke. They covered the palm of my hand and were almost as thick; these are real-life cookie monsters. They are insanely decadent, if you like chocolate chip cookies, a group that outnumbers the egg and olive lovers by far.

We also tried the harvest cookie, big and hearty oatmeal and grain cookies filled with dried fruit. They sounded wholesome and we needed to feel good about what we were eating. It would make an excellent breakfast cookie. We also had something I admit I wouldn’t have chosen and I even snubbed: Grape salad.

And I liked it, but in general I don’t like the genre of food, fruit salads with sour cream or cream cheese that are just a wicked thought away from a congealed salad. This was fresh (the grapes were enormous red ones) and the cream cheese dressing was thick and sweet. It was all topped with graham cracker crumbs and it was fine. But I also like plain grapes and and would prefer them that way. My friend loved it and so did other people in the restaurant; you might too.

There were also pies and cupcakes, a mini glazed vanilla cake not much larger than a cupcake, and some sort of bran muffins that were either blueberry or banana-walnut, but there was no point in having anyone double-check as we weren’t ordering and they change daily.

Day Tripper: Get away for a day to Oxford, Mississippi

Bread & Butter has been open about two years, so it’s lived in the age of COVID almost half its life. Be warned that while there’s plenty of distance between tables and seating areas, there were very few masks being worn.

We started walking around Downtown Batesville and spotted an ice cream shop (no way, at that point) and probably a dozen or so shops, but the rain came and we headed back for our cars. It also thwarted plans to visit and walk the trails at the Batesville Mounds, but there will be another opportunity. And next time, I’ll get the homemade potato chips, too.

To get there, take I-55 south to Batesville and follow your navigator’s directions to 131 Public Square. Mine is often finicky but I had no trouble. Leaving town, I got turned around following directions that included “just turn left at the bank” and asked someone for help. He sent me to the interstate and warned me not to ask my phone for directions, because they get scrambled down there and often send people to Wendy’s. He said he was serious.

Bread & Butter is open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday. Now and again owner Lisa Taylor opens for dinner, and she’ll host a Valentine’s Day dinner Feb. 13; call 662-267-1404 for more information.