Earlier this week, Bob Evans Farms (NASDAQ:BOBE) served up a nice helping of same-store sales: a 3.3% increase at its namesake Bob Evans chain for the month of December, with menu prices accounting for 1.3% of the improvement. While the Mimi's Cafe chain registered a 2.7% increase, the 3.4% hike in average menu price puts a damper on that bit of news. However, I'm not one to judge a company based on just one month's performance, so I checked into previous months' results to see how they stack up.

Bob Evans Restaurants

Months of 2006

 Comp. Sales (%) Menu Prices (%) Difference

December

 3.3 1.3 2.0
November 0.6 1.9 (1.3)
October 3.0 2.4 0.6
September 5.0 2.4 2.6

Mimi's Cafe

Months of 2006

 Comp. Sales (%) Menu Prices (%) Difference

December

 2.7 3.4 (0.7)
November 2.2 2.9 (0.7)
October 2.2 2.7 (0.5)
September 3.3 2.4 1.1
Data from Bob Evans Farms financial news releases.

As recent Fool articles have pointed out, same-store sales have been a little on the decaf side for Bob Evans of late. The stronger comparable sales in September and December, for example, are coming off weaker results in the same months of 2005. Yet CEO Steve Davis deserves kudos for openly admitting this weakness without hiding behind the "high gas prices" excuse. That's almost as bad as filing a late 10-Q and blaming the dog for eating it.

For what it's worth, I'd rather own a company with some operational issues and an honest management team over a seemingly perfect company whose management never admits problems.

While the downward same-store sales trend appears to have broken, the real challenge is finding a way to make Bob Evans stand out from the crowd of casual diners aiming for the same customers, including CBRL Group (NASDAQ:CBRL) (parent of Cracker Barrel), IHOP (NYSE:IHP), and Denny's (NASDAQ:DENN). Unlike a steamy biscuit fresh from the oven, I don't see any of these competitors flaking out. (OK, I've been saving that one for a while.)

For more down-home cooking, check out:

Three of the four restaurants mentioned pay a nice dividend. If you're looking for a menu of other dividend-paying companies, then be sure to check out the Motley Fool's Income Investor newsletter by clicking here to take a free 30-day trial.

Fool contributor Jason Ramage holds no financial interest in the companies mentioned here. The Fool's disclosure policy thinks crepes are underrated.