Jump to content

Arkansas Food and Cuisine

Mith242

By Mith242
in The Coffee Shop

Recommended Posts

Arkansawyer Whistle-Stop

Arkansawyer

Posted
Posted

I've been a little surprised catfish hasn't been mentioned.

Yeah, catfish is a staple in Arkansas. We produce the second most in the country, but this is a ranking in which Mississippi actually beats us. :lol:

A food that I'm surprised no one has mentioned is duck. We are number one nationally in the number of ducks annually harvested. During duck season, people in Arkansas enjoy all kinds of duck dishes.

Ever heard of chocolate gravy? I've never seen it outside of rural North-Central Arkansas.

I actually do know some people here in Little Rock who eat chocolate gravy. I haven't heard of it anywhere else either.

Another food that makes for breakfast, lunch, or dinner here is grits.

Pretty much the standard Southern fare is traditional Arkansas food; The Dixie Cafe menu is basically a list of the popular dishes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 64
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Mith242 Gigalopolis

Mith242

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Ever heard of chocolate gravy? I've never seen it outside of rural North-Central Arkansas.

I spent much of my life with never hearing about it but then I found out that it existed from some of my relatives. They live down around Dewitt and seen to fix it on a somewhat regular basis. I can't say I thought it would be very good but after trying it I was surprised. It was better than I thought it would be. But it seems to be also found to some degree over in southeast Arkansas.

A food that I'm surprised no one has mentioned is duck. We are number one nationally in the number of ducks annually harvested. During duck season, people in Arkansas enjoy all kinds of duck dishes.

True I don't really here people talk that much about eating duck even though duck hunting is such a big deal in particular over around Stuttgart. But it's not like I ever see grocery stores selling duck on a regular basis or anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
skirby Town

skirby

Posted
Posted

I've heard it said that cheese dip is the specialty cuisine in Little Rock. I think there's some truth to that, I can count twenty restaurants with cheese dip better than the best I've had in DFW.

Fried chicken is definitely NWA's specialty.

Ever heard of chocolate gravy? I've never seen it outside of rural North-Central Arkansas.

My grandmother made it when she was still alive. She was from Paragould. It is like a warm chocolate pudding. My mother makes it for my son when he goes to visit and he loves it. Its better than grits.

As for BBQ, Arkansas is in the middle between the pork eaters on the East and the beef eaters to the West. My wife if from Texas and she thinks slaw on BBQ is a no go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aporkalypse City

Aporkalypse

Posted
Posted

I spent much of my life with never hearing about it but then I found out that it existed from some of my relatives. They live down around Dewitt and seen to fix it on a somewhat regular basis. I can't say I thought it would be very good but after trying it I was surprised. It was better than I thought it would be. But it seems to be also found to some degree over in southeast Arkansas.

True I don't really here people talk that much about eating duck even though duck hunting is such a big deal in particular over around Stuttgart. But it's not like I ever see grocery stores selling duck on a regular basis or anything.

Now, duck gumbo has to be fairly unique.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Arkansawyer Whistle-Stop

Arkansawyer

Posted
Posted

Ah, we've struck BBQ!!!

I have to know, what parts of Arkansas prepare what kind of BBQ.

Pork dominates here in Little Rock. Its the specialty of every barbeque restaurant in town. Some of the most popular places in town are Whole Hog Cafe on Cantrell, Mr. Mason's downtown, multiple Sim's barbeque locations, and of course, the chain Corky's. There's a new place in West Little Rock on Highway 10 called Bare Bones that is pretty good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
skirby Town

skirby

Posted
Posted

Pork dominates here in Little Rock. Its the specialty of every barbeque restaurant in town. Some of the most popular places in town are Whole Hog Cafe on Cantrell, Mr. Mason's downtown, multiple Sim's barbeque locations, and of course, the chain Corky's. There's a new place in West Little Rock on Highway 10 called Bare Bones that is pretty good.

Is Sim's still open off Arch Street. They served a great rib sandwich. NRL also has a pretty good BBQ restaurant in the Dixie Pig. If you go to Beebe on Saturday's you should try the Road Hog. They pull up a trailer and serve it roadside. They plan to open up a restaurant. If you want ribs get there early, they sell out. Speaking of BBQ how about a fried pie?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mith242 Gigalopolis

Mith242

Posted
  • Author
Posted

We don't get Mellow Yellow up here too much, along with Mr. Pibb.

I'd say that NWA is pridomiantely Coke and Coke Products up here.

I think all of Arkansas is mainly Coke. Do they even make Mellow Yellow anymore? That and I think Dr Pepper is also very strong here in Arkansas and the south for that matter so you don't see Mr Pibb in this area too much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mcheiss Metropolitan Area

mcheiss

Posted
Posted

I think all of Arkansas is mainly Coke. Do they even make Mellow Yellow anymore? That and I think Dr Pepper is also very strong here in Arkansas and the south for that matter so you don't see Mr Pibb in this area too much.

Pepsi is more big out west. I think Mellow Yellow is still made, but Mountain Dew overshadows it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sleepy Burg

sleepy

Posted
Posted

not cuisine, but popular beverages to go with our cuisine...soft drinks...or?

interesting map depicting what we call these drinks across the country.

http://www.popvssoda.com/images/bigdrawn.gif

Looks like most people in AR call it coke...I just call it what it is...Dr. Pepper, Mello Yello, etc.

Interesting map, where I live--MN--it's all pop.

In New Orleans, drinks were called soft drinks or cold drinks.

What about RC? A perfect southern breakfast--an RC and a moonpie. :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sleepy Burg

sleepy

Posted
Posted

I can't say I've heard of duck gumbo before.

They make duck gumbo in Louisiana, as well as turkey gumbo. I used to make it after every Thanksgiving with the leftover turkey.

Even with regular seafood gumbo, the way I'd make it was with a whole chicken to start as the base, then add the shrimp, gumbo crabs, and oysters. So, using duck isn't that far off the mark.

Hell, in New Orleans I knew people who made gumbo with hot dogs. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NCB Metropolitan Area

NCB

Posted
Posted

Hell, in New Orleans I knew people who made gumbo with hot dogs. :lol:

Haha, when I lived in the French Quarter, there was a man down the street who would make gumbo with hotdogs. :lol:

Sometimes it seems that any soupy dish thats spicy, has vegetables, and different kinds of meat(any kind of meat's) becomes gumbo. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NCB Metropolitan Area

NCB

Posted
Posted

I'm not a big fan of hot dogs in the first place. So can't say it sounds particularly appealing to me. :lol:

I actually thought it tasted alright. It depended on what kinds of veggies and spices were in there with the hotdogs. Though I still like to stick to the usual types of meats when I make gumbo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mith242 Gigalopolis

Mith242

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Since we've been talking about gumbo I've been wondering if Louisiana cuisine makes it's way very much into Arkansas. Although for that matter I'm not sure if what many of us call typical Louisiana cuisine is found in all the state or not, especially northern Louisiana and onward to southern Arkansas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.