Arkansas

Wow!  This is a great thread.  So much info.  And TieDyeKat, I love your slideshow on Serious Eats!  I sat there reading it this morning with a sad bowl of Grape-Nuts cereal in front of me and all I wanted was a buffet of those pies!  

Hope my response is not too late! As mentioned CJ's in Russelville is a must and the new king of Central AR. burgers beating out Feltners (but I do miss those fried pies at Feltners). See my review of CJ's here with pics: http://eatoutnwa.blogspot.com/2009/08/cjs-butcher-boy-2803-n.html
 
For Northwest Ar. you must try Monte Ne In http://www.monteneinnchicken.net/ for the best fried chicken around and much better than A.Q. (Clinton's Favorite). Served family style and all u can eat with bean soup, bread with apple butter, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans and slaw. OMG its so good.
 
In Roger's AR seek out Susie Q's Malt Shop an original drive in operating for 50+ years serving great burgers and shakes. Plenty of pics here:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Susie-Q-Malt-Shop/103743996332542#!/pages/Susie-Q-Malt-Shop/103743996332542
 
In downtown Bentonville check out the birthplace of Walmart (Waltons Five and Dime museum) and then head next door to the Station Cafe on the square in Bentonville. Huge flat top griddled burgers with an excellent aged char around the edges of the patty.http://eatoutnwa.blogspot.com/2009/03/station-cafe.html
 
For catfish check out Catfish Johns in Rogers or The Catfish Hole in Fayetteville.
Suggested Itinerary:
 
Heading North on 540:
Catfish Hole in Fayetteville
Monte Ne Inn (Outside of Rogers)
Susie Q's Rogers
Freds Hickory Inn (smoked meats and steaks) in Bentonville
Whole Hog Cafe - Bentonville
Walton's Five and Dime followed by Station Cafe in Bentonville
 
I would be glad to give you a personal tour of these spots if you make it up here. 
 

Thanks for all the NW Arkansas ideas. I had a pretty good lunch 2 weeks ago at Herman's in Fayetteville. Pork tenderlon sandwich was a monster.

Yes Hermans has been a staple in Fayetteville for many years and who woudn't enjoy the saltines and salsa on the table. For your next visit you must look up Moma Dean's Soul Food kitchen she cooks up chicken livers, fried chicken, and many other classics with dessert included for about $10.http://eatoutnwa.blogspot.com/2009/12/momma-deans-soul-food-kitchen-1701-s.html

Just W of Texarkana on I 30 is a great place for road food. One of my favorite road stops is Ramage Farms Country Store at Exit 208 for good road food. The restaurant is an old building just off the N side of I30 and has all sorts of food stuff to purchase to take home. They serve outstanding BBQ, sandwiches, combo plates and steaks. Stop by if just to rest and get a cold drink. It's worth the effort to visit the old store.
Ramage Farms Country Store @ 901 Main St., Hooks, TX 903 - 547 - 6187.
http://www.ramagefarms.com/

I feel as though I owe the board an apology.....
 
Since this thread was started, our vacation plans have changed.  For some reason, the cost of airfare into Memphis was outrageous, even for the current times when the price of all airfare is up.  (We also looked into Little Rock, Shreveport, St. Louis, Jackson, Tulsa, etc.) When we saw that we could fly further out west, for a lot less money, we went in that direction instead.  So now the vacation for Cousin Johnny and I will be flying into Denver and including time in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska. 
 
Thanks again to everyone for all of the great suggestions in this thread.  We still plan on taking the Arkansas trip, but it will have to wait until next Summer now.

Cliff - that is why those in the Mid South are praying for the Southwest Airlines deal to go through at the Memphis airport.

Susanll-
Is the problem because it is a (used to be Northwest) Delta hub?  I used to be able to fly into Memphis for under $200.00 easily, but they were looking for over $500.00, months ahead of time.  Good luck and I hope the Southwest deal happens for you.

I started this thread last year, because we planned on taking our vacation to Arkansas in 2011.  It got put off, so now we are taking a very similar trip this April.  There has been a lot of excellent suggestions so far, but would love to hear about new discoveries.  Any recommendations are greatly appreciated, especially if they involve pie!

Glad to see you'll be coming after all. All previous recommedations still hold, but HunkaPie has changed location again. They are now in the old Starlite Diner location at 250 Military Drive in North Little Rock.
 

I almost forgot, Your Mama's Good Food has also relocated to a larger space a few blocks away. The new info is on their Facebook page which I linked to above.

Cliff, as you know, I'd probably nominate Arkansas as my favorite of all pie states; and the destinations I recommend are reviewed here at Roadfood.com, but if you are looking for a really great place to stay, I highly recommend Mount Magazine State Park. It's a pretty new facility and in a dramatically nice location: http://www.mountmagazinestatepark.com/.
 
And when planning to visit the Family Pie Shop, remember to call ahead!

FoodBully-
Thanks so much for the links and all your help on this thread.  I do follow HunkaPie on Facebook, so I was aware that they have moved again.  They always seem to be changing locations or switching their hours.  Nonetheless, they are at the top of my list when we are in Little Rock.
 
I was not aware of Your Mama's Good Food moving, so that is good to know.  Man, I sure wish I could eat lunch there today!
 
Michael Stern-
That lodge in the state park looks spectacular!  We will definitely be spending a night there.  Thanks so much for the tip.  And cousin Johnny would never forgive me if we don't make a stop at Family Pie Shop.  Last two times I have stopped in though, it wasn't Mary Thomas taking our orders, but her daughter. 
 

Hugo's in Fayetteville for a great burger and fries. Just off the town square below the street level. A lot of great places mentioned that I have been to also. Hope to try the Monte Ne Inn next weekend.

Johnny McClanahan

If you go to the Family Pie Shop, meander across the road on over to Craig's Bar-B-Q.  When I was there last summer, I got two big jars of their barbecue sauce to go.  I took it to Mississippi, Louisiana, then back through those states and then on to Tennessee and Virginia before heading home and it held up well.  Go with the medium sauce ; I think the hot is too hot and the mild is too mild.
 

FoodBully

A of the as reported by on website to help you on your trip.

 
Wow! Now I want to go to Arkansas.

This is a nice site for just the kind of info I've been looking for when either traveling or having guests in. Thought I'd add a few of my own, but now I'm wondering if it's better to wait until the 30 days (or whatever) are up so linking can be done.

Quick test post until I can do the linkage bit.
 
Places I've been and would go again:


Rogers/Bentonville/Fayetteville
Red Robin - Burgers
Texas Land & Cattle Steakhouse - Steakhouse
Station Cafe - American/Burgers

Little Rock
Izzy's- Eclectic/American/Tamales
Buffalo Grill - American/Burger/Steaks
Flying Fish - Seafood (<-- fave)
Oyster Bar - Seafood
Copeland's of New Orleans - American/Chain Cajun/Creole
On the Border - TexMex Chain
Layla's Gyro's and Pizzaria - Greek
Iriana's Pizza - Pizza
Whole Hog Cafe - BBQ (<-- fave)
Five Guy's Burgers and Fries - Burgers
David's Burgers - (Same family that own or run the CJ's in Russellville. Same deal)
Grady's Pizza and Subs - name says it all
The Faded Rose - Steaks/Seafood/Cajun
Shotgun Dan's - Pizza

Benton/Bryant -
Ed and Kay's - Diner/Desserts (<--- fave)
Sullivan's Diner - Diner
Buffet City (Chinese/Sushi/buffet)

Sheridan
Jo's Diner - Diner/Breakfast
El Parian (The Frog) - Tex Mex
Cypress Grill - American/Cajun/Creole (Owners come from Louisiana)
Brew Heaven - Coffee Shop/Diner (limited hours)
The Yellowjacket Drive In - Burgers/Shakes (Dairy Queen type of thing)
Mazzios - Pizza/Sandwiches/Salad Bar
Uncle Henry's - BBQ/Smoked meats (limited hours)
The Donut Palace - Donuts/Wraps

Prattsville
The Whippet - Dairy Bar/Seafood/Desserts

Leola
Dorey's Catfish - Seafood/Buffet (Restaurant/Pay-lake setup) The quality was down the last time we ate there, but I'd probably try it at least once more.

Star City
The Village Steakhouse - Steaks/Prime Rib/Desserts/Shopping

 

Finally made it to Fred's Hickory Inn in Bentonville. Thanks Gumbo191. I sat in the lounge dining room which is in the original log cabin section of the huge building. The food and atmosphere were both awesome. My sampler platter consisted of a couple of meaty tender dry rub ribs,a nice link of smoked andouille,slice pork,and several slices of smoked eye of round. Beans,cole slaw,and garlic bread rounded it out and they were all really good also. I will be back.
http://fredshickoryinn.net/

I just wanted to thank everyone for all of their great suggestions.  Cousin Johnny and I leave on our trip tomorrow and most of it is planned out.  We will be trying to incorporate many of the ideas from this thread into the vacation.