Little Rock is next! It was a spur-of-the-moment jaunt downstate thanks to D's work obligation, but glad I tagged along. We made a pitstop a few months back, but didn't have a chance to see a lot of the city (although we managed to fit in Pinnacle Mountain, Little Rock High School the Arkansas State Capitol and lunch with a pal -
read the post here).
// david's burgers //
The drive down bled into lunchtime, so we popped into David's Burgers for a quick bite - glad we did! Their steakburger style "Butcher Boy" burger is pretty darn good, dare I say Culver's good. Yes, I said it. I'll let the photo do the talking. And
here's a little more about the history of David's - there really was a Butcher Boy.
// quapaw quarter historic district // arkansas governor's mansion //
After dropping D off to take care of business near the Capitol, I headed a short distance over to the Quapaw Quarter. The
Quapaw Quarter is the downtown area of Little Rock that is home to the city's most historic homes and mansions, some predating the civil war and many on the National Register of Historic Places. Named for the Quapaw people who were the original inhabitants of the area (and mentioned in my blog about
Arkansas Post - the first European settlement in the region). The Arkansas Givernor's Mansion is also located within the Quapaw Quarter. It famously housed past Governors Orval Faubus (boo!) and Bill Clinton (yay!).
// green corner store // loblolly + izard chocolate // main street //
After meandering around the historic district I wound my way over to Main Street, part of the newly revitalized SoMa neighborhood (
read more about it here). Back in March we lunched at Root Cafe and sampled some of
Loblolly Creamery's ice cream. With lunch already in check, I made it a point to grab a Peach Buttermilk scoop from Loblolly and do a little browsing at the local shops. Picked up the creamiest, most intense dark chocolate / coffee bar by local chocolatier
Izard Chocolate, with coffee sourced Mylo Cofee Co., also local to Little Rock. Glad to discover that here in F-ville
Mama Carmen's carries Izard...although not the coffee variety. // I'm still buzzing. //
// diamond bear brewing co. // awesome quote //
After picking up D from his meeting we headed to North Little Rock - across the super flooded Arkansas River - to get settled into our hotel and regroup before dinner. Turns out until quasi-recently North Little Rock wasn't somewhere you wanted to find yourself. But thanks to things like the Travelers' Baseball Stadium and local businesses and residents taking over the historic bungalows it's a safer, growing extension of Little Rock proper, while being decidedly separate. We walked (rookie mistake, it was 90 degrees) over to
Diamond Bear Brewing Company's tap room to thankfully cool off and see what they were up to. Turns out they brew some pretty tasty beer and offer an awesome menu of bar snacks and grub - next time we will be sure to eat (can you say cheese curds?!?). Personal fave was the Dogtown, a brown ale that's surprisingly light but still malty and a touch nutty. And aptly named for the brewery's North Little Rock location,
once referred to as "Dogtown" harking back to the late 1800s practice of Little Rock residents dumping stray dogs across the river in North Little Rock // super sad, right? //
// made the list with luger's + bavette's ??? //
Sufficiently refreshed we trekked back to the hotel where we had early reservations for dinner at
Riverfront Steakhouse. Thanks to a
Thrillist article calling out the Top 21 steakhouses in America, we put this spot on our radar. Turns out they also have incredibly ridiculous early bird bogo specials...on wine AND steak. Not lying when I tell you our ribeye, filet, bread basket, baked potatoes (replete with a mound of all the dairy-based fixins you can imagine), salad bar and a bottle of wine was...drumroll...$55. Yes, I said $55. There are perks to living in Arkansas, ya'll. All in all, a good steak, decent wine and ambiance that makes you forget you're in the base of a two and a half star hotel.
// crossing over from north little rock to river market district //
We walked off our massive meal with a stroll across the Arkansas River to get to the River Market Entertainment District to meet some of D's pals at
Flying Saucer. Named a draught emporium for their crazy selection of beers. The hot weather pushed me towards the hefeweizens while the others at the table were ticking off beers on their "to-drink" lists compliments of the Flying Saucer beer club. After parting ways with friends, D and I wandered around the River Market area a bit and scoped out some spots for next time. //
Samantha's Tap Room and Wood Grill, three words - grilled.shishito.peppers - I'm sold //
// river market // sweet soul //
Woke up needing some caffeine and breakfast so we headed to the River Market. Reminded me so so much of Milwaukee's Public Market. Indoor, sun-filled hall with food vendors and some stands for local businesses and Little Rock tourism outposts. We found a southern kitchen stand and had a decidedly not light breakfast of biscuits and gravy with a side of mac and cheese. Nap-inducing is an understatement, but we powered on.
The Clinton Presidential Center was next on the agenda.
// clinton presidential campus // major flooding of the arkansas river //
The campus sits on the banks of the uber-flooded Arkansas River (notice the pics) and is home to the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Musuem, The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and the Clinton Foundation. Architecture firm
Polshek Partnership (now Ennead Architects) designed the building - a bold rectangular aluminum structure extending toward the river.
// clinton presidential library //
This excerpt from a
2004 NYT review encapsulates the building's design. "
With its sleek horizontal form hovering at the edge of the Arkansas River, the new William J. Clinton Presidential Center has been called by promoters a 'bridge to the 21st century,' a trite allusion to one of the former president's favorite themes. Locals snicker that it looks like an enormous double-wide trailer. Actually, its best elements fall somewhere between those two extremes."
// views from the railroad bridge //
Because the river was super flooded, the 28-acre park (
landscape architecture firm Hargreaves Associates) that usually runs below the museum and along the shore was totally underwater. We walked across the railroad bridge turned pedestrian bridge and couldn't believe how fast-moving the water was. Incentive to not fall in. Once inside the museum, we spent a good bit of the afternoon following Bill's voice in his self-narrated audio tour through the space and exhibits. Touched on much of what I knew about his presidency and much of what I didn't. Enjoyed reliving those moments in time, reflecting back to the years between 1993-2001, much of my youth.
// another local gem // lost forty brewery tap room //
On the way out of Little Rock we popped over to Lost Forty Brewing's tap room tucked into a industrial pocket right by the Clinton Center parking lot pretty close to the Clinton School of Public Service parking lot. Turns out this newer brewery is turning out some inventive brews and even yummier food. The bacon cheese dip, smoked kielbasa plate and chicken salad were spot on. And although a tad sweet for me, the Love Honey Bock really did taste like honey...not a cruddy imitation. Not to mention their eye for industrial design and overall attention to details of the menu, space and brand were just lovely. Still waiting on some swag to come available and for a real deal website. In the meantime they've got a pretty robust social media presence -
FB,
Insta,
Twitter.
Little Rock treated us well once again. // Until next time. //
In the words of
Collin Raye's 1994 smash hit "I think I'm on a roll here in Little Rock".
Going back for...
War Memorial Stadium: annual Razorback football game will be hosted here on September 9th.
Hillcrest: Unique, historic neighborhood with local shopping and eating. I've already got quite a laundry list of restaurants and shops to explore. Oh, and for my caffeine fix, Mylo Coffee, Co.
Big Dam Bridge: Longest bicycle and pedestrian bridge built for that purpose.
Dickey-Stephens Park: Home to the Arkansas Travelers, a double-A affilate of Los Angeles Angels and close to Diamond Bear Brewery in North Little Rock.
