Not only did I fall off the Vegetarian wagon while I was in Arkansas, I stayed off of it. I watched it roll down the road while I sat on the curb eating tacos.

Though working on the movie wasn’t much of a vacation, it technically was one. I decided while I was there that I was going to eat all of my favorite things. No skimping. So, it was a meat-fest. I hadn’t really realized how meat-centric most of the food I eat back home is. All of my favorite foods are meat-based.

So, if you are ever in Little Rock and are not a vegetarian, here are a few of my favorite things that I would recommend.

El Porton- This Mexican restaurant is awesome. I have dreams about it while I am in Seattle. And what do I dream? About two things. Tacos, which I dream about all the time anyways, and pollo con crema. What is pollo con crema? Heaven. That is what it is. It consists of slices of tender grilled chicken simmered in a subtle cheese/cream sauce. It is delectable. It is served with tortillas, rice and beans. You layer the chicken into your tortilla with some rice to hold all that wonderful cheesy sauce in place and spoon on the fresh salsa that they always load your table with. It is awesome. The tacos are also worth writing home about. Nothing complicated about them. Fresh shells, lightly seasoned beef, lettuce, white cheese, and salsa. I don’t know how they do it. How such simple ingredients make the perfect taco, but they do. I miss this place when I’m not in Arkansas and it is always one of my first stops when I’m in town.

But what was my first stop in town? Corky’s BBQ. Pulled pork bbq nachos were perhaps a bit excessive, but they were so good! The pork is so tender, the sauce so tangy, that it just seemed at home on a big pile of cheesy chips. Ridiculous? Yes. Worth it? Hell yes. I had the Ultimate grilled bbq chicken sandwich which was pretty ultimate and a side of their mac and cheese, which is to die for. I let out sighs of happiness and surprise each time I had a mouthful.

But that wasn’t my only bbq in town. Oh no. Just one of 3. I also enjoyed Whole Hog BBQ and Shorty Small’s. Whole Hog catered one of our lunches on set. Their beef brisket was some of the best I’ve had. It was thinly sliced and completely tender. I often find brisket to be too stringy and chewy, but this stuff was perfect. It just fell apart in your mouth and was so good on that soft white bun. They had a variety of sauces to try and my favorite was a really tangy, slightly spicy, thick, dark, sweet one. But, it is hard to find a bbq sauce I don’t like. My preferences to tend to lean the way of Memphis bbq’s sweet tanginess over Texas’s vinegary, spicy taste, but each have their place and I love them all. But, that is what makes Arkansas bbq the best. It is right in the middle, a blend of both worlds. A savory, sweet spice.

And that is just what I got at Shorty Smalls. I like ribs, but they aren’t something I have very often and something I almost never order. I tend to just wait until I’m lucky enough to have my dad or brother’s. However, something on Sunday posessed me and I decided to get the “world famous ribs” at Shorty Small’s. All I can say is wow. I choose wisely. They were awesome. Fall off the bone tender. Perfectly coated with sauce. Just enough to get your fingers good and sticky, but not dripping. The flavors were spot on. Others around me had the fried catfish and fried shrimp. I tasted both of those and they were excellent as well. But the ribs… they were special. Maybe next time I’ll need a combo plate. 🙂

Chick-fil-a. Now I know what you are thinking. Chick-fil-a? A large chicken chain? If that is what you are thinking, you obviously haven’t been to one. Chick-fil-a has the best fast food chicken in the world. Their nuggets are little bites of wonderful and I always go with the Original sandwich. The key to Chick-fil-a is that the chicken is real chicken. The nuggets are little chunks of white meat. They aren’t cut up and pressed and repackaged into nuggets. They are actual pieces of chicken. Perfectly and lightly fried to perfection with a hint of lemony freshness. The sandwich, which is my favorite, is a breast prepared the same way, served on a soft, white, buttered bun with pickles. That’s it. Something about the butter, chicken, and pickle combination just works. A symphony of comfort food.

So, I got my Mexican food in. I got lots of bbq and my favorite fast food. I also drank a number of huge limeades from Sonic, which I love and had some awesome sandwiches.

Arkansas has some of the best food in the world. I love all types of food from all over the world, but there is just something about the flavors of home that speak to the soul.