Roadtripping Pt. 3: What to eat in Hot Springs
Hint: It's not at Chili's
While I wouldn’t necessarily call Hot Springs, Ark., a culinary destination, we did have some very, very good meals while we were there.
The food options are generally very American and homey – steaks, pancakes, sandwiches – with a few exceptions that we found. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I remember a time when I thought an El Charito TV dinner was not only authentic, but exotic, when I had no idea that something called sushi even existed, and when a deviled crab seemed like the height of fancy. We’ve just gotten too used to having five-star yuzu encrusted tamarind birria matcha bowls on every corner.
But I digress. As a general rule, when we travel, we stay away from chain restaurants and try to find locally owned options whenever possible. I’ll never forget a woman with whom I worked telling me about her big trip to San Francisco. She went all the way to California and came back raving about a meal she’d eaten at Chili’s. I couldn’t believe it. Of all the options in San Francisco, she picked Chili’s because she knew what she’d get. I felt so sorry for her!
Fortunately all three of us – my husband, my brother, and me – are fairly adventurous eaters, so we found a lot to like. We liked our meals so much, in fact, that I took very few pictures so you’ll have to use your imagination. Here are some of our favorites:
The Ohio Club – The Ohio Club, which is right downton on Central Avenue is the oldest continually operating bar in Arkansas, opening its doors in 1905 as both a bar and casino. Over the years, it has welcomed a colorful cast of characters, including notorious gangsters like Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Bugsy Siegel, as well as famous entertainers and baseball legends such as Babe Ruth. Of course we had to go there. We managed to score seats at the intricately-carved historic bar where we ordered gangster-themed cocktails and a basket of mixed fried things to snack on – fries, sweet potato fries, whole fried okra, and fried green beans (surprisingly good, but what isn’t when it’s battered and fried).
Steinhaus Keller – They’re tagline is “Real Good German,” and it’s pretty accurate. Schnitzel, goulash, paprikash, sauerbraten – if it’s German and you want it, they have it. And German food is something we don’t get very often, so we really enjoyed the whole experience. Don’t sleep on the Haus Pickled Egg Flight.
The Porterhouse – As the name would imply, this is a fairly straightforward, classic steak house. The food is fairly straightforward, classic steakhouse food. No real surprises here. Steak and potatoes is always a solid dinner. One thing to remember when one is in a landlocked state, however, is that if you order the Oscar upgrade (in this case the “Oscar” was crabmeat with asparagus and hollandaise) it may not be the freshest Oscar you ever got and may have even come from a can. We’re spoiled in Alabama with the availability of fresh seafood.
Rolando’s Nuevo Latino Restaurante – This Ecuadorian restaurant has the best upstairs patio built right into the side of the mountain where we enjoyed a very refreshing lunch. If you can sit up there, by all means do. Everyone will find something they like here in the selection of burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, and other standard Central and South American dishes. The pork, however, is outstanding. Stringy, crispy, well-seasoned – it’s everything you want carnitas to be.
Grateful Head Pizza Oven and Beer Garden – Sometimes you just want a basic salad, some pizza, and a beer. If you find yourself in this predicament and happen to be in Hot Springs, Grateful Head is as good a place as any to scratch that itch. Plus, they also have a great outdoor dining space built right into the mountain. Note that the sign says to wait to be seated at the bottom of the stairs. If you happen to venture to the top of the stairs after standing unnoticed at the bottom for some time, you might get scowled at.
The Venetian Dining Room at the Arlington Hotel – When I was growing up, we never ate anywhere but in the hotel. It was that good. There was no reason to go anywhere else. Now the dining room is only officially open Thursday through Sunday. I say “officially” because they will actually let you sit in there and order food if you want to because all of the bar food comes through the dining room from the main kitchen. We enjoyed an excellent and extensive Sunday brunch buffet with everything from apple crepes to yogurt. Another night we had a lovely dinner of steaks, pasta, and seafood (even though we were landlocked).
All of these restaurants were within walking distance of the hotel, right downtown. These next few required a short drive, but not over 5 miles.
The GOAT Mediterranean Grill – Despite the frightening logo, this restaurant was definitely a highlight of our trip. We started off with the Santorini combo – hummus, tzatziki, and their “twisted feta” – with veggies on the side as well as pita. Note that the portions here are huge! We also got soup (avgolemono) and salads. I had a wonderful stuffed eggplant dish, Ricky had paella, and my brother had the lamb. Any one of these three dishes would have fed all of us!
The Pho House - Viet Kitchen and Cafe – About 25 years ago I was introduced to Vietnamese food, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Now I seek it out when I travel, and lucky for us, The Pho House was there. This fairly large restaurant appears to be in some sort of house or similar building and has several sunny rooms. We started with shrimp and pork spring rolls – fresh fresh fresh with lots of good basil flavor. My brother and I both had the Lil’ Monster Pho which had steak, brisket, tendon, meatballs, shrimp, dumplings, quail egg, crab sticks, and mushrooms. The server said that all the dumplings are made in house, and they were excellent. Ricky got one of the “angel hair” vermicelli bowls, and reported that it was delicious as well.
Brina Thai and Pho – We ventured into a fairly seedy looking strip mall parking lot to find Brina Thai and Pho, which was the cutest little place and apparently a very popular lunch spot! Everything on the menu looked so good, we decided to order three things to share – pad woonsen, larb beef, and a Thai basil stir fry. The fact that we were fighting over the last bites should tell you how good it was. You just never know what kind of goodness might be nestled up in a strip mall.
There you have it. Do your research. Expand your palate. Be adventurous. And you’ll never find yourself staring at a plate of shiny baby back ribs, drinking well Margs and wondering why you ever left home.