While tourism in Arkansas is usually associated with entertainment venues, unique attractions and various things to do, oftentimes overlooked are the dining experiences available in between those activities that bring family and friends together in one setting for a little while.
Known as the state's leading food historian and most enthusiastic road warrior, who "preaches the gospel of Arkansas food," Kat Robinson spoke at Wednesday's meeting of Hot Springs National Park Rotary Club at the Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa.
After several years working in radio and television, including as a producer for Little Rock CBS affiliate THV and a radio producer and personality for KARN Newsradio, the Little Rock-based travel writer, Robinson, discovered her passion in sharing Arkansas's culinary culture with others.
"I found myself in a unique position in the state," she said. "What started out as a way to keep my career going turned into a mission."
After spending time with John T. Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance in Oxford, Miss., during one of his organization's symposiums, he began introducing Robinson to others as the one who "preaches the gospel of Arkansas food."
"I feel that's what I'm here to do," she said. "Whether it's our restaurants along many of our highways and byways across the state, we're celebrating the little things brought to the table every single day -- delineating our food culture. It's inherent to who I am and what I want to do. ... If we can elevate not only our foods but our farmers, our producers, our restaurants, our food product, it'll help not only bring them into the spotlight but bring more people into Arkansas. Yes, food is a culinary product; it is a tourism product, as well."
Though she initially felt she would be working in news media outlets for the rest of her life, writing and documenting the value of food in Arkansas, she noted, was something "that didn't involve murder, car crashes and politics."
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"I wanted to talk about great things," she said. "After I started my website, Tie Dye Travels, I put out a few articles and found whenever I posted something about food -- people listened. I decided at that point, you know, I'm starting on a new career."
Upon starting that new career in 2007 after leaving THV, one of Robinson's first interviews was with Capitol Hotel Chef Lee Richardson, who was on a quest to incorporate Arkansas food into a new restaurant. She explained that Richardson "turned the tables around" on her in the middle of the interview and asked her what "Arkansas food" is.
"I told him I needed to get back to him," she said, "because I wanted to be specific. I wanted to be accurate. And while I knew the things like barbecue and catfish and great summer festivals full of produce were all in the culinary column, I wanted to make sure I gave him the right answer. It took me 12 years to answer that question. It ended up being a 280-page book that I still feel like I needed to stick extra things in."
One of those things was the fact Arkansas holds claim to the birthplace of the chicken nugget, which won a Searcy woman a national chicken cooking competition in 1971, a full 12 years before being introduced on the menu at McDonald's.
Routinely traveling 3,000 miles a month throughout the state, visiting and researching different locations and great spots to eat, Robinson said the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to that completely.
"I was itching to get out of the house," she said. "I was anxious to get vaccinated. I wanted to share more stories."
After traveling with a friend to Mel's Dairy Bar in Malvern one day during the pandemic to see if it was open, she realized the feat of staying open -- not only during the pandemic but for such a long period of time -- was something noteworthy.
"Mel's Dairy Bar has no sign up where people can see," she said. "It's literally one of those places you have to know about to get to. Yet their burgers are immense and their shakes are thick and they've survived for more than 50 years."
The following day, she said, came the idea of traveling to and recording all of the locally owned dairy bars across the state.
"I found that of the 95 that existed before the pandemic, 94 were still open," she said. "We managed to keep them and how we kept them was because we went and moved with our feet and our wheels to these places of nostalgia that meant something to us -- something that was extraordinary."
This inspired her to create a documentary and book about the dairy bars.
"It was really neat to work on and some of our area restaurants are featured," she said.
"And they're including, in particular, Bailey's Dairy Treat here just down Park Avenue a couple blocks away. Also mentioned, of course, the Frosty Treat and the King Kone. We also do a feature on Mount Ida's Dairyette, which is one of the classic dairy bars, as we all know. It's been a great chance to do some connection and it was a hard time doing this in the age of COVID.
"There's always more to come when it comes to Arkansas food and I'm glad to celebrate dairy bars this year. There's so much to share but what's best is being able to have gatherings like this and I hope to enjoy so many more of these gatherings as we all get back to normal," she said.
Wednesday also marked the final time in 100 years that the club will hold its weekly meeting in the historic Crystal Ballroom before moving to the Lake Hamilton Ballroom at the Doubletree Hotel this Wednesday.
"The Rotary Club of Hot Springs National Park has enjoyed and appreciated the hospitality that the Arlington Hotel has extended to our club over the past 100 years," a statement issued by the club said.
"The historic, grand Crystal Ballroom has been our home for a long time and it is certainly bittersweet to leave. While the Arlington Hotel continues undergoing renovation, we have decided to move to the newly renovated Doubletree Hotel with our meetings being held in the Lake Hamilton Ballroom that has a panoramic view of the lake. The Arlington Hotel truly holds a special place in the hearts of Hot Springs residents and visitors.
"The Rotary Club of Hot Springs National Park wishes the Arlington all the best as they move forward with plans to restore and renovate this state and local treasure. Our Rotary Club is committed to making a difference in our community and our world, and where we meet will not impact that commitment," the statement said.
