A brief list of Arkansas food manufacturers.

Please send suggestions for updates to this list to kat@tiedyetravels.com.

Bear Kingdom Vineyards (Little Rock)

www.bearkingdom.com

501-888-1015

Jellies and jams, including jellies made from Post Familie Vineyard grapes and several pepper jellies

Burge's (Little Rock/Lewisville)

www.smokedturkey.com

501-921-4292

Smoked turkeys, ham, ribs, bacon, duck & chicken

Cavender’s Greek Seasoning (Harrison)

www.greekseasoning.com

870-741-2848

Seasoning spice, with and without salt

Chateau aux Arc (Altus)

www.chateauauxarc.com

479-468-4400

Arkansas winery

Cowie Wine Cellars and Vineyards (Paris)

www.cowiewinecellars.com

479-963-3990

Arkansas winery

De Wafelbakkers (North Little Rock)

www.dewafelbakkers.com

501-791-3320

Frozen waffles and pancakes

Diamond Bear Brewery (Little Rock)

www.diamondbear.com

501-708-2739

Arkansas-brewed beer in seven varieties, plus Diamond Rock Root Beer

Flossie’s Funnel Cake Mix  (Hot Springs)

www.flossiesfunnelcakes.com

800-844-3567

Funnel cake mixes, equipment, cotton candy

House of Webster (Rogers)

www.houseofwebster.com

800-369-4641

Jams, jellies and pickles

J&M Foods (Little Rock)     

www.jm-foods.com

800-264-2278

Cheese straws in a variety of flavors plus several varieties of tea cookies and chocolate chip cookies

Juanita’s Candy Kitchen (Arkadelphia)

www.juanitascandykitchen.com

870-246-8542

Pecan, peanut and cashew brittle

Keel’s Creek Winery (Eureka Springs)

www.keelscreek.com

479-253-9463

Arkansas winery

Kopper Kettle Candies (Van Buren)

www.kopperkettlecandies.com            

479-474-6077

Full service candy store featuring Ozarkies, chocolates, truffles and nostalgic candies

Lambrecht Gourmet (Heber Springs) 

www.lambrechtgourmet.com

501-362-7514

Gourmet toffees and chocolate covered toffees in several varieties

Liz & Linda’s Pepper Jelly (Harrison)

www.lizandlindaspepperjelly.com

870-365-0968

Three varieties of pepper jelly, including mild, hot and Golden Pecan

Martin Greer’s Candies (Gateway)      

www.martingreerscandies.com

479-656-1440

Candymaker and chocolatier utilizing pre-20^th Century recipes and methods

MaryClare Macarons (Hot Springs)

www.maryclaremacarons.com             

501-620-0516

Handcrafted gourmet macarons in several flavors; custom flavors available

McClard’s Barbecue (Hot Springs)

www.mcclards.com

501-623-9665

The restaurant’s barbecue sauce, pepper sauce, seasoning and salsa available for purchase online

Mount Bethel (Altus)

www.mountbethel.com

479-468-2444

Arkansas winery

Mountain Valley Water  (Hot Springs)

www.mountainvalleyspringstore.com

501-442-8221

Natural spring water and sparkling water from Hot Springs

Neumeier Winery

479-209-1224

Arkansas winery

Oh Baby Foods (Fayetteville)

www.ohbabyfoods.com

479-799-4990

Organic locally made small batch baby foods

Old South/Bryant Preserving Co. (Alma)

www.oldsouth.com

479-632-2505

A wide variety of pickles and condiments

Ozark Candy and Nuts (NLR)

www.ozarknuts.com

501-753-2981

Roasted pecans, peanuts, cashews

PattiCakes

www.patticakesbakery.net

501-205-1969

Fudge, pastries and cakes

Pel-Freez (rabbits) (Rogers) 

foods.pel-freez.com

479-636-4361

Fresh and frozen rabbits

Pepper Source (hot sauce) (Van Buren)

www.peppersource.com

479-474-5178

Pepper sauces with customizable labels; custom saucemaking available

Petit Jean Meats (Morrilton)

www.petitjeanmeats.com

800-264-2475

Ham, sausage, bacon, hot dogs, roast beef, pastrami and other meat products

Post Familie Vineyards (Altus)           

www.postfamilie.com

800-275-8423

Arkansas winery

Raimondo Winery (Gamaliel)

www.raimondowinery.com

870-467-5115

Arkansas wines, oils and vinegars             

Ratchford Farms (Marshall)

www.ratchfordexoticmeats.com

870-448-5179

Beef, elk and buffalo meat and assorted products

Refined Ale Brewery (Little Rock)

www.refinedale.com

501) 280-0556

Beer, ale and malt liquor

Riceland Foods (Stuttgart)

www.riceland.com

870-673-5500

Rice and soybean products

Rock Town Distillery (Little Rock)

www.arkansaslightning.com

501-907-5244

Vodka, gin, whiskey and other spirits

Sweet Temptations (Greenbrier)

www.sweettemptationscandies.com

877-473-4845

Fudge and candy

Stonebrook Fudge Factory (Mtn.Home)

www.candybouquetofmountainhome.com

870-269-5955

Fudge and fried pies

Skippy Peanut Butter (Little Rock)

(501) 490-1441

www.peanutbutter.com

Peanut butter

Tontitown Winery (Tontitown)

www.tontitownwinery.com

479-361-8700

Arkansas winery

Two Dumb Dames Fudge (Eureka Springs)

www.twodumbdames.com

800-237-7268

Fudge, chocolate and nostalgic candies

War Eagle Mill (Rogers)

www.wareaglemill.com

479-789-5343

Organically grown and ground flours, cornmeals, beans and other products

WestRock CoffeeRoasters (NLR)

www.westrockcoffee.com

855-553-8002

Free trade Arkansas roasted coffees

Wiederkehr Wine Cellars (Altus)

www.wiederkehrwines.com

479-468-9463

Arkansas winery

For more Arkansas food manufacturers and assorted products, check with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

Seven Places You Must Try Fried Chicken in Arkansas.

Arkansas has its own flavor... and much of it is rooted in Southern culture.  And there’s nothing more Southern than fried chicken.

I could sit down in any of a hundred kitchens around my home state and have pan fried chicken so good you’d lick the plate.  But truly great fried chicken is a hard thing to find in an Arkansas restaurant.  Sure, a lot of restaurants try, but just a handful do the dish justice.

Here, in my honest opinion, are the seven best places to have fried chicken in Arkansas.  They’re not numbered because, frankly, they’re all dang good.

Dew-Baby’s. Oh, what a flavor. The little Stuttgart restaurant may not look like much, but it's eight sisters' tribute to a mom who shared it all. The fried chicken there has the tenderness and flavor of being buttermilk-soaked, a very light bit of spicing  with a hint of lemon pepper.  Juicy, flavorful, tender and golden.

AQ Chicken House. Chicken is prepared multiple ways at this 75 year old Springdale establishment, but you'll find the best version is the original: pan-fried, tender, simply seasoned and golden crusted. If you really must have other chicken there, try the Chicken Over The Coals -- strongly seasoned, lemon pepper tinted, slightly blackened and completely decadent.

Monte Ne Inn Chicken Restaurant.The crust of the chicken at this family-style sit-down pass-the-plate restaurant is deep brown, almost russet red. Batter-tight skin like a good pan-fried-and-baked chicken is flavored with paprika, black pepper and special seasoning. There's a flavor that permeates the chicken, even the breast, that gives it a supple flavor equaled only by the tenderness of the meat itself.

Myrtie Mae’s. Mouth-dabbingly moist, lightly golden fried and buttermilk battered, this Eureka Springs restaurant is serving up the same recipe that Myrtie herself started to use on travelers who showed up at her dinner table in the early days of travel for fun in the Ozarks.

David Family Kitchen. I don't know where they get their pieces, but somehow the folks at this soul food cafe in downtown Little Rock manage to pick the fattest chicken legs and thighs for their salt-and-pepper batter. It's juicy enough to worry about having wet elbows when you are done.

Holly’s Country Cooking. Crispy, thickly battered fried chicken that manages to still be light enough to keep you moving back out the door of this Conway mainstay. Available only at lunch, the slightly sweet and salty batter on this chicken will win you over.

The Skillet Restaurant. The latest addition to my chicken list, this is good Ozark style fried chicken -- a little paprika, a little salt, a little black pepper and a lot of buttermilk. I'm told they have to watch out and make sure to have extra wings out on the buffet each Sunday, because those wings are the first to go. You can find it at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View.