Grider Field Restaurant a Local Favorite at the Pine Bluff Regional Airport.

Soul food, comfort food and a slice of history are all on the menu at Grider Field Restaurant, within the Pine Bluff Regional Airport Terminal south of town. Check out this video package and read all about this neat spot to dine!

A Plateful of Filling at Holly's Country Cookin' in Conway.

Locals swear by this lunch-only, weekday-only cafeteria on south Harkrider - by the fried chicken, by the mac and cheese and by the pies. They aren't wrong.

Fried Chicken and Pie at Parkview Restaurant in Corning.

I've been holding out on you.  At least, that's what Grav will have you believe, and there's probably some truth to that.  See, we know some of the best places to get fried chicken and pie in the state, and this isn't one we share much.  But it deserves sharing.

This place is the Parkview Restaurant in Corning, and it's been around for generations.  But because of its remote location near our state's northern border, it does not receive the accolades it deserves.

A Craving for Alcenia's Finally Satisfied.

January 2008.  I was wrapping up my first out-of-state travel assignment in my brand new career as a travel writer.  Sure, it was just Memphis, but the three nights I'd already stayed in Memphis in that tiny little room at the Sleep Inn, checking out the city's downtown on-foot on the first of several no-car travelogues had already shown me I had a whole lot of learning to do about my new craft.

I had spent a good deal of time walking.  I had ridden the trolley.  I had tried not to freak out too much walking Beale Street by myself.  I found museums and fledgling little sushi places where cute guys tried to hit on me despite the wedding ring.  I gulped down my fear of traveling solo.

And then I found Alcenia's.

Long before the Today Show or Guy Fieri or Roadfood found Alcenia's, I was on the doorstep of a little shop just north of Interstate 40 on Main Street.  I was tired and hungry, and BJ took me in.

You can read about that experience here... yes, these were the early days of Tie Dye Travels, just a week after receiving my new fangled Nikon P50 camera, a massive improvement over my old Fuji Finepix, and I was enthralled and delighted with this little soul food cafe.  Indeed, it was better than any Memphis barbecue joint I'd visited, and it just blew me away.

Seven years have passed.  I've had a child, a travel writing career, a state job, a divorce, three books, a couple of epiphanies and a new chance at writing for a living again.  I have passed through Memphis time and time again.  And either I haven't had time to stop, or I've come on a Sunday or a Monday.  I haven't had time to return to Alcenia's.

I have bragged on it.  I have shared tales.  I have coerced others to try the place.  I have regaled Grav with story after story of the marvelous fried chicken, the candied yams, the ghetto-sweet KoolAid.  And finally, on a brisk April day, in the shadow of the then-soon-to-open Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid, we parked out front and entered the cast iron gate.

This time, the restaurant was occupied.  There were diners at several tables.  Moreover, there were new articles on the wall, in what free spaces were allowed, and photos of famous folks smiling out by the register.  It was very clear that Alcenia's has moved up in the world.

And I got there first.  I beamed, hoping that the little blog entry I'd penned seven years earlier had helped others discover the eatery.

BJ was chatting away with customers.  She just kept going, greeting us each as we came in, waving her hand towards where to sit

after getting a hug from everyone.  She let us know that she had everything and chuckled when I asked if it'd be heresy to choose unsweet tea ("no, honey, you're not the only one") and made us feel like we'd been family forever.

We were just going to get lunch, but the scent of green tomatoes frying in the back were too much to handle, so Grav walked back and asked if an order could be added.

They came to table first, six flour and pepper battered rounds served with a white buttermilk sauce Grav swore contained mustard.

They. Were. Phenomenal.

Unlike so many places we've been, these weren't huge slabs of tomato and they sure weren't overbattered and consumed by their own crust.  They were piquant and substantially flavored,

tartness with a crispy, salty pan-fried crust, and with a drizzle of that sauce they were irrefutably good.  As in, we could not refuse a crumb.  I found myself going after the remaining crumbs in the basket with my fingers as soon as they'd disappeared.

BJ started to bring us plate and bowl after plate and bowl, each brightly colored vessel filled with yet another treasure.  She told me to hang on for my rice and gravy side, saying she wanted to make sure it was good and hot.

Not that we had anything to wait for, other than our photos.  She asked us to post some of what we were taking to her Facebook page, which we did... but so much to post!

Grav had been craving fried chicken since I mentioned how much I liked it at this restaurant, so he had a thigh and a breast of darkly turned pan-fried chicken.  And

these were good, of course.  I could have told you that.  The breast was even moist and held some of that salty flavor within.

He chose for his sides macaroni and cheese and fried cabbage -- the later of which was a bit sweet as well as buttery.  The mac and cheese was not a

runny custard but instead an ample pile of noodles baked with white cheese.

They came, as mine did, with those hot water rounds of sweet white cornbread.

BJ asked us if we wanted chow-chow (which she pronounces as "cha-cha") and of course we agreed, and its sweet and tangy textured magnificence only added to the cornbread experience.  It

made me want some fresh corn or lima beans to mix it into, frankly.  You can buy yourself a jar now and take it home with you, by the way.

Me?  Though the fried chicken tempted me heartily, I decided to try the meatloaf.  I have been in a meatloaf mood of late.  The meatloaf at Alcenia's is nothing like what you expect from a restaurant.  Instead of a slightly dry slab, it's almost liquified in places, scooped out of a plan and

served on a plate.  The barbecue-like sauce glaze, the low-filler all-beef meatloaf, the hints of black pepper and suggestions of onion, make it all a very hearty (and very filling) entree.  This is the dish you want when it's cold out.

I could not resist the chance to enjoy those candied yams again and I did... each one glowing golden with its high butter and sugar content but I did not care at all.  Calories this good are worth savoring, even if they go right to the waistline.  Really.

A few minutes later BJ came to the table with the bowl of rice and gravy, one of the other side items.  She was right - it was hot, and it made it all the better, a rich deep standing peppered roux over rice, just like my folks made it when I was a kid.  It was stout and the rice was soft, and Grav about wrestd the bowl from me and proclaimed later that it was the only thing that could have elevated his fried chicken experience.

Strangely enough, I have no clue if Alcenia's has dessert.  No idea at all.  It's not listed on the menu, and any meal there will pretty much quell any appetite you bring through the door.  I would suspect anything that came out of BJ's kitchen would be just

absolutely ridiculous and tasty, but that's just a theory, of course.

What I do know is that eventually, I will have to come for Saturday brunch and try the salmon croquette.  I hear such ardently favorable reviews of the pink seared rounds that I have to schedule a special day just so I can go back.  But my free Saturdays are rarer than hen's teeth, so I'll have to wait.

You don't have to wait on me, though.  Get yourself across the river and to this little place on Main Street, a straight shot from the Pyramid.  This is soul food that really does what it's supposed to do, sooth your soul and make you long for returning many years after you've dined at one of those mismatched tables.

Alcenia's
317 N. Main Street
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 523-0200
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One more note for Guy Fieri... with all the tips I've sent your way, don't you think it's time you took me out to dinner?

Road Eats: Fried Chickeny Things at June's Restaurant in Checotah, OK.

I'll admit right now, I have spent very little time in Oklahoma over the years.  Louisiana? Tennessee? Mississippi?  Yeah, been all up and over.  But except a short run to Muskogee a few years ago and visits to Grav when he lived in Arkoma, I really haven't had much chance to become familiar with Arkansas's western neighbor.

But new friends and adventures await.  And on this most recent trip, we decided to search out sustenance roughly halfway between Fort Smith and Oklahoma City.  That brought us to Checotah, a burg that calls itself the "steer wrestling capital of the world."  I knew I wouldn't mind a piece of steer or any other beef by that point... the three of us were very hungry.

A quick Urbanspoon consult brought up a bevy of Mexican eateries and this one... June's Restaurant.  Located along Broadway in the diminutive downtown, June's is housed in a building that dates back to 1901.  Under its striped awning and through a double doored vestibule, country-style tables and booths sprawl out under a low ceiling.  At the back of the building, twin stairs lead to a kitchen on the left and restrooms on the right.

The Oklahoma Tourism page raved about June's Restaurant's chicken fried steak, and it looked pretty decent there (hey, OK Tourism folks, you might like the photos to come!) so I knew that was what I was going to get... at least, until I looked at the menu and saw the admonition "Love, Peace and Chicken Grease."  Hold the phone.  Chicken?

Yeah, chicken.  And not just chicken.  Chicken and more chicken and chicken and even spaghetti.  Um, all right.  Grav and I started to debate whether northwest Arkansas food culture had spread this far, and whether the family was of Italian descent, thinking of the Tontitown settlers.  Fried pickles were also in evidence, but that's because fried pickles are awesome, and who could restrict Mr. Austin's fine creation to the borders of our own state.

As I mentioned, I picked my choice quickly.  Hunter also knew what she wanted... being in a corndog mood, the idea of anything else was just anathema to her.  But Grav dithered... and, in hindsight, why shouldn't he have?  After all, amongst the offerings on that menu were six different quarter pound

The pony is Cheese Sandwich. The rubber chicken is Boneless.
Info you need if you don't watch My Little Pony: Friendship
Is Magic.

burgers, three salads, a couple of steaks and a dozen different sandwiches.  And there were all the chicken dinner iterations -- the most complete called the Big Boneless Dinner (which sparked Hunter to comment on this particular Boneless ->) which included not only the hand pulled, battered and fried chicken that the restaurant was known for, but also spaghetti, salad, the vegetable of the day, mashed potatoes (baked potatoes after 4 p.m.), gravy and bread.  Down the page different items were subtracted to create the other meals.  

And eventually, Grav did decide to go with the chicken and fries.  It seemed simple and small.  It was neither.

This is what he got.

It was epic.

Mind you, that's a 10 inch plate.  For what appeared to be a relatively small order on the menu, it was massive, a pile of hand-breaded chicken pieces and curly fries (mind you, he'd ordered spicy fries) and some requested honey mustard.  I have to admit, I stole a piece of his chicken before I even shot my plate.  And it was ridiculously good -- just the right amount of salt and pepper and a hint of sage, but not enough of anything to overpower the chicken.  It was just right.

Hunter was already into her corndog and fries by this point... which I'm sharing with you because maybe you have a kid and you might want to see the size of the portion, too.  This made her happy, as did dipping her fries in Grav's honey mustard.

Me?  I was taking in the full meal I'd been granted.  Mind you, the salad was small and there wasn't much to it, but then there was this plate of massive, heavy brownishness that had come to the table.

A shoe-sized slab of country fried steak leaned on a pile of mashed

potatoes, both seeming to huddle under a blanket of white country flour gravy.  I'd gotten the fried okra as my side, and it was good, even poppable... but then there was the steak.  The crust was perfect.  The seasoning on the crust was pretty decent.  The meat?  Sadly, it was blander than I had expected, and for a moment I figured all was lost and I would also be dipping into that honey mustard sauce.

That was, until I got to the gravy, which was... absolutely perfect.  And the gravy elevated that chicken fried steak to something of a masterpiece.  Decades of refinement had to have brought that duo together to entertain and sustain the generations who had come here before.

Seems June's has been around.  Our waitress mentioned that the current owner's had the place for around 25 years, and before that it'd been in the family for who knows how long.  In fact, no one we talked with really knew how old the restaurant was, though I suspect it's in the 40 year range.  Another visit, when we're not traveling across the state, we'll drop in again and find out.

I will say, the food was very, very heavy, and though Hunter downed her corndog with ease, neither Grav or I could finish our plates.  To-go boxes were provided, and once we managed to nook and cranny Hunter into the packed backseat we hit the road again.

June's is definitely worth a look-in.  I was sad there was no room for dessert, and next time will likely get the Grilled Chicken Salad and ask them to substitute that really, really good boneless fried chicken on top.  You'll find it north of Interstate 40 off exit 265 on the west side of the road in the downtown area.  

June's Restaurant

123 S Broadway
Checotah, OK 74426
(918) 473-2356

Quick Bite - Renee's Cafe in Black Rock.

Good meals are those shared with good friends. Great meals are those shared with friends in the most comfortable settings.  Renee's Cafe in Black Rock fits that locale to a T.  Settled into an old house by the Black Rock bridge

on Highway 63, cresting the first ridge out of the Delta into the Ozarks, its whitewashed exterior clads a wood-paneled dinette and den packed with reclaimed booths and dining room tables, chalkboards and whiteboards lettered with daily lunch specials, and sweet-as-pie waitresses with good advice on what to get.  The food's marvelous, too.

Though Renee's has been mentioned to me before, my journeys through Black Rock have been limited these past few months.  Fortunately, we found our way to the little cafe on a leafing expedition Sunday, right at lunchtime.  One of the signs outside says Cafe, the other says Restaurant, neither actually says Renee's, but that's all right, too.

Inside the front door, there's a tight kitchen to the right and a packed dining room center and left.  It was full, with people sitting at every manner of table.  We walked through to the back and had a seat at a dining room table against the back wall, next to a sliding glass door.  The guys at the next table joshed with us about our big cameras, and Hunter pointed out she had her choice of whatever chair

she wanted.

Our waitress shared with us a board full of specials, including three "meat" items and a whole spread of vegetables, along with homemade chili and a list of available pies.  We made our selections and chatted a bit.

Our meals came out a while later -- obviously made right when we asked for them.  Grav had gone with a burger, a double bacon cheeseburger served with spicy tots.  This burger was pretty substantial, with roughly quarter-pound hand-patted patties and good quality bacon, and it was thick.  The tots?  They were all right, though on retrospect Grav could have gone with one of

about a dozen different options rattled off by our waitress.

We had thought about the kid's meal for Hunter, but a single chicken strip and French fries didn't seem like much. I shouldn't have worried.  She ordered the lunch special and got the chicken strips, which were hand-breaded and enormous.  She also chose for her sides coleslaw and corn-on-the-cob, and when told how

much the child loves corn, we found her corn-on-the-cob nestled in a bog of corn.  Which she ate all of.  ALL of it.  The chicken, she did her best with, but that was a big meal, and some went home.

Me?  I chose wisely.  I knew I wanted some mac and tomatoes (a fine Arkansas dish, no matter what Grav says) and pairing such with the slightly sweet and definitely homemade all-beef meatloaf was wise.  I also had fried squash, also hand-battered and very juicy, and mashed

potatoes with gravy.  That gravy I sopped up with a dinner roll -- it was homemade cream gravy and it was just magnificent in its simplicity.  Salted right, too.

At one point, one of the lovely ladies on the staff walked through and admonished us all to have the blackberry cobbler that had just come from the oven, but I realized on trying to stand that even though I hadn't quite made it through my plate, I didn't have room.  Next time, I sure will, if I don't succumb to the homemade Snicker bar pie.

One more thing about Renee's -- it's CHEAP.  The prices are ridiculous.  And if you're planning to go head out to Lake Charles and NOT stop here, you're crazy.

One more note.  Map directions are funky.  This restaurant is located just west of the Black River on US 63, at the intersection with Highway 117, across from the gas station.

Renee's Cafe (or Renee's Restaurant)

3430 US 63

Black Rock, AR 72415

(870) 878-9283