Scratch-Made Sandwiches, Pies and Sides at Kopper Kettle Smokehouse in Alma.

Often overlooked by its more popular partner business, Kopper Kettle Candies, this little gray restaurant alongside US Highway 64 deserves to be noticed.

Sweets to Eat: Paul's Bakery in Van Buren.

Since 1959, Paul's Bakery has fed doughnuts, cakes and other sweet treats to generations in Van Buren. Let's take a look inside.

L.H. Brandenburg Bookseller in Van Buren, a Refuge for Books and Cats.

There's nothing quite like a good bookstore.  They're refuges of spirit, where one can slip into a multitude of worlds for a few hours... and best of all, those worlds can come home to live with you.

Van Buren's long hill of ancient businesses has always called to me.  My best friend and I made the trip when I was in college to duck in the antique stores, flea markets and book shops all along Main Street, ducking into one doorway after another, getting some honey a block behind at the old Bee Hive and Honey House, checking out the cameras at Old Tyme Photography.

Many times I've gone back, to see one storefront after another empty.  But there's one place on Main Street that still remains crowded... with books.

L H Brandenburg Bookseller isn't your normal bookstore.  This purveyor of old books takes in your tomes for book credit or money, and rarely passes on adding another novel or history to the stacks.  The books pour out onto the street in mismatched racks that are always open, even when the bookstore is not.

When it is, on any Wednesday or Friday or Saturday, there are aisles to get lost in.  The front window's aisle is all about cookery, which drew me in one Friday morning, everything from ancient texts to regional cookbooks, glossy-covered famous chef works to dusty, flour-encrusted

family collections.  They're stacked on shelves in the window and along the walls and in the middle of the room, from above your head to the floor, thousands and thousands of books.

The food books don't just

fit there... another aisle perched precariously along the guardrail gives one just enough room to lean down to read titles.  More books cover self-help, Arkansas history and more.  So many books in this one room...

But it's not just one room.  A stairwell takes you down into the bowels of the building. where row after row of books await you.  Histories and religious texts, romance novels and period novellas, story collections and sci-fi and so many more.  You could spend days looking and still never catalog it all.

There have apparently been some who tried.  On this particular visit, the kind host told me about a girl from the university who had tried to set some of the many books right in their categories.  He was watching a movie and looking through books at a desk where every single surface was covered by more books.

As I dug through the cookery stacks, a young adolescent cat approached me.  He first slipped past me thinking I hadn't noticed, then came back for a pet as I squatted down on the floor, scanning titles.  A quick friendly rub turned into a sparring match, as young cats are wont to do, and I played with him a bit before moving to the next section.

Cats have been part of

Brandenburg Bookseller long enough.  I recall a big white cat that had been here on a previous visit, but didn't see her this time.  Instead, I noted several cats, including a short haired calico with a white belly, a small gray tabby, a huge gray fluffy friend that lay on his back in the

children's section and who did not give the slightest care to the world around him, and a long-haired calico-and-white who crossed over my head several times as I explored downstairs.  One sign promotes the store as "The only charity cat house (perhaps haunted) in Van Buren, Arkansaw" - which seemed very close to the truth.  The cats are neutered, but from what I gather, appear occasionally to be added

to the collection.

I can see their necessity.  The bookstore's location along busy Main Street, coupled with its aged structure and a below-street level, might make it attractive for pests without the constant, diligent patrols by the feline brigade.  There's something about books and cats that just go together.

I never can enter without an armful of books, and the more you purchase, the bigger a discount you can receive.  Most works are $10 or less, and I walked out with three whole bagfulls.  I could have made a much bigger

dent, but my browsing time was limited this particular day to a single hour.

Bibliophiles will understand the allure of this place.  It's also popular with tourists who discover it across from the train station, particularly when taking the excursion train from this point up to

Springdale and back.  But it's not noted much of anywhere, and for those who don't make the discovery on visit, there's no advertising out there to pull one in, just a front porch packed with books like bait on a hook for those who love rifling through pages.

If you are of this bent, I encourage you to make a visit.  Take your time, say hello to the cats, and dig into the stacks for a while.  Relax, there's not much going on here, and absolutely no hurry.  And if you need a bite to eat, Brothers Cottage Cafe has mile-

high pie next door.

L H Brandenburg Bookseller
816 Main Street
Van Buren, AR 72956
(479) 471-9315

Unbearably Good Catfish at C and C Catfish,Van Buren.

This restaurant has closed.


So, what does a bear have to do with catfish?  The folks at C and C Catfish in Van Buren have a direct connection -- and some pretty good catfish to boot.

The Redings, who own the place, put out a pretty good spread.  The offerings include steaks, snow crab legs, frog legs, fried oysters and crawfish tails, shrimp, chicken, and catfish.

I will go on the record to point out that catfish has to be really dang good for me to like it.  Muddy catfish leaves me cold.  Cold catfish leaves me... cold. But well-prepared, fresh catfish is a singularly good thing I can dig into.

So, C and C Catfish -- it's about a block off the main drag, Fayetteville Road on the north side of Van Buren.  You turn west onto Rena Road a couple blocks north of I-40 and just look for the only building on the right where folks are gathering.  From what I understand, it's the only sit-down seafood joint in town, so sometimes there's a crowd.

We dropped in on a family visit in September.  Didn't take long for Hunter to order -- there were a good dozen items on the kids menu and she went for corn dog bites -- which, heck, she's a kid, whatever.  We placed our orders and soon had set-ups delivered.

Now, when I say set-up, I mean the items that come to the table before the meal.  They included pinto beans -- cooked until the beans were creamy but not so far as to be indistinguishable from the fluid they floated in, delicately spiced but even better with shots of one of the many sauces available (I noticed Grav went for Louisiana Hot Sauce).

There was also green tomato relish (what I know as green tomato relish, also known as pickled green tomatoes, and NOT chow-chow... we're having an argument about this over on Facebook) in its own bowl, pungent and sweet. There was a plate of add-in including jalapeno slices, red onion slivers and dill pickles. There was a bowl of sweet coleslaw.

And then there were hush puppies.  Golly, hush puppies.  They can get me in such big trouble.  These were more on the flour-y and golden side, addictive to a fault, and PERFECT for those pinto beans.  We each dolloped out beans and I wiped mine up with torn-apart hush puppies.

Man, that's an excellent meal right there.  Oh -- a note -- if you're eating light, you can go ahead and get yourself a set-up with fries for $6.49.

So, that would have been enough.  Hunter was even digging on the pintos and making those hush puppies disappear, and then dinner arrived.  And for the first time ever, I am not going to post the photo of Hunter with her dish, because she made one of the most disgusting open-mouthed faces I've ever seen on this child, and I don't want to disturb your reading.  I have a reputation to uphold, after all.

All this other food, though... Grav had actually skipped the catfish, since he's even less excited about catfish in general than I am (as I said, I am very picky about my fish).  He just doesn't do fried fish.  He does smoked fish, and boy does he like his fish raw... but that's another

discussion.  He had instead of going for the catfish, chosen the Make Your Own Dinner and had selected fried oysters and fried crawfish tails, which came siding up to his not-so-neat pile of perfect just-cut fries like little gourds out of a cornicopia.  They were fresh-fried and those oysters were juicy.  I had to steal one just to verify their awesomeness.  Don't tell Grav.

My dish, though, was the catfish.  I mean, in my opinion, you don't go to a catfish place without getting the catfish (repeated visits, you get a pass).  So I got a three filet dinner, and it was too much.  The thick fillets

were very lightly battered, just barely golden and fall-apart nice.  They were just salted and peppered, nothing much more, and they were just... well, okay, I liked this catfish a whole lot.  I loved it even more with green tomato relish (the heck with tartar sauce) and I liked it on its own.  It's good stuff.

Those fries, though.  I just have to mention them because dang it, they were great.  They really were.

So, I was mentioning bears and catfish. Turns out there's a bear there.  No, really, a real stuffed bear that the Redings regularly dress up.  See, Brian Reding took that bear down.  With a bow.  I'm not joking.  Go look on the Facebook page and see.  Hunter was even a little nervous about it, and wouldn't get close enough to actually side up to that bear.

I need to get back over to C and C Catfish at some other point and try out some of the other delicacies.  For you catfish lovers, do know you can do an All You Can Eat on that catfish with the beans and coleslaw for $17,99 any time they're open. Really want to go all the way?  Do the $34.99 version and get as much shrimp, coconut shrimp, crawfish tails, fried oysters, crab legs, frog legs and catfish as you can shove down your gullet. No sharing and no take-out, please.

And you can get that catfish grilled or Cajun blackened, which is likely what I'm going to do next time I go.  That and maybe the crab legs.  

One more tip -- for seniors, C and C Catfish is a really good deal.  There's a couple dollars off difference for those catfish dinners.  Not bad.

C and C Catfish 

50 Rena Road

Van Buren, AR 

(479) 474-2555

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Biggest doughnuts in the state -- at Craig Family Bakery.

• GRAV WELDON
• KEEP IN MIND: That's a cafeteria-style tray

It’s easy to want to talk about food that stretches the limits. The biggest this or that usually creates waves… whether or not it’s especially the tastiest of anything. Yet sometimes large food deserves notice.

That’s the case at Craig's Family Bakery in Van Buren, where the large doughnuts have caught my attention… and the tiny gingersnaps have stolen my heart.

• KAT ROBINSON

The doughnuts… there really is no better way of sharing the image of the doughnuts without the photos. They are monsters, eight inches or more across, glazed and yeasty. They’re proportionally flatter than regular doughnuts but they’re still thicker than their counterparts. I would estimate one of these sunuvaguns is worth six regular doughnuts. They are huge.

And when you go to order one, if you mention they’ll cover it in chocolate for you — they aren’t kidding. Takes them just a minute or so to drizzle a thick chocolate glaze on top.

• GRAV WELDON

• GRAV WELDON

But the doughnuts are just one big thing there. They also have these ginormous cinnamon twists in the case that are easily breakfast for 

• GRAV WELDON

two people.

They have regular doughnuts, Long Johns, sweet rolls, cookies and such. And then there’s something stranger. See, Craig's Family Bakery could be known for the big stuff, but they also offer tiny versions of this and that. Such as the tiny yet tasty two-bite cinnamon rolls, maybe two inches across and just as tasty as a full sized one. They are decadently good.

• KAT ROBINSON

There are doughnut holes — chocolate drizzled ones, brown sugar dusted ones. There are fudgy no-bakes and iced sugar cookies and Toll House cookies. And then there are the ginger snaps — delicate circles of ginger-scented goodness wrapped like a cannoli around a delicate cream filling. 99 cents for something truly beautiful… and if you like cannoli, they have those, too.

• KAT ROBINSON

For the amazing show and wonder of the many items in

• GRAV WELDON

those bakery cases, you aren’t going to spend a whole lot. For testing purposes, I acquired one large doughnut (with the volunteered chocolate glaze), a chocolate covered Bavarian filled Long John, a tiny cinnamon roll and a ginger snap. The Long John was creamy 

• GRAV WELDON

but with a firm dough that more resembled what you might get with a loaf of bread. And the doughnut got sliced up and shared with several people… and still there was left-overs.

You'll find Craig's Family Bakery at 805 Fayetteville Road on top of the big hill in Van Buren. It's open 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, until 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. (479) 471-8800. They also have a Facebook page.

Chocolate, the Arkansas way.

There’s a lot of chocolate in the state of Arkansas. Believe me, I’ve sampled a whole lot of it. Some of it comes from out of state. Some of it, like Cocoa Belle and Simply Delicious is more recent and gourmet.

But the deepest roots of Arkansas chocolate span back 86 years to one man -- Martin L. Greer. He made candy on his family farm and sold them in town along with the family’s produce. The next year he was hired on at a Greek candy shop out of Texarkana.

Greer started out apprenticing here and there and worked his way across Texas doing so. He started off with hard stick candy and worked into the softer candies and eventually, in the early 50s, into chocolate.

Greer inspired not one family of chocolatiers and candy makers -- he inspired two, the families of two separate sons heading different directions in the world.

One of these was Martin Greer, who specializes in all sorts of chocolates, brittles and the like in a little shop outside of Gateway, AR. You draw yourself a line between Pea Ridge Battlefield and Eureka Springs and you’ll find yourself there.

In the middle of nowhere is this little neat white shop that emits the smell of chocolate that can be picked up a half mile away. I’m not really exaggerating there.

I’m a frequent visitor to Martin Greer’s. His wife Jeanette dips candies. His son Uriah sells it, does the computer part of the business and is learning the candy making secrets from his dad. And there’s something about the chocolate there that keeps me coming back. You know you done good in my world if I gift you with chocolates from Martin Greer’s; it is my favorite chocolate in the whole world and I tend to bogart it.

I mentioned that there are two families of Greer chocolatiers… the second one’s a lot closer to a modern city. That’d be Tommy and Berry Ann Greer, who took Kopper Kettle Kandies in Van Buren over from his dad and continue to run it today. Their grandkids work with the shop some, which gives them the right to mention that they’re a four-generation shop.

There’s a location of Kopper Kettle in Fort Smith now, but I wanted to go to the original store out east of Van Buren on Highway 64. It’s a much larger store than Martin Greer’s, full of not just chocolate and candies but memorabilia and dollies and baskets and whathaveyou.

Kopper Kettle Candies range through the candy scale -- chocolate covered cherries, divinity, pralines, toffees, truffles, peanut brittle, fudge, creams and chocolate covered nuts and something called “Ozarkies,” a light vanilla cream center covered by milk and dark vanilla chocolate and pecans. They carry other sorts of goodies made elsewhere, like lollipops and jelly beans. There’s all sorts of stuff inside.

I suppose part of the difference in the stores comes from the dates involved. Martin Greer’s, while still referencing the patriarch of the family, dates its recipes back to 1897 and emphasizes candies made with Old World methods. Kopper Kettle dates its traditions back to 1925 and emphasizes its ingredients and confections. Well, maybe they really aren’t that different.

I don’t know what caused the split between the two candy makers -- I’ve never done the official interview thing with the families, just casually asked about the heritage when I’ve dropped in on one and the other. When I asked at Martin Greer’s about Kopper Kettle, I just got a cryptic “yeah, they’re related” from the seasonal (Valentine’s Day) help running the register. At Kopper Kettle this December I got a little more from the hostess of the day, who told me that Tommy and Martin are brothers. Well, to each his own. There’s probably a really good reason that one doesn’t advertise the other. I’m sure some of it has to do with competition.

Which brings me to Kopper Kettle’s fabulous chocolates. While their barks are, to me, a shade less tasty than Martin Greer’s, their truffles are something to make you cry, sweetness in so many varieties as to boggle the mind. The Ozarkies are wonderful and addictive. The pralines some of the best you can get in our state.

Will I lean more towards one than the other? Overall I cannot. Kopper Kettle is far more convenient as far as pick-up goes (two and a half hours from home rather than the four plus hours to Gateway) but Martin Greer’s has a more comprehensive website and seems easier to order from. I think it’s important to talk about them both, though, when mentioning Arkansas’ most representative chocolate makers.

You’ll find Martin Greer’s Candies on Highway 62 in Gateway. Don’t worry, there are signs that warn you to slow down for the turn. (479) 656-1440.

And Kopper Kettle Kandies can be found on Highway 64 between Van Buren and Alma on the south side of the road. (479) 474-6077.