Arkansas: A Pie Paradise

In preparing for a trip to Arkansas, I searched the web for “best pies” and “pie trail” and was amazed at the opportunities there were to eat pie. The main mission of the trip (really!) was to go to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, but it so happed that pie pal Linda and I were able to find people and places for pies along our route from Little Rock to Russellville, Bentonville, Eureka Springs, Branson (Missouri), and through the Arkansas Ozarks via scenic route 7 to Jasper and back to Little Rock.

Arkansas is known for two unique pies: Possum Pie and Company’s Coming Pie. We marked restaurants along our route that were known to serve these pies, and, unlike most trips I have been on recently, almost every restaurant where we dined had pie on the menu for desert!

People: Servers who could chat with guests about the pie they were serving and drop helpful nuggets of information for a blog.

Places and Pies:

Little Rock. Our first stop for dinner was at Maddies Place https://maddiesplacelr.com/.  Here, I had a “twofer” : a savory meat pie and a sweet peanut butter pie. The Braised Rib Eye and Blue Cheese “hand pie” is lightly fried in oil giving the soft house-made dough crust enough texture to hold the filling. The Peanut Butter Pie is made with the house crust, a filling of peanut butter, cream cheese, sugar and whipped cream, served drizzled with caramel. Oh, my, what a pie!

Russellville. Russellville is midway between Little Rock and Bentonville and made a logical stop for lunch and a place to have a slice of Possum Pie at Stoby’s https://stobys.com/. The signature pie here is so-named because it “tricks” people into trying what is inside….playing possum to fool you as the outside is whipped cream, but inside there is a big layer of chocolate . Typically, the pie starts with a pecan shortbread crust, but the server told us the restaurant uses Mrs. Pillsbury’s! A cream cheese and powdered sugar layer comes next, followed by a chocolate pudding layer, topped with whipped cream to hide it all. This pie lends itself to being decorated and placed in a refrigerated case to tempt visitors as they enter the restaurant!

Bentonville. Bentonville is home to Walmart and is booming as the company is solidifying its roots here by building a new headquarters campus on 463 acres. The population is increasing along with housing, hotels,restaurants, greenways, trails and every amenity need for growth; even Crystal Bridges Museum is increasing its capacity by 50 percent. For our pie experience in Bentonville, we had lunch at the Hive Restaurant in the 21c Museum Hotel https://thehivebentonville.com/, a new concept hotel featuring very contemporary art galleries. For dessert we shared a Pecan Slab Pie, served in a skillet. The server, who has also been a chef and is now working at the Hive to gain experience to open his own restaurant, told us the recipe uses sorghum, a local ingredient, which gives an earthy flavor, rather than the icky sweet (my words)Karo syrup typically used in a pecan pie. The filling sits on a shortbread crust.

On to Eureka Springs, which was once a health resort for civil war veterans due to the healing powers of the springs. It is now a busy tourist center with shops along Main Street and homes and churches on the bluffs above the town. From the menu posted in the window of the Main Street Café https://www.visiteurekasprings.com/main-street-cafe/ , we noted we could have a Blackberry Pie with our lunch. On this hot day, the melted ice cream on top of local blackberries was refreshing. At McFarlain’s in Branson, Missouri we completed our pie experience for the day by devouring the Branson Traffic Jam, a strawberry, rhubarb, cherry, and cranberry pie before enjoying a Beatles Tribute Concert with an Elvis look-alike finale.

Our last stop for pie was just south of Jasper on scenic route 7 in the middle of the Ozarks. The Cliff House Inn, https://cliffhouseinnar.com/ is mentioned in every travel story about Arkansas pies and we found it perched high on top of a mountain overlooking Arkansas’ Grand Canyon. The pie here is Company’s Coming. The server told us the pie was made from ingredients most pie bakers would have on hand and could whip up at a moment’s notice if company were coming. She all but gave us the recipe: a crust of meringue (sugar and egg whites, beaten for 25 minutes until firm); a filling of 1 sleeve of crushed saltine crackers and 1 cup of pecan pieces blended into a pint of whipped cream, with an added dollop of crushed pineapple. Too sweet for words!

Lest you think all I did was eat pie, I also enjoyed local dishes, many with a Cajun vibe including fried green tomatoes, gumbo, and BBQ. I refreshed my spirit in the tall pines, scenic drives, and diverse landscapes. And, I particularly enjoyed the collections of American art, sculpture, and architecture supported by the philanthropy of the Walton, Hunt, and Tyson families whose generous gifts make Arkansas a destination.