Uh oh...
It appears that you're using a severely outdated version of Safari on Windows. Many features won't work correctly, and functionality can't be guaranteed. Please try viewing this website in Edge, Mozilla, Chrome, or another modern browser. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused!
Read More about this safari issue.
During these crazy pandemic days, sometimes a change of scenery provides a brief, yet essential escape from life’s stressors. I am talking about a quick road trip, and it does not get much shorter than the one-hour drive from Little Rock to Hot Springs. With that in mind, some friends and I recently made the jaunt to the Spa City for a morning and afternoon of food fun.
Stop # 1: Red Light Roastery Coffee House
We left Little Rock at 9:30 a.m. and arrived at Red Light Roastery Coffee House within an hour. At the time of this article, Red Light’s inside dining area is closed, and the coffee house is only taking orders via the website, so it is essential to place an order 10-15 minutes before arriving.
Fortunately, the weather offered up a pleasant morning to sit in the coffee house’s front yard, so we found a few seats and enjoyed our coffee under some shade. With my iced coffee and the morning’s cool breeze, it was hard to imagine a more relaxed setting. The coffee itself is bold, yet smooth and an iced is perfect during the summer months. Not wanting to fill up on too much on our first stop, the three of us split a couple gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, finished our coffee, and headed to the next spot. It was time for lunch.
Stop #2: Emma Lee’s
We took our sweet time at Red Light, mainly to relax but also because we wanted to build our hunger for a big lunch. By 11:30 a.m., we were ready to devour some soul food at Emma Lee’s, a restaurant that has been around for about a year and is only a half-mile from Red Light.
All the best food trips are planned to perfection and that includes lining up stops close by each other. Unlike the coffee house, this was my first time at Emma Lee’s. But, it was a restaurant I’d received numerous positive reports on, so I figured it was well worth trying out this trip. And it was. We sampled a little bit of everything, from the fried catfish and pork ribs to side items like macaroni and cheese, black-eyed peas, stewed cabbage, baked beans, coleslaw, and hush puppies.
We even polished off a small slab of banana pudding for dessert. Make no mistake, this is stick-to-your-ribs comfort food, and it was all delightful, but the fried catfish stole the show. I am talking about crispy, lightly seasoned, cornmeal-battered catfish strips, just begging to be dipped into tartar sauce. As crazy as it sounds, we held back a bit at Emma Lee’s, only because we had one more stop to make.
Stop #3: Morrison’s Fried Pies
And that was to Morrison’s Fried Pies. This food truck, residing smack dab in the middle of a parking lot off Albert Pike Road, is home to the best fried pies in Arkansas. I tell no lie. The secret to Morrison’s success is the thick, yet flaky crust they achieve with each pie. Morrison’s isn’t stingy with the filling either.
While I highly recommend the blueberry, raspberry, chocolate, and Key lime pie fried hand pies, my absolute favorite is the coconut cream with its custard filling and shreds of coconut. Eat one at the truck and take a few for later. When you get home, pop the pies into the refrigerator for a few hours. The coconut cream is even better when cooled.
Like this story? Read more from Kevin Shalin
3
19-Hour Getaway to Hot Springs
Folks like me, who live in Little Rock full-time, are almost obligated to...
1
Holly’s Country Cookin’ is Cooking
Lately, I’ve been on a bit of a plate lunch kick. There are worse...
1
Blue Plate Special at Capitol Smokehouse and Grill
Capitol Smokehouse and Grill feels like home. Maybe it’s the cozy,...
Join the Conversation
Leave a Comment
4 responses to “3 Food Stops in Hot Springs”
Leave a Reply
Leave a ReplyWe do the work.
You check your email.
Sign up for our weekly e-news.
Get stories sent straight to your inbox!
I enjoyed the article. I actually live in Hot Springs and I’ve never been to either of your first 2 stops. I wanted to tell you about one other place for your next trip down. At least 3 times a week I hit up the “pie guy”, I call him and in the same parking lot there is this little white cottage and it’s a brand new coffee place, called something like the coffee house, and I get an iced Latte from them and then go over and get a fried pie. It’s the best iced Latte I’ve ever had and I’ve got a few friends and coworkers who say the same. I’m the type of person who gets the exact same drink or the exact same flavor of pie(every single time), so I dont know about the rest of their coffees, but this place is a hidden gem simply for those Lattes. They’ve only been open for 2 or 3 months and its drive thru only and they seem to close down around lunchtime, but next time your in HS, try an iced Latte from there. You’ll see what I’m talking about. Keep up the good work….
I go to Hot Springs about once a month. I will look for these places. Thank you for the article.
Don’t miss the history! The OHIO CLUB has the BEST food and service. Bartenders are also the BEST OF STATE.
[…] 3 Food Stops in Hot Springs […]