We’re still eating our way through Bentonville, Arkansas, so grab a napkin and come along! To start at Part 1, click here.
Reel ‘em In!
If I lived closer to Bentonville, I know I would be spending a lot of time eating at Flying Fish, located just two blocks off the downtown square.
The joint is a sensory sensation with its lengthy “Liar’s Wall of Fame” chocked full of photos of customers with quotes of their fictional “fish tales,” lime green walls with neon signs and humungous fabricated fish. The menu board—hoisted high above the flurry of activity at the front order counter—encompasses so many lip smacking items for which to choose, that it’s a good thing there is usually a line that snakes through the homelike-screen-door, through the indoor/outdoor front patio, and spilling out and down the sidewalk outside. They do a gangbusters business and don’t take reservations, but the food and ambiance here are definitely worth the often long wait.
The food here is amazing and they offer just about every kind of salads, baskets and grilled and boiled plates with seafood and more that you can imagine: Grilled salads with salmon, shrimp, tilapia, chicken and catfish; Fried Salads with oysters, catfish, chicken and shrimp; Boiled platters featuring snow crab legs, mud bugs, and chilled and hot boiled shrimp; fish tacos and snapper Veracruz, the latter a while fried red snapper served with rice and veggies and topped with Veracruz sauce; grilled plates with grouper, oysters on the half shell, salmon filets, bbq shrimp, rainbow trout; and lots of Poor Boy Loafs.
Most everything comes with fries and hushpuppies and there are a bevy of “Additions” as well – pickled green tomatoes, red beans and rice, new potatoes, and grilled squash and zucchini, just to name a few.
Although Flying Fish is a chain with other locations in Little Rock, Memphis and several cities in Texas, it still feels like a hometown place where both employees and guests greets each other like friends and family.
More Good Eats
Other great places to eat around and within a few blocks walk of the square in this very vibrant dining scene include the Station Café, a very casual, family-oriented place and the oldest restaurant in downtown Bentonville, known primarily for its award-winning steakburgers.
Great Latin cuisine contemporary twist is served at Table Mesa Bistro while Tavola Trattoria is popular for its “soul satisfying riffs on Italian and Mediterranean cooking.” At the Tusk and Trotter American Brasserie the focus is on sophisticated yet casual meals encompassing Southern favorite, California cuisine, pub fare and
James Beard Pre Fixe Menus with heavy emphasis on using locally sourced produce and ingredients.
Other places to get your foodie fix on in and around town Fred’s Hickory Inn, Shogun Hibachi Grill HAPA’s Hawaiian Grill, Bistro 301 Jim’s Razorback Pizza, Beef O’Brady’s, Zary’s Acropolis, Taste of Thai II and many, many others.
The nice thing about dining in Bentonville, is that even though some of the restaurants serve mature gastronomic menu options, a great majority of their patrons are families which lends to the neighborly aspect of the city and area. And, the proprietors are more than happy to “child-tone down” entrees to suit their tastes.
Next up - day trippin’ in and around Bentonville. To start at Part 1, click here.
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