The Bearded Foodie

08/31/2026

Back to the basics

08/19/2026

It is hotter than the devil’s toenails today. Kitchens & food trucks are sitting at a cool 250 degrees. Tip well, say thank you, and maybe slide them a cold drink. These folks are out here feeding Little Rock while standing in an air fryer.

08/18/2026

Fresh, flavorful, and made in-house 🌿 Our tabbouleh, creamy hummus, and baba ghanoush served with warm, fluffy pita. The perfect way to start your meal! 🫓✨

07/30/2026

How are you celebrating

The fourth Thursday of July is National Chili Cheese Dog Day. This one comes from Dust Bowl Lanes & Lounge Little Rock and is an all-beef dog that's also served next door at Fassler Hall Little Rock.

Who makes Arkansas's best chili dog?

07/21/2026

Give back night done right 🍺🥨

This Thursday, July 23rd, head to Fassler Hall from 11am to 11pm. 10% of all food sales goes to Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families, plus $1 from every half liter of Fassler Haus Bier by Outlaw.

Good food, good b**r, good cause. Little Rock, let’s show up.

📍 311 E Capitol Avenue

07/12/2026

Lemon pepper & Lawry’s don’t go on everything. Most things yes, but not everything.

07/10/2026

Got Called the Fattest City. We're Answering Back Together.

Y'all saw the headlines. WalletHub dropped their new ranking and Little Rock landed at the top of the list for all the wrong reasons. Fattest city in America. It stung a little, not gonna lie. But if you've actually been out and about in this city lately, you know that ranking doesn't tell the whole story.

Here's what I've been noticing. Instead of getting defensive, Little Rock is getting active. 501 Sole Runners and 501 Run Club have people lacing up for evening runs all over town, turning weeknights into community hangouts instead of solo grinds. Body and Soul Little Rock, led by Michael Washington Jr., is packing out Big Steppers and Aqua Fit classes on Saturday mornings. Biking groups are rolling through the streets after work too. People are showing up together instead of trying to do this alone.

That's the part that gets me. This isn't a bunch of individual New Year's resolutions that fizzle out by February. This is community. Neighbors pushing neighbors. Friends holding each other accountable. And honestly, that's the same spirit I see every Saturday at the farmers market, where folks are grabbing fresh produce and supporting local growers in the same breath.

Now don't get it twisted, I'm not saying give up the soul food. Fried catfish and cornbread are staying right where they belong on my plate and yours. But there's room for both. Room for Sunday dinner and Tuesday's run club. Room for barbecue on Saturday and a bike ride on Sunday morning. That's balance, not deprivation. That's the Little Rock way.

Health is one of those things we try to tackle solo more often than not. But this whole thing has reminded me that change sticks better when it's a community effort instead of a lonely one. One ranking isn't going to define who we are as a city. What defines us is what we do next, together.

So here's to the run clubs. Here's to the bike groups. Here's to the aqua fit crews making noise in the pool on a Tuesday night. Here's to a city that heard some noise about being the fattest and decided to answer back with action instead of excuses.

We can all do right if we put our minds to it. Collectively.

The Bearded Foodie 🧔🏿

07/09/2026

If you could bring one product back from the 1990s that doesn’t exist anymore, what would you choose? I’ll start:

The Big Foot Pizza from Pizza Hut