In honor of Fayetteville’s Restaurant Week (8/12-8/22). There are so many locally owned restaurants to support in our area!

The following post includes my personal opinions on where you should eat in Fayetteville, AR (NWA) if you are visiting or just moved here. I’m humbled to relay that I’ve had a couple of requests for these recommendations. I’m no culinary expert; I just like to eat, drink and be merry. I grew up going out to dinner in Fayetteville and I love discovering new places as well as frequenting old favorites.

If you have a restaurant you’d like to share with me, I’d love to know about it. Email me:  prettypayblog@gmail.com

Places I frequent often:

Theo’s – best place for seared tuna, mussels, a yummy beef tenderloin, bleu cheese stuffed olive martinis…. It’s a fantastic place for a romantic date, or great to bring your parents when they’re in town (and paying). It’s not cheap by NWA standards, by big city – total bang for your buck.

Greenhouse Grille– wonderful atmosphere, “locavore” friendly, amazing buffalo burgers and great specials. I always order the spicy caesar salad on grilled romaine. There are these amazing porcini mushrooms…and they serve 1554, my sipping beer of choice. Live music.

Pesto Café – It’s a hole in the wall in a seedy hotel on the main drag (HWY 71) but it’s quite quaint and the pasta is wonderful. I get the chicken picatta or the pesto pasta or the chicken parmesan. I’ve never had anything I didn’t like and we order take-out from there all the time. On Thursday nights only, they serve homemade chocolate cake that is to DIE for. Live music.

Uncle Gaylords – I really only go there for breakfast/brunch, but its right down the street from the Farmer’s Market on the square (and my house), plus it’s served seven days a week. The service is terrible, the atmosphere is so-so*, the waitstaff aren’t particularly friendly, but the food is damn good. I always get the breakfast platter with blueberry pancakes or French toast, eggs and bacon. Mmmm. *There is a floor to ceiling painting in the main dining room that I am obsessed with but have no idea who could be the artist.

Hammontree’s – This place is about a year old and it started as a grilled cheese-only shop inside the nightbird bookstore. They’ve since outgrown it, moved and started serving hot dogs! It’s wonderful for lunch with friends or take-out. They also deliver to Dickson St and surrounding areas. The friendly staff call ranch “sorority sauce”, which it basically is…

Rick’s Bakery – I love sweets. I do. But I’m extremely partial to Rick’s lunch offerings. They have several amazing sandwiches available all day. You get a sandwich, chips, a fountain drink and the day’s special dessert for like $6. Can’t be beat.

Café Rue Orleans – Having lived in New Orleans for four years, I certainly miss my remoulades and my etouffees and oysters, etc. The owner is from South Louisiana and I have a friend who works there. On Sunday mornings, mimosas are $.99. The Eggplant Napoleon will put you down. It’s truly amazing. Downstairs is a seafood bar that’s open Thurs- Sat evenings serving in-season seafood (oysters on the halfshell, boiled crawfish, crab legs, shrimp) and dollar beers.

Hugo’s – A local favorite, for a number of reasons. It’s casual, cheap and really, really good. Share a basket of fries, get a sandwich or a burger and try one of their bloody marys. They are my favorite in town.

Charlie’s Chicken – This is a favorite of mine dating back to high school. It’s a buffet line with a drive thru. I get 3 chunks of chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy & macaroni and cheese. Amazing & cheap.

Meiji – I love sushi. But I must admit that it’s never going to be as good in a landlocked state as it is in coastal cities. Still, some places are better than others. Meiji is relatively new to the area and I’m already a huge fan. They try to buy local produce and serve only wild-caught fish. I get the spicy crab salad and try a new roll every time. I actually ate there for lunch today and tried the gyoza. Phenom.

Petra Cafe – Right off the square and serving lunch only (except for Friday & Saturday), you can eat authentic Turkish food at the counter or at a little table. It’s pretty small, in fact, I think the family makes all the food from their home kitchen and then they bring it in every morning. I love their hummus, gyros, everything.

Off the beaten path:

Monte Ne Inn – It’s in Rogers, very close to horseshoe bend marina. It’s a little building and there is no menu. It’s about $9 per person and its heaven. The food is served family style, all you can eat. First, navy bean soup, which doesn’t sound good to me either, but believe me…it is. Then rolls, homemade apple butter, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn on the cob, blackberry cobbler. BYOB is also pretty fun. Random farm tools adorn the walls and the clientele are quite interesting as you can imagine.

Venesian Inn – It’s in Tontitown and it’s kinda a shack. Impermissible on game days, people come from far and wide to eat here. It’s also closed on random days. But its AMAZING spaghetti, meatballs, fried chicken, rolls. Their Italian oil & vinegar salad is THE BEST I’VE EVER HAD.

Mama Dean’s – It’s in South Fayetteville, so it’s not really off the beaten path but it really can’t be on my rotation. You cannot go back to work, play or really anything that requires activity after eating there. It’s down-home, southern soul food. They serve things like fried pork chops, chicken fried steak, lemon meringue pie…you get the idea.

Enjoy! More to come…

Also look on Experience Fayetteville for addresses, phone numbers and more restaurants.