| If the weather is nice one of the best dining opportunities in
town is to stop at one of the grocery stores to buy picnic fixings
and go to the City Park. Turn north at the Mena Street stop
light in the center of town (go over the railroad tracks) and then
turn left at the first stoplight. There is a caution light a
few blocks ahead and the park is on your right. It is big
enough to accommodate a few thousand people.
Go on down to the next intersection and turn right. There you'll see the pavilions. There you'll find tables and barbecue facilities, and drinking water, and a place for the kids to romp and play while you rest up for the trip ahead.
Our city park holiday decorations are especially beautiful. Click on the picture for a view of many more scenic attractions Mena has to offer. The park is also center for many festivities during the year so mark the directions well. |
It's a fact that food just tastes better outdoors. Now with 101 Camping & Outdoor Recipes, even campers who have never cooked anything more complicated than S'mores can make great meals and snacks over the campfire. You no longer need to sacrifice eating well just because you are not in your home kitchen.
Breakfast
|
| The Best Breakfast in town is served at the Skyline Cafe.
It is off the beaten path for tourists, but well worth beating
a path for. The place is small, serves an excellent breakfast and the
small orange juice is about the same size as a large one at Macs. The
biscuits are crisp, and do not fall apart like so many imitations I've seen
served. Smokers can relax here and
watch their smoke float towards the ceiling and through it. The one
waitress not only believed someone could be afflicted with my allergic challenges with
plastic but also made sure she understood the extent and knew how to avoid a
mishap. I was astonished. She took a moment and revealed some of the
allergic challenges other people face. The Skyline is on Mena Street.
Turn north at the Mena Street stop light in the center of town (go
over the railroad tracks) and when you come to the first stoplight
it is just ahead on the right. You'll probably see a stream of
people swarming in the door. Phone 394 5152 Back in town is Grumpy's Cafe. It is kind of tucked out of sight, but maintains a brisk business for all of that. Breakfast is served until ten, I think. You can even have grits. The rest of the menu covers about anything else I can think of. Phone 394 4324 There aren't many places on earth I'd drive fifteen miles out of my way just for breakfast, but the Rich Mountain Country Store Cafe is one of them. Not only do I drive that far, I make my friends go with me so they will too. Breakfast is served all day, from six to six. Birds clamber for their feeders right outside your breakfast window and Steve Watson knows most of them by name. Steve is a born entertainer with three or four dozen skits up his sleeves that have the tourists howling with gusto. The prices are reasonable, the variety is great, and the taste smack-dab spot on to your satisfaction. Oh, and they serve lunch too. How do you get there? If you're coming from Fort Smith, when you get to Acorn, turn WEST on Hiway 270 as if you were going to Poteau. About twelve miles down the road, where some people turn to go up the mountain to Wilhelmina Lodge, on the left hand side is the little country store. Stop in and you'll browse around contentedly long after breakfast is served. The phone number there is 479 394 5300 Even farther out of sight, but still worth every mile of it, is breakfast at Raspberry Manor. It isn't just breakfast; it's an experience. If you have the time to immerse yourself in the pure spirit of Christmas, make an appointment to go have breakfast at Raspberry Manor. Hidden at the foot of the Ouachita Mountains (the friendliest mountains in the country), nestled into the pine, overlooking a beautiful, breathtaking landscape lays a grand 4 story Bed & Breakfast experience you don't want to miss. Phone 479 394 5534 and ask for directions. Willowbrook Cottage Bed and Breakfast is one cottage, outside city limits, down a scenic road. You'll love not having to share this bed and breakfast with strangers! "We set up the cottage just for you, with a delicious continental breakfast prepared ahead of time. Once you get the key, NOBODY disturbs you." |
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Dining PleasureRaspberry Manor has so much to offer one hesitates to plunge in anywhere. I'll start at the top. There is a crow's nest at the top with a huge 300X telescope there. You can look off in every direction to see the Ouachita Mountains from every angle. There is a large lake splashed out at your feet. Raspberry Manor is isolated. It is hard to reach. It is well worth reaching. The trip is exciting, and adventurous even. Raspberry Manor is full of warmth, and it even smells like Christmas. The beds fit you like beds from your childhood on Christmas Eve. Then there is the wonder and the excitement of waking up a little late on Christmas Day. Presents are open, spread throughout the manor. Christmas trees decorate almost every corner, dominate every scene. Wagons, sleighs, Santa Claus, dolls, bears, toys, and CANDY dishes to dig into. Christmas Brunch is served every day with Christmas ease and familiarity. Scoop out what you want, and all you want, from the pans. The breakfast table is elegantly set with glass plate rests and glass prop rests for the knives. The food is fluffed and delicious. You can easily see becoming a gourmet by staying here, savoring each bite. There are juices to drink, pure, cold, sparkling clear, with Don going from table to table with juice in one hand, and a towel over the other arm. His gravelly voice has boulders tumbling around in it, but his smile is pure Christmas joy. Click HERE for a free ScreenSaver made for me by Browzer Books of the perennial Christmas experience visitors will find at Raspberry Manor. Phone 479 394 5534 and ask for directions. |
If you're heading for Hot Springs on Highway 88, Martin's
grocery serves up
a sumptuous breakfast and lunch. This is on your right,
about three miles out
of town. The burgers are big and bursting with
flavor. Sandy opens the doors
at six in the morning except on
Sundays. Her breakfast biscuits are not as good
as my mama used to make,
but they come pretty dang close. The menu offers
other choices, and the
prices are a real bargain for the content you get. One
word of warning
about that fried chicken though; that chicken is still steaming
when it jumps in
your bag and you may not be able to eat it until ten miles
down the road.
Nibble cautiously. Now closed on Saturdays. Phone 394 9851, ask for Sandy.
Papa Pablamos |
| It used to be that Papa Pablamos was on main street next to McDonald's and across from Wal*Mart. Then it closed up abruptly. After a month or so a sign appeared saying Papa had moved down two blocks to the other side of the street. Taking two out of town guests with us we went down to see if the head cook had moved with the restaurant.
When we stepped inside the first impression was that we had shed 40 years of time and entered a barn. The walls were made from corrugated tin from the middle upwards. I could almost hear one of the Mexicans raise his voice in song at the end of a long day in the cotton patch. ** Then I came back to the current era and noticed the great lengths the staff had gone to in order to decorate with authenticity. It was a Tuesday night and Papa was crowded, almost packed. Obviously the head cook had moved with the establishment. The menu looks better now. The waitresses are prettier and the attention I saw lavished upon the diners verged almost on overwhelming. "Can I get you more water? Can I bring you more chips? Do you want more salsa? Is there anything else you want now? May I take this out of your way?" Every table in sight was being waited on hand and foot. Everyone thinks they know what Mexican food should taste like. (Actually, most people north of the border who insist they know what Mexican food should taste like have confused genuine Mexican food with a stalwart hybrid called TEX MEX) The truth is, there is just as much variety in taste south of the border as there is in conventional food north of it. There is Mexican food blander than you find in the unadorned dishes at fast food shops, and then there is the Mexican food in the middle, some fiery hot, and some so hot you'll go scrub your tongue with soap and water in a futile hope of relieving the stench of molten flesh. The food at Papa Pablamos is just slightly above the middle when it comes to HOT, but in pure taste it remains head and shoulders above anyone else in that category. To put this another way, just adding peppers to the dish does not a better Mexican meal make. The food at Papa Pablamos is definitely not tame, but neither do the peppers overpower the flavor of the food, unless you dip out a jalapeno pepper thinking it is something else. Papa Pablamos takes the time to simmer and season, adds the best meat and uses the finest vegetables and then does all the extras to make YOU feel good while eating. For example, when the meals come to the table, the PLATES are hot. Obviously the theory is that a cold plate will steal the heat from the meal as you eat while a warm plate will keep your spirits warm until the meal is finished. I judge good food by the taste left on my tongue after the food is gone. French fries from the fast food shops are a prime example. Their fresh, hot french fries will taste good, but the cooler they get the more grease is left on my tongue. The taste left in my mouth after the french fries in almost all fast food restaurants grow cold is quite greasy. The food at better restaurants will not leave you with a foul taste in your mouth even if you linger extra long at the table. The french fries at Papa Pablamos still taste good long, long after the heat has gone. The prices for meals ranged from under $5 up to over $10. All four of us at our table ate anything that took our fancy and the whole bill came out to less than $30 As for value, two of us had to ask for a container to take home what was left, I just barely finished mine, and the guest sitting across from me polished off everything on her plate and went back to the tortilla chips again. I would definitely give Papa Pablamos
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The
Queen Wilhelmina State Park is just up the road from the
Skyliner about 13.6 miles.
Bookings for sleeping at the hotel
must be made about 6 months in advance. When you get there,
you'll see why
it is so popular. The service looks great, but I
have never eaten
there personally. The view is spectacular.
Sometimes there are scores of
hummingbirds at a time innocently
performing amazing aerobic stunts at the
feeders.
The furniture inside is big enough to fit a queen.
Oversized,
gliding rockers in the waiting room are extremely lovable. All
the
decor is firm, immovable, and comfortable. I must have gawked
quite a
bit as I walked around, but no one even seemed to notice.
There is a curio
section, and then a gift shop section, with
surprisingly reasonable prices.
The evening meal offers a buffet at
moderate prices and guests are known to
linger. Phone 394 2863
Roy Vail has a book out giving a brief history of Mena, and the Queen Wilhelmina
Inn.
With 52 photographs, one color print, and two cartoons, it is the only Mena history
book that traces
the town's history from the years before Mena was established to the
opening of today's Wal*Mart Super Center.
|
There aren't any chain motels in town. Sun Country Inn is where we send our friends who have come to visit. The rooms are nice, the beds are better, and there is a microwave and a refrigerator in each room. For reservations there you can call 1 877 394 7477 |
Lin Stone writes travel stories for
Your Vacation World, insurance articles for
American
Insurance Depot and helps other writers learn to write by supplying
articles to Tale Wins. Seven of his
books have been published by Browzer
Books.
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