The Arkansas Barbecue Traveler

Hit the road and discover just how deep Arkansas barbecue traditions run. In The Arkansas Barbecue Traveler, Little Rock-based food historian and travel writer Kat Robinson journeys across the Natural State in search of the people, places, history, and smoked meats that make Arkansas barbecue distinctly our own.

Pulled pork in the Delta. Pork steaks along Crowley's Ridge. Smoked and fried bologna in West Memphis. Smoked catfish in Sherwood. Pork belly candy in Searcy. Even vegan barbecue in Fayetteville.

Kat's research uncovered more than 350 independent spots across Arkansas offering house-smoked meats, revealing a barbecue culture far broader and more varied than many people realize.

Part food history, part travel guide, and part excuse for your next Arkansas road trip, this is the kind of book you'll want to read at home—and then toss in the car before heading out to taste Arkansas for yourself.

Why We Love It

• Written by Little Rock-based Arkansas author & food historian Kat Robinson

• Explores barbecue across the Natural State

• More than just a restaurant guide—it digs into Arkansas barbecue history & traditions

• Features destinations and dishes from communities throughout the state

• Highlights more than 350 Arkansas spots offering house-smoked meats

• Great inspiration for Arkansas road trips

• Fun gift for food lovers, barbecue fans & Arkansas explorers

• Published by Arkansas-based Tonti Press

• 316 pages

Is There an Arkansas Barbecue Style?

That's exactly what Kat Robinson set out to discover.

Arkansas sits between some of America's most famous barbecue regions, but Kat argues that doesn't make the Natural State merely a barbecue crossroads.

Her research traces Arkansas meat-smoking traditions through centuries of change—from early smoking practices and Reconstruction-era culinary shifts to refrigeration, modern restaurants, and even the influence of food television.

What emerges isn't necessarily one single Arkansas barbecue style.

Instead, it's a collection of traditions that change as you travel across the state.

Taste Your Way Across the Natural State

Among the many Arkansas finds explored in the book are:

• Pork steaks along Crowley's Ridge

• Smoked & fried bologna in West Memphis

• Wood-smoked hanger steak in Gravette

• Smoked catfish in Sherwood

• Smoked prime rib in Horatio

• Vegan barbecue creations in Fayetteville

• Pork belly candy in Searcy

• And plenty more worth planning a road trip around

With hundreds of barbecue restaurants, food trucks, catering operations, and family-run eateries smoking their own meats, Kat makes a compelling case that maybe Arkansas deserves another nickname:

The Barbecue State.

Meet the Author

Kat Robinson is a Little Rock-based Arkansas food historian, travel writer, and enthusiastic road warrior who has explored all 75 Arkansas counties in search of the people, places, and dishes that tell the story of the Natural State.

Her extensive work documenting Arkansas foodways includes 101 Things to Eat in Arkansas Before You Die, Arkansas Food: The A to Z of Eating in The Natural State, Arkansas Pie, and numerous other books devoted to the state's food and restaurant culture.

Kat's food and travel writing has appeared in regional and national publications, and her research into Arkansas cuisine has made her one of the state's best-known chroniclers of its culinary history.

She's also known as "The Girl in the Hat," a traveling pie lady, and someone who's probably spent more time studying Arkansas menus than just about anyone.

A Book Made for the Glove Compartment

Read it once at home to discover just how much Arkansas barbecue is out there.

Then read it again from the passenger seat when you're trying to decide where to stop for lunch.

For locals, visitors, barbecue obsessives, and anyone who loves discovering unexpected corners of Arkansas, The Arkansas Barbecue Traveler is both a celebration of our state's food culture and an invitation to go explore it.

Book Details

Title: The Arkansas Barbecue Traveler
Author: Kat Robinson
Publisher: Tonti Press
Publication Date: December 3, 2024
Pages: 316
ISBN: 978-1-952547-15-7

Keep it on the bookshelf if you must—but we have a feeling this one belongs in the car.