I keep Arkansas food writer Kat Robinson’s series of books on the state’s food and restaurants in my car, ever handy for road trips. Those road trips and the restaurants I visit along the way have been key to my continued mental health, such as it is, during the pandemic.
The latest Robinson book to join the stash is “Arkansas Dairy Bars: Neat Eats and Cool Treats,” published late last year.
Robinson said she got the idea for the book last January. “I had a craving for a good old-fashioned milkshake, and decided to check out if Mel’s Dairy Bar in Malvern was still open. Even though the place doesn’t have a sign you can see from the street, it was surrounded by cars. As I enjoyed my milkshake, I realized that the dairy bar was the perfect pandemic-proof dining option out there.”
The books can be found at WordsWorth Books in Little Rock and the Historic Arkansas Museum, among other local booksellers, and through national retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Signed books can be ordered directly through Tonti Press, a Little Rock micropress.