A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas

Bentonville's Guide to Inclusive Dining

• Visit Bentonville • Season 9 • Episode 40

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We sat down with local food writer and curator Katie Robertson to chart Bentonville's rise as a destination for inclusive dining—with celiac-safe kitchens, vegan menus, and allergy-aware staff. Katie takes us behind the scenes of a movement powered by a growing population, deeper nutrition awareness, and Arkansas’s agricultural backbone. We spotlight fully gluten-free breweries like Stoic Brews Alternative and bakeries like Sandi Sue's; and shout out to vegetarians with a variety of Southeast Asian cuisine, and the vegan scene gets a boost from Third Space Coffee’s 100% vegan menu, plus unexpected menus like Pedaler’s Pub and Sunny’s with lots of tasty options.

This episode can be paired nicely with our delicious food guide, prepared by Katie: https://www.visitbentonville.com/blog/stories/post/holiday-dining-in-bentonville-glutenfree-vegan-allergyfriendly/ 

A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.

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Beth Bobbitt:

Welcome back to a new American Town. I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt, and I'm thrilled to get to talk to local food expert and advocate Katie Robertson about inclusive food Bentonville. Katie, welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much. It's great to have you here. And so you're currently working with Living Artists as a contributing food curator at the Momentary. You've written for The Wine Enthusiasts, Food 52, Food and Wine magazine, and Visit Bentonville. You've got quite the resume here. So tell us a little bit about how you got into this and your background, what led you to Bentonville?

Katie Robertson:

Sure. So I grew up in Little Rock. I'm an Arkansas native. But I always wanted to be a writer and I didn't know exactly what form that would take. And so after college, I started working in restaurants, as many of us do in our 20s, and fell in love with it. I wanted to be a chef. So I worked back of house for a little while and then worked front of house for a little while. And then realized I didn't really want to be in restaurants because that was going to take some of the magic and love that I had for it away for me personally. And so I went back to writing and um worked for magazines while I was living in New York getting my graduate degree from NYU and food studies, which is just a fancy way of saying it's a liberal arts degree focused entirely on food. Amazing. Sounds perfect. Yeah. So long story short, I wanted to get back to family and be back in Arkansas. And when the Momentary opened, I found an opportunity to come work with people who wanted to elevate food to, you know, this art form and think about it and talk about it in that way. Yeah.

Beth Bobbitt:

So well, we're glad you're here. And, you know, probably since you've been here, there's been so many more options in terms of being more friendly for folks that have dietary restrictions. So I'm curious as to why you think this has come about recently or what has spurred the growth.

Katie Robertson:

Well, I think just having a growing population is going to do that for your restaurant scene. But um, you know, I remember coming back uh visiting 10 years ago, just coming back to see family. And um, my stepmother had uh was gluten intolerant for many years. And so she said, there's a restaurant that we have to go to. It's called the Preacher's Son. And so I thought that was really amazing, even for any place to be entirely gluten-free at that time. And so um, over the years, it's just slowly added, and there are a lot of different people living here, so there's a lot of different um flavors, tastes to serve. Yeah.

Beth Bobbitt:

And I do think, you know, as a society, we are just more aware of our own preferences, we're more aware of nutritional value, you know. Absolutely. Um so I think there's more information coupled with the fact that there's a growth in the region. And then of course, we're an agricultural community. So there's there's that. Um perfect storm for you know, lots of options. So I think let's jump in and you mentioned gluten-free. Yeah. Walk us through some of the current restaurants or menu items that that you've seen.

Katie Robertson:

So um a lot of folks who are local will recognize the name Matthew Cooper, uh, chef Matt Cooper, who uh started at uh the Preacher's Son and now runs Conifer and Ryn. Uh, those are two uh fine dining experiences that you can have that are completely safe and totally gluten-free. Uh Chef Cooper has celiac himself, and so um it's a safe place to eat if if that's uh one of your concerns. Also, Stoic Brews is kind of remarkable. There are not many gluten-free, completely gluten-free breweries out there. And so you can go to Stoic um and have uh both gluten-free beverages and snacks. Um, also Sandi Su's Bakery. That is an amazing option that was originally kind of housed out of 8th Street Market. And um that's been a wonderful resource for this community over many years, for at least for the past five years. And um, now they have their own brick and mortar. So that's a great place to go for cinnamon rolls. I've I've been hearing lots of things about those cinnamon rolls.

Beth Bobbitt:

So gotta get your order in for Christmas because they spell out. Yes. And they also have classes. I don't know. Yeah. You can, as a family or as a group, pick a class, learn to bake gluten-free. It's amazing.

Katie Robertson:

It is nice. It's a it's a good resource to have that education component too. And then there are a lot of places that are um gluten-free friendly. So maybe not exclusively gluten-free or have an exclusive gluten-free kitchen, but have a lot of options for folks looking for gluten-free. So um Sunny's on second is one of those, uh, the Meteor, which is a great place for um, you know, traditional pizza, gluten-free pizza, lots of different menu items there. Uh Blue Seafood House is a great option, which um a lot of people don't think, you know, see a lot of seafood is automatically gluten-free, just depending on how it's prepared.

Beth Bobbitt:

And so and the rice, yeah.

Katie Robertson:

Yeah. And um, so that's a great, like everyone in the group, uh, everyone in the family can go and enjoy that. And the buttered biscuit is also a great option. They have pretty much anything on their menu. If you say, Do you make pancakes gluten-free? They'll say, Yes, we'll do that for you. So that's uh that's really nice to have that, um, those options. Great to know. What about vegetarian fare? So one of the great things about uh food culture in general, you know, in 2025 is there are a lot of vegetarian options at most restaurants. But um, one thing that we have going for us here in Bentonville is we have some really incredible Southeast Asian restaurants um, ranging from northern Indian to southern Indian to, you know, Thai, Laotian. And a lot of these places have either separate, exclusive vegetarian menus or have um a lot of vegetarian items. So it's just a focus of the cuisine.

Beth Bobbitt:

Do you have a favorite?

Katie Robertson:

Um, I love Chola Cafe. I love Thai Basil. Um I am hoping to try a few more around town. Uh flavors is always a, you know, a great standby. So there are so many options. Yeah.

Beth Bobbitt:

Yeah.

Katie Robertson:

Thank you. India Mart 2 has um, if you go to their cafe, they have some really great things in that grocery store that you can check out as well. Right. Excellent.

Beth Bobbitt:

Okay. So let's move into the omnivore and pescatarian friendly restaurants. And you mentioned blue, you know, already one.

Katie Robertson:

So yes. Um, blue is a great option. There's also let's see, Sunny's, I mentioned before. Uh Sunny's is just a great option for all things um health focused. So if you have a specific diet, like if you're keto or paleo, you can get um meals that are specifically made for that diet there, which is great. Um, same thing goes for Snack Lab. The every single one of their items is uh labeled so that you know like this is dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian. So that's a great option for grab and go and just any kind of like healthy um fare. Amazing. And then um one really great thing is like Rush bowls. So I don't know if you've been by there. No, not yet. But the thing that is so great about rush is that almost, I mean, you can do almost everything get dairy-free, which is great. Dairy-free is kind of one of those allergies that gets forgotten about a lot of times. And a lot of people don't feel empowered to speak up about it. Yeah. Um, and so rush bowls, lots of fruit, uh smoothie bowls, things like that, really healthy, good for you things. Um, but if you're looking for something a little bit less healthy that's dairy-free, uh, trash uh ice cream caters to folks who are um who can't handle dairy but want to have that traditional ice cream experience with all the add-ins and everything like that. So they just have a uh a regular uh ice cream flavor and a dairy-free ice cream flavor.

Beth Bobbitt:

So Willie D's ice cream truck also. Yes. And there's a couple different locations around town.

Katie Robertson:

Yeah. I'm finding that a lot of ice cream places do generally have like one vegan or um, depending on how it's labeled, vegan, dairy-free, um, depending. It's good to always just ask, though, right? What about other allergy conscious places? So um one spot that I love that I always feel really comfortable taking folks who have um special diets or allergies is Yayos. Yayos um has a lot of gluten-free items just because of having such the best corn tortillas that there are around. But um, there are a lot of great vegetarian options. I've I have um converted, you know, my most uh intense carnivore friends to those cauliflower tacos at Yale's. Um and similarly, Bentonville Taco and Tamale, same kind of thing. Everybody in the family can always find something um at Bentonville Taco and Tamale. One thing to remember though is while you're out and about and you might not you kind of you kind of signed up for uh an event or um a program, say like going to Crystal Bridges. 11, the restaurant at Crystal Bridges, is fantastic for allergy um accommodations. So um I've worked with that team uh personally uh many for many years and know that it's uh a really big deal for them to make sure that everybody feels safe and accommodated. So you can always find options for everyone at 11.

Beth Bobbitt:

Yes.

Katie Robertson:

I checked out yesterday, actually, I went to Towny Burgers for the first time. And I've got to say I'm really impressed. Um, everybody loves a burger, but you can pretty much for any diet find something at Townie Burgers, which is really impressive for kind of like a dinery type feel. Um, great salads. The crab cakes were fantastic, burger great. So I can say all good things about Townie Burgers. Yes. And if you're interested, we do have a podcast about movies. So check that out. Awesome. Um, there are some other options too. Like if you are focused more on um beverage and you want to go out for a couple of drinks, but you want to make sure that you have options on the menu for snacks. Callisto Bar, which is really fun if you haven't been there yet, it's a speakeasy um hidden inside of an art gallery here. And so it's kind of wonderful to be able to go out with your friends and even when you're just having drinks, um, not have to uh stress about being able to eat because that's when you really want to eat.

Beth Bobbitt:

Yeah, exactly. Yes, and you should be able to. Yes. Um and let's talk about the vegan scene. I know there's less establishments that are solely focused on vegan, but they're popping up.

Katie Robertson:

Yeah, we do have uh at least one. We have Third Space Coffee, which is a great coffee shop um focused on sustainable sourcing. Um it's right next door to Best Friends Animal Shelter. So I know that a lot of friends go there to um quote unquote co-work and look at puppies and kittens, puppy therapy. Yes, but they do have a 100% uh vegan menu. So that's awesome. And like I mentioned before, Sunny's always has great options for vegans. But surprisingly, I bet some folks wouldn't know this about Peddler's Pub. Um, you can get, they have an entire vegan menu. Oh my gosh, have you had those vegan fries? I haven't, but I'm sure they're delicious. Amazing. Um, but so peddler's is really friendly um for uh having vegan options as well. Right.

Beth Bobbitt:

And as we're heading into the holidays, curious if you have any advice or um for how we accommodate for dietary restrictions, any hosting recommendations.

Katie Robertson:

Yes. So when you are sending out your RSVPs, if you're if you're going that formal, ask for folks to um email you or let you know if you have an allergy. Oftentimes they will appreciate that um so much more than even you planning the event. Um so uh just ask for that accommodation if you're hosting at home, but if you're heading out, um I've seen folks who have a uh kind of complex allergies, they'll um write out a index card, which is really helpful for the restaurants, but never feel uh embarrassed about speaking up. I know that from the point of view of the kitchen and the front of house, all of they want to do is make sure you're safe and have a wonderful experience. And so um just let folks know and check out this guide and list because there are a lot of wonderful options in Bentonville.

Beth Bobbitt:

This is so helpful. Our family especially has quite a few restrictions and preferences. And so I had no idea that we had so many options. This is great.

Katie Robertson:

Thank you so much. Oh, and one last shout out. Table Mesa, they always uh are they have historically been great at this, but um very inclusive. So if you let them know when you arrive, they can accommodate almost any allergy.

Beth Bobbitt:

Yeah, they were already a favorite. Now they're for sure a favorite. And right there on the square for all of those holiday activities. That's right. Speaking of, what culinary events should we mark on our calendar? Do you know of anything coming up that we can't miss?

Katie Robertson:

Well, I have to do a personal um shout out. I am working with the team at the momentary to produce a pastry week, which is our first year doing this. So we'll be bringing in some um pastry experts from New York, Caroline Schiff and uh Stacy Maeyen Fong. They're both uh pastry chefs who also are authors, and they'll be doing workshops. And then we'll also have great movies that are focused on all things sweet and baking. Um we'll have a a tastemaker dinner as well to round out the experience and a local makers market. Wow. Excuse me, makers and bakers market. So it'll be basically like British baking show brought to life. A dream at the moment, Terry, and that will be that first weekend in December.

Beth Bobbitt:

Great. Amazing. And you've written for Visit Bentonville so we'll link to some of the blog posts in the show notes. But anything else coming up that you want to mention?

Katie Robertson:

Um I think that, you know, that's kind of top of mind for me for sure. But um I always love coming out for um the indoor farmers market here in Bentonville around the holidays as well. And any kind of uh holiday parade. There's so much fun going into that. I always just make it a point to like park and get down here because you're going to eat a lot, but you know you're gonna walk a lot as well. So in the whole day. Yeah, as well. Yeah.

Beth Bobbitt:

Thanks so much, Katie.

Katie Robertson:

Appreciate your time.

Beth Bobbitt:

Yes, thanks for having me. Don't forget, Visit Bentonville is here to help you navigate things to do, where to eat and stay, and what's going on in our new American Town. Check out the show notes to follow us on social, sign up for the newsletter, and visit our website at visitbentonville.com. Thanks for listening.