Day 7 – Fayetteville, Football-Sized Breakfasts and College Town Shenanigans
Friday marked Day 7 of the Barbecue Road Trip and, more importantly, the halfway point.
Somehow we’ve survived a week of barbecue, cocktails, questionable navigation and America’s ongoing inability to consistently produce a decent cappuccino.
We departed Kansas City at around 8:30am and immediately made the decision to skip breakfast at the hotel. After yesterday’s effort, confidence in the hotel kitchen was at an all-time low.
Instead, we headed out to one of America’s beloved breakfast chains, The Big Biscuit.
The coffee was… acceptable.
Their interpretation of a cappuccino, however, was creative. I’ve included a photo for evidence. Whether it qualifies as a cappuccino under international law remains a matter for the courts.
For breakfast, Ro and I ordered the Alamo Breakfast Burrito to share, a creation roughly the size and weight of an football. It arrived looking less like breakfast and more like a military ration designed to sustain a platoon.
Meanwhile, Mikey and Liddy opted for grits with sausage.
For those unfamiliar with grits, imagine couscous being cooked like polenta, but with all joy removed from the process. Then add fried sausage, onions and enough seasoning to make you question your life choices. Strangely enough, they thought it was delicious. No accounting for taste!
Suitably overfed, we hit the road for Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The drive itself was largely uneventful. About three-quarters of the way there we collectively decided we’d had enough of interstate highways and began taking country roads instead. This had the added advantage of allowing breakfast to slowly work its way through our digestive systems.
As a result, we skipped our planned lunch stop at Wright’s Barbecue in Bentonville.
This may be the first time in recorded history that a barbecue stop has been cancelled because everyone was too full.
The backroads took us through little towns such as Hiwasse, where there appeared to be more churches than traffic lights and where life moves at a pace that suggests nobody is in a particular hurry to be anywhere.
By mid-afternoon we arrived in Fayetteville and checked into the excellent Dixon Street Inn, located right in the heart of town.
Fayetteville is home to the University of Arkansas and has all the characteristics of a great college town. Around 100,000 people live here, but when university is in session the place feels much bigger. The town is packed with bars, restaurants, live music venues and students who seem to have considerably more energy than we do.
After unpacking, we headed out for a wander through town, exploring the shopping district and getting a feel for the place.
By 5:30pm enough of breakfast had finally worn off and we felt capable of eating again.
So naturally we headed to Wright’s Barbecue.
Wright’s has built a serious reputation across Arkansas and has collected a stack of awards along the way. It started as a food truck before expanding into multiple locations and is regularly mentioned among the best barbecue joints in the state.
The reputation appears well deserved.
The brisket was excellent, the ribs were outstanding and everything was executed with the sort of consistency that only comes from people who take barbecue very seriously.
We were recommended an alternative bbq by a barman in Fayetteville called Lucky Luke’s. So up for the challenge we headed over there for seven’ses and tried the recommended wings.
After dinner we wandered back to the inn, squeezed in a few rounds of Canasta and generally relaxed for a couple of hours.
Then, at around 10pm, we headed back out to see what Fayetteville looked like after dark.
The answer is: lively.
Very lively.
Dixon Street had transformed into a sea of people moving between piano bars, country bars, honky-tonks, live music venues and pubs. Music spilled out onto the footpaths from every direction and the whole area had a fun, energetic atmosphere that reminded us exactly why college towns are such great places to visit.
We didn’t stay out too late.
Tomorrow is a big driving day as we leave Arkansas behind and head for Memphis.
The barbecue count continues to climb.
The search for perfect coffee continues.
And somehow, after seven days trapped in a minivan together, we’re all still friends.
See y’all tomorrow 👋
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