First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
 Now let's start this sucker off right by challenging those New Years resolutions and talk about FOOD!

 So food is the tippy top of the list of things I was 1.) not worried about when moving to the South, and 2.) Stoked about!
 Barbecue, gumbo, black-eyed peas, deep-fried gator, breaded fried pickles, fried okra, anything and everything Cajun…  mmm-MM! The list could go on for days!

 I arrived smack in the middle of Christmas season, and no one - no one! - does Christmas dinner like my new family! Ooh what a meal! And then we had leftovers for daaaaays!
 (Sidebar here, the New Yeards Day meal was just as amazing! Cabbage/Sausage stew, black-eyed peas, CORNBREAAAAAD!)

 …then, Jen and I moved on to Little Rock to look for a place to live. And of course, during house hunting, we had to feed ourselves somewhere, so we've been stopping for meals throughout the day, keeping it simple and splitting meals to keep from going overboard.
 And, well - I'm an avid Yelper. I like to check-in in the places we're going, because it bookmarks them so I remember where I was and to review them later.
 With that in mind, let's put things this way: after three days in Little Rock, I received a badge called "Carrot Top," which was for frequenting a lot of *vegetarian* establishments.


 What?! I spent years in Sonoma County and never got that one, and yet less than a week in steak and fried meat central, I'm rolling in carrots!

 Now I'm not complaining, I've had some incredible food, but every time we've gone into a restaurant, or bar, or brunch joint, I've been struck by how modern and…  Well, Bay Area they feel. There's an emphasis on local foods and ingredients, a focus on healthy foods, a build-it-yourself toolbox menu trend - it's awesome! But it's no culture shock.

 Here are my five favorites so far-

 5.) Ciao Baci
 It's a bar, and man it pushes the evening ambiance into hard-to-read-the-menu territory - but it's great for shmoozing, has sweet couches where you can sit, drink and be merry, and some fantastic food! I particularly enjoyed the Crawfish fritters (there's some Southern cooking!) and spicy lemon edamame and craft beer (aaaaand that's stuff straight from home)
 4.) Mugs Cafe
 Great coffee, HUGE space, and mouth-watering blueberry scones! There's a map on the back wall that's every continent in the world, but it's made with corrugated steel and drift/scrap wood - it really brings a feel of international travel and the inside of a barn together, in the best possible way!


 3.) The Root Cafe
 I ordered a "mushroom burger" and got a giant mushroom cap between two pieces of bread. I mean, there was more to it than that, but I expected a ground vegetable mix or something. But, I ate it, and it was awesome! Also had some stellar home fries. They were fat, crispy on the outside, and tender at the middle. Yum!

 2.) The Fold
 Oooooh TACOS! YEAH! So, definitely not something I was lacking back home, but it's nice to know where the rockin' tacos are :) also, they bake their own chips and they're unbelievable!


 1.) Big Orange
 The place is right out of the Barlow in Sebastopol (it may have been around before the Barlow), the decor is super modern - all painted steel girders and garage doors to convert the outdoor spaces to indoor in bad weather. Here we had an amazing vegetarian burger (it could just as easily have been turkey!) and, they have mead on the menu (!)

 Another thing that's less shocking than I expected is the grocery stores. Where back home we have Safeway, here there are Kroger branches that seem similar in most ways. If anything, the Produce and fresh-food sections are much bigger. And there's a Whole Foods in town too, going in there feels like being right back in Sonoma County.

 The other side of the coin-

 I have been shocked at other times though. For one, WalMart.
 WalMart is based here in Arkansas, and there are entire towns whose stores have been put out of business by "Super WalMarts"


 These stores are HUGE. I went in one (it was the only grocery - yes, grocery - store open at the time) and went to the bathroom. The bathroom was by the door, and while I was in there, Jen went on ahead to rustle up our grocery list. Holy crap was that a mistake! I came out of that bathroom into a vast jungle of sale signs, frozen food aisles, and row after row of sequined children's clothing. I was hopelessly lost!
 I found Jen, more quickly than I'd expected to, but I could have been lost in there for hours!

 And here's the kicker - the first time I was shocked, it was by the unreasonable hugeness of the place. But the second time I was shocked was by the selection of food. There are shelves and shelves of garbage, like any grocery store, but there also are really large sections of fresh produce, organic food, and healthy options in nearly every aisle.
 Credit where credit is due!

 …Although they still don't have any fresh fish. But would I want it if they did?

 That's all for now. A New Year ahead! Farewell until next time!