Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.facebook.com/thehouseinhillcrest
; 722 N Palm St; mains $8-11; 11am-2pm, 5pm-late Mon-
Sat; )
Arkansas' first gastropub is really all about the excellent burgers. The jerk bur-
ger comes smothered in warm mango chutney and jerk spices, the mac and cheese burger
comes with, well, mac and cheese and the black-apple bourbon burger is drizzled with
bourbon glaze and topped with a slice of crisp Arkansas black apple and bacon.
Get yours with a turkey or veggie patty if you must.
Acadia
SOUTHERN$$$
$$$
(
www.acadiahillcrest.com
;
3000 Kavanaugh Blvd; dinner mains $18-23; 5:30-10pm Mon-Sat;
)
Another Hillcrest standout, Acadia's multilevel patio with twinkling lights is a fabulous
place to enjoy fancy-shmancy Southern dishes like oven-roasted duck breast glazed with
Guinness-honey mustard paired with white truffled portobello-mushroom jack-cheese
grits.
Getting There & Around
Washington St)
, in North Little Rock, serves Hot Springs (one to two hours), Memphis,
TN (2½ hours), and New Orleans (18 hours). Amtrak occupies
Union Station
(
501-372-6841; 1400 W Markham St)
.
Central Arkansas Transit
(CAT; 501-375-6717;
loop on W Markham and President Clinton Ave (adult/child $1/50¢).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Hot Springs
The little city of Hot Springs once hosted the vacationing organized-crime elite. At full
throttle in the 1930s, the city was a hotbed of gambling, bootlegging, prostitution, opu-
lence and dangerous thugs. Yet it was also a spot of truce between warring gangs, a place
where it was decreed that all criminals could be gluttonous hedonists in peace. When
gambling was squelched, so was the city's economy.
Though it still hasn't recovered from that blow, the healing waters have always drawn
people, everyone from Native Americans to present-day pilgrims. Elaborate restored
bathhouses, where you can still get old-school spa treatments, line Bathhouse Row be-
hind shady magnolias on the east side of Central Ave.
