These days, as you drive up Interstate 49, Springdale and Rogers (and little Lowell) are indistinguishable from Fayetteville and Bentonville, so fast is that neck of the woods growing, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stop between Hogville and Art City, especially if you like real Mexican food. Yes, Springdale has been named Poultry Capital of Arkansas but it’s not chickens, chickens, chickens. Well, it is Tyson, Tyson, Tyson. But Springdale is also the home of the Rodeo of the Ozarks and the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, a Texas League baseball team that plays at Arvest Stadium. It’s got Mexican food, too! And what goes best with Mexican food? Beer! Rogers may be known for its historic brick streets, huge shopping mall and
With that in mind: Eat breakfast
Since you’ll be eating Mexican food at lunch or dinner, have breakfast at IDK? Cafe, 4301 Pleasant Crossing Blvd. in Rogers. The Eaton family trades with local farmers, bakeries, coffee companies and chocolatiers to stock its kitchen, which turns out Wild Hawg Breakfast Wraps, breakfast paninis, Piggies in a Bagel,
Walk it off at Hobbs State Park
Only 23 minutes from Springdale on U.S. Highway 412, Hobbs State Park is a place all Arkansans should visit. It’s the largest state park in Arkansas, and its limestone underpinnings
Fill up again at lunch with Mexican food
There may be more Mexican restaurants per square mile in Springdale than in any other spot in Arkansas. An expert we know in Fayetteville likes all of them. Taqueria Guanajuato at 103 N. Thompson St. — named for the silver-mining town in Mexico famed for its El Museo de las Momias (The Museum of the Mummies) — is simple, colorful and can dish up hamburgers as well as
Afternoon shopping in Rogers
You could visit the vast Pinnacle Hills Promenade, but we’d suggest shopping in the historic district instead — and you can do much of it on one street! Shop for wooden kitchen tools from Arkansas artisans (the Honeycomb Kitchen Shop, 213 W. Walnut St.), go antiquing (The Rusty Chair, 109 W. Walnut St.; Vintage Antiques II, 120 W. Walnut; Somewhere in Time, 717 W. Walnut; The Green Box, 1305 W. Walnut) and spend a little money and get a history lesson, too, at the Daisy Airgun Museum (202 W. Walnut), where you’ll find vintage and new BB guns. If it’s a locally owned toy store you’re looking for, head over to Dilly Dally’s at 3301 S. Market St. Also find bikes, hunting and fishing gear, even a beef jerky outlet. Then it’s time for a cold one.
Drink craft beer … or cider
Ozark Beer Co. opened