Redneck Margaritas
1 can frozen limeade concentrate,
2 cans light beer like Coors
1 can white tequila

Redneck margaritas are simple and surprisingly delicious. Oh, and cheap. Stir everything into a pitcher — or a gallon-sized plastic bag if you wanna keep it really classy. Take that thought a step further and snip off one corner with scissors and dole this concoction into Solo cups like cake frosting. It’s already cold. It’s already alcoholic. It’s already your best friend.

Rum and coconut water
Light, high-quality rum
Coconut water
Twist of lime, optional

This drink might be somewhat divisive as some people can’t stand coconut. But for those who like it, put down the Malibu and give this mixture a try. Coconut water is rehydrating, so we like to think it cancels out the dehydrating qualities of the sun … and the rum.
Our favorite brand is Blue Monkey, as it’s sweeter than most, but stick to what you know.

John Daly
1 part sweet tea vodka
2 parts lemonade

As one blogger put it, the laid-back Arnold Palmer is known around the world, but the John Daly is full of booze and bad decisions. You might want the latter on your party boat.

Gin and Tonic
Beefeater gin
tonic water
limes

Classic and beloved by all. Mix to taste with ice cubes. Substitute vodka for the gin haters in your crew.

Go the extra nautical mile: Wine Slushies
2.5 cups hulled strawberries
1 bottle dry Riesling
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2.5 tablespoons sugar

If you’re willing to put some prep time into your trip, this Riesling strawberry slushie will please the ladies on your barge.
Set aside one cup of Riesling. Puree strawberries with the remaining wine, lime juice and sugar. Freeze it in ice cube trays. Just before serving, puree the cubes in a blender. Pour that into cups and bottom’s up.

 
Lake photo courtesy of arkansas.com

Weird wonder that it is, the South boasts many of these eccentric inns. We’ve rounded up its strangest stays, from 21 feet under the sea to all the way to the moon’s crusty craters — and almost everywhere in between.

Jules’ Undersea Lodge (Key Largo, FL)
You won’t find Jules’ Undersea Lodge, named in honor of Jules Verne, author of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. You will, however, have to don a wetsuit and descend 21 feet to find the entrance. Once inside, you may find things a little less than lodge-like. The facility used to be a research laboratory, and it looks like the staff has taken what was once a pretty bare bones setup of low-ceilinged rooms connected by tunnels and livened it up with aquatic-themed décor. It’s kind of how we imagine living in a space station would feel, except you get excited when sea creatures peek into the windows at you.

Rates: Enjoy all of this solo with an overnight stay for $675.00. Or go as a pair with the JUL for Two Package which includes their world famous Pizza delivery dinner from Tower of Pizza, a family owned and operated local Italian restaurant. Don’t worry about your dive gear. It’s included in your package. Go even bigger by upgrading your dinner experience with Florida Lobster or filet mignon for an extra $180.00. Group economy packages are also available starting at $300.00 per person. In addition to all of these goodies, you can also earn yourself a PADI specialty certification by taking the Habitat Specialty Program. Check it out here.

The Inn at Christmas Place (Pigeon Forge, TN)

Some people are really serious about Christmas. Those people stay at the Inn at Christmas Place, where Christmas joy is a 365-day-a-year affair. The inn resembles a German castle nestled in the Smoky Mountains; but it’s the interior that fascinates vacationers. Boughs of holly, sleigh bells, wreaths in every room, Christmas trees galore and a live singing Santa performing jingles summer through winter months … you have to really be possessed by the Christmas spirit to sign up for this.

Rates: Enjoy Christmas cheer any time of year starting at $89.
Notable Amenities: In addition to the live singing Santa, there is also an outdoor pool with a 95 foot figure-eight waterslide and a famous, striking glockenspiel. Find out more about the Inn at Christmas Place.

Biltmore Estate (Asheville, NC)

Right now we’re scheming to smuggle in some Edwardian gowns and a troupe of butlers and maids to Biltmore Estate so we can live out our “Downton Abbey” fantasies. The 178,926-square-foot, 250-room mansion and its English gardens were built in the late 1800s to resemble a European chateau. Unfortunately, you can’t sleep in the actual Biltmore House; but Biltmore Inn is on the estate, and its decadent rooms were inspired by English and French manors. Leave the servants at home — the hotel and spa staff will take care of you — but no one will protest if you pack a petticoat.

Rates: Rooms at Biltmore Estate start at $299.00. The inn also offers several special deals and packages like the Father’s Day special and the Biltmore Concert Series  package.
Notable Amenities: Adding to the wonder of this estate is the complimentary overnight shoe shine and a variety of special amenities packages you can order ahead of time.

Hotel Zaza (Dallas, TX, and Houston, TX)

With a name like Zaza, extravagance is expected. Basic guest rooms are top-of-the-line, but it’s all about the concept suites and the Magnificent Seven suites at Hotel Zaza. Concept suites range from the “Shag-a-delic,” with its groovy, purple shag carpet and love beads, to “Out of Africa,” complete with a mosquito net-inspired bed (it’s way fancier than it sounds), a mounted wildebeest head and a “rainforest shower.” But forget all that. Let’s talk about the jaw-dropping, pinch-me-I’m-dreaming Magnificent Seven that make you want to say, “Screw sightseeing. I’m ordering room service.” There is a Hitchcock-inspired suite, and a “Crouching Tiger” townhouse, and have you seen the zebra print throne in the “Rock Star” room?

Rates: Rates start at $329.
Notable Amenities: If you can ever leave your room, also enjoy being pampered to perfection at the ZaSpa.

Find out more on their site.

El Cosmico (Marfa, TX)

That’s not a mirage on the horizon; that’s the sun glinting off Airstream trailers and the pointy tips of teepees rising from the desert. Marfa, Tex., is a small town — we’re talking population 2,000 — but its eccentric reputation rivals that of the weird capitol of America, Austin — and El Cosmico is Marfa’s bizarre basecamp. You can bring your own tent, but why squander the chance to sleep in a luxury teepee, renovated trailer or expertly decorated safari tent? Don’t worry, there are bathrooms. There are even wood-fired Dutch hot tubs. And the outdoor kitchen, dining space and other communal areas will ensure you make contact with genuine Marfans. Or you could just tilt your hat over your eyes and nap in the hammock grove. It’s more than acceptable to keep to yourself and soak up the desert sun.

Rates: El Cosmico has plenty of options. Trailer rates start at $110, safari tents at $65, and $80 for teepees. Tents and scout tents start at $15 and $40. respectively.
Notable Amenities: To top it all off? You can head over to the lobby lounge for wireless internet.

21c Museum Hotel (Louisville, KY and Bentonville, AR)

Don’t be alarmed if you open your door to get the paper in the morning and find a 3-foot-tall, red, plastic penguin staring back at you. It’s just a sneaky, mobile exhibit at 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville. Each night, the many penguins of 21c change locations to keep you on your toes. They’re not the only dynamic detail at the luxury hotel. 21c is known for its permanent and changing art exhibits and installations that have included a 30-foot-tall golden replica of Michelangelo’s “David,” a convertible car covered in mirrors, an homage to emigration in the form of a bench/sculpture shaped like stacked suitcases and countless other thought-provoking pieces and collections. That’s why every visit is unique.

Packages: Experience what 21c is all about with one of their packages. Dine with Art or snag a Romance Package.
Notable Amenities: As if the art exhibitions and installations weren’t enough, you can see even more original art in each room.

Beckham Creek Cave Lodge (Parthenon, AR)

We like to think of Beckham Creek Cave Lodge as the hobbit hole of our dreams. Built into a wall of beautiful rock dripping with stalactites and lit with the same gold, glowing kind of lights you see at tourist caves like Blanchard Springs, the owners have complimented the mysterious natural beauty of the cave with uber-chic decor and modern luxuries like foosball and shuffleboard tables, gold leather sofas and a bidet. We’re a little ashamed to say that, although there are swimming holes and waterfalls nearby, we probably wouldn’t be able to pry ourselves out of the lodge’s grotto-style bathroom. It’s opulent.

Rates: Beckham Creek has a two nigh minimum requirement starting at $450.
Notable Amenities: Each bedroom has a luxurious bath – some are jacuzzi.

Hotel Monteleone (New Orleans, LA)
It was William Faulkner’s favorite hotel … Tennessee Williams wrote it into “The Rose Tattoo” … Truman Capote claimed it as his birthplace. There is no place better than Hotel Monteleone at capturing the romanticism of hot, passionate New Orleans as the beating heart of Southern literature, and within this truly grandiose hotel, the Carousel Bar and Lounge — and its libations — undoubtedly fueled many monumental works of fiction. The 25-seat, circus-style merry-go-round makes one revolution every 15 minutes, so don’t expect the psychotropic “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” experience — though we can’t guarantee you won’t wobble out of there after too many Corpse Revivers.

Rates: Hotel Monteleone‘s rates start around $150.
Notable Amenities:  Had a long day? Relax in the rooftop heated pool while soaking up the breathtaking views of the downtown New Orleans skyline.

Falling Waters Resort (Bryson, N.C.)

North Carolina is an outdoorsman’s paradise. That’s why visitors are trading the steel beams and bricks of commercial lodging for the fabric-wrapped, wooden lattice walls and natural air conditioning of yurts. A yurt, for those unfamiliar with the term, is a sturdy sort of tent that originated in ancient central Asia — they’ve experienced a recent surge in popularity among North American hippies — and Falling Waters Resort has an entire “village” of them on the edge of the Nantahala Gorge. These aren’t the bare bones yurts of yore; amenities include outdoor decks, skylights, French doors and a lot of the basics — oh, and access to some of Appalachia’s finest white water and zip lines.

Rates: Yurts start at $89.
Notable Amenities: Check out the canopy tours starting at $69. Find out more here.

Chattanooga Choo Choo (Chattanooga, TN)

The 1941 jingle “Chattanooga Choo Choo” was an ode to the grandiose luxury that used to be a ride on a railcar, and the song’s namesake hotel succeeds at capturing that old time Victorian elegance. One hundred years ago, Terminal Station in Chattanooga was the area’s busy locomotive center and the end of the line for decadent overnight railcars. Long after modern modes of transportation made travel by rail obsolete, Terminal Station was dusted off and reinvented as the lobby of the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel, where vacationers can overnight in restored railcars — minus the jostle and creak of wheels hitting the tracks — and surrender to that catchy tune we already can’t get out of our heads.

Rates: Rooms start around $150.
Notable Amenities: Chattanooga Horse Trams carry you from Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel to Miller Park and back.

Moonrise Hotel (St. Louis, MO)

One night at the Moonrise Hotel and you’ll think they hung the moon. Because they did. Right on top of the building. Homage to the big ball of cheese in the sky doesn’t stop there. The moon’s many phases are depicted on the lobby walls, and moon art hangs in the rooms and within Eclipse Restaurant. Doing the Moon Walk on the multicolored, lit staircase just rocketed to the top of our bucket list.

Special Suites: Moonrise Hotel features 10 Walk of Fame Suites all themed and named after stars from the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Notable Amenities: Go check out the rooftop lounge and bar

The Land of Oz (Beech Mountain, N.C.)
You’re not in Kansas anymore. Yes, smartass, you’re in North Carolina; but you’re also in Oz, and you have rented out the ENTIRE EMERALD CITY all for yourself. That’s right. The Land of Oz, a ‘70s-era Wizard of Oz theme park complete with Yellow Brick Road, castles, gazebos, a waterfall, statues of munchkins and mushrooms, spooky trees with faces and a (fake) purple horse, is no longer operational, but you can rent the whole park and stay at Dorothy’s House, a cozy cottage outfitted with antiques and knickknacks Aunt Em would have coveted.

Rates: A stay at Dorothy’s starts at $135.
Notable Amenities: Dorothy’s house is tucked away at the top of Beech Mountain. Check it all out here.

Wildwood Inn (Florence, KY)
Some people can afford to travel the world and see all its wonders. Those who aren’t blessed with deep pockets settle for the Wildwood Inn, where they can stay in the Aztec Jungle room. Or the New York Central Park room. Or the Utah Canyon room. Or the Venetian room. Or the Arctic Cave room. The list goes on. You can even travel through time with the Happy Days room or the Western room. Or you can just stay in Kentucky with the Speedway suite, where you can sleep mere inches away from a real racecar. We recommend renting a hut in the African Village, but we’ll look the other way if you go for the Cupid Suite with the heart-shaped tub.

Rates: You can stay at the Wildwood Inn for as low as $69.95.

When she’s not writing, Stacey Bowers is hiking, climbing and exploring her home state of Arkansas and (poorly) planning her next adventure. She is currently the associate editor at Little Rock-based AY Magazine. El Cosmico photo by Nick Simonite.

Forget that dude. We’re not complaining or peering down our noses. This is more of a “what if” kind of exercise concerning this year’s Arkansas Riverfest lineup on the banks of the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock.

This weekend, the lineup includes the typical mid-level touring acts suited to a festival the size of Riverfest; there’s Bush, Peter Frampton, Sugar Ray, Lupe Fiasco, Darius Rucker, Drive-By Truckers, etc. And there is also an impressive list of native musicians. Arkie bands like Swampbird, Laundry for the Apocalypse, Amasa Hines, Tyrannosaurus Chicken, singer/songwriter Adam Faucett are all over the various stages, and the reuniting of local alt-rock pioneers Ho-Hum should be a major highlight Saturday night at the Clinton Center’s Stickyz Music Stage. Check the whole line-up here.

But what if there were more Natural State bands involved? Who else could take the stage and rock the collective faces off a sunburned and woozy festival crowd? This is our list:

1. Whale Fire
This Little Rock-based alt-rock band has just released its full-length debut, “Before You Run,” which is filled with just the kind of driving, soaring, dreamy pop that would resonate quite well in an outdoor setting.

2. Pallbearer
Glaciers in Norway talk amongst themselves about the sludge-paced heaviness of this doom metal quartet. Pallbearer has been touring relentlessly behind 2012′s masterful and complex “Sorrow And Extinction,” so you know they’ve become a tightly wound unit of foreboding and darkness blasted at ear-splitting levels. Oh, to hear “Foreigner” being offered up into the Arkansas heavens! The doom metal gods would indeed be pleased.

3. Mad Nomad
These Little Rock guys dropkick the jams through the freakin’ roof and still keep a handle on the melody, which is harder than you’d think. Mad Nomad has just put the finishing touches on their debut album, “Blacked Out,” which sounds like Lucero on a hard rock binge, with dashes of late-’80s metal and screamo thrown in for good measure. Seeing them bash out the anthemic “The Crowd” and then follow it up with a good ol’ power ballad (complete with piano!) like “Me Tarzan, You Jane” would have the skate punks and the Guns ‘n’ Roses crowds stoked. And while they aren’t playing Riverfest, they are doing a record release show at White Water Tavern in Little Rock on Friday night, so there’s that.

4. Bonnie Montgomery
Arkansas’ torch ‘n’ twang queen would make a perfect addition to any of the Riverfest stages. Montgomery’s raw but classy country/folk channels Hank Williams and Kitty Wells and her voice is all Arkansas cypress swamps, honky tonks and lonesome blues. Why, look, here’s her video for “Crop Dust Sky.”

5. The See
Specializing in sprawling alt-pop, it’s not hard envisioning this Little Rock group commanding huge crowds from a festival stage with its impossibly catchy, head-bobbing, impassioned fight songs. Pair them on a bill with the mighty Ho-Hum and watch the brilliance erupt before your starstruck, grateful eyeballs.

6. Gossip
So they aren’t based here, but Gossip is two-thirds Arkie (Beth Ditto and Nathan Howdeshell both grew up in, and fled quickly from, White County), and how rad would it be to see them bring their dancy, punk-disco attack to the edge of the Arkansas River? Pretty damn rad, in case you were waiting for an answer. The band is no stranger to the European festival circuit, and seeing the vocalist Ditto in all her fabulous glory climb a lighting rig and sing “Heavy Cross” like the boss that she is would be a positively divine Riverfest moment.

Sean Clancy grew up in Helena, Arkansas, and lives with his wife, son and their dog in North Little Rock, where he spends most of his time watching old bicycle races and videos by The Cure on YouTube.

Tales of the Cocktail is a fantastic event for mixed drink lovers. Thousands of industry professionals and enthusiasts from all over the world gather to compare notes, taste new products, and celebrate traditions that make cocktails more than a means to a buzz, but a reflection on modern society. During the sultry summer of 2011, I was honored to serve in the Cocktail Apprentice Program offered through Tales of the Cocktail, where I had the great fortune of working along side many of the most talented minds in my industry. As the week came to a close, we all gathered in a small pastry kitchen to be surprised by our mentors lined up to each supply us with a perfectly crafted cocktail.

Mike Ryan, bar manager and head bartender of Sable Kitchen and Bar in Chicago, held the initial place in line. He pounded ice in a cloth bag (called a “Lewis Bag”) to a perfect crushed, but dry texture. He stirred together tamped mint and demerara sugar syrup and Buffalo Trace Bourbon in perfect proportions, he strained the mint out of the cocktail over the crushed ice into a metal julep cup (in this case, the top of a metal cocktail shaker), and he topped the concoction with a giant sprig of mint.

Never before had I experienced a cocktail with such simplistic ingredients transcend all expectations of flavor due to perfect execution. I can still remember how my brain reacted to the cool, refreshing, quaffable cocktail. The mugginess of the Crescent City summer weather disappeared. That perfect combination of flavors seared itself into my brain.

Right then that I realized that I would be drinking mint juleps long after the horses stopped circling the tracks in Kentucky. I would be reaching for my julep cups deep into the hazy Arkansas dog days of summer. I would be pounding ice with a hammer until the last of the mint was dried and gone for the season, all for the love of a good Julep.

Mint Julep
2 ounces Bourbon (I like Buffalo Trace)
1 ounce Demerara sugar simple syrup (1:1 ratio Demerara sugar:water)*
6-8 mint leaves
A huge sprig of mint
Cube ice for stirring
Crushed ice
Julep cup (metal cup of some sort will do)

Directions:

Toss the 6 to 8 mint leaves in a mixing glass. Gently tamp them with a muddler to release their oils. Add 1 ounce Demerara syrup and 2 ounces bourbon. Add cube ice and stir 20 times in each direction. Fine strain over crushed ice into your julep cup. Garnish with a huge sprig of mint that you have gently rolled in your hands.

Enjoy.

*If you can’t find Demerara sugar, substitute turbinado sugar AKA “Sugar in the Raw.”

David Burnette, currently working as a mixologist at the Capital Hotel and Natchez Restaurant in Little Rock, Ark., oddly enough grew up in a very dry county in north Arkansas. He discovered his passion for cocktail creation in 2003, and has since had recipes published in several notable publications.

The party really got going about the time the ship docked, but it continued on at Crush Wine Bar.

Greg Nabholz, Lily Keber, Ethan Moore and Courtney Pledger

Vincent Grashaw, Tim Basham, writer for Paste, and Brittany Hallmark

Jeremy and Hadley Lewno, Heather and Matthew Wolfe and Frederick Gentry

Sarah Stricklin, Phillip Rex Huddleston, Keith Hudson and Hannah Moulder

Gabe Gentry and Katie Childs

Josh Donoho and Blake Elder, director of Arkansas short film “Lasting the After.”

Cat French and Shane Bitney Crone, involved in the audience-favorite film “Bridegroom.”

Filmmaker Daniel Campbell and a tasty hot dog.

Clay Fitzpatrick slinging Stellas.

Mary Hurst and Jeremy Reagan

Film Fest Event Coordinator JP Langston

Sean and Katherine Beherec

Ricky Wilson, Bryan Wilson and Chris Hart

Ryan Hitt, Jack Lloyd and Clay Grubbs

Norman Williamson, Jamaal Lee and Ben Fluharty

Photos and story by Melissa Tucker and Stacey Bowers.

Palice Malice got away from Mike Smith and ran the 1^st quarter mile in 45.33 and ¾ mile in 1:09.80. The 4th fastest ½ mile and 2nd fastest ¾ mile in the 139-year history of the Derby. That set it up perfectly for a closer. The horses in the first four positions early in the race finished 6^th, 12^th, 14^th and 17^th. That’s an almost impossible pace to stay with and finish in 1 ¼ mile race. To put this in perspective, it’s like going bar hopping and drinking 6 Maker’s Mark and Sevens in the first club in the first hour. That rarely ends in a good finish either. It’s going to be a short night or a long one depending on your perspective. Just an example, not a personal experience. Really. The top three finishers came out of another time zone. No surprise.

So while the Derby winner fit my profile perfectly, alas he was not my top choice. Wait a minute, this just in … the horse I placed a small wager on just finished. Rumor is that he’ll soon be appearing in your local county fair walking in circles and charging 25 cents a ride. Crow is indeed delicious if served hot. If “Snooky the Booky” is reading, the check’s in the mail. So enough about the Derby, PLEASE let’s move on to the Preakness.

The Preakness is run in Baltimore, Maryland every May two weeks following the Kentucky Derby at a distance of 9.5 furlongs. For those of you not familiar with a furlong it’s an 8^th of a mile. Rich in tradition this will be the 138^th “Run for the Black-Eyed Susans.” Every year they place a blanket of black-eyed Susans around the winners neck. The horse’s neck, not the jockey’s. A little trivia … they’re not really Black-eyed Susans but Viking daisies decorated to look like black-eyed Susans. Black-eyed Susans aren’t in season this time of year. Also, the Preakness is the second leg of the coveted Triple Crown. The Belmont stakes are the 3^rd leg and take place three weeks after the Preakness.

In the last 10 runnings of the Preakness the horses coming out of the Derby have done quite well. Four of the Derby winners have also won the Preakness. Two of the winners ran 2^nd in the Derby. One ran 4^thand one ran 6^th in the Derby. Only two winners of the Preakness didn’t participate in the Derby. One of those was a filly that won the Kentucky Oaks by a football field, and the other came out of a win in the Grade 111 Withers Stakes. Both of these won the Eclipse award as the champion 3-year-old horse and filly of the year respectfully. So enough about the “fresh horse angle.”

Here are a few observations for you to consider. In my opinion, Orb is simply the best horse. The best horse doesn’t always win, but he should be much closer to the pace in the Preakness. It’smyluckyday is probably the fastest horse at 1 1/6 miles but this is 1 3/16. I like Oxbows race in the derby a lot holding on for 6^th while pushing that frantic early pace, but he’s never run fast enough to win this race. Goldencents had an excuse in the derby trying to keep up early in the race and looks to me like he didn’t like the slop. Krigger felt that and wrapped him up around the 6F mark. Wise jockey taking care of his horse. I like him best of the speed horses. Mylute ran a good race falling way back early after “checking” at the start. This horse is getting better and better and has run fast enough to win this race. Will Take Charge is my best longshot. He’s one of those Wayne Lukas horses that just seem to be coming up to a big race.

I’ll be back for the Belmont in June, and will give you my top pick to win. Before I can do that we have to make sure all disclaimers are included. I’m not suggesting you wager blah, blah, blah. We’re not guaranteeing results blah, blah, blah. We’re not responsible if you bet and lost the pink slip on your Double Wide blah, blah, blah. We have our crack legal team of Dewey, Cheatam and Howe working on that as we speak. In the meantime I hope I have given you some information that will be useful in picking the Preakness winner so that it will be more enjoyable to “watch” the race.

Scott Copeland’s been playing the horses for more than 30 years. He’s cashed his share of IRS tickets. He’s also had days like that day at Evangeline Downs. All honest handicappers have. He learned much of what he knows from an old friend and professional handicapper named Ray “Sport” Jackson. He had an opportunity to do it professionally 23 years ago, but being married to a professional handicapper did not play well with Copeland’s wife. He kept his day job and his wife, but still has a passion for playing the ponies.

It’s not barbecue, we know. But look at it. Just LOOK at it!

1. Three Sam’s, Mabelvale
If you visit no other place on this list, go to Three Sam’s. It’s a little shack next to the train tracks in Mabelvale consistently serving up great food at even better prices. Any place that has a visible trail of smoke outside the building is right by me. Everything has a fresh-tasting, cooked-with-love sense about it from the pulled pork to the massive, footlong chili dog dressed with slaw, homemade chili and cheese. And save room for dessert because they do it right here.
Open for lunch on weekdays. Dinner hours vary.
Don’t miss: The daily special or pulled pork

2. Smokin’ Buns, Jacksonville
There’s a reason you haven’t visited this one. If you don’t live near the Air Base, it might be considered destination dining. But if you do, consider yourself lucky. Smokin’ Buns has a reputation for portions as big as your head as well as Southern favorites like fried green tomatoes and fried pickles.
Open for lunch and dinner.
Don’t miss: The Boss Sandwich

3. Jo-Jo’s, North Little Rock
This little family-owned spot near the corner of Country Club and North Hills near the Sherwood border is a well-kept secret. Those North Little Rock ninnies don’t want you to know about it because you’ll rush in and ruin everything. But Jo-Jo’s has a big menu, and after roughly 10 trips, I have yet to be disappointed with anything. The barbecue is the star, but the side of sweet potato fries with honey dip are also worth a try.
Open for lunch and dinner.
Don’t miss: Ribs or smoked chicken.

4. Smoke Shack, Maumelle
Hopefully, you’ve been to the Smoke Shack. If not, what are you waiting for, son? If we’re being perfectly honest, Maumelle doesn’t have too many restaurants to write home about, so if you’re in that neck of the woods and hungry for something smoked, make a beeline for this shack. The meat is great, but Smoke Shack sets itself apart with the sauce. The sauces are nuanced and not overpoweringly sweet or spicy. Just the perfect complement to the smoke-flavored meat.
Open for lunch and dinner.
Don’t miss: Ribs are particularly good here.

5. Capitol Smokehouse, Little Rock
(pulled pork sandwich pictured at the top of the page)
The smokers are nearly always running at this downtown Little Rock joint, and if you haven’t been, I have to wonder under what rock you’ve made your residence. It’s in town, it’s delicious and it’s the most well-known of any place on this list. Just in case anyone in your party isn’t feeling the ‘cue, Capitol Smokehouse also has plate lunches. You could even take your vegetarian friends, but that might be a stretch. Get the ribs or the pulled pork, the creamy potato salad and the homemade squash casserole and go to town.
Lunch only.
Don’t miss: The mustard-based Froggy Bottom sauce (pictured). Squash casserole.

6. Mick’s, North Little Rock
What would this list be without a barbecue dive in Levy? Mick’s is not really a restaurant, per se, as it’s the sort of place that delivers your sandwiches wrapped in white paper through a window. But it is the kind of place that douses its meat in a rich sauce, sort of like a Sloppy Joe. Don’t wear white, and expect to throw down a small tree’s worth of dirty napkins, but when it’s said and done, this place is worth a trip out of your way.
Open for lunch. Closes at 8 p.m. for dinner.
Don’t miss: Pulled pork sandwiches

On a sticky September night, I met Mark Thiedeman on the porch of the big downtown home he shared with several young Little Rock artists and musicians. I quickly learned he was an earnest filmmaker putting the finishing touches on a very personal, incredibly brave project — a coming-of-age love story about two young boys in the South. Wanting a fresh set of eyes to study his latest edits to a trailer for Last Summer, he sat me in front of his computer and played the well-crafted peek into an innocent, enviable romance, cast in the warm glow of sunlight flittering through leaves, filled with dreamy shadows and set to soft, classical piano. “What do you think?” Thiedeman asked. Still spellbound, I could only utter one word. “Beautiful.”
I wasn’t the only one enchanted by Thiedeman’s film. Mark said Last Summer already has a fan base and even a fan-made YouTube video. And its world premiere will be at this year’s Little Rock Film Festival, where it will be screened at 8:30 p.m. today at the Argenta Community Theater and again at 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Dundee Building.

You are originally from New Orleans and you studied at NYU. How did you land in Little Rock?
I actually moved to Arkansas when I was 12 and lived here until I went to NYU, and I decided to move back largely because I wanted to make Last Summer. Since it’s a movie about young love and the feeling of moving away from a small town, I thought it was fitting to film the movie here, where all of my high school memories are based.

Without revealing too much, will you let us in on a little of the story within Last Summer?
It’s a very simple story, really. Luke and Jonah are a couple of high school boys who have known each other since they were 4 years old. They’re very opposite. Luke is athletic and kind of an underachiever. Jonah is very sensitive, quiet and feels out of place in his small town. But opposites attract, and as the boys grew up, they fell in love. Last Summer follows their final few months together before Jonah leaves to explore the world outside of the South, leaving Luke behind.

It’s a story of growing up and falling in love for the first time — one that anyone can relate to. What made you choose to make the lead characters gay? 
I think in some ways Last Summer isn’t what you’d expect from a gay love story. You’ll never hear the word “gay” mentioned in the film. There are no big coming out scenes. The boys don’t get beaten up by bullies. Their families know about their relationship and support it. Maybe it’s a bit of a fantasy, but this is how I see the world. There’s no difference between gay relationships and straight relationships as far as I’m concerned. I hope that Last Summer in some ways challenges notions of homosexuality and how gay people fit into the fabric of a community. It’s important for me to show that these boys are just like anyone else. They ride bikes, they go to church, they find their parents annoying and their hearts break just like anyone else’s.

The film takes place in rural America and was shot in Arkansas. Why is a Southern setting important to the film?
Well, if you’re going to tell a story about two boys in love who never suffer opposition from their families or their community, the obvious place to set the movie is a conservative red state, right?

Did you cast Southern or Arkansan actors? 
All of the actors are from Arkansas, and I’m so proud of them. I love my cast. I was worried at first that I would have to import actors to play Luke and Jonah. I wanted the film to be shot in the South, but I was extremely picky about how those two characters would look, sound and act. Meeting Sam [Pettit] and Sean [Rose] was a kind of miracle as far as I’m concerned. Not only do they look exactly like they were described on the page, they were already best friends; so when you watch the movie, it feels like they’ve known each other forever. I had been writing Last Summer on and off since 2005. Seven years later, these characters I had grown to love on the page became real people.

How many hats did you wear when producing the film?
Too many. I wrote it, directed it and edited it. I did the sound design, costume design and art direction, and I think I was a boom operator once or twice. It was a lot of work, but I like it that way. My crew was very small but spectacular. David Goodman is a mind-reader of a photographer. He captured the tone of the film perfectly. Elizabeth Strandberg was a wonderful producer — so organized and so helpful. John Willis performed the music for the film, and it’s lovely. And my friends Johnnie Brannon and Keith Hudson were on board to do whatever else was needed, whether it was holding a microphone or picking up lunch. And that’s it. We made it work, and, honestly, it was the least stressful shoot I’ve ever had.

Last Summer was at least partially crowd-funded, right? And you surpassed your $5,000 goal? Why do you think people were so supportive of this film? What were some of the motivating things you heard along the way?
It was partially crowd-funded, and, yes, people were really supportive, which means so much to me. I think it may have something to do with the fact that stories like this are rarely told. Gay-themed films don’t often appeal to a universal audience, and I think people wanted to see one that did. There have been a lot of great motivators. People in Little Rock were incredible. I really didn’t expect to find a lot of support here, both because I make films about gay characters and also because my work is a bit challenging sometimes, a little experimental. But the encouragement I’ve received from our local film community has been overwhelming and humbling, and it really proved to me that the South is ready for this kind of material. One of my favorite moments working on the film, though, is something completely random: someone I don’t know, who doesn’t even live in the South, took all the footage from our trailers and re-edited it into a fan video. It’s on YouTube. That made me really happy.

Did the script really make five straight guys cry? 
It did. Most of my best friends are straight guys. I think they relate to Luke somehow, and maybe it’s fitting that I cast a straight guy as Luke. I always saw him as your average, all-American kid. And it’s actually kind of unusual, I think, to watch a teen romance that’s about a guy’s feelings. You don’t see too many stories about the pain a boy goes through when he’s in love.

The Little Rock Film Festival runs through Sunday. Click for a full schedule of screenings.

When she’s not writing, Stacey Bowers is hiking, climbing and exploring her home state of Arkansas and (poorly) planning her next adventure. She is currently the associate editor at Little Rock-based AY Magazine.

Chef John Currence grew up with memories like these but instead of setting up shop in his boyhood Crescent City backyard, he dominates the food scene in Oxford, Mississippi. You already know the names of his establishments — City Grocery, Big Bad Breakfast, Boure, and Snackbar — and they are definitely appointed food destinations when in Oxford. But, we were curious about what else there is to eat in this town of 19,393. So we asked him.

“There are several places I really enjoy in Oxford, outside of our restaurants. AJAX Diner is one of my favorites. They do about the best meat-and-three program around.”

Ajax Diner, 118 Courthouse Square
Oxford, MS 38655
(662) 232-8880

“There’s the Honeybee Bakery which is out on the west side of town. Shannon Adams is the owner/proprietor there. Shannon worked for us for years as a server and came to us from Emeril’s. She wanted to open a bakery that sort of operated with the same sort of sensibilities that she had picked up working for us. It is a lovely little bakery, it’s nicely appointed, it’s very comfortable and their product is just excellent. They are doing a lot with local purveyors.”

Honey Bee Bakery
2305 W. Jackson Ave., Suite 202
Oxford, MS 38655
(662) 236-2490

What about a roll-up-your-shirt-sleeves-grubby-kind-of-eating?
“There’s a great taqueria across the street from our office, El Caraton. It is a Latin-owned, Latin-operated place that I really like.”

Taqueria Carreton
(662) 281-8949

Anything else?
“We (everyone in Oxford) are very excited about Jinsei Sushi coming to Oxford, which should be moving in next door to Big Bad Breakfast.” This will be the first outpost of the John Cassimus-sushi outpost, outside of the original in downtown Homewood (Birmingham, Alabama).

Jinsei Sushi
713 N. Lamar
Oxford, MS 38655

And last but not least:
“One of my favorite stops is for the cheeseburger at Handy Andy. It transports me back to childhood. It is a very typical Dairy Queen kind of walkup burger joint place we used to go. It is very simple and it’s not trying to be anything exceptional and that’s probably what makes it so good in my mind.”

Handy Andy Grocery
800 N. Lamar Blvd.
Oxford, MS 38655
(662) 234-4621

Chef John Currence divides his time between his four Oxford restaurants and the home he shares with wife Bess, and new baby girl Mamie who already has her own Twitter account. And wouldn’t-you-know-it, the man can write too. Look for his new cookbook Pickles, Pigs and Whiskey: Recipes from my Three Favorite Food Groups and Then Some, due out Oct. 29.

Southern food and lifestyle writer Christiana Roussel lives in Birmingham, Alabama. When not enjoying the occasional biscuit festival or bourbon tasting, there are four chickens, three dogs, two children and one husband who keep her very busy.

The opening night film
I remember hearing about the buzz of Short Term 12 that took home the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW this year, and I was thinking, “We have got to get that movie, but how?” and what’s insane is that I didn’t realize the director of the film, Deston Daniel Cretton, had just been to our festival the year before with his film, I Am Not A Hipster. Opening night is such an important night for the festival because it sets the tone and all the excitement about what is to come. It’s like movie-nerd prom. The film is incredible and we have one of the leads, Keith Stanfield coming to the fest with the director, and he’s phenomenal. I can’t wait to stalk him. I’m kidding. Watch the Short Term 12 trailer.

Blood Brother
Another film that I’m really anxious for people to see — and there are way too many — is Blood Brother. It won Sundance, so obviously it has a certain pedigree, and I admit I thought it was going to be this typical white guy, bleeding heart story about traveling to another country and helping people but after about 10 minutes of watching the film, I was totally sucked into the story. I played it on my iPad so I could travel room to room in my house without having to pause it. The film follows a young graphic designer named Rocky who leaves his life in Pittsburgh to live at an orphanage of HIV positive children in India. I resist saying that he “volunteered” or “worked” at the orphanage because he becomes so fully involved with the children and their lives, it really made me question ideas I had about caring, disease, empathy and selflessness. I think there are moments in the film when the camera guy and director vocalize their difficulty with the situation, and there’s a certain scene in the film that I won’t describe, but it was very powerful, and I think it will stay with me for the rest of my life. (See the film schedule here.)

Parties
This sounds very frat-bro of me, but one thing I look forward to every year at the festival are the parties. They are usually different from any other party because of all the cool people you can talk to without the pretense of being in a theater discussing films. I was really sad this year to learn that the Arkansas Queen would be floating to some far off distant land, and we’d be losing one of the most talked about parties of the festival. The Riverboat Cruise is something you don’t want to miss. Top floor sick dance DJs like Cam Holifield, bottom floor dirty south rocking bands like Brother Andy or the funk drenched Amasa Hines–there is something for everyone. And, lo and behold a captain has set sail to save us with a paddle ferry called none other than Mark Twain. The party is back on. We’ll all float on, alright? Sunday at 9 p.m. Be there.

Panel talk with Bill Ross
Panels are really the best way to get involved in the conversation of what is filmmaking and why does it matter. This year we are so lucky to have one of the LRFFTalks Panel series with filmmaker Bill Ross on his behind the scenes account of the LRFF Golden Rock Award winning and Oscar-nominated Beasts of the Southern Wild, one of my favorite films we’ve screened. I’m obsessed with the whole Court 13 group involved in the making of the film, and I want to know how those Aurochs got so big! If award-winning filmmaker and writer Robert Greene wasn’t on hand to ask this guy questions, I’d be all over it.

Arkansas films: Standing room only
The Made in Arkansas section of the festival has been dear to me over the years for obvious reasons. My first short film four years ago screened as a part of that program and each year the Arkansas films are huge –standing-room-only huge. Like, come to the screening an hour and a half early and maybe you’ll get a seat. A big reason the Arkansas blocks sell out is because of the diverse, original programming that gets better and better every year but also because the film community here is also growing and is super supportive. So, not only will the cast and crew to a film show up but people who didn’t have a chance to work on the film will come in solidarity and talk shop for hours in the lobby afterwards. This year I want to see 45RPM on the big screen because it’s one of the few Arkansas made feature films we get every year and it was written and directed by a female, another rarity. Juli Jackson, the director of the film, is going to be a force to reckoned with. She made the film with an all local crew and a grant from the Ozark Foothills FilmFest and from what I’ve seen they put a lot of work into it. If you dig retro garage rock and strong female characters I think you’re going to want to see this flick but try and see all the Arkansas films and filmmakers because some day you might be buying tickets to their films at the Rave like I did with Jeff Nichols.

Levi Agee is a features programmer for the Little Rock Film Festival. He’s been at it for more than four years in addition to writing a weekly local film column in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette called Screen Gems. But those are just his passion projects, he earns his scratch by being a Motion Graphics 2D and 3D Animator and Film Editor at Stone Ward Advertising Agency in Little Rock.