Serenity & Spice

When I got to Camp Taco , I didn’t know what to expect. It was my first night away from home, but luckily I had my friend Christie with me. We were both totally stoked for the start of summer camp, and it's finally here in October.  It was 5:30 on a Sunday, but the camp was full of campers. The counselors were all super cool. We managed to get a bunk at the bar. And that’s when the head counselor Biff told us about the Ghoul of East Village.  Last Summer, he went on a rampage, killing everyone in his path. No one knew who he was, but the camp was left abandoned ever since. Recently, it had been leased by a local businessman, but the plans to reopen kept being rescheduled until now. Rumor has it, the first group of counselors mysteriously vanished.  That was so long ago we weren’t going to let it spoil our fun. Christie and I were ready to start our rad summer adventure. With what else, the white poblano cheese dip with housemade tortilla chips. The cheese dip was tasty bu...

I remember years ago, one cloudy afternoon when my dad decided to take me to Vino’s Pizza and Brewery not too long after my 21st birthday. He ordered two beer samplers and then proceeded to go through each one with me. My dad had been a BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) Judge for years and he took this as the perfect opportunity to teach me about beer styles.  It was probably January or February of 2006, and I had recently returned from my first tour in Iraq. Growing up, he had given me tidbits but never gave me an actual class before. To him, a beer tasting was a rite of passage for me. Ken Haycook was determined that his daughter would go out into the world knowing how to drink beer. In honor of Father’s Day, I made I Love You, Dad Pizza . I made pizza crust with 6 Bridges Cream Ale from Vino’s. A few months back, I did a beer and cookie pairing but wasn’t able to include Vino’s in the mix. Given this memory, I felt it deserved something a little more special.  My d...

As a beer lover and former Girl Scout, I feel I must guide those not from Little Rock about what beer should be tried with which Girl Scout cookie. I got the idea about a month and a half ago when I started planning my Girl Scout Cookie series of blog posts. I wanted to end with a fun tour around the city’s breweries and highlight some tasty beer. A sugar coma is not too far behind. As I was doing this mainly on my own, I knew I had to space the tastings out, or else I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to the end. Please keep in mind that some of these recollections are a bit hazy, which should be understandable.  To keep things fair, I have selected only two beers from each place. The only Little Rock brewery not included is Vino’s, which is a shame as they have probably been around longer than most of the breweries on this list. Keep a lookout, though. I do plan on doing something special featuring them in the future.  This journey begins as all journeys must, someplace a l...