Welcome to episode 31 of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas Podcast. Today’s interview is with Chef Todd Golden, co-owner and chef of Mermaids, TJ’s Sandwich Shop and Isabella’s, which will open soon in Bentonville.

But we start with Mellow Moose Burgers in Siloam Springs. For those that don’t know, they’re a food truck that’s gaining popularity, and they were VERY popular this past weekend as they won both the People’s Choice and the Judge’s Choice at the Miracle League Burger competition, earning them the golden ticket to the World Food Championships in Indianapolis in November. We hear from Owner/Chef Adrian Lem about the win.

Chef Todd and his wife Nickki have owned and operated restaurants in Fayetteville for over 30 years. For those that haven’t been here that long, you may now know that their first restaurant was called Belvedere’s in Fayetteville. Chef Todd will talk about the early days.

After Mermaid’s, they opened up TJ’s Sandwich shop and we talk to Chef Todd about how great it had to be able to start a menu from scratch for a hot sandwich shop.

After TJ’s, the Goldens opened Isabella’s in Fayetteville as a fine Italian dining destination and they’re now mere weeks away from opening in Bentonville. Chef Todd will tell us the easiest way to remember the Bentonville location and explain his favorite meal on the menu.

And finally, if you’ve driven past Mermaid’s recently, you’ve no doubt seen the “For Lease” sign out front. Chef Todd will explain.

Flavors of Northwest Arkansas is available wherever you listen to podcasts.

On this week’s episode of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we celebrate 10 years of business for local chocolatier Markham and Fitz in Bentonville.

But we kick off the podcast talking about a big night. We’re just over a month away from Top Chef NWA, benefitting the Rogers Public Library Foundation.  Tickets are available now. We hear from last year’s winner, Garyn Folden from Cura Culinary.

In this week’s podcast interview, we catch up with co-founder and owner of Markham and Fitz, Lauren Blanco.

They now distribute chocolate to 39 states & 6 countries and were featured in over 100 Anthropology stores around the US.

Lauren talks about the 2 principals that they were founded on: celebrating people and restoring the earth, and Markham and Fitz really puts their money where their mouth is when it comes to that. She’ll tell us how…

Also she’ll talk about one of their holiday bars, because I HAD to ask about it. It’s the Festivus bar.  This is for the Seinfeld fans.

How do they come up with new ideas and flavors? It starts with R&D…

And finally, with it basically being fall, Lauren shares her favorite hot chocolate recipe in the Mike Engleman Home Pro tip of the week. Get pen and paper ready! We’re talking chocolate this week on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas!

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas, we’re at House 1830 in Rogers where we talk to Owner/Chef Binh Hoang and Executive Chef Vatsana Hoang, or B.

House 1830 got the number in its name from the house that Binh and his brother Quang grew up in. The brothers are Vietnamese, but were born in a refugee camp in Thailand, that the family escaped under gunfire.

Binh and his family moved here from Oregon, where he fell in love with the restaurant industry as a teenager, but, as an angsty teenager, he was not cool with how it happened.  You’ll hear that story.

It’s a family affair for the Hoangs, but Binh was the first to come to Northwest Arkansas 9 years ago. Before opening House 1830 a year ago, his brother’s family and his parents moved here to NWA. Binh will tell you what moved him here back then.

And then there’s the restaurant. How long was it in the works? How did they find their space?

And the menu! Binh and B will describe what they serve, how they serve it, and get into the cultural relevance of it. As always, we highlight a few popular dishes.

It’s Binh & B from House 1830 in Rogers, next here on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas.

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On this week’s episode of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we get an update about a grand opening, and we talk to the owner and chef of the only Cuban restaurant in the state of Arkansas.

Mallory Files is going from charcuterie business owner to charcuterie studio and wine bar business owner, and she’ll be open VERY soon. We’ll hear from her.

Also, if you’ve been to the Havana Tropical Grill in Rogers, you’ve been to the only Cuban restaurant in the state. Owner and chef Francisco Galdamez was born in El Salvador and he came to the US at a young age and went to school in Boston.

I talked to him about getting into the restaurant business, and he started at the VERY bottom and worked his way up. His first job was washing dishes at the Logan International Airport in Boston, where he knew that the only way to make himself indispensable was to work hard and provide himself the opportunity the move up…

Francisco will tell us how he got to Northwest Arkansas… it took a while for his wife to get onboard, but he tells us why. It’s not necessarily what you think…

And how hard was it for him to educate the northwest Arkansas public in Cuban food, and how hard was it to source? It’s an ongoing process…

We talk spices, plantains, pork and so much more and we do it over Cuban coffee on this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas (available wherever you get your podcasts).

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we talk to Patrick Bohannan and John Kuenzel of the Black Howler Beer Company in Highfill. They’re old pals that met in band in the 6th grade.

Now, I think it’s safe to say that it’s not a shock that they weren’t originally looking to open their brewery in Highfill, but it’s turned out to be the perfect match. You’ll hear why.

The original plan for the brewery was to get into an established building. That didn’t happen, so they built from the ground up – and it’s really nice.

By the way, if you like watching Hot Ones on Youtube, you’re going to love their niche as they brew spicy beer, and the spice level is about to be raised. BIG. TIME.

Speaking of the beer, they have a unique brewing method and it’s worked very well for them.

We hope you check out this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas, available wherever you listen to podcasts.

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas, we’re at Black Apple Hard Cider in downtown Springdale, talking to Co-owner Leo Orpin. Black Apple just celebrated its 9th anniversary!

It’s the first and only cidery in the state of Arkansas, and they had to take on educating the masses about cider.

I’ve always been curious as to how Black Apple got its name, and it’s a fun story. It was almost names something else. Also, Leo tells us how cider is similar to soccer. Is it? Here it is.

And did you know that Black Apple was rated the 4th best cidery in the country? They also earned a gold medal for one of their ciders overseas in the motherland… Leo will tell the story.

Finally, breaking news of a fall release, and there are new plans for the tasting room. The remodel has started!

Leo breaks it down right here on this edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas!

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas Podcast, we hop up to Bentonville Provisions where we talked with Chef and Owner Carrie Burse, and this lady has a pedigree!

She went to chef school in Napa Valley before getting to work at a 3 Michelin star restaurant for her externship. Wait till you hear what she did there.

She found out that there was a food program out west at Google and her stage (or tryout) was intense. What till you hear what she had to go through.

Chef Carrie will also tell us how she got to NWA and what she did when she got here before she opened Bentonville Provisions.

And speaking of Bentonville Provisions, what is it? A restaurant? Bar? Store? The answer is Yes, and more. Hear about it from Chef and owner Carrie Burse on the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast.

In this week’s episode of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we head to the arts district in downtown Springdale, as we talk to Daniel Hintz and Chef Jennifer Hill Booker of Bauhaus Biergarten. We get into German food and German beer, a very underrepresented concept in our area. Jennifer’s background includes a stint in Germany and she tells us what it’s been like introducing it to an area.

Daniel will tell you that he’s a beer nerd and proud of it. They don’t serve domestic beers there, but they do have more than German beers, including beer from the oldest brewery on earth. They’re only a few decades away from their 1000th birthday! Not kidding.

Relationships and collaborations are their lifeblood, and they have some great stories about that and how it’s really helped them grow.

We hope you check it out (Available wherever you get your podcasts)!

On this week’s edition of the Flavors of Northwest Arkansas podcast, we found ourselves in Bentonville at a newer place that I’d heard about called Cura Culinary. It’s a smaller restaurant located inside Bentonville Provisions over by the Momentary and it’s run by husband and wife team Garyn and Mia Folden.

If Garyn’s name sounds familiar to you, you were probably at Top Chef NWA in November where he took home the big trophy. He’s no stranger to the local food scene, having worked at places like the River Grille, Tusk and Trotter and others.

Mia keeps the front of house in order while maintaining their social media, curating the wine list, and basically everything else you could possibly think of.

Garyn’s not from here, but will tell you how he got here. He and Mia had a plan that didn’t include staying in NWA. They took their talents to New York where they learned what they wanted to be, what they didn’t want to be, and WHERE they wanted to be- which was back in NWA.

They’ve been open for a month and a half at this point. They’ll tell you what their future plans are in this episode. We hope you check it out (available wherever you listen to podcasts).