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Pizza - We have had Ye Olde King, Eureka, and Gusanos. Ye Olde King has such great reviews, but we didn't really care for it, we liked Gusanos the best so far. I've heard good things about Mellow Mushroom, but that's more of a chain than a local place. Would love to find a place that has NY style pizza. I have heard about a place in Bentonville, but that's it.
Chinese - From what I've heard, there are mostly no good Chinese places here. We tried JD buffet, it wasn't terrible, but not worth going back. Hunan Manor is the only one I've heard positive things about.
Any good bars/pubs with good happy hours that aren't so much a part of the undergrad scene? In Norman, we had the Library. It had huge plates of nachos for 4 bucks and 3 dollar double wells. Mostly a spot for grad students, professors and locals.
I would have suggested Gusanos, but now you have tried them. Food is subjective, at the best. What one person likes someone else will just not be happy with.. Of course Gusanoa isn't NY style, it is Chicago.
For Chinese, I think the place that we have been to and really enjoyed is called Thai's. The buffet is very small, but outstanding and you can order off the menu as well.
For a romantic or should I say upscale place I would suggest Mermaids,
As for a bar, two come to mind: once is Bonefish, but that is in Rogers. They do have the $3 drinks from 4 to 6 or 6:30. I am not sure. Also there is little place in Fayetteville and I think the name of it is Sassy's or something like that. It looks like an old house. I don't know whether it has a good happy hour but I am guessing it does.
I don't think anything right on the freeway is really going to count as being in "real Fayetteville", but at least on Weddington you're not too far away. My son lived on Weddington, near Garland for a year. Really anywhere in the area around the campus, to the Square to Dickson up to Mt Sequoyah are the areas I consider to be real Fayetteville. Stuff out around the mall and along and west of 540, not so much. To me, that's no different than being here in Edmond or the most of Norman for that matter. Just suburbia. Nice. but nothing special. I prefer the older, funkier areas of town. The areas that have character. Have you checked out the trails that go through town? Actually I believe you can bike/walk all they way to Springdale and maybe further on them. They are very popular. Floating or canoeing the Buffalo River is very popular too.
Eating is something we always enjoyed in Fayetteville. So many great choices. Honestly, we have found restaurants to be a great way to get the vibe for a city. I'll try to give you some of our favorites.
Green Submarine is good. My son loves that place. He was back in Fayetteville last week on business and he said that was one of the places he had to go and take his coworkers he was traveling with. For sandwiches, I would suggest Hammondtrees though. It's gourmet grilled cheese. Really good. It's located behind Hog Haus Brewing on Dickson and West.
Another place I would suggest on Dickson is Common Grounds. It's a coffee house/restaurant/bar combo. They have a nice patio out back where you can have a drink or grab a bite to eat. All I've ever eaten there is breakfast/brunch and it is really great, although it gets really packed on weekend mornings. You are likely to be sitting next to a professor, parents visiting for the weekend, young families, grad students working on their laptops or undergrads. Everyone seems to love it.
Mermaids is very good and nice. We had our son's graduation dinner there. I can't remember what it was called before, but I did like it better, but I still like Mermaids. Another place I would suggest for a nice evening out or just to enjoy a drink is Theo's. It's in an alley off Dickson. They have a great deck which is wonderful to sit out on and enjoy drinks or dinner on a fall evening. Bordino's is also very nice for an evening out. They serve Italian dishes as well as steaks and seafood. It is also located on Dickson.
For a very nice place to have a drink, check out the Lounge located in the Inn at Carnall Hall, on the UofA campus at the corner of Maple and Arkansas Ave. I have a friend who works on campus and it's a place that many of the staff and professors like to go for drinks. Not some place you are going to run into students. I've stayed in the Inn as well as eaten in the restaurant, Ella's, and have peeked inside the Lounge, but never actually had drinks there. It looks very nice. It's also a very cool old building, which was originally built as the first women's dorm on campus.
For a good casual Italian meal we like The Pesto Cafe, on College. As for pizza, my son really likes Damgoode Pies, just off the square. I've never eaten there, so I can't personally testify as to how good it is.
We don't really do Chinese buffets, but if you like Thai, I would suggest Taste of Thai, also located just off the square. It is delicious, and they also have a nice deck you can sit out on and enjoy your meal.
Another place located just off the square, in the basement of a building which is an absolute Fayetteville institution is Hugo's. They have the best burgers I've ever eaten. They were featured in Southern Living as one of the best burgers in the South. Everything else they serve looks amazing as well, but I've never tried anything but the burger because they are so good. My son took some of our relatives that came to visit (from Houston) him while in school there and they are still talking about what a great place it is. If you go on a weekend, especially a game weekend, be prepared for a lengthy wait. But it's worth the wait.
You might check out the Greenhouse Grille too. It's an organic restaurant, which is very good for both breakfast and dinner. It's another place where you are likely to run into academic types as well as couples out for the evening.
For BBQ, we like Whole Hog, which is located in a nondescript strip center on College. We ate at Penguin Ed's once and liked it, but we really prefer whole hog.
Both my son's and my niece all love Momma Deans Soul Food. They say it's delicious, but I've never gotten to try it. One word of warning though, according to my kids, you will come out smelling like fried food.
And one final place that you need to go is Rick's Bakery on College. This place is amazing. They have all kinds of pastries, cookies, donuts, pies and their cakes are wonderful and beautiful. They also serve several different varieties of coffees and teas and have sandwiches at lunch. They have a small dining room so you can indulge in all the goodness there. On game day mornings, the line will be out the door with people picking up goodies for tailgating. I wish we had some place like it here, but we have nothing even remotely similar. Every time our son came home for a weekend, he would always stop and get a big box full of stuff to bring home to us.
I am seconding almost ever place Debz mentioned. You must try Hugo's. Common Grounds is a good hangout. We used to love the Pesto Cafe, but last few times we were there, it didn't do it for us anymore. Maybe a new chef? Still, worth a try. Cafe Rue Orleans is good.
As for Chinese, the beat Chinese in all of NWA is at Madame Wu's. I like Whole Hog for pulled pork, but the ribs are better at Penguin Ed's. Do the original location on College.
Also, keep an eye out for the upcoming "Polo in the Ozarks" fundraiser. It's held not far outside of Fay on a private farm. It is not to be missed!
Very affordable as far as fundraisers go. If on a budget, you can purchase tkts for the match only, but you also splurge for an evening of dinner, drinks, and dancing under the stars to live music. Fun!!
I have one other suggestion for you to help you get the feel of "this is Fayetteville". Go to at least one UofA football game. I'm guessing you're probably Sooner fans, since you lived in Norman. Still, go hear them call the Hogs, watch the band and enjoy a game. Nothing says Fayetteville like calling the Hogs while wearing a plastic hog on your head.
When we first moved to Edmond from Houston we went to an OU game, just to get the feel of the place. Wanted to hear the whole Boomer Sooner thing for ourselves. And we've been to a few more since then and enjoyed some tailgating with friends. Heck, we don't even like OU, or OSU for that matter. We're an Aggie and Razorback family, but it's still fun to go to the games. It makes you feel like you're part of the community.
Hey everyone.. needing a bit of advice about Fayetteville.
My wife and I moved to NWAR (Fayetteville) a few weeks ago from Norman, Ok. We love Norman, but the job prospects for us weren't that great at the time and I had a job offer here in Fayetteville. We had never considered Arkansas - but when we looked into it, Fayetteville appeared to be perfect (halfway between our families, seemingly similar to Norman, but prettier with more outdoor activities)
However, since moving here, we have yet to fall in love (which I realize it's still early).
There doesn't seem to be much of an identity or community here. The motto is "keep Fayetteville funky" but I don't really get that vibe. There isn't anything here that stands out and makes me think yeah, I'm in Fayetteville, THIS is Fayetteville. Does that make sense? We've been to the square for the farmer's market, walked around Dickson st. went up to Mt. Sequoya, walked around lake Fayetteville and Wedington, and have driven all over Fayetteville - and yet, we still don't have a feel for the place.
What's going on here? It's not that we dislike it here - but it doesn't feel like home..
Dear OP, I feel you. I have spent most of my life here in NW AR (except for a brief stint in NC). Although it is lovely - I do not & never have felt at home here. It seems the people are somewhat closed off to those who are not from here. I felt more at home in other places spending only a couple years. Yes, NWA is beautiful & I can't quite spot what is wrong. It just doens't feel like home for everyone. I hope you grown to love it or wish you the best elsewhere!
I have had the pleasure of trying Hammontree's, really good!
I'll have to refer back to all the restaurant suggestions for a weekly outing.
When driving up to Mt Seqouya, we really liked the area and the houses, but it seems a bit out of the way (at least for us). My wife works in Rogers, and I work in North Fayetteville. It seems like (as far as housing goes) that if we ended up staying here and buying a house, it'd be closer to the lake Fayetteville area - which apparently wouldn't be "real" Fayetteville.
What is the general opinion on Lake Fayetteville? It seemed like a really nice place to walk around or maybe paddle around in a boat.
Dear OP, I feel you. I have spent most of my life here in NW AR (except for a brief stint in NC). Although it is lovely - I do not & never have felt at home here. It seems the people are somewhat closed off to those who are not from here. I felt more at home in other places spending only a couple years. Yes, NWA is beautiful & I can't quite spot what is wrong. It just doens't feel like home for everyone. I hope you grown to love it or wish you the best elsewhere!
I am glad you feel the same way.. well not glad, but happy to know someone else has a similar experience.
When I lived in Florida, I felt that way. I lived there for about 4 years and always felt it wasn't for me. It felt like a temporary place and I wanted to leave for something else. Even living in Oklahoma, I never loved it THAT much.. only when I moved to Norman did I feel really comfortable and at home.
I suppose only time will tell. We really want to love it here, but I suppose you can't force yourself to love a place.
I am glad you feel the same way.. well not glad, but happy to know someone else has a similar experience.
When I lived in Florida, I felt that way. I lived there for about 4 years and always felt it wasn't for me. It felt like a temporary place and I wanted to leave for something else. Even living in Oklahoma, I never loved it THAT much.. only when I moved to Norman did I feel really comfortable and at home.
I suppose only time will tell. We really want to love it here, but I suppose you can't force yourself to love a place.
No place is perfect for everyone. I am surprised at what Wanderlove feels about people not accepting outsiders. We are not talking about some little rural town, maybe in Madison county, we are talking about Fayetteville, Washington Co and Benton country. Over 50% of the people living in these locations are from someplace other than AR. The one thing we have never felt and that is like an outsider. I do think you are expecting too much, too soon, but maybe it will not work. I know we spent 5 years, many years ago in Northern CA, it was never really home to us, even though we had lots of awesome friends, were active in the community, had 3 young kids, who were content. It just wasn't us. Later, after returning to So CA we moved to the very northern part of CA, we hated it and only stayed a year. On the other hand, we have loved living here, we loved living in the DC area and we liked Sac. CA. What works for one, doesn't always work for others. Give it time, just make sure you don't say anything negative about the Hogs.
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