When I got up this morning and saw that we were getting hits from the Arkansas Times website, I was pretty excited.  Jess and I had joked that it would be fun if Arkansas Foodies made it onto the Reader’s Choice poll list this year for the blog – and thanks to all of you that voted, we managed to score a Runner-up spot for “Best Blog!”  I can’t tell you all how much that means to us – I’ve been reading and voting in that poll for years now, and I never expected that something I was a part of might make the list.  The ultimate winner was the Times’ own Arkansas Blog – and it’s a much-deserved win for the quality reporting that Max Brantley and gang do over there (I’m an avid reader).  We also placed next to one of Arkansas’ best known food and travel writers, Kat Robinson, who has done a lot for us over the past year with her shout-outs on Eat Arkansas.

We started the blog because we thought it would be a fun place to post our pictures and talk about the things we’re passionate about: cooking, eating good food, and the state of Arkansas.  We figured a few close friends and our families would read it and that would be the extent of it.  It’s been a pleasant surprise that so many other people who love good food have taken some time to read what we’ve written and taken a look at the pictures – we’re pretty proud of Arkansas and we hope we’ve done the place justice.  We’ve talked about everything from collard greens to ox-tails to some of the best food that Arkansas has to offer.  Along the way we’ve eaten a lot of cheese dip, chopped liver, chili, and chocolate at some of Arkansas’ many excellent food festivals, and we’ve met a lot of other people that are as passionate about good food as we are.  So thanks again for reading, everyone, and thanks to all of you that voted for us.  We hope that we’ll become a fixture on that list – and we hope you all cook well, eat well, and live well.  Thanks!