The Queso Connection

I came for cheese dip. Rex Nelson gave me a crash course in Arkansas. I met Arkansas journalist and historian Rex Nelson at Buffalo Grill while I was deep in the reporting rabbit hole that eventually helped inspire this Trail. I ordered the classic cheese dip with a side of chili, because by then I was learning that Arkansas cheese dip isn’t simply something you order before dinner. It’s part of the state’s food language. Over cheese dip, Rex and I talked Arkansas: its food, its people, its history and why certain dishes become bigger than whatever is in the bowl. Buffalo Grill fit the lesson perfectly. This is old-school Ark-Mex territory, the smooth yellow cheese dip generations of Arkansans grew up eating. I came to Little Rock trying to understand why Arkansas cares so damn much about cheese dip. Somewhere around this table, I started understanding.