Bean Festival. Mountain View, Arkansas.

One of my favorite towns to visit is Mountain View, Arkansas. Now, I am all about the big city of Little Rock (Was that an oxymoron?), but there is nothing better than going to Mountain View with Taylor. She was my “Lil” in our sorority, and we have been best friends ever since. We are alike but yet so different in many ways. One being that she is from the small town of Mountain View, and I am from the big city of North Little Rock.

The first time I rode with Taylor to Mountain View, I got horrible car sickness. It was at night, I couldn’t see the windy roads ahead, and oncoming headlights were zooming past us. That is a great combination for a queasy stomach and throbbing headache.

Now I would like to think of myself as a veteran Mountain View rider. I go in the daylight now, and my stomach has adjusted to the turns. The trip up was just gorgeous. The trees were turning to their fall colors and there was hardly anyone on the road.

Every time I arrive, my worries seem to melt away. There is an aura about Mountain View that makes you slow down. It focuses your attention on the present, and you relax. You are on MV time, and that means chill out! That’s why I love it here and why you will love this town when you come to visit.

Anytime I am able to tag along with Taylor for a visit up the MV, I immediately hop in and go! That is what I did when she told me about the Bean Festival. Our trip was short, but well worth the drive!

Bean Festival is just what it sounds like. A festival celebrating beans.

 

 

There is a huge bean cooking contest that happens just around noon, singing all around the square, craft sales, food trucks, and best of all.....The Outhouse Races. Because what goes with eating so many beans....well...that your personal business. :)

We arrived too late to enjoy the beans, but there were plenty of other things to do.

Food was on our first to-do list!

Taylor went with the traditional foot long corndog, but I had to try something unique. The Salsa Wagon food trailer smelled amazing, so I hopped in their line. You could see the crock-pots plugged in, the fryer baskets loaded and ready to drop, and the grill top covered with hot food all right from the window. It was the place to be.

I decided on the Chicken Fajita Nachos, and boy was it a good choice! 

The crunchy chips were the perfect foundation for the goodness on top. The fajita vegetables were nicely cooked. There were red and green bell peppers and sweet onions. The veggies were grilled on the flat top making them mostly soft with a little bit of crunch. The grilled chicken strips were tender, juicy, with nice charred edges. To top the nachos off was an amazing white cheese dip.

Cheese dip is a big weakness of mine. I can never get enough of it....especially white cheese dip.

The cheese dip was a critical component of the nachos because it held everything together. Without the dip, it would’ve been fajitas and chips. The dip brought it together to make a perfectly harmonized nacho plate.

Now, the whole dish was good, but there were just a few bites that blew my socks off.

A few bites that cannot be forcefully made.

The few bites that you find at the bottom.

Not those bites that have one drop of cheese dip on it because the other chips were blocking their way.

No, I am talking about the ones that are at the bottom that have been soaking up the excess cheese dip, chicken, and veggie juices.

Do you know what I am talking about now?

I wasn’t able to snap a picture because my hands, palms, and back of my hands were covered in these so-called juices, so you are just going to have to visualize.

I wish I could create an entire dish full of those bites. But....that would be way too many calories and a whole lotta mess.

To walk off some of these calories I did consume, we walked around the town square to check out everything going on. 

Wait! Third place I have worked out at!!!

1. Dondie's in Des Arc

2. Cafe Bossa Nova in the Heights

3. Bean Festival in Mountain View

But why am I not lean and fit.

Don’t answer that.

All around the town square there were places to shop, eat, or just to relax.

Do you see the band in the center of the picture? 

Mountain View still has an authentic square. The shops are still in business and people still come to gather there. Even when you come up here and there is not a festival, there are people at the square playing folk music. It is truly a special town. I think the world would be a better place if we had more Mountain Views.

We, of course, had to stop and watch the Outhouse Races!

 

I have now seen it all.

After some sittin’, we did some more shopping at the businesses in the square. There were some very unique stores with merchandise that I might never need, and some modern clothing boutiques with merchandise that I always need/want. The square is filled with items that will fit everyone’s tastes.

As we slowly made our way back towards the car, we passed by the Salsa Wagon again. The Fried Oreos that I saw on their menu was heavy on my mind. Taylor had never had them before, so I just had to get them. For her. Not for me. I just helped her eat them to be nice. :)

Have you ever tried a Fried Oreo???

They are horrible. Horrible. Horrible.

Horribly amazing. 

If you like Oreos, you will LOVE them fried. Just try them ASAP.

Now that I was taking shorter breaths, and craving milk, I knew it was time to head home. I have already planned a visit for December when the hubby is off on weekends to do a series of Mountain View’s best restaurants. Believe me. There are some that I crave down here in the big city.

1^st stop will be at this place for breakfast. A biscuit and gravy breakfast.

 See you soon Mountain View.