Between the white tablecloths and Brooklyn-style pies, the culinary scene in Hot Springs, Arkansas is every bit as enticing as the town’s unique history. After you read this article, be sure to take some time to enjoy our podcast interview with Tom Hill, museum curator of Hot Springs National Park. He weaves a wonderful tale about the history of this Arkansas town. 

The Superior Bathhouse Brewery in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Here’s the first thing you need to know: in Hot Springs, it’s all about the water.

Spa tourism started before Lincoln was in office, and visitors still come for the thermal waters, which are naturally heated to about 143 degrees. Back in the 19th century, rumor had it that the water cured anything from pneumonia and syphilis to war wounds. Out-of-towners needed a doctor’s prescription to bathe in these “healing” springs!

Commercialization followed, and in 1830, the town’s first bathhouse was built. It would be one of fifty-something similar facilities. Including, Fordyce Bathhouse, which went bust in 1962, reopening in 1989 as the Hot Springs Visitor Center with a must-see museum.

Nicknamed the nation’s first resort, Hot Springs enjoyed a long period of prosperity as folks filed in to be bathed (by bath attendants) in thermal waters. There were plenty of notable guests, including Babe Ruth and Al Capone, who made Hot Springs his gangster’s paradise in the years leading up to his arrest.

You can still tour the 4th floor “Al Capone Suite” at the Arlington Hotel, currently undergoing a $74 million dollar renovation. And for even more information on the town’s outlaw history, duck into the Gangster Museum of America, located on Central Avenue, south of the Arlington Hotel.

By the 1950s, the bathhouse industry was in decline — and so was the town of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Today, only eight bathhouses remain on Bathhouse Row, a National Historic Landmark District, and just two offer traditional thermal spa treatments: The Buckstaff, which has operated continuously since 1912, and Quapaw.

Fortunately, there is more to Hot Springs than bathhouses and hot water. The quaint city is being recast as a destination for art enthusiasts, foodies, and, above all, nature lovers.

“Hot Springs National Park wraps downtown Hot Springs like a donut,” explains National Park Service museum curator Tom Hill.

Over 22 miles of interconnected trails balloon from either side of Central Avenue, the town’s quintessential main street. I started my day in Hot Springs with a 9-mile trail run, taking off from the third floor of The Waters, a boutique Hot Springs hotel. (Stay downtown, at The Waters or the Arlington Hotel, and you’ll be able to walk to all of the places described below.)

Good things await inside The Pancake Shop.

After a quick shower, I decided to spend the next twelve hours truly savoring my surroundings in the Hot Springs, Arkansas Historic District.

8am First, I grab a cold brew at Kollective Coffee + Tea. After adding plenty of half-and-half, I enjoy it al fresco at Arlington Lawn, a peaceful park on the north end of Bathhouse Row. Arlington Lawn overlooks the third iteration of the legendary Arlington Hotel, which, in its heyday, accommodated Al Capone, Babe Ruth, and other high society.

9:30am Fully caffeinated, I’m ready for a heaping pile of scratch-made buckwheat cakes topped with fresh blueberries and butter at The Pancake Shop, an old-school breakfast diner serving up carbs, perfectly fried eggs, and lots of nostalgia. The woman who runs The Pancake Shop also owns The Savory Pantry next door, the latter an epicurean haven for foodies stocked with all sorts of specialty foods, from local chutney and olives to savory summer sausage and The Pancake Shop’s locally brewed house blend
java.

Pick up some foodie souveniers at the Savory Pantry.

1pm After taking an elevator up 216 feet to the top of the Hot Springs Mountain Tower for a birds-eye view of the city, I’m ready for lunch at DeLuca’s Pizzeria, where the owner, Chef Tony, reserves crusts, not tables. He makes 75 fresh crusts by hand daily. When they’re gone, they’re gone. Crusts are dressed with scratch-made, locally sourced tomato sauce, topped with a scant serving of fresh, simple ingredients in the Neapolitan tradition. Pair your favorite pie with the Caesar salad. I didn’t even think I liked Caesar salad, but Chef Tony’s homemade dressing has me singing a different tune.

Better get to DeLuca’s early or Chef Tony will be out of pizza.

2:30pm I ducked into Superior Bathhouse Brewery for a quick flight from the only brewery in the world utilizing thermal spring water as its main ingredient. It’s also the first brewery to be built inside of a U.S. National Park. While I can’t guarantee their craft beers healed me, I did feel pretty vivacious by the time I left.

DeLuca’s pizza – only 75 are made per day so get yours while you can.

7pm After loading up on carbs, I’m ready for a healthy dinner at The Avenue, located inside The Waters. Led by award-winning chef and Le Cordon Bleu alumnus Casey Copeland, the southern artisan-style restaurant originally opened with tapas, a tenet still visible in the current menu’s small plates (duck confit tacos; drunken pimento, for example) and shareables such as the pork al pastor board. Entrees range from blue cornmeal catfish to smoked pork ribs — there’s even a vegan pasta dish.

9pm Before slipping into a food coma, I stop by the Ohio Club, the oldest bar in Arkansas, for a nightcap and some live music, and then… Zzzzzzz…

— Article and photos by Jamie Siebrase

Hungry for more information about Hot Springs, Arkansas? Learn about the unique brewery scene in Hot Springs (it’s all about the water) and get an insider’s historic take on the city in our podcast. 

Read another article by Jamie, this time about Lodi, California.