Return to Bentonville, Arkansas

I've traveled to Bentonville, Arkansas on and off since 2012 for work, as it's the home base for retail giant Walmart.  I went back for a few days this year for a work trip, and I tried my best to take photos of some of the highlights!

From a food perspective, my favorite meal was at The Preacher's Son, set in a restored church just off the downtown square in Bentonville.  Their menu changes seasonally, and in hindsight I can't remember exactly what we ordered, but everything, from the cocktails to the appetizer to the food was delicious.  I vaguely remember choosing a cocktail with pisco in it, because it reminded me of my honeymoon in Peru.

Preacher's Son

Preacher's Son

Another night, we went as a group to Doe's Eat Place, which makes me chuckle.  Saying "Eat Place" instead of restaurant reminds me of the time on The Office when Kevin decided to speak in "small talk" and not using complete sentences.  "Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?"  That said, the tamales and steak were yummy, the portions were huge (I shared my steak with my work bestie) and Peyton Manning has eaten there, so...  #winning.

On our last free night, my coworkers and I visited Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  It's as beautiful a building as ever, but the collection/organization have changed a ton since my last visit.  It's definitely worth visiting, but it has dropped off my list of favorite museums in place of some others.  But the sculpture trails are worth a visit on a sunny day for sure!

We actually hit up two museums in the same day, visiting The Walmart Museum in downtown Bentonville.  It's another place that I think has expanded/grown since I first visited.  I remember it feeling a lot smaller.  But my favorite bit of the museum is still Sam Walton's preserved office, down to stacks of magazines and things on the floor.

You could pretty much count the 21C hotel as a third museum, if you think about it.  It's full of artwork, including a painting from a French artist that I really loved!  We grabbed beautiful drinks at The Hive (I think mine was the Origami Crane.) and then walked to Tavola for Italian food.  Both The Hive and Tavola were placed I used to visit on trips in the past.

My 2019 trip to Bentonville was a good mix of new and old haunts for me.

Have you ever been to Northwest Arkansas?