Just returned from 2 glorious days in Eureka Springs-that cooler weather nor drizzle could dampen. We arrived early and our Inn keepers at
Candlestick cottage Inn were gracious enough to allow us an early check in. We had private/room specific parking for The Peaches suite.
Day 1
This little gem of a B&B is wonderful, our suite(1 of 4) was spacious, overlooking the hollow below where deer roam. Sitting on the patio outside our room in the evenings you could hear the music waft up from the downtown area. Heavenly!
Due to the Inns perfect location we were able to park our car, walk the one block to all the shops in the downtown area-this luxury probably saved us close to $15 in parking fees since we spent the entire day downtown, shopping,snacking and finding the perfect spot to watch the St Paddys day parade.
We needed fuel for our bodies-so we headed to Mama Rouxs only to discover they were closed BUMMER because I really wanted to try their muffalatta, we moved on to Chelseas to have some of their famous pizza, again not open when we tried for lunch. Thankfully I did my research and had a backup plan we headed to
The Pizza Bar for their very reasonable lunch buffet. Some of the BEST pizza I have ever had. around $6pp
We stopped by
Eureka Live for some adult beverages-a very cool underground location with tin ceilings LOVE the tin ceiling. There is a huge table with hats all kinds of hats for you to wear while you are there, from a marketing standpoint I found that genius! The service there was out of this world, the owners formally from a town in Oklahoma worked behind the bar and in front of the bar delivering bowls of candy to the patrons and complimentary juicy fruit shots. Eureka Lives tag line is 'What Happens underground...stays buried' Love that!!!
We had plans to go to Autumn Breeze for dinner but due to the fact Eric had been on 19 straight days of nights he was exhausted, so for dinner we opted to get Bubbas BBQ to go and enjoy in our room.
We hadn't eaten at
Bubbas BBQ in years and after I devoured my ribs,slaw and baked beans I was left asking myself WHY WHY WHY had we not been back sooner? The ribs were perfect IMHO the smokey flavor was spot on. I LOVED their slaw(I am still dreaming about the slaw) and beans and the sauce was divine! YUM-O Bubbas gets 5 stars from us. Ribs for 2 with sides and bread $26...no photos because remember I said 'devoured'
Some random ES photos from our trip
Day 2
Breakfast at Candlestick cottage Inn is served at 9am on their treetop porch. Upon arriving tables were preset with plates,water and juice then you are offered coffee,hot tea, hot chocolate or mochas. Our first course was vanilla yogurt with strawberries and bananas, then came a warm blueberry muffin and to round out the 3 course breakfast we were served non-greasy bacon(my bacon always comes out greasy-this actually looked healthy) and a very large portion of egg/hash brown casserole. The Innkeepers shared stories with us about their travels from California to ES.
I just can not say enough about this Inn and it is one of my new favorite places to stay...
We had reservations at another property for our second night The
Tree House Cottages, so we had to say our goodbyes and pack up for a new adventure...
While waiting to check in we shopped the attraction district, took a tour of the
Quigley Castle-which was incredible, just the story behind how the house was built was fascinating-From the website:
Elise Fiovanti, was Italian. She came to the Ozarks when she was nine. She loved the outdoors and began to collect rocks as she walked along a creek bed to school. When she was 18 during the depression she married my grandfather, Albert Quigley. He was the type of fellow who brought her rock collection with them to the site of his farm and lumber mill. They lived in a lumber shack and had five children. My grandfather promised her a house with the lumber cut off their own property. In 1943 she designed a house that would allow her to bring nature indoors. It would be her dream house. The lumber was cut and drying in a long chicken house below the shack. However, WWII was going on, and supplies were rationed. My grandfather thought they should wait to build the house, especially as the design called for 32 large windows, and glass was rationed. They argued about it for several months. In June, when my grandfather left for the mill, grandmother and the five children, three of them teenage boys, tore the lumber shack down. She moved them into the chicken house...read the full story HERE
Tour prices were $6.50 for adults and children 14 and under are free. Here some photos of Quigleys Castle
We had lunch at
Cafe Soleil-if you have never been to this restaurant don't walk... run it was FAB, they make their dressings in-house, the parm dressing on my salad was a flavor explosion in my mouth, the hubby had the Fish taco wrap $10 plus $2 if you sub pasta salad for a house salad and I had the Old Chicago sandwich $8 both were very good!
Check-in time at Tree House Cottages...there really are no words for this place, The owners Terry and Patsy have thought of everything. We stayed in the Hidden oak tree house with it's gothic arched doorways, this tree house sits 26 ft in the air-you are definitely in the treetops-when you look out your deck it is hard to believe you are still right in town,woods and wildlife are abundant-serene comes to mind. Our tree house had a heart shaped jacuzzi, dimer switches-which are the bomb, tall windows,fireplace, modern kitchen set up, the fridge had complimentary champagne,OJ,sodas, pumpkin spice bread and various other snacks were left for us to enjoy...The Bed was the most comfy bed I have ever slept in! I wanted to bring it home with me...I can so see why this establishment rarely has an open night or rather why they are booked so far in advance...MAGICAL!
We stopped in at the
Lumberyard saloon for some before dinner drinks-this has always been one of our favorite spots for great drink specials and friendly attentive service-they didn't disappoint! A few photos from The Lumberyard...these ladies come down for the parade every year! They were a HOOT!
For dinner we stumbled upon a new to us place called
Rockin Pig Saloon and come to find out they are fairly new, opened in June of last year. Located in the corner of Gaskins Switch shopping center, don't let the word 'saloon' fool you this is a family style restaurant that does have a full bar, smoking is permitted outdoors only-in the 'Pig Pen' and they gladly welcome families traveling with children.
Is it just me OR does great service make everything taste better? Out of every place we visited and while we did get great service everywhere this place was just a step above-it is hard to explain...perhaps it is better 'experienced'
We started with an appetizer of Smoked Asada tacos-chopped smoked brisket topped with cilantro and onions with a slice of lime served on white corn tortillas , fresh grated cheese and avocado ranch sauce were offered by the wait staff and while the tacos were perfection as is, I gladly accepted the condiments to jazz up my taco. No photos because these babies were 'inhaled'
For our main course Eric being a rib lover had the baby back ribs $11(half rack & $19 full rack) with slaw and sweet potato fries which of course I sampled-if I am comparing to Bubbas they were meatier and had a nice flavor not as 'smoked' as I like and a little to heavy on the salt rub for my tastes but still tasty-I preferred bubbas just because they had the perfect amount of smoked flavor BUT this wasn't my meal LOL it was Erics, the slaw had a kick to it which made the Eric go Best Slaw EVER! and as for the sweet potato fries(which he doesn't even like sweet potatoes- so i was shocked he ordered them) they came with a dipping sauce that the waitress described as 'tastes like Christmas-time' and she was spot on! He thoroughly enjoyed his meal.
I had the Al Pesto pizza $10-which are wood fired, the Al Pesto was an olive oil and pesto base with fresh mozzarella,ricotta,tomatoes and roasted chicken-which I loved my only complaint was the chicken and tomatoes were sparse BUT due to the great service it was quickly overlooked on my part.
Day 3-departure day
We begrudgingly checked out of Tree House Cottages-so did not want to leave, but the real world and no less than 100 text messages from our 3 children called us back to reality.
We stopped at
Mud St.Cafe for breakfast, where we passed the largest muffins I have ever seen-I should have bought one for the road-my only regret was that I didn't.
We ordered omelets that were served with cottage fries-the best tasting potatoes with onions I have ever had, I had the Greek omelet-Artichoke hearts, black olives, spinach & feta. The hubby ordered the Mexican omelet-Spicy pinto beans & cheese, topped with sour cream, salsa, tomatoes and black olives. He opted for minus sour cream and plus jalapenos-both were out of this world good!
The perfect way to end our trip...and I am already planning our next trip up...
Thank You ES for making this a relaxing and wonderful experience...I miss you already... yes it is possible to miss a town...
A few more photos of the town...
My confession for today: This trip was just what I needed...I am pretty sure it saved my sanity!
*edited for a disclaimer*: no one in Eureka Springs knows I exist, I was NOT paid for any of the above reviews, I was a wife and mother seeking refuge and ES took me in...and gave me back my sanity... I just chose to blog about it. If you are an Innkeeper,restaurant owner, hotel/motel manager or own a shop in ES I am an equal opportunity tourist...if I left you out this go round forgive me...I am scatterbrained at best...you don't wanna know my worst... I promise to come back again and again I bet I will discover you next time around!
Distance map so you can start planning your trip
