Texarkana dining
Texarkana is centrally located to be a midlevel attraction for people in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas.
The Texarkana area actually makes up two cities in Texas and Arkansas. The cities share the same name. The Arkansas side has a population of about 29,000. The Texas city has about 37,000 people. So, the metro area is under 70,000.
The area has a small city feel to it. You can pretty much get anywhere in town in a matter of a few minutes, based on the interstate and frontage roads.
The area does offer a lot of food choices. You have your typical chain restaurants, but there are a few nice local eateries.
My favorite was Big Jake’s BBQ. It has four locations in the area, but I ate at the original location on the Texas side. The décor combines John Wayne pictures and local sports teams’ memorabilia. 
The restaurant offers a lot of food choices – from several meat choices to sides. My favorite combination was the two-meat plate (though, you can go to three or four meats on a plate). I ate there twice in the week I was in town. I had the same meat choices – St. Louis style pork ribs and sliced beef brisket. Both seem to melt in the mouth. The ribs are smoked onsite for a few hours each day. To say they were delicious does not do the ribs justice. You have to taste them to know.
The sides I favored were the baked beans, coleslaw and sweet potato fries. I had the fries the first night, but learned if you are having dessert there, stay away from the heavier carbs. The sweet taters were topped with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. MMMMMM mmmmmm good, as Andy Griffith once said about a particular cracker.
They serve fried pies. OMG! They must be tried. It’s like a Hostess pie, only without the sugar coating and about twice the size, and a million times the tastiness. If anyone has ever had a sopapilla, it looks like one with fruit filling inside. You have several fruit choices. My traveling partner had peach pie. I had apple one night and cherry the second. I wanted to try the fried pecan pie, but a person just ahead of me had ordered the last one. I found out who it was and scowled at them during their meal. I kid. I kid.
My colleague and I were told to try Reggie’s for a good burger. They did not lie. Reggie’s is a lone establishment. The owners plan to expand to another city in Arkansas.
I had a Reggie Burger with cheese. The burger was flattened and reminded me of the style you get at Smashburger. However, it had a fresh taste to it. I meant to ask if they make their own burgers. I think they must, since the co-owner told us about how he selected the bologna for their fried bologna sandwiches.
The fries were excellent – not greasy, and a bit soft to the touch.
The design of the interior was music and cars. One of the co-owners loves music. And, as the other co-owner said to us, “Everyone loves cars.” They even plan to have car shows in the parking lot during the warmer months.
As I said, several chain restaurants offer nice choices, as well. But, when traveling, I always like to try at least one local eatery. This time round, just like the city with two states, I enjoyed trying my two local eating dens.
