Food and Drink

I'm a sucker for a gimmick, so when an agency offered to send samples of Van Leeuwen's limited-run spring flavors — including Hidden Valley Ranch — I was too tempted to say no.

Taste test: I tested the ranch flavor with my wife and son. It's dead-on for America's favorite salad dressing, with aromas of buttermilk, onion and garlic.

We need to talk about cake.

I recently shared this slice of Markham & Fitz's six-layer chocolate cake. It's topped with ganache and Swiss meringue buttercream frosting made with 70% Dominican Republic chocolate.

I celebrated St. Patrick's Day by learning to make some Irish dishes at a cooking class at Honeycomb Kitchen Shop in Rogers.

How it works: Participants were assigned to work stations with 3-4 people. All the ingredients were already portioned out, along with the equipment and handouts with the written recipes. We also got instructions for Irish scones, which were prebaked and waiting for us as an appetizer.

Our "how to spend a day" series curates ideas to explore pockets of Northwest Arkansas.

Here are our recommendations for an ideal activity list for a jam-packed, fun-filled adventure of a day:

Spend time with the kiddos

Ralph Machio, Cheech Marin and Mike Rowe have more than Kevin Bacon in common.

• They've all participated in the World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade in Hot Springs, 60 miles southwest of Little Rock.

The weather is still fickle, so if you want to get outside without committing to a hike or bike ride, consider a car trip down part of the Pig Trail to the Oark General Store.

The big picture: The shop, operating since 1890, is on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places and offers a glimpse of what it was like to live in a rural part of the state 100 years ago.

I love a good gimmick — even more if it's a little boozy.

State of play: The piranha at Fox Trail Distillery in Rogers offers both. This sweet sipper comes in a glass shaped like a toothy, bulgy-eyed piranha.

For all those Fayetteville eateries you've been meaning to test out, this is your week.

What's happening: More than 50 restaurants are offering deals and special menus for Fayetteville Restaurant Week. The event runs through Saturday, with Experience Fayetteville, the city’s tourism arm, coordinating the "tastiest time of year" to support local restaurants.