I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Outside of a few years in San Antonio for college, the Space City was my only residence for over three decades. Houston was where I started my family, my teaching career, and eventually my food blog,
The Mighty Rib.
Kevin Shalin, better known as The Mighty Rib, is a Houston-native turned Arkansas food celeb. Since landing in Little Rock, Kevin has helped define Arkansas’ food scene — sometimes it takes an outsider to tell us we’re cool. There’s more to The Mighty Rib than food, though. He’s partnered with local nonprofits to raise thousands for worthy causes and has nurtured a mighty food community that rallies behind the local restaurants, businesses, and causes he champions. Thanks for sharing your Arkansas journey with us, Kevin. Follow The Mighty Rib on Facebook. Do you have an interesting Arkansas journey? Share your story with us!
Written by Kevin Shalin
Houston was the place where my wife began her ten-plus years of medical training, a journey that included med school, a PhD in Neuroscience, and residency, followed by a fellowship in Boston.
While the culture shock associated with moving from one major city to another, on opposite sides of the country, was a little overwhelming at times for our family of four, nothing would prepare us for what came next: Arkansas. Specifically, Little Rock.
In 2012, my wife finished her medical training and was ready to pursue a faculty position in Dermatopathology at an academic institution. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences came calling, and a few months later, the Shalins were headed to The Natural State.
Make no mistake, yours truly was none too excited about the new adventure. I knew Little Rock would be nothing like Houston or Boston in just about every way imaginable, but our family was willing and ready to give it a fair shake.
Left to right: In 2010 Kevin and a group of friends visited several Houston barbecue spots in a single day to complete “the first (and only) The Mighty Rib Crawl.” Union Square Donuts in Boston is a “fun, neighborhood donut shop a few blocks from where we lived in Brookline, our Boston neighborhood.” Lobster roll from Luke’s Lobster in Boston, where the lobster is fresh-caught straight from the North Atlantic. Order your own Luke’s Lobster lobster roll kit here.
More than thirteen years later, we are proud to call Little Rock home. However, I won’t lie: there were plenty of rough patches along the way. We didn’t know a soul upon our arrival. Folks can be cliquish in Little Rock so transplants often find it hard to find their social footing. On top of that, as an extrovert trying to build an audience for my fledgling food blog, the first couple years proved to be a challenge as I struggled to meet others and make an impact on the community.
But things picked up. We made friends and began to adjust to the “small city/big town” vibes that we previously knew nothing about. I began running into people I knew at the grocery store. Same at restaurants. That never happened in Houston. Traffic was thankfully no longer a part of our lives. I can’t express enough what a huge upgrade it is when you no longer have to spend more than ten hours a week in gridlock.
Little Rock agreed with our family.
Left to right: Volunteering for the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance’s Turnip for Hunger harvest event. Judging the World Championship Chocolate Gravy Cookoff in Searcy and at the Arkansas Cornbread Festival in Little Rock.
And for the first time in my food writing career, I could see and feel the impact my coverage had on restaurants. To this day, it is what I absolutely love most about Central Arkansas. In Houston and Boston, when I wrote about a spot, I never really knew what, if any, impact it had on a particular business. Did anyone even read my article? Did it inspire one person to check out a new restaurant? How could I ever tell? In Boston, there were literally hundreds of food bloggers. In Little Rock? Maybe ten.
Are things perfect? No. We need more diversity in our food scene and a stronger base of customers willing to support new restaurants and expand their palates to unfamiliar cuisines.
But Little Rock is home, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I’ve dedicated my time to helping support our wonderful community, but the truth is, the community has supported me and my various projects just as much.
I think we might stay a while.
Although Kevin Shalin started his food writing career in his hometown of Houston, Texas, with the Houston Press’s “Eating Our Words,” he has been covering the often-underrated Arkansas food and drink scene for more than 12 years. In addition to maintaining his popular food blog, The Mighty Rib, Kevin was the food editor for AY Magazine, and has been a contributing writer for Little Rock Soiree, Bourbon and Boots, Little Rock Family, Arkansas Times, Local Palate, and OnlyinArk.com.
