Gettin' Crunk in Little Rock

I had a booksigning in Little Rock, Arkansas on Saturday. It's about two-and-a-half hours from Memphis, and my BFF Sheridan lives there. So we made a day of it. My friend Cassi (who lives in Memphis) and I loaded up my car with books and samples of vegan pimento cheese sandwiches and headed for LR at 7 a.m.

We arrived earlier than expected, so we had plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely brunch from the very vegan-friendly Root Cafe:

The Root Cafe's chef, Cash, is super awesome, and he made my Vegan Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy from Cookin' Crunk to serve for brunch that day!!

Sheridan ordered that plate, and even though I really wanted to order my own chocolate gravy plate, I was so torn because I'd been dying to try the Root's vegan Bhan Mi Tofu Scramble. I decided that, since I have the recipe for chocolate gravy and can make it any time and since I'm very rarely able to enjoy brunch in Little Rock, I'd get the Bhan Mi:

You can't tell but there's a delicious tofu scramble underneath those raw carrots. There's also a layer of vegan mayo, hoisin sauce, and sriracha. It's served with little toasts, like a deconstructed bhan mi breakfast! And the Root has the best salad dressing on the planet, which is served over the bed of mixed greens. Of course, I snuck a bite of Sheridan's biscuits, and Cash did an amazing job!!

The Root serves coffee in various, re-purposed mugs. Sheridan got stuck with the 40th birthday mug! But she's only 32, I promise:

Here's Cassi and me:

After brunch, we walked across the street to the Green Corner Store, where my booksigning was set to begin at noon. The Green Corner Store is cute little gift shop that sells local, handmade, and eco-friendly gifts. Lots of old friends stopped by, and I made some new ones too (The sun was very bright coming through the window!):

One of those new friends is Sydney. She ordered her copy of Cookin' Crunk awhile ago, and it already had stains on some of the pages!

The Green Corner Store has an old-fasioned soda fountain and ice cream bar, and they have vegan flavors and toppings clearly marked with a little "v." I just had to try a scoop of Coconut Coffee Ice Cream topped with Waffle Chips and Dark Chocolate. So good!

They also brew their own kombucha. Sheridan and I bought bottles and then we had the soda jerk flavor them with custom syrups. I chose hibiscus flower, and Sheridan had raspberry. Cassi took a sip of my kombucha and decided the fermented tea wasn't for her:

As if we hadn't already eaten enough all day, we were ready for dinner after the signing. So we made the drive to Lilly's Dim Sum and Then Some for my favorite dish there — Spicy Panang Curry with Tofu.

Why is this my fave, you ask. Because that fried tofu goodness is served with coconut curry sauce over RAMEN NOODLES! And y'all know how I feel about ramen! Sheridan ordered the same thing.

Anyway, we had a fabulous day! I sold some cookbooks, met some new people, saw some old friends, and ate myself silly.