Natural State’s Fry And Mighty Bites

Natural State's Fry and Mighty bites

HAVING MASTERED handcrafted pizzas at King Dough, restaurant owners Adam and Alicia Sweet summoned their Arkansas roots with their Holy Cross follow-up, Natural State Provisions. “Arkansas’s nickname is The Natural State. So that’s where this all comes from,” says Adam, who created the menu of Southern comfort dishes. That includes extra-crispy sweet tea–brined fried chicken, a smashburger piled with pimento cheese and snappy bread and butter pickles, and fried catfish that gets a nice buttermilk soak to maintain its juicy flakiness. “We make it with rice flour, so it’s gluten-free,” says Adam, who admits that the main reason he put a daily fish-fry on the menu is “so that I always have catfish available to eat.” 414 Dorman St., 317-492-9887, naturalstateprovisions.com