When you’re in Texarkana, it’s worth a stroll around downtown to hunt murals, but you definitely want to stop at the post office that is perfectly sliced in half by the state line with half in Texas and half in Arkansas. I was also on a desperate search for a latte, so I felt like Ponce de Leon discovering the Fountain of Youth when I spotted the Texarkana Coffee House directly across the street in Arkansas.
The House checks all the requirements of what you’d want in a coffee house: cozy spots, wifi, Tim Tebow’s book for sale at the counter, and, of course, coffee and espresso drinks. What makes the place special (at least for this out-of-towner) were the soft lilts of the southern-cajun accents of the young ladies behind the counter (they had a long discussion on work expectations, but it was poetry by my ears) and the $5 breakfast (my latte cost more than my eggs, toast, and bacon). Yeah, yeah: you could argue that they were light on the toast (one piece of bread, folded; one slice of pig), but it hit the spot, is really all you need, and (did I mention?) was five lousy bucks.
Out in the sticks, servers are almost always amazed when I order a plain latte (Are you sure you don’t want any flavor?). This place was no different, but the barista took pity on my “plain” latte and enthusiastically flavored it “On the house!”. Regardless, swimming in the charm of the place and the proprietors, I drank my flavored latte with a smile. You don’t want to be the Ugly American throwing a hissy fit in a fine French restaurant about the lack of ice in your beverage, and you don’t want to be the Ugly Austinite in Texarkana.
The Rabbit Hole, 422 N State Line Ave, Texarkana, AR
austin wanderlist 