The Mary Hennigan food plan: Easy methods to eat lunch like an Arkansas Occasions metropolis reporter

When Mary Hennigan began as a metropolis reporter in 2022 for the Arkansas Occasions, she was recent out of grad college and her younger, untrained palate was nonetheless maturing. She appeared wanting to expertise new cuisines outdoors of her consolation zone, however she was nervous.

In her two years within the newsroom she’s flourished as a reporter and turn out to be a extra curious eater. She’s now smart to the truth that each restaurant she yearns for on a Monday is probably going closed; she’s endured the crushing expertise of getting to resort to low cost, unhappy and infrequently lovely desk meals to accommodate the funds of a working journalist; she’s at all times all the way down to toss you a snack from her desk stash; she’s developed some artistic modifications at eating places round city; and if there’s an possibility so as to add an egg, she’ll do it each time.

As we speak is her final day on the Arkansas Occasions. She’s taken a gig as a reporter for the superb Arkansas Advocate, so she’ll be consuming most of her lunch meals down the road. However hopefully she’ll nonetheless ship us meals selfies of her pitiful desk meals (girl dinner!) and discover time to satisfy us at La Hacienda for cheese dip (she by no means skips out on cheese dip). Listed below are some shining moments from Hennigan’s Eat Arkansas correspondence and her Arkansas Occasions food plan.

“What’s your favourite kind of egg? Mine’s onerous boiled.” — Mary Hennigan

There was per week after Thanksgiving when Hennigan was heading residence for lunch to eat air fryer candy potato fries nearly each day. However these weren’t simply any candy potato fries.

You’re candy potato fries with melted Thanksgiving marshmallows on the aspect, which she stated supplied “excellent fry dunkability.”

Hennigan’s random meals correspondence will be works of refined genius, like this image of a bit of fruit she determined to ship our manner with the caption, “That is my plum”:

Right here’s a latest haphazard pairing of delights that fueled her by way of a day of tedious reporting:

Journalism glamour shot.

Considered one of Hennigan’s best Eat Arkansas moments was discovering an off-menu merchandise that impressed her to write down a seven-word meals jingle. One night time at Three Fold final summer season, Hennigan opted for the restaurant’s noodle soup, and her companion selected the dumpling soup. Whereas they have been slurping, Hennigan discovered herself eager for the broth in her companion’s bowl.

“My meal was nice, however the comforting noodles with the saltier dumpling broth base was what I craved,” she wrote.

A sesame butter is added to the noodle soup, which makes it much like a miso soup texture. It’s softer. The dumpling soup broth has a saltier soy base, she stated.

Within the days main as much as her subsequent Three Fold go to, she feared that ordering noodle soup within the dumpling soup broth with no cilantro may give her a fame for being fussy along with her orders. To regular herself, she began singing the phrases “noodle soup within the dumpling soup soup” across the workplace.

After a number of modifications (and nearly certainly creating a fame because the buyer with the bizarre soup order), she despatched us a Slack message explaining that she’d lastly discovered the phrases to nail down what she likes:

“I perfected my noodle soup within the dumpling soup soup order. Right here it’s: Noodle soup. No cilantro, shredded rooster, add an egg. No sesame oil. Medium [spice level].”

Mary Hennigan

We’ve handy it to her, although. It’s scrumptious.

I actually don’t wish to watch it [a 2022 mayoral forum]. I wish to eat dinner and carve a pumpkin. — Mary Hennigan 

Hennigan’s prime 5 Halloween sweet rankings:

1. Skittles
2. Reese’s
3. Smarties
4. Airheads (White Thriller is finest)
5. Twix

Not so unhappy lunch. Hennigan’s a sucker for marinated artichokes and Babybel cheese.

“Final time I went to a Buc-ee’s there was a mascot in there, like an precise buc-ee, and he was chasing me round! — Mary Hennigan

Glad faces after escaping the editorial workplace for La Hacienda.

Unhappy lunch? Extra like college lunch:

A real sport across the workplace, Hennigan didn’t hesitate to rock some new swag so as to add some aptitude to the millionth 7 Brew story of my profession:

This unhappy lunch actually does match the invoice, however Hennigan stated the burritos have been truly fairly good:

Right here’s some meals Hennigan loved sufficient to ship meals selfies our manner:

Barbecue nachos from Rely Porkula.

“Pepperoni calzone from Layla’s was top-of-the-line issues ever,” Hennigan stated.

Fairly positive this unhappy lunch was a winner:

Fittingly, Hennigan’s final lunch as an Arkansas Occasions worker hailed from neighboring Iriana’s. Arkansas Occasions editor Austin Gelder (one of many greatest Iriana’s followers in Arkansas Occasions worker historical past) and Hennigan have Venmoed one another for Iriana’s slices at least 30 instances.

Rhett Brinkley

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